Freddie Mercury - Mr Bad Guy

Mr. Bad Guy is the debut solo studio album by British singer-songwriter Freddie Mercury, originally released in April 1985 via Columbia Records.

Freddie’s first (and only) solo album was released in 1985 between Queen’s albums The Works (1984) and A Kind Of Magic (1986) and was delivered after he had signed a lucrative solo recording deal with Columbia Records.

The album allowed Mercury to explore musical styles outside the boundaries of the band, such as disco and electronic influences. All the songs were written by Mercury and the album was recorded in Musicland Studios, Munich, Germany with production helmed by Mack. Mercury used synthesisers extensively across the album to create some lush and dramatic effects. The title track “Mr. Bad Guy” is a tongue in cheek self-mocking song about the great “Mr Mercury”, which adds a unique personal touch to the album.

The first single released from the album was “I Was Born To Love You” which reached #11 on the UK singles charts. The second single “Made In Heaven” did not achieve the same level of chart success, reaching #57 on the UK singles chart. “Living On My Own” and “Love Me Like There’s No Tomorrow” were also released as singles.

The album achieved moderate chart success, peaking at #6 on the UK, #159 on the US Billboard 200 and #38 on the Australian albums charts.

Often overlooked in context of the amazing body of work he made with the members of Queen, this is a fun, happy album that stands the test of time very well.

Two of the songs on this album were later reworked by the surviving members of Queen and released on the final Queen studio album Made In Heaven (1995).

For this 2019 special edition of the album, sound team Justin Shirley-Smith, Joshua J Macrae and Kris Fredriksson have taken the very best original source material available. They went back (not to previously remastered and mixed tapes) to the original source multi-track tapes, so that they could build a new mix true to Freddie’s original versions, now taking advantage of the time, resources and technology that Freddie may not have originally had available to him in the 1980s. All offer ultimate quality, first generation vocals showing off Freddie’s incredible vocal range.

This LP record is the 2019 reissue on black vinyl with a printed inner sleeve and download code, pressed in Europe via Mercury Records (what an appropriate record label for this album!).