Mr. Bad Guy



Mr. Bad Guy is the debut solo album from Queen singer, Freddie Mercury. Released in 1985, during a period in which Queen were on hiatus from recordings, it contains eleven songs, all written by him.

For the album, Mercury compiled influences ranging from disco to dance music. It was a contrast to typical Queen work, as they were rock-orientated. The album took nearly two years to record as Mercury had to gather enough material, while committing to band activities. Initially, the album was supposed to feature duets with Mercury and Michael Jackson. They recorded "There Must Be More to Life Than This", but Mercury dropped out of any further collaboration after feeling uncomfortable working with Jackson's pet llama in the studio. Recording was taxing on Mercury as he took part in everything from performing the tracks to sound engineering to obtain his desired effect. Mercury used synthesizers and orchestration in track development, adding to the diversity in each piece.

The song "Living on My Own" was re-released in 1993 in a remixed form by No More Brothers, while "I Was Born to Love You" and "Made in Heaven" were later re-worked by the surviving three Queen members and included in the 1995 curtain-call Made in Heaven. The album was originally planned to be called Made in Heaven.

Track listing
All songs written by Freddie Mercury.

Personnel

 * Freddie Mercury – vocals, piano, synthesizer
 * Fred Mandel – additional piano, synthesizer, guitar
 * Paul Vincent – lead guitar
 * Curt Cress – drums
 * Stephan Wissnet – bass guitar
 * Jo Burt – fretless bass on "Man Made Paradise"
 * Rainer Pietsch – arrangement for "Mr. Bad Guy"
 * Mack and Stephan Wissnet – Fairlight CMI, drum programming
 * Mack, assisted by Stephan Wissnet – engineering
 * The Artful Dodger – artwork
 * A. Sawa – photographs