Flash (song)



"Flash" is a song by the British rock band Queen. Written by guitarist Brian May, "Flash" is the theme song of the 1980 film Flash Gordon. The soundtrack released to coincide with the film contained only the music composed and performed by Queen.

There are two versions of the song. The album version ("Flash's Theme") is in fact the start to the movie, with all the dialogue from the first scene. The single version features dialogue cut from various parts of the movie, most memorably, Brian Blessed's character exclaiming "Gordon's alive?!" This version was also included on the Greatest Hits compilation from 1981.

Flash is sung as a duet between Freddie Mercury and Brian May, with Roger Taylor adding the high harmonies. May plays all of the instruments except for the rhythm section. He used an Imperial Bösendorfer Grand Piano (with 97 keys instead of 88, having an extra octave on the low range), Oberheim OBX synth (which he plays in the video) and his homemade Red Special electric guitar.

On the U.S. charts, "Flash's Theme aka Flash" reached #42 on the Billboard Hot 100. It peaked at #39 on the Cash Box Top 100. It fared much better in Europe, where it was a Top 10 hit in most nations, including #1 in Austria. In Australia and New Zealand, the song reached #6.

Music video
The video for the song was filmed at Anvil Studios, London in November 1980 and directed by Don Norman and features the band performing the song to a screen showing clips from the film. An alternate version which was broadcast during the Concert for Kampuchea during 1981 featuring alternate film clips was included on the Flash Gordon 2011 iTunes edition.

Personnel

 * Freddie Mercury - lead and backing vocals
 * Brian May - lead and backing vocals, electric guitar, piano, synthesiser
 * Roger Taylor - backing vocals, drums, timpani
 * John Deacon - bass guitar

Remixes and covers

 * UK DJ Vanguard remixed the theme and released as single during the early DVD release of the film. The single managed to peak at #15 on the UK Singles Charts at that time.
 * In 1988, Public Enemy used a sample of "Flash" for their song "Terminator X to the Edge of Panic", released on the album It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back.
 * Chicago-based band Tub Ring has been known to cover the song at concerts.
 * The song was played by My Chemical Romance on the Projekt Revolution tour, in several shows.
 * San Diego based band The Locust have released a cover of the song.
 * Garage rock band Louis XIV covered the song on the 2007 EP The Distances from Everyone to You.
 * Tenacious D starts their concert with Flash on the DVD The Complete Master Works.
 * The Protomen performed Flash in their Queen tribute concert and it's included in their album Present: A Night of Queen
 * MaxNormal.TV used "Flash" in their song "Rap Fantasy". Instead of "Flash" they changed the words to "Max Normal".
 * This song was mashed up with Badger Badger Badger to create Save the Badger Badger Badger, a record produced in protest of badger culling in the United Kingdom.

Uses in popular culture

 * A segment of the song was often played at Miami Heat home games when Dwyane Wade, who is nicknamed "Flash," makes a spectacular play.
 * The song was played at Philadelphia Phillies home games when Phillies reliever Tom Gordon, whose nickname is "Flash Gordon", entered the game.
 * The song is played in the film Blades of Glory when Will Ferrell and Jon Heder do their final competition together, with the song as the background and basis for their routine at the end of the movie.
 * Some Sci Fi Channel teaser-advertisements for the 2007 Flash Gordon series play the signature beats from the song over a simple logo. The song is not used in the actual show.
 * Mark Dudbridge, an English darts player, uses it as his entrance music on stage. A take on his nickname Flash.
 * "Flash" has been used as the opening theme song for Fuji TV's Formula One coverage in Japan since the 2007 season.
 * This song has been played on Toy Story 2 advertisement on ABC1 and Disney Channel using "Buzz" instead of "Flash".
 * NBA star Shaquille O'Neal sang the song during a press-conference, but replaced Flash with "Shaq, Ah! Ah! Greatest of the universe!".
 * The song was featured in the Family Guy episode "Not All Dogs Go To Heaven", when Brian wonders why nobody has even seen God and what does he do in Heaven.
 * The song was used in a 2011 commercial for the Blackberry Playbook, with "Flash" referring to the tablet computer's inclusion of Adobe Flash Player.
 * The song has recently been used in the UK Innocent smoothie advertising campaign replacing "Flash" with "Fruit"
 * The song was used on a promo for the CBS reality show The Amazing Race, replacing "Flash" with "Phil", referring to the show's host Phil Keoghan.
 * "Flash", along with other songs from the soundtrack, was used in the 2012 comedy film Ted.
 * The song was spoofed in a commercial for Clash Royale with "Clash" instead of "Flash".

Live recording

 * Queen on Fire - Live at the Bowl
 * Queen Rock Montreal