Freddie Mercury, the 40th anniversary of the first solo album “Mr. Bad Guy”

Last spring marked the 40th anniversary of Freddie Mercury’s debut solo album: “Mr Bad Guy” returns in a new edition on 180 gram translucent green vinyl and LP picture disc, out on December 5th. Originally released in April 1985, the album marked the Queen singer’s first long-distance solo release: it was recorded at Musicland Studios in Munich and co-produced with Reinhold Mack.“ Preorder here.

I had a lot of ideas in my head and there were a lot of musical territories that I couldn’t explore as a member of Queen,” Mercury explained at the time. “I put my heart and soul into ‘Mr Bad Guy’ and I think it’s a very real and honest album. there are some really moving ballads, which had to do with sadness and pain, but at the same time there are some frivolous and ironic songs, because that’s my nature. I think the songs on that album reflect the state of my life, a selection of different moods and a whole spectrum of my life.”
The dedication reads: “This album is dedicated to my cat Jerry – also Tom, Oscar and Tiffany, and all the cat lovers across the universe – screw everybody else”.

The album includes songs such as “I Was Born To Love You”, “Made in Heaven” – which 10 years later would become the title track of Queen’s posthumous album, after a rework by the band – “Living On My Own” and “Love Me Like There’s No Tomorrow”. The single “Living On My Own” reached the top of the British charts in 1993, in a remixed version released two years after the artist’s death.

The new reissue features an updated mix created by Justin Shirley-Smith and Joshua J. Macrae, Queen’s historic collaborators: “We’ve gone back to the original multitrack tapes: Freddie’s vocal performances are absolutely extraordinary. The idea was not to try to make him sound like he would today, but to make him sound like he would have then if they had better technology. Of course it’s a great honor to be able to work on everything Freddie has achieved, always having the utmost respect for it.”

This is the tracklist of Mr Bad Guy – 40th Anniversary Special Edition
Side A
Let’s Turn It On
Made In Heaven
I Was Born To Love You
Foolin’ Around
Your Kind Of Lover

Side B
Mr. Bad Guy
Man Made Paradise
There Must Be More To Life Than This
Living On My Own
My Love Is Dangerous
Love Me Like There’s No Tomorrow