1977 saw the release of the album taken from these sessions –
an album that was actually critically panned at the time, but has
since proved to have more commercial and critical appeal. ‘News
of the World’ was to prove to be something of a ‘concert album’,
featuring tracks suited for gigging, and as close to stadium rock
as Queen would get throughout their career. Double A-side ‘We
Will Rock You’ and ‘We Are the Champions’ were the perfect
examples of this ‘new sound,’ together combining to give the
band their first No. 1 single in America. Mercury would state the
importance of the tracks – ‘We Are the Champions’ in particular
- declaring, ‘I have to win people over, otherwise it’s not a
successful gig. It’s my job to make sure people have a good time.
That’s part of my duty. It’s all to do with feeling in control. That
song “We Are the Champions” has been taken up by football fans
because it’s a winners’ song. I can’t believe that somebody hasn’t
written a new song to overtake it.’ He went on to add, ‘I was
thinking about football when I wrote it. I wanted a participation
song, something that the fans could latch on to. It was aimed
at the masses; I thought we’d see how they took it. It worked a
treat.’
Speaking about the album as a whole, Brian May would relate,
‘It’s a spontaneous album. I think we’ve managed to cut through
to the spontaneity lacking in our other albums. I have no apologies
to make for any of our previous albums. We’re proud of them and
wouldn’t have let them out if we weren’t.’
Going through yet another managerial change, the band parted
company with John Reid in 1978, as they felt they were becoming
far too successful for him to be able to cope with both them and
Elton John. Taking over the responsibility of their own affairs,
the band would go on to rule the roost over Queen Productions,
appointing themselves as directors of the company, and earning
£690,000 each during the fiscal year of 1978/9 – making them the
highest paid directors in British industry. Brian May announced,