| "A Kind of Magic" (1986) |
"Princes of the Universe" (1986) |
"Friends Will Be Friends" (1986) |
"Princes of the Universe" is a song written by Freddie Mercury and performed by Queen. The song was written for the soundtrack of the movie Highlander and released on the A Kind of Magic album in 1986. This song is the only song which Mercury receives sole credit for on the entire album. Later it was also used for the Highlander: The Series as its theme song. The song was never released as a single in the UK, and while not a charting hit, it is considered a cult favorite because of its relation to the film.
The music video was directed by Russel Mulcahy and was shot on the Silvercup rooftop stage used for the film, featuring a sword fight between Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert) and Freddie Mercury intercut with scenes from the movie. During the video, guitarist Brian May appears without his Red Special, but instead with a white guitar, similar to a Jackson Randy Rhoads but NOT an actual RR model (The inner surfaces of the 'V' shape are slightly curved on a Jackson Randy Rhoads instead of being completely straight like the white guitar in the video). The video was actually played quite a bit on music video stations (in the US) when this single came out, despite not charting. Up until its eventual release on Greatest Flix III (VHS, 1999) and Greatest Video Hits 2 (DVD, 2003), it was rarely seen by fans outside North America, elevating its possession to that of a collector's item.
The lyrics are from the perspective of the immortals, about the state of being immortal, the superiority it gives them to normal humans, and the test that they must face because of this. The lyrics can also be interpreted as regarding Queen themselves: "People talk about you, people say you've had your day / I'm a man that will go far, find the moon and reach for the stars." The song Who Wants to Live Forever is the foil of this song.
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