The Game is the eighth studio album by the British rock band Queen. It was released on 30 June 1980 by EMI Records in the UK and by Elektra Records in the US. The Game features a different sound from its predecessor, Jazz (1978). The Game was the first Queen album to use a synthesizer (an Oberheim OB-X).
A critical and commercial success, The Game became the only Queen album to reach No. 1 in the US, and also became their best-selling studio album in the US, with four million copies sold to date, tying with the sales for News of the World. Notable songs on the album include the bass-driven "Another One Bites the Dust" and the rock and roll "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", both of which reached No. 1 in the US. It was reissued in May 2003 on DVD-Audio with Dolby 5.1 surround sound and DTS 5.1. The 5.1 mix of "Coming Soon" features an alternate backing track, as the final master tapes could not be found when mixing the album to 5.1.
Songs
Side one
"Play the Game"
"Play the Game" was written by Freddie Mercury. The song was released as a single in 1980, reaching No. 14 in the UK and No. 42 in the US. The song was performed live from 1980 to 1982.
"Dragon Attack" "Dragon Attack" was written by Brian May. The song was a live favourite being performed from 1980 to 1985. On the UK release of "Another One Bites The Dust", it was featured as the B-side. Two remixes of the track were scheduled to feature on the cancelled BASIC Queen Bootlegs 1992 album. The first by Jack Benson and R.A.K. featured as a bonus track on 1991 reissues of The Game. The second was an instrumental remix by Dave Ogilvie. Stylistically, Dragon Attack is a funk rock song.
"Another One Bites the Dust"
"Another One Bites the Dust" was written by John Deacon. The song is known as a funk song and was released as a single at the suggestion of American singer Michael Jackson, who was a huge fan of the group and would often see them in concert when they came to Los Angeles. "Another One Bites the Dust" was a worldwide success reaching No. 1 in America and many other countries and in the UK it reached No. 7. After the success of the song, Queen recorded Hot Space, which was a more disco album. It is credited as Queen's best selling single, having sold 7 million copies worldwide. The song was played live from 1980 until the last tour with Mercury in 1986. Part of this song was performed during Queen medley songs by Extreme on The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in 1992.
"Need Your Loving Tonight"
"Need Your Loving Tonight" was written by Deacon. The song was released as a single in November 1980 and reached number 44 in the United States. The song was also played frequently during The Game Tour in 1980 and then less frequently in 1981, but was not played live thereafter.
"Crazy Little Thing Called Love"
"Crazy Little Thing Called Love" was written by Mercury while lounging in a bubble bath in the Bayerischer Hof Hotel in Munich, where Queen were staying during the making of The Game. In addition to playing guitar on the record, Mercury also played guitar in concert. The song peaked at No. 2 in the UK and No. 1 in the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States for four consecutive weeks. "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" also peaked at No. 1 in Australia, Canada, Mexico and Netherlands. The song has been covered by many artists. "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and "Another One Bites The Dust" were Queen's only No. 1 singles in the United States.
Side two
"Rock It (Prime Jive)" "Rock It (Prime Jive)" was written by Roger Taylor. The song begins with Mercury singing the intro and then Taylor sings the rest of the song. The song was only performed live in North and South America, and in Japan, during The Game and Hot Space Tours respectively.
"Don't Try Suicide" "Don't Try Suicide" was written by Mercury, and is Mercury's third and final song on the album. The song has never been performed live. The song was the B-side on the American release of "Another One Bites the Dust". In 1992, DJ Muggs remixed the track for inclusion on the later cancelled BASIC Queen Bootlegs compilation.
"Sail Away Sweet Sister" "Sail Away Sweet Sister (To the Sister I Never Had)" was written by May and features him on lead vocals. The bridge was sung by Mercury. The song was recorded in June/July 1979. It has never been performed live by Queen, but has been by Guns N' Roses and by Brian May himself during the Another world tour in 1998. The song was sampled by Das EFX on their 1998 track "Change" from the album Generation EFX.
The song has also been on compilation albums Deep Cuts, Volume 2 (1977-1982) and Queen Forever.