Living On My Own

“Living On My Own” was the ninth track from iconic Queen’s frontman Freddie Mercury’s first (and sadly, only) solo album: “Mr. Bad Guy”. Released in 1985, the album features 11 tracks from Mercury himself, all written by him and released while Queen were on a hiatus. Mercury supposedly drew from disco and dance music influences for this album, which was an extreme contract to Queen’s staple rock work and style.

“Living On My Own” did not rank worldwide, peaking at #50 in the UK. However, in 1993, two years after the devasting death of Mercury, a remix of the track by the No More Brothers was released and chart worldwide at #1 in various countries. The Belgian dance producers were praised for the hit, particularly for keeping the original feel of the track, but making it a nineties dance hit.

In November 2012, the official music video for “Living On My Own” was uploaded to YouTube from Mercury’s channel. The video was a remastered version that was featured on a boxset titled “Never Boring”, that complied never before seen footage of Mercury himself. The video was originally banned, as it was controversial for its time: featuring drag queens, transvestites, male strippers and scantily clad men. Mercury sings the track in a lavish club filled with flowers, poles, disco balls and champagne. As of October 2019, the video has over 12.1 million views.

Release Date: 2nd September 1985

Songwriter/s: Freddie Mercury

Producer/s: Reinhold Mack & Freddie Mercury

Label/s: EMI / Sony Music

Chart Rankings & Certifications: The original version of the track charted at #50 in the UK. The 1993 remix (which was released after Mercury’s death) did significantly better, ranking #1 in the following countries: Denmark, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the UK. The remix also received Gold certification in the UK.