Few bands have reached the legendary status of Queen, and few singers have gained the respect and adoration that Freddie Mercury has accumulated in both life and death over the years. They simply changed what rock music could be in the 1970s and broadened its horizons to such a level that it’s difficult to imagine what the current musical landscape would look like if they’d never formed, such is their influence. So it will come as a delight to many to learn that Queen’s Roger Taylor and Brian May have discovered an old recording of a never before heard song featuring Freddie Mercury.
Recently sharing their revelation over the weekend on a special Zoe Ball broadcast on BBC 2 celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, Taylor revealed “We did find a little gem from Freddie that we’d kind of forgotten about, and it’s wonderful. Actually, it was a real discovery. It’s from the Miracle Sessions and I think it’s going to be out in September.” September will feel like all but a few days away by the time it rolls around for Queen fans who have been patiently waiting for moments like these to arrive since Mercury’s tragic passing in November of 1991. The song is called “Face It Alone” as reported by the Metro, and will be the first time the band have released new material featuring Freddie since their 2014 compilation album Queen Forever, which similarly comprised of “forgotten” songs sung by the unparalleled vocalist. Check out the video below to hear one.
When asked about how the gem was uncovered, Brian May said “It was kind of hiding in plain sight. We looked at it many times and thought, ‘Oh no, we can’t really rescue that’. But in fact, we went in there again and our wonderful engineering team went, ‘OK, we can do this and this’. It’s like stitching bits together. But it’s beautiful. It’s touching.”
The song was originally recorded for the bands second to last 1989 album The Miracle which consisted of songs like “I Want It All” and “Breakthru”, but was cut from the record. Now, in the permanent void of Mercury’s untimely death in November of 1991, most will feel this discovery from the cutting room floor to be somewhat of a miracle itself. With Taylor going on to call the song a “very passionate piece”, fans of the iconic vocalist and treasured band are hopefully in for quite an emotive treat, with the release due to grace our ears later in the year.
