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Radio Ga Ga

"Radio Ga Ga"
Radiogaga.jpg
Single by Queen
from the album The Works
B-side "I Go Crazy"
Released
  • 23 January 1984 (UK)
  • 7 February 1984 (US)
Format
Recorded August – October 1983
Genre
Length
  • 5:44 (Album/video version)
  • 4:23 (US radio edit)
  • 6:53 (12" extended version)
  • 6:01 (12" instrumental version)
Label
Writer(s) Roger Taylor
Producer(s)
Queen singles chronology
"Back Chat"
(1982)
"Radio Ga Ga"
(1984)
"I Want to Break Free"
(1984)

"Radio Ga Ga" is a 1984 song performed and recorded by the British rock band Queen, written by their drummer Roger Taylor. It was released as a single with "I Go Crazy" by Brian May on the original B-side (3:42) and was included on the album The Works. The song also features on the band's compilation albums, Greatest Hits II, and Classic Queen.

The single was a worldwide success for the band, reaching number one in 19 countries, number 2 in the UK Singles Chart and the Australian ARIA Chart, and number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. The band performed the song at every concert from 1984 to their last concert with lead singer Freddie Mercury in 1986, with their most notable performance at Live Aid in 1985.

Recorded in 1983 and released in January 1984, the song was a commentary on television overtaking radio's popularity and how one would listen to radio in the past for a favourite comedy, drama, or science fiction programme. It also pertained to the advent of the music video and MTV, which was now competing with radio as an important medium for promoting records. Ironically, Queen had done much to popularize the music video with "Bohemian Rhapsody" in 1975 and the video for "Radio Ga Ga" would become a regular staple on MTV in 1984. It was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award that year. Roger Taylor was quoted:

Taylor originally conceived of it as "Radio caca" (from something his toddler son once said), which doubled as a criticism of radio for the decrease in variety of programming and the type of music being played. "Radio Ga Ga" in one of the original cassette boxes is called 'radio ca ca'.


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