Flash (Queen song)

"Flash (song)" redirects here. For other songs of the same name, see Flash§Songs.

"Flash"
UK single picture sleeve
Single by Queen
from the album Flash Gordon
B-side"Football Fight"
Released
  • 24 November 1980 (UK)
  • 27 January 1981 (US)
RecordedOctober 1980
GenreHard rock[1]
Length
  • 3:29 (album version)
  • 2:48 (single version)
Label
Songwriter(s)Brian May
Producer(s)
Queen singles chronology
"Need Your Loving Tonight"
(1980) 		"Flash"
(1980) 		"Under Pressure"
(1981)
Music video
"Flash" on YouTube

"Flash" is a song by British rock band Queen. Written by guitarist Brian May, "Flash" is the theme song of the 1980 film Flash Gordon.

There are two versions of the song. The album version ("Flash's Theme") is in fact the start to the film, with all the dialogue from the first scene. The single version contains dialogue cut from various parts of the film, most memorably, Brian Blessed's character exclaiming "Gordon's alive?!" This version was also included on the Greatest Hits compilation from 1981.[2]

The song's lead vocals are shared by May and Freddie Mercury, with Roger Taylor adding high harmonies. May plays most of the instruments, except for the bass guitar and drums. He used an Imperial Bösendorfer piano (with 97 keys instead of 88, having an extra octave on the low range), an Oberheim OB-X synthesizer (as seen in the song's music video), and his homemade Red Special electric guitar.

The song reached number 10 on the UK Singles Chart and number three in Germany. On the U.S. charts, "Flash's Theme aka Flash" reached number 42 on the Billboard Hot 100. It peaked at number 39 on the Cash Box Top 100.[3]

Record World described the single version as a "supersonic cut with a chorus hook guaranteed to rescue tired holiday ears."[4]

  1. ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Flash's Theme - Queen | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
  2. ^ "Queen: Greatest Hits". Allmusic. Retrieved 12 May 2012
  3. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, February 21, 1981". Archived from the original on 13 February 2017. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  4. ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. 10 January 1981. p. 1. Retrieved 23 February 2023.