Hammer to Fall

"Hammer to Fall"
UK single picture sleeve
Single by Queen
from the album The Works
A-side"Hammer to Fall" (Extended Version) (12" single only)[1]
B-side"Tear It Up"
Released10 September 1984 (UK)
12 October 1984 (US)
RecordedJanuary 1984
Genre
Length
  • 4:28 (album version)
  • 3:40 (single version)
  • 5:25 (12" Headbanger's version)
Label
Songwriter(s)Brian May
Producer(s)
Queen singles chronology
"It's a Hard Life"
(1984) 		"Hammer to Fall"
(1984) 		"Thank God It's Christmas"
(1984)
Music video
"Hammer to Fall" on YouTube

"Hammer to Fall" is a 1984 song by the British rock band Queen. Written by guitarist Brian May, the song is the eighth track on their 1984 album The Works.[4] It was the fourth and final single to be released from that album, although the single version was edited down by thirty seconds from the version on the album. Different sleeves were used to package this single and the live picture sleeve is now a collector's item. The song harks back to the old roots of the band, being built around a hard angular and muscular riff.

The song peaked at number 3 in South Africa, and 13 in the UK Singles Chart.[5] It was featured in the film Highlander, a movie for which the band had composed tie-in songs. The music video was filmed in Brussels during The Works Tour, and features drummer Roger Taylor wearing an oversized message T-shirt ("CHOOSE LIFE") created by Katharine Hamnett.

"Hammer to Fall" was the third song the band performed at Live Aid in 1985.[6][7][8] The song features in the setlist of both The Works Tour and The Magic Tour.[9][10] The full album version of the song appears on Queen Rocks while the single version appears on Greatest Hits II and Classic Queen.[4]

  1. ^ "Queen UK Singles Discography 1984-1991". www.ultimatequeen.co.uk.
  2. ^ Purvis, Georg (2007). Queen: Complete Works. Reynolds & Hearn. p. 60. ISBN 978-1-905-28733-8. Brian's love of hard rock is evident in 'Hammer To Fall'
  3. ^ "The Ten Heaviest Queen Songs Ever - Metal Hammer". TeamRock. 22 June 2017.
  4. ^ a b The Works Ultimate Queen. Retrieved 11 July 2011
  5. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums. London: Guinness World Records Limited
  6. ^ Stanford, Peter (24 September 2011). "Queen: their finest moment at Live Aid". The Telegraph. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference LAid was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Live Aid: Hammer to Fall Ultimate Queen. Retrieved 11 July 2011
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Works was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Magic was invoked but never defined (see the help page).