THROWBACK THURSDAY: Queen – Football Fight [November 1980]
With Bohemian Rhapsody likely to clean up at the Oscars this coming Sunday, it’s only fitting that for this week’s Throwback Thursday we pay tribute to a little-known synth pop gem from the quartet’s back catalogue.
Featuring the immortal lyric “Are your men on the right pills? Maybe you should execute their trainer?” – no, seriously! –Football Fight is a largely instrumental ditty from Side A of the Flash Gordon soundtrack.
It also wouldn’t sound out of place on a Hi-NRG dancefloor (or in a ZX Spectrum video game), and was clearly influenced by the ‘space disco’ movement of the period.
To be honest, we’re shocked that BOTH directors of the Bohemian Rhapsody movie didn’t give it a subtle nod… 🙂
Composed by Freddie Mercury, who contributes some excellent work on the Oberheim OBX synthesiser, it’s the backing track to one of the campiest moments of the Flash Gordon movie, as Flash uses his football-playing skills to see off Klytus’ henchmen.
Queen clearly enjoyed the track, awarding it B-Side status for the Flash single, released in November 1980.
Here’s the original movie clip, so the track can be taken in slightly more context.
An honourable mention should also go to Ming’s Theme (In the Court of Ming the Merciless), from the same soundtrack, which includes some of the darkest synth wave this side of Bauhaus.
All together now… “Gordon’s ALIVE?!?”
About Post Author
