Queen Seven Seas Of Rhye - Song Facts

“SEVEN SEAS OF RHYE

Freddie Mercury / 2:48

Musicians

Freddie Mercury: lead vocals, piano

Brian May: guitars, backing vocals

John Deacon: bass

Roger Taylor: drums, tambourine, backing vocals

Roy Thomas Baker: Stylophone on “I Do Like to Be Beside the Seaside”

Ken Testi: backing vocals on “I Do Like to Be Beside the Seaside”

Recorded

Trident Studios, London: August 1973

Technical Team

Producers: Queen, Roy Thomas Baker

Sound Engineer: Roy Thomas Baker

Single

Side A: Seven Seas of Rhye / 2:48

Side B: See What a Fool I’ve Been / 4:32

UK Release on EMI: February 23, 1974 (ref. EMI 2121)

US Release on Elektra: June 20, 1974 (ref. EK-45891)

Best UK Chart Ranking: 10

Best US Chart Ranking: Did Not Chart”

“Seven Seas of Rhye” first appeared as the instrumental finale on Queen’s first album. 

The song, unfinished at the time, was reworked by Freddie Mercury with the aim of making it a hit. The track was chosen to be the only single from the group’s second album, with the unreleased “See What a Fool I’ve Been,” composed by Brian May, on the B-side. 

The song quickly became a hit after the group’s successful performance in front of 10 million television viewers during the BBC’s  Top of the Pops on February 21, 1974. 

Thus, Queen made the news a few weeks before setting out on their American tour as the supporting act for Mott the Hoople, and long before the band’s second album would actually be released. This strategy for promoting a group’s upcoming album holds just as true today: artists must obtain the maximum amount of public exposure prior to the release of their discs, which helps ensure a huger amount of sales from the first weeks of the record’s release.”

“Initially, Queen II was to open with “Seven Seas of Rhye” in order to ensure continuity with the first album. But the choice of “Procession” as an introduction proved to be a more workable option, and the single easily found its place at the end of the disc, where it would help hint at the more “mainstream” pop-rock direction that Queen would offer on their third album.”

“Production

To close the track, the four musicians called on their friends to sing a traditional popular tune, “I Do Like to Be Beside the Seaside,” popularized by Mark Sheridan in 1909. Queen and their friends form an apparently inebriated choir, including long-time friend of the musicians Ken Testi, who played the role of tour manager in their early days, where he struggled mightily to find concert dates while they were still unknown.

Although an air of mystery hangs over the Dubreq Stylophone used to accompany the voices, Brian May maintains that it was Roy Thomas Baker who played it, underlining the melody sung by the choir. This pocket instrument, equipped with a small keyboard and a pen, had its heyday when Brian Jarvis introduced it to the market in 1968.”

Info sourced from 

Queen All the Songs

Benoît Clerc

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