Best and Worst: Queen's Goofy Songs! (w/Martin Popoff)

[@1afta9o9]

The solo in I Want to Break Free is not Brian. It's a synth solo by keyboardist Fred Mandel

[@MartinPopoff]

I kinda thought that as I was saying it... noted.

[@AngeloMicciche-k7x]

@@MartinPopoffWhatever the view given on Man On The Prowl, Fred Mandell did a killer piano solo on it, as he did for concert versions of Crazy Little Thing Called Love.

[@attichatchsound-bobkowal5328]

I think "Tongue-in- Cheek" better captures the spirit of these songs. There's a British wry sensibility as well. Part of their charm is not talking themselves too seriously.

[@DonaldMains]

Seaside Rendezvous is my favorite " goofy" song. Just can't be sad listening to it. It's just a jollification.

[@AngeloMicciche-k7x]

As a matter of fact 😁

[@yankeefan1208]

One of the strangest back to back tracks on any Queen album is the blistering heavy Death on Two Legs followed by the whimsical Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon. It still makes me laugh to this day when I play them together.

[@FreddieM-p8r]

10,000%

[@martinalther6661]

Maybe it’s because of my metal background, but I never found Death On Two Legs to be THAT harsh. It’s certainly not evil or mean-spirited - just really angry and bitter!

[@orchidcarpetcleaningrp6061]

Lazing on a Sunday After noon absurd 1920's sounding gem.Noel Coward Rocks

[@gkirms]

'Delilah' from 'Innuendo'. I believe from what I have heard that Brian and the band didn't want to include this song on the album but because Freddie was where he was at they decided to let him do it. A goofy song but I always thought it fit on the album.

[@plagiator._]

For me, "Good Old Fashioned Boy" is the best "goofy" song of Queen and also my favorite song by them. Such a good feelin song.

[@biffalverado1024]

Martin and Pete's reaction to their picks is what makes Queen so great.

[@louderthanlife]

I think Mercury's approach to including pastiche numbers on those early Queen albums was probably to some degree inspired by McCartney's tendency to do the same on Beatles albums. As silly as some of those Beatles songs may seem to some people, I think they were instrumental in sort of redefining what rock and roll bands could get away with. I think Freddie took the McCartney playbook and ran with it in a lot of respects. Good on him, as it left us with some insanely great, timeless music. Freddie's knowledge of stuff like vaudeville, tin pan alley, folk, etc was super impressive. Those songs don't sound like some dude with talent simply mimicing old timey songs. You can hear he had an in-depth understanding of the sonics, song structure, choice of instruments and language used in those types of numbers. All that said, here's my top 10 "goofy" Queen songs: 1. Bohemian Rhapsody 2. Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy 3. Bring Back That Leroy Brown 4. The Fairy Feller's Master Stroke 5. Seaside Rendezvous 6. Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon 7. Bicycle Race 8. Good Company 9. Don't Try Suicide 10. Dreamer's Ball

[@philipmansfield7984]

The Fairy Feller's Master Stroke, lyrically is based on the painting of the same name by Richard Dadd in c1855 -1860 whilst he was in, what was called a mental asylum. The characters in the lyrics are all in the painting.

[@WordDustNYC]

You beat me to it. I used to have a Litho of this back in College.Do not stare at it stoned😂

[@thorkildsvane5877]

Thank you guys for another "Goofing around in the Fun House"😄👍! Naturally Freddie Mercury is the main provider of these "goofy"songs" - he is all through the Queen catalog. Maybe I will take some heat for this: But from Queen's british background with Ballroom og Variety (Vaudeville) I consider most of these songs picked not goofy but whimsy! Another great positive pick would be Brian May's "All Dead All Dead" - again about a cat🐈😉!

[@christianhaynes1954]

Thanks gentlemen for another great funhouse !

[@GalaxyRover1020]

I always took it that Queen's "Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon" was "inspired" by The Small Faces - "Lazy Sunday Afternoon". Plus the Kinks tune of course.

[@carl-johanfougstedt199]

Fun show! My two favorite goofy songs from Queen are Bicycle Race and Flash.

[@sjord67]

When Martin mentions You and I, i think he means Millionaire Waltz due to his interpretation of the piano bit. Both great songs

[@DukeEnlil]

Fred Mandel is a canadian musician who played a synth solo for I Want To Break Free also Radio Ga Ga, from 1982-1984 played with Queen, also he was playing with Anthrax, Elton John, Pink Floyed (The Wall), Alice Cooper, Brian May ( Star Fleet), Martin Popoff should know fellow canadians)))

[@sophiehanssel2017]

He also played on Brian May's 1983 solo album "Star Fleet". Amazing pianist!

[@wernermoritz882]

I have always liked Crazy Little Thing Called Love, great song, great production, they really nailed the sound of this style. The production even got praise from John Lennon back then.

[@carncats07]

Really loved this video. Great concept.

[@Lilah1754]

Love Queen! Fun video to watch. Goofy songs, really are so goofy !!

[@hardrockingtriviashow667]

Best of Goofy Queen tunes: Action this day Breakthru Seaside Rendezvous Back chat Radio Gaga I want to break free Bicycle Race I'm in love with my car Get down Make Love Fat Bottom Girls Killer Queen

[@NigelSmith66]

Interesting show guys. That said, I wouldn't describe "Killer Queen", "Radio Gaga" and "A Kind Of Magic" as goofy. To me they are simply very good rock/pop songs. And hey, I'm not a lyrics guy!

[@bobsala7780]

My favorite is "Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon". I love how the lyrics paint a picture of a posh 1930s Brit who thinks he's "just an ordinary guy" but then on Fridays he goes "painting in the Louvre".

[@admarhermans1]

🎯 I’am afraid they only get 50% of what Queen really was, especially what Freddie was all about...

[@srvuk]

Songs with a stereotypically British sensibility, sense of humour and self parody. But being British, on occasion it may not cross the cultural ponds to the same response and with the same perspective. Some of those on this list seem odd though but then this is Popoff and Pardo (especially Popoff), so anything can happen in the next half hour. And it does. Hot Space is less goofy and just bad on the whole. All good fun though.

[@andrewcarr5923]

Well put.

[@gaznathemoon1128]

Delilah...When you pee all over my Chippendale suite..haha..about his beloved cat..goofy..so sweet..i like it.

[@TheMetalMisfits]

This episode makes me excited for the future song episodes as you guys sing these songs. 😂

[@gwts1171]

I always say that I don't like "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", but if it comes on, I will sing along to it. It helps that it's so short, too. "Bicycle Race" has to be my favorite goofy song of theirs. Also, Jazz is easily my favorite Queen album.

[@ByronWarfield]

I enjoy the dialogue, and lists! Fred Mandell played the solo in "I Want To Break Free." He's a master musician. He, Morgan Fisher, and Spike Edney are all brilliant in their own right.

[@saraherb1445]

I've never had such an animated conversation at my phone screen...

[@Fritha71]

16:49 Pete's head shake and frown while Martin is showing the album cover of Hot Space and talking about 'Calling All Girls'😄 Listening to it right now, definitely not Queen at their most epic but it sounds like decent early eighties flavoured pop, obviously new wave inspired, haha. Not bad, actually, I'm with Martin! And I love the video for I Want to Break Free, it was still played constantly on pan-European music channels in 1986! Different story in the US, I know. Killer Queen, my perennial favorite song by the band. But I'm still more of a "knows thirty five Queen songs" type of person.

[@vagabond197979]

After watching a number of these episodes I can only conclude that Martin has terrible taste in music.

[@brianpirie5490]

It's a wide and weird range but I don't think thats accurate at all..saying that Hot Space is rubbish

[@stevewhiteside4525]

I think Pete hit the nail on the head when he said songs like Lazing ... is the reason a lot of people don't like Queen. When I was at uni in the mid 70s and we were listening to band like Yes, Genesis, King Crimson, Greenslade, Focus, Wishbone Ash, Fairport Convention, Deep Purple, etc, etc, Queen no more entered into our consideration than Mungo Jerry, Dawn, or Donny Osmond. I like a lot of their individual songs and retrospectively came to really like the first two albums, but as Martin almost said _all_ of their songs are basically novelty songs.

[@stilettos9]

The solo on "I want to break free" was actually a synth one played by Fred Mandel.

[@andrewrobinson2934]

I already know I'm gonna like this one

[@AaronC143]

Bicycle Race is my #1 favorite Queen song. Jazz is my all-time favorite studio album.

[@scottross2762]

FLASH! AH AAAAHH!!

[@kamranmalik8546]

Worst: Body Language, Cool Cat, The Invisible Man, Breakthru Best: Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon, Fat Bottomed Girls, Bicycle Race, Don't Stop Me Now

[@simonrichards3225]

I actually love Machines or Back to Humans, and get it. I quite like Don't Try Suicide too, even if it's considered too flippant for a serious subject.

[@andrewcarr5923]

An American and a Canadian completely missing the English sense of humour especially Pete who has an uncanny hatred for Deep Purples Anyone's Daughter, although I agree with you on Machines Back To Humans and the Majority of Hot Space.

[@dmac3316]

I’ve always found Queen hit and miss personally. Some really great stuff I’ve totally dug then a bunch of tunes that I just don’t get at all.

[@toneman8478]

Dead on Time is a great song!!

[@7BobbyGaylor7]

Great video! Bicycle Race would be on my list of best goofy Queen songs and Radio Ga Ga would be on my worst list of goofy songs by Queen. Cheers

[@theuninivitedguest]

The video for I Want To Break Free is taking the mickey out of a UK soap called Coronation Street and there is no guitar solo in the song as it was a synth solo by Fred Mandel because John Deacon didn't want a guitar solo in it. That's why Brian hates the song.

[@FelixNemo]

Don’t Stop Me Now was a sleeper with a throw away video done in a couple of hours minimal effort. Over the years its popularity grew and now major hit. Is Cool Cat similar? No one gave it a second thought when it came out. But it’s steadily increasing in down loads as musical tastes change. Very minimalistic. Modern. Gorgeous. Freddie never met a musical genre he didn’t like. Plenty of Queen songs to tick off even the most ardent fan. 😆 Who cares if a track is goofy? The worst - the only - crime is boring.

[@markhuntington9149]

I don’t really get this episode, to me, goofy means stupid and unlistenable. I prefer the term eccentric maybe but my all time favorite Queen songs run the gamut between hard rock classics and the eccentricity

[@AngeloMicciche-k7x]

As an unapologetic Queen fan, I loved this and most of these songs. Just a few notes: 1. We Will Rock You is great in its live and fast, show opener version. 2. I love Cool Cat and Another One Bites The Dust. Genre songs, perhaps, but not quirky or goofy imho. 3. Martin, did you mix up the lovely You And I with the equally great and idiosyncratic The Millionaire Waltz from the same album, ADATR? Killer Song writing by Mr Deacon on one, killer bass on both. 4. Rightly, much love here for Jazz. 5. Funny How Love Is on Queen II is a Beach Boy homage, almost a sequel to I Can Hear Music, when Fred and the boys released it under the name Larry Lurex.

[@piripi40]

Goofy bad - Party, Body Language, Cool Cat, My Baby Does Me, Fun It. Goofy good - In Love with my Car, Bohemian Rhapsody, March of the Black Queen, I’m Going Slightly Mad, Bring Back that Leroy Brown

[@MetalMan73100]

I so agree with Martin on Crazy Little Thing Called Love. Never liked it, always found it annoying, but my friends all loved it!

[@glerp10000000000]

I can't stand I Want To Break Free or Radio GaGa. Or most post The Game Eighties Queen except for Hammer To Fall, One Vision, and Breakthru. Innuendo was the only album after that I liked. Queen WERE goofy for the most part, so I was interested to see how this went. Seaside Rendezvous, Leroy Brown, and those sort of songs were what made them unique. On to the heavy ones...

[@jimekberg]

I'm in Love with My Car is one of the best Qeen songs.

[@DonaldMains]

I would much rather hear a inventive dance hall/ vaudeville song from Queen or McCartney than another almost any mindless hard rock song with the same three chords and mundane drum beat.

[@davidstuart1756]

The scary thing is that all these pastiches of 20s and 30s songs were of an era 50 years prior to the band. We are almost 50 years from the Queen songs.

[@MartinPopoff]

Nice point - very interesting.

[@daicullinane7746]

I'd rather "Lazing", "Leroy Brown" and "Lover Boy" than "Bo Rhap".

[@brandon1351]

The Invisible Man video is awesome, fun. The Multi-Mays during the guitar solo

[@thomasbonnett4800]

Maybe I’m missing what constitutes a “goofy” song. I’m not a fan of “Body Language,” but when I think goofy I think intentionally so, and for good or ill Queen seemed pretty earnest about the entire “Hot Space” album. Same with “My Baby Does Me.” (and several others mentioned) Maybe I’m conflating “novelty” with “goofy.”

[@JIF882]

You aren't the only one. I don't think of any Queen song post '70s as goofy.

[@GenghisJohn69]

Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon and Killer Queen for sure

[@chrisharper6088]

The Hero , from the Flash Gordon sound track, very underrated song, used as the opening track for the Hot Space tour.

[@JIF882]

That song isn't goofy

[@SpanjeOngehoord]

Shoot me, but 'The Invisible Man' is my ultimate Queen song: what a fantastic guitar solo!!! Worst goofy songs: 'I'm In Love With My Car' and 'Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon' (Queen trying to be The Beatles of The Kinks); terrible.

[@brettengland192]

'Action This Day' is an awesome song. It is sung primarily by Roger Taylor, by the way.

[@JIF882]

Incorrect. Freddy sings the main part of the song. Roger answers him on some sections

[@Rockstardust69]

It's their sense of humour coming out maybe a show on their most intense songs would be cool cheers guys

[@jwaller132]

I never heard "Cool Cat" until it was part of that commercial featuring the girl with the unibrow. I listened to the whole song yes it's not good. 😢

[@Fastnbulbous1969]

A lot of the music hall influenced crap in the earlier albums, I think you have to be British to appreciate it. I like Hot Space overall and would go as far to say that it could be more consistent than The Game. I grew up surrounded by disco and funk, so that direction did not seem all that surprising. "Get Down Make Love" was always good for laughs.

[@JIF882]

I'm not British, but I dig those songs

[@AlexDizzys]

There's no guitar solo in I Want to Break Free. It's a synthesizer solo. It's not a top secret knowledge.

[@Leo-ci9kc]

I have to agree with Martin that Bohemian Rhapsody has to be the best goofy song ever!

[@dankelly-jl8xn]

Nadir is Body Language from the career killing ( in America) Hot Space. An album that stalled at 22, after The Game hit 1.

[@jimmyfrost5065]

Goofy video, thanks! I like most of Queen's goofiness

[@jean-philippedaniel509]

Fun topic. Exactly the reason why Queen is the archetypal greatest hits band in my opinion.

[@ronnienose8608]

Only one good track on Hot Space, 'Under Pressure'

[@DonaldMains]

uh No, Queen is definitely not the archetypal greatest hits band. Queen's catalog is much more than greatest hits. There are gems of deep cuts on every album.

[@AngeloMicciche-k7x]

@@DonaldMainsAnd a great run of albums in the 70s.

[@stephenbrown4211]

Rock It (Prime Jive) Fat Bottomed Girls Seaside Rendezvous Sorry there isn’t a worst

[@mikejohnson7225]

I guess I must be goofy… I love all of those songs! 🤪

[@tommyaddison6539]

Same here!

[@Lilah1754]

Same here! Lol

[@micolsen9824]

Wish I was into Queen, cuz it seems like a great idea for a topic. Later gents.

[@purpletemple1]

Goofy episode...

[@jonathanlundeen8954]

Of course Martin doesn't like two of their biggest hits,no surprise from the man who loves Never Say Die and Technical Ecstasy

[@ericrobertson2024]

Which band tarnished their legacy more ?? Aerosmith with the post Vacation albums ? or Queen with the 1982-89 releases ??

[@andrewcarr5923]

Neither.

[@ericrobertson2024]

@@andrewcarr5923 Queen with 4 sub par albums and Aerosmith with around 7 horrible albums to end their career,so I'd say Aerosmith.

[@Pehennji]

Worst or best, no mention of the wedding march? Really? What can be more goofy than an electric guitars harmonized wedding march?

[@JIF882]

That's not a goofy song

[@neilwales7543]

Your My Best Friend👌👌👌

[@marksimpson4258]

Queen most listed to band in the uk 🇬🇧 in 2024... 1 In 3 houses has a queen greatest hits album 👍

[@adamsmashups4839]

Machines kicks ass!

[@jeffrose8632]

Radio ga ga…no. Lazin’ on a Sunday afternoon…yes. Go Dodgers!

[@michaelt.b264]

How do you do goofy Queen songs and neither one of you has Seaside Rendezvous or dreamers ball on your list?

[@FranciscoAntonio-ec9fs]

I like a lot Queen goofy side. I love guitar riff and solo of The invisible Man and Kind of Magic is a great pop rock song.

[@adamsmashups4839]

Martin;You said And You And I but at 15:35 it sounds like maybe you are actually talking about Millionaire Waltz?

[@MartinPopoff]

I kinda thought that as I was saying it - you're right. I knew there was something weird about that.

[@JIF882]

Yeah. And You And I isn't goofy. That's just a simple Pop song

[@adamsmashups4839]

@@JIF882 Oops,I meant You and I.Queen are my favorite band,but for some reason I was thinking of my second favorite...

[@mehernoshtarapore8902]

Bring that Leroy back down misfire see what a fool I've been

[@Paolo8772]

I would've included Seaside Renezvous.

[@JIF882]

That's one of my favorite Queen songs. I remember when Wal-Mart used to have listening stations. I scanned A Night On The Opera, fast forwarded until that song caught my ear, and decided then and there to buy that cd

[@powrnap]

I kinda think that Who Needs You and My Melancholy Blues unfortunately render News Of The World a less than perfect album.

[@sjwill1956]

My first intro to Queen was II ... and moving forward we got progressively less of that and more of the goofy Freddie and john stuff... still bought hoping for a return but always disappointed over the last 10 years .. I think this made me realize just how disappointing they were through the 80's ....agree with Pete.. Hot Space is pure garbage and the only Queen studio album I do not own .. and JAZZ is a underrated gem IMO

[@MrUnmutual2014]

You really stretched the definition of goofy with a lot of these picks.

[@zylbher1]

"crazy little thing called love" Goofy song ? It's a tribute to Elvis, first number 1 in U.S.A a Classic Queen song, what do You know Mr popoff?

[@marksimpson4258]

Hot space rubbish..... We will rock you..... Is a British hit evey weekend at the football ⚽ (soccer)

[@TheMafrand]

This was fun. Martins worst could be my best for some of it. And the other way around. I absolutely hate Mustafa.

[@hardrockingtriviashow667]

I agree with you. "Mustafa" is the only song "Jazz" that I skip.

[@robertadams998]

What will always save RAdio Ga Ga is their iconic version of it at Live Aid.

[@wernermoritz882]

And the great music video!

[@Fritha71]

I had no idea it needed any saving, it's a very well loved song among the general public AND Queen fans.

[@stephenbaumgartner4197]

Wow

[@rickrobb6546]

QUEEN ................................................. RULES

[@juanpsosa71]

You have a huge wide concept of "goofy song". Considering goofy "You and I", "Man on the Prowl", "Machines - Back to Human", "We Will Rick You" or "Bohemian Rhapsody"? Wow. With your criteria, almost 90% of the Queen songs are goofy

[@scarfface24]

Exactly !!! I gather that, in the opinion of the hosts, anything that is not hard rock (or ballad?) by Queen is considered "goofy" ! I cannot agree with that, but it's their opinion. However, I cannot, for the life of me, understand why they categorise "Fat Bottomed Girls" (a straight up hard rock song!) as "goofy" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@seaoftranquilityprog]

@@scarfface24look at the lyrics….totally goofy! But I love it!

[@AlexDizzys]

Best Killer Queen (best ever) Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy Crazy Little Thing Called Love Bicycle Race Fun It Another One Bites the Dust Cool Cat (other songs on this album are far from being goofy you both just don't get it) I'm Going Slightly Mad My Melancholy Blues Bring Back That Leroy Brown Worst '39 (crappy country bollocks) A King of Magic Pain Is So Close To Pleasure You Don't Fool Me All God's People Delilah Bijou Good Company Sleeping on the Sidewalk It's a Beautiful Day (it's not goofy but so pompous to that level that it's ridiculous)

[@DonaldMains]

How is Sleeping on the Sidewalk goofy? or Melancholy Blues? I would never use the word goofy to describe either of them.

[@peterjames8039]

Pete, because you had Body Language at #10 in your worst list, does that mean you think those other 9 songs are all worse? 🤯

[@seaoftranquilityprog]

No...for me, 10 is the worst.

[@lateramae]

In many ways, Queen are a weird band, but that's what makes them so great!

[@vovindequasahi]

Oh boy yes oh my god does The Invisible Man and Don't Try Suicide suck! I mean what the hell were they thinking? Thank you for daring to besmudge Another One Bites the Dust!!! One of the most overrated songs of all time. I'll tell you this: I like Hot Space A LOT more than I like The Works and The Miracle.

[@johansoderberg6546]

IMO i think shitting on songs is silly, especially the older one gets.

[@frankies9465]

Great show ! In cleveland im a huge Guardians fan. Hope to play the Mets in the World series, Pete . My best of their quirky songs is death on 2 legs . Worst is Body Language. Queen is that band where i dislike most of their hits and i love alot of their albums. But only from 73 to 80

[@Ron-wf5yw]

Umm....

[@gerardmensoif3774]

Worst goofy critic : Martin Popoff

[@MartinPopoff]

Hey, fair game, I've even more sick of me than you are.

[@gerardmensoif3774]

@@MartinPopoff 🫣