Which Queen songs did Roger Taylor write?

26 July 2024, 16:47

Celebrate the Queen drummer's birthday with a countdown of his classic songs - from I'm In Love With My Car through to Radio Ga Ga.

By Radio X

@RadioX

Roger Meddows Taylor celebrates his birthday on the 26th July so Radio X thought it was time to take a trip back through the Queen catalogue and work out which of their songs the drumme and vocalist has composed over the years.

Taylor was solely responsible for hits such as Radio Ga Ga, A Kind Of Magic and These Are The Days Of Our Lives, while co-writing big tunes like Innuendo and Thank God It's Christmas.

But Taylor's writing contribution goes back to the very first Queen album in 1973, so let's chart his greates moments with Queen.

Note: we've not included some of the well-known songs where Queen were credited for a group composition, for example One Vision and the classic Under Pressure, recorded with David Bowie.

1. Modern Times Rock 'N' Roll (from Queen, release date 6th July 1973)

   

   Queen - Modern Times Rock n Roll (Official Lyric Video)

   Roger Taylor's first writing credit on a Queen album was on their debut album from the summer of 1973. The track was later recorded in session for the BBC twice!

2. The Loser In The End (from Queen II, release date 8th March 1974)

   

   Queen - The Loser In The End (Official Lyric Video)

   Roger composed the song which closed the first side of the band's second album, and as usual with his songs he tool the lead vocal.

3. Stone Cold Crazy (from Sheer Heart Attack, release date 1st November 1974)

   Tenement Funster (from Sheer Heart Attack, release date 1st November 1974)

   

   Queen - Stone Cold Crazy (Live at the Rainbow ‘74)

   Taylor's two writing contributions to Queen's breakthrough album were Tenement Funster, part of a medley of three songs that included Freddie Mercury's Flick Of The Wrist and the live favourite Stone Cold Crazy, which is credited to all four members. The track was later covered by Metallica.

4. I'm In Love With My Car (from A Night At The Opera, release date 21st November 1975)

   

   Queen - I'm In Love With My Car (Official Video)

   The subject of much mockery in the Bohemian Rhapsody biopic, Taylor wrote this classic Queen tune about one of the band's roadies, Johnathan Harris, who only had eyes for his Triumph TR4 sports car. The track earned Taylor a huge stack of royalties when it was included as the b-side to the five-times Platinum selling Bohemian Rhapsody - something that caused some resentment between the band members.

5. Drowse (from A Day At The Races, release date 10th December 1976)

   

   Queen - Drowse (Official Lyric Video)

   An underrated Queen track, featuring Taylor on drums, vocals and guitar - with a delightful slide part from Brian May. Never played live, apparently.

6. Sheer Heart Attack (from News Of The World, release date 28th October 1977)

   

   Queen - Sheer Heart Attack (Official Lyric Video)

   Fight From The Inside (from News Of The World, release date 28th October 1977)

   Three years after issuing an album with the title Sheer Heart Attack, Roger Taylor finally finished the track of the same name, embracing the raucous sound of punk, which was threatening the airwaves at the time. The phrase was a favourite of Freddie Mercury's. Also on the News Of The World album was Fight From The Inside, which sees Taylor on drums, rhythm guitar and bass.

7. Fun It (from Jazz, release date 10th November 1978)

   More Of That Jazz (from Jazz, release date 10th November 1978)

   

   Queen - Fun It (Official Lyric Video)

   Taylor had two songs on Queen's 1978 album: the funky Fun It, which points the way to Another One Bites The Dust, with Roger and Freddie sharing vocals; and the slower paced closer More Of That Jazz.

8. Rock It (Prime Jive) (from The Game, release date 30th June 1980)

   A Human Body (b-side to Play The Game, release date 30th May 1980)

   

   Queen - Rock It (Prime Jive) (Official Lyric Video)

   Freddie Mercury sings the intro to Taylor's Rock It, which kicks off the second side of Queen's 1980 album - the drummer takes over for the rest of this New Wave-y tune. He also contrbuted the b-side to the Top 20 hit Play The Game.

   Taylor wrote the following pieces for the Flash Gordon soundtrack: In The Space Capsule (The Love Theme), In The Death Cell (Love Theme Reprise), Escape from the Swamp and with Brian May composed the Marriage of Dale and Ming.

9. Calling All Girls (from Hot Space, release date 21st May 1982)

   Action This Day (from Hot Space, release date 21st May 1982)

   

   Queen - Calling All Girls (Official Video)

   Calling All Girls was the first Queen single to be written by Roger Taylor - although only in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Check out the video, inspired by George Lucas's pre-Star Wars feature THX-1138. Action This Day is a drum machine-propelled dance track featuring a searing Freddie Mercury vocal.

10. Radio Ga Ga (from The Works, release date 27th February 1984)

    Machines (Or Back To Humans) (from The Works, release date 27th February 1984)

    

    Queen - Radio Ga Ga (Official Video)

    Roger Taylor had his biggest hit to date with the lead single from Queen's huge selling The Works album. An ode to the golden age of radio, the song was accompanied by a memorable video that spoofs the classic silent film Metropolis and inspired the greatest piece of audience participation (that is, the hand clapping chorus as seen at Live Aid. Machines was another Taylor song from The Works, which ended up as the b-side to I Want To Break Free.

11. Thank God It's Christmas (single, co-written with Brian May, release date 26th November 1984)

    

    Queen - Thank God It's Christmas (Official Animated Video)

    Despite being Number 1 over Christmas 1975 with Bo Rhap, this song was Queen's first and only tailor-made festive tune, written by Taylor and Brian May. It only made Number 21 in the UK charts, but this was also the Chrimbo that featured Wham!, Frankie Goes To Hollywood and Band Aid, so let's not be too harsh.

12. A Kind Of Magic (from the album A Kind Of Magic, release date 2nd June 1986)

    Don't Lose Your Head (from the album A Kind Of Magic, release date 2nd June 1986)

    A Dozen Red Roses For My Darling (b-side to A Kind Of Magic, release date 17th March 1986)

    

    Queen - A Kind of Magic (Official Video Remastered)

    Roger wrote the title song for Queen's twelfth album, which served as a soundtrack of sorts to the fantasy movie Highlander. The single peaked at Number 3, while the b-side and album track Don't Lose Your Head were also Taylor compositions.

    From The Miracle onwards, all tracks were credited to Queen, but it's known that Roger Taylor was the principle writer on the following songs:

13. Breakthru (co-written with Freddie Mercury, from The Miracle, release date 22nd May 1989)

    The Invisible Man (from The Miracle, release date 22nd May 1989)

    Hijack My Heart (b-side of The Invisible Man, release date 7th August 1989)

    

    Queen - Breakthru (Official Video Remastered)

    Roger Taylor penned one of Queen's funniest songs, The Invisible Man, plus its b-side Hijack My Heart; the drummer also offers the whispered vocals on the a-side. He also co-wrote the driving Breakthru, featuring one of the most entertaining videos of late-era Queen, as the band play on the back of a speeding train.

14. These Are The Days Of Our Lives (from Innuendo, release date 4th February 1991)

    Innuendo (co-written with Freddie Mercury, from Innuendo, release date 4th February 1991)

    Ride The Wild Wind (from Innuendo, release date 4th February 1991))

    

    Queen - These Are The Days Of Our Lives (Official Video)

    The final Queen album to be released during Freddie Mercury's lifetime included one of the band's six Number 1s in the shape of the epic title track, written by Taylor and Mercury. Roger also penned one of the most poignant songs in the group's catalogue, These Are The Days Of Our Lives, a lyric made all the more moving when accompanied by the final public appearance of Freddie in the official video. The song was paired with Bohemian Rhapsody in the aftermath of Mercury's death in November 1991.

15. Heaven For Everyone (from Made In Heaven, release date 6th November 1995)

    

    Queen - Heaven For Everyone (Official Video)

    Made In Heaven was a posthumous album of tracks recorded with Freddie Mercury before his untimely death in November 1991. The lead single, Heaven For Everyone, was originally written and recorded for Roger Taylor's side-project The Cross, which had included Freddie Mercury on backing vocals - luckily, he'd also taken a stab at a lead vocal, which is the take used on the Queen version.