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Released: June 3, 1986


Rating: 3.050 (average of 7 ratings)


Genre: classic rock/glam


Quotable: --


Album Tracks:

  1. One Vision
  2. A Kind of Magic
  3. One Year of Love
  4. Pain Is So Close to Pleasure
  5. Friends Will Be Friends
  6. Who Wants to Live Forever?
  7. Gimme the Prize (Kurgan’s Theme)
  8. Don’t Lose Your Head
  9. Princes of the Universe
  10. Forever


Sales:

sales in U.S. only ½ million
sales in U.K. only - estimated 600,000
sales in all of Europe as determined by IFPI – click here to go to their site. --
sales worldwide - estimated 5.5 million


Peak:

peak on U.S. Billboard album chart 46
peak on U.K. album chart 1 1


Singles/Hit Songs:

  • One Vision (11/16/85) #61 US, #7 UK, #19 AR
  • A Kind of Magic (3/29/86) #42 US, #3 UK
  • Friends Will Be Friends (6/21/86) #14 UK
  • Who Wants to Live Forever? (9/27/86) #24 UK


A Kind of Magic
Queen
Review:
“By the release of 1986’s A Kind of Magic, Queen’s stature as a prominent rock band in the U.S. had slipped considerably, while in all other parts of the world (especially Europe), they remained superstar hitmakers. A Kind of Magic was their biggest album yet in England, where it reached number one, remained on the charts for 63 weeks, and spawned several hit singles – the epic title track, the tuneful pop/rocker Friends Will Be Friends, and one of their most haunting ballads, Who Wants to Live Forever” (Prato).

“Most of the songs were written for the movie HighlanderGimme the Prize (Kurgan’s Theme), Princes of the Universe, the aforementioned ‘Who Wants to Live Forever,’ etc. – but instead of issuing just a movie soundtrack, the band added a few non-movie tracks and made an official Queen release out of it” (Prato). Most notable was the “the Live Aid-inspired hit anthem One Vision, which was originally released as a single in 1985” (Prato) and featured in the movie Iron Eagle.

“It may not have been as cohesive as some of their other albums, but A Kind of Magic was their best work in some time. Queen would embark on a sold-out tour of outdoor stadiums in Europe upon the album’s release, which would sadly turn out to be their final tour” (Prato).


Review Source(s):


Last updated January 18, 2009.