A kind of magic

The title of this article is ambiguous. For the song, see A Kind of Magic (song) .

A kind of magic
Studio album by Queen
Publication (s)	June 2, 1986
Label (s)	EMI / Parlophone ; Capitol , Hollywood Records (USA)
Format (s)	LP , MC , CD
Genre (s)	skirt
Title (number)	9 (LP, MC) or 12 (CD)
running time	53:28 (CD)
occupation	Freddie Mercury : vocals , keyboards John Deacon : bass guitar , keyboards, guitar Roger Taylor : drums , vocals, keyboards Brian May : guitars, vocals, keyboards Furthermore: Spike Edney : Keyboards. Lynton Naiff: String arrangement in One Year of Love . Steve Gregory : Saxophone in One Year of Love . Michael Kamen : Orchestra arrangement in Who Wants to Live Forever (together with Brian May). National Philharmonic Orchestra : Orchestra in Who Wants to Live Forever . Joan Armatrading : Incidental vocals in Don't Lose Your Head .
production	Queen / Mack or Queen / David Richards
Studio (s)	November 1985 - April 1986, in particular: The Townhouse Studios (London), Musicland Studios (Munich), Mountain Studios (Montreux)
chronology The Works (1984) A kind of magic Live Magic (1986)

A Kind of Magic is the twelfth studio album by the British rock group Queen , released in June 1986 . Many of the songs on the album can be heard in different versions in the film Highlander . The title of the eponymous song goes back to a quote from a film scene in which the shot Connor McLeod is resurrected and asked by a child who observed the scenery how that was possible. He replies: “It's a kind of magic.” (“It's a kind of magic.”).

The greatest popularity and most cover versions , however, were not achieved by the theme song, but Who Wants to Live Forever .

Track list

LP side 1:

1. One Vision (Queen / 1985) - 5:11
2. A Kind of Magic (Taylor) - 4:24
3. One Year of Love (Deacon) - 4:27
4. Pain Is So Close to Pleasure (Mercury / Deacon) - 4:22
5. Friends Will Be Friends (Mercury / Deacon) - 4:07

LP side 2:

1. Who Wants to Live Forever (May) - 5:17
2. Gimme the Prize (Kurgan's Theme) (May) - 4:34
3. Don't Lose Your Head (Taylor) - 4:38
4. Princes of the Universe (Mercury) - 3:33

CD bonus tracks ("Extra Magical Ingredients"):

1. A Kind of 'A Kind of Magic' (Taylor) - 3:37
2. Friends Will Be Friends Will Be Friends ... (Mercury / Deacon) - 5:58
3. Forever (May) - 3:20

The album was produced by Queen and Mack (tracks 1, 3, 4, 5, 9, 11) and by Queen and David Richards (tracks 2, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12). The sound engineers were Mack and David Richards and Croydon, respectively. The National Philharmonic Orchestra's recordings for Who Wants to Live Forever were recorded by Eric Tomlinson at Abbey Road Studios .

One Vision is a part of the film The Steel Eagle from 1986.

Chart placements

Albums

The album A Kind of Magic reached the following positions in the charts :

• # 1 - Great Britain (2 × platinum ).
• # 2 - Netherlands / Spain (2 × platinum).
• # 3 - Austria (platinum) / Portugal (silver).
• # 4 - Germany (platinum) / Switzerland (2 × platinum).
• # 5 - Norway.
• # 8 - Italy.
• # 9 - Sweden.
• # 25 - Japan.
• # 46 - USA ( gold ).

Singles

One Vision (November 4, 1985)

# 7: Great Britain; # 10: Australia; # 21: Netherlands; # 24: Switzerland; # 26: Germany; # 61: USA.

A Kind of Magic (March 17, 1986)

# 3: Great Britain; # 4: Ireland, Netherlands, Switzerland; # 5: France; # 6: Germany, Spain; # 10: Australia; # 12: Austria; # 23: New Zealand # 42: USA.

Princes of the Universe (March 1986: including Australia, Japan, USA)

# 32: Australia.

Friends Will Be Friends (June 9, 1986)

# 5: Ireland; # 14: Great Britain; # 17: Netherlands; # 19: Switzerland; # 20: Germany.

Who Wants to Live Forever (September 15, 1986)

# 24: Great Britain; # 52: Germany.

Pain Is So Close to Pleasure (1986/1987)

# 26: Netherlands; # 57: Germany.

One Year of Love (1986: France, Spain)

See also

List of number one hits in the UK charts (1986)