Play The Game

"When you're feeling down and your resistance is low

Light another cigarette and let yourself go..."

'Play the Game' is my favourite Queen song. It opens with a spacey rush of Oberheim OB-X synth and features one of Brian May's most rhapsodic solos. The exquisite Gershwin-esque vocal melody and 'fuck it!' lyrics are among Freddie's best. This is Queen at the peak of their powers: a four piece perfectly quartered.

Some years ago I saw a sketch on TV by (I think) Bill Bailey, which involved him dissecting the 'Play the Game' video. He pointed out that at exactly two minutes into the clip, John Deacon steadfastly refuses to play said game. A hilarious pop moment.

In an NME review of a Queen gig in the eighties, a journalist described John Deacon's bass-playing style as 'like a man trying to flick a wasp off his waist'.