{"id":806978,"date":"2020-04-30T17:00:51","date_gmt":"2020-04-30T23:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/?p=992347"},"modified":"2020-04-30T17:00:51","modified_gmt":"2020-04-30T23:00:51","slug":"how-queen-changed-we-are-the-champions-to-assist-covid-19-relief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/music-news\/how-queen-changed-we-are-the-champions-to-assist-covid-19-relief\/","title":{"rendered":"How Queen Changed \u2018We Are the Champions\u2019 to Assist COVID-19 Relief"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Queen<\/a> + Adam Lambert<\/a> had to postpone their record-setting Rhapsody<\/em> tour to 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but they haven\u2019t let that stop them from uniting virtually to aid the relief effort. The band has created a new version of \u201cWe Are The Champions\u201d entitled \u201cYou are The Champions,\u201d along with a music video, to benefit the World Health Organization\u2019s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust like we sent our young men and women into two world wars to fight, these young men and women are now fighting for us and risking their lives every day,\u201d Queen guitarist Brian May<\/a> tells Rolling Stone<\/em>. \u201cThat\u2019s what this song has become about. It\u2019s for everyone who is out there working and putting their life at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n

The band has been sheltering at their respective homes since the Australian leg of the Rhapsody<\/em> tour wrapped on February 29th. \u201cI haven\u2019t seen my kids or my grandchildren for about three months or so,\u201d says May. \u201cThe feeling of loss of freedom and loss of ownership of your life is quite painful. Some days I think I\u2019m okay and I can deal with this, and some days I feel quite despondent.\u201d<\/p>\n

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To pass the time and lift his spirits, May began posting homemade performances onto his Instagram page<\/a>. They soon grew into guitar tutorials and something he called #JamWithBri where he invited fans to add their own parts onto his compositions. \u201cThe only platform I had, in a sense, was Instagram,\u201d he says. \u201cI couldn\u2019t even get to my studio since that is in the country and I\u2019m in town.\u201d<\/p>\n

He invited Queen drummer Roger Taylor and Adam Lambert one night to join the fun. \u201cI hoped we would then have something we could call a record,\u201d says May, \u201cand we could we use it in some way to help people through this crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n

They decided to tackle \u201cWe Are The Champions\u201d with a little alteration. Early thoughts revolved around changing the opening lyric to \u201cyou\u2019ve paid your dues\u201d to honor everyone working during the pandemic, but they felt unsure about changing something so iconic and beloved. It wasn\u2019t until Lambert laid down his vocals that he decided to tweak the chorus at the end to \u201cyou are the champions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe told him to experiment and maybe do a few different versions,\u201d says May. \u201cHe came up with changing those words in the last chorus and I think it was a very good solution, just perfect. It takes a different turn at the end.\u201d<\/p>\n

The experience brings May\u2019s mind back to the moment in 1977 when Freddie Mercury first presented the band with the song. \u201cWe all had slight doubt,\u201d says May. \u201cWe said, \u2018Fred, are you sure about this? Does this not sound big-headed?\u2019 Fred said, \u2018Don\u2019t be ridiculous. It\u2019s about everybody. That\u2019s the way everyone should feel. They can conquer. They have the power inside them. We are the champions means that we are all the champions.\u2019 We went, \u2018Oh, okay. We get it.’\u201d<\/p>\n