A new version of Freddie Mercury’s 1986 single “Time” has been released under its original full title, “Time Waits for No One.”

It focuses on the Queen icon’s lead vocal performance, removing the 48-track backing vocals and instrumental parts, and adding a new piano track by original performer Mike Moran.

You can watch the new video below, followed by the original.

“Time Waits for No One” was written by Dave Clark, leader of the ‘60s British invasion band the Dave Clark Five. It was the title track of the musical Time, which starred Sir Laurence Olivier and Cliff Richard and ran for two years in London’s West End in the ‘80s. The work was accompanied by a concept album, which featured Mercury along with Julian Lennon, Dionne Warwick and others.

Last year Clark discovered the original tapes in his archive, and retrieved the original music video film, to create new versions of both. “We got on great,” he said of the sessions in Abbey Road Studios in 1986. “If I didn’t like something, I’d say, and vice versa. ... We were both aiming for the same thing: to make something special.”

Clark called the video – recorded on the Time stage in three hours in order to minimize disruption to the show – a “magic performance,” adding that Mercury “tasted every word.”

In a video interview around the time of the original release, the singer said that “after having met [Clark], he sort of said, ‘I like the one-to-one approach.’ I said, ‘Well, that’s the way you’ve got me.’ He just sort of phoned me up and said, ‘Would you like to do Time?’ And I’d read about it. … He said, ‘Look, you don’t have to be committed to anything. You can listen to the tracks … and if you don’t like them, fine. And I loved that approach.”

“‘Time Waits for No One’ is a tribute to the musical force of Freddie Mercury," Virgin EMI said in a statement. "The performance, the drama, the vocal range. ... After four decades waiting in the wings, [it's] finally out for new and old fans alike, a stunning eulogy to the Queen frontman, produced and directed by one of his closest friends.”

The single will be released tomorrow.

Queen + Adam Lambert launch their new tour next month. You can find ticket information here.

 

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