'Fat Bottomed Girls' reciprocates with 'Get on your bikes and ride!' The two songs were released together as a double A-sided single.įilmed by Denis de Vallance, the promotional video featured 65 nude women, all professional models, bicycle racing at Wimbledon Greyhound Stadium, southwest London. The song references the band's song ' Fat Bottomed Girls' with the line 'fat bottomed girls, they'll be riding today'. The lyrics are topical for the time and contain social, political, and pop culture references, such as religion, Vietnam War, Watergate, cocaine, fictional characters ( Peter Pan, Frankenstein and Superman), and the films Jaws and Star Wars.īrian May has said that the song was not an autobiographical portrait of Mercury and that Mercury did not particularly enjoy bicycling, also noting that despite the lyric 'I don't like Star Wars', Mercury was a Star Wars fan. The Beginning of the song is a parody of the entrance choir of the Bach cantata BWV 99: 'What God does, that is well done'!Ĭash Box called it 'a jaunty theatrical tribute to bike riding.' Record World said that it combines 'inventive lyrics and harmonies' with class. The song has an unusual chord progression with numerous modulations, a change of metre (from 4Ĥ) in the bridge, and multitracked vocal and guitar harmonies.

Around the middle of the song is a solo played with numerous bicycle bells. The chorus is followed by two verses connected with a bridge, both followed by a chorus. It starts with a chorus unaccompanied by instruments. The song was written by Freddie Mercury and was inspired by watching the 18th stage of the 1978 Tour de France passing Montreux, where the band were recording Jazz in the Mountain Studios. The song itself has appeared in various media with a bicycle theme. The controversial video was edited or even banned in several countries.

The song is notable for its video featuring a bicycle race with nude women at Wimbledon Stadium. The song is included in their 1981 Greatest Hits compilation. It was released as a double A-side single together with the song ' Fat Bottomed Girls', reaching number 11 in the UK Singles Chart and number 24 in the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. It was released on their 1978 album Jazz and written by Queen's lead singer Freddie Mercury. ' Bicycle Race' is a song by the British rock band Queen.

Hinson professional bicycle racer