"I Was Born to Love You" is a 1985 song by Freddie Mercury that was released as a single from his first solo album, Mr. Bad Guy. After Mercury's death, Queen re-worked this song for their album Made in Heaven in 1995, by having the other members play their instrumental parts over the original track, transforming the song from disco to rock. The Queen version from the Made in Heaven album also includes snippets of Mercury's ad-lib vocals taken from "A Kind of Magic" and from "Living on My Own".

The song received its live debut on the 2005 tour of Japan, given by Queen + Paul Rodgers. Brian May and Roger Taylor performed the song acoustically. The song was also performed during the concerts given by Queen + Adam Lambert in South Korea and Japan, which was the first time that a full live band was used for the performance.

Music videos

The video for the original Freddie Mercury version of the song was directed by David Mallet and filmed at the now demolished Limehouse Studios, London. The video was choreographed by Arlene Phillips and shows Mercury singing in front of a wall of mirrors, then running through a house with a woman (Debbie Ash of Hot Gossip), before dancing on a podium.

The video for the version used on Made in Heaven was directed by Richard Heslop for the British Film Institute, and included on Made in Heaven: The Films. It shows inhabitants of a block of council flats. Couples kiss, kids play, and teenagers steal and destroy a car in a monochrome film. The audio also uses the vinyl edit.^[3]

For the 2004 re-release (see below), a video was created mixing footage of Mercury's original solo video intercut with footage of Queen performing live at Wembley Stadium, plus his solo video "Living on My Own". This video is included on Queen Jewels, the 2004 Greatest Karaoke Hits DVD, and the Japanese release of the documentary Days of Our Lives.

Appearances in other media

The song has appeared in multiple television advertisements, mainly in Japan. The original version recorded by Mercury appeared in the TV commercial of Japanese cosmetics company Noevia in the mid 1980s. The Queen version was released as a single exclusively in Japan in February 1996, because the song was used in a TV ad for Kirin Ichiban Shibori,^[2] one of the best-selling liquors of the country produced by the Kirin Brewery Company. The single became their first song that entered the Japanese chart since "Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)", released in 1977.

In 2004, Queen's version was used as the theme for Pride, the successful Japanese drama starring Takuya Kimura and Yūko Takeuchi. Jewels, Queen's tie-in compilation album released only in Japan, includes "I Was Born to Love You".

In Malaysia, Mercury's version, using a different mix, was used by Astro in TV advertisements to promote their coverage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.^[4] The advertisement, commissioned by Astro through agency Dentsu LHS Malaysia and created by Pesona Pictures Indonesia, also have an unused version, which used Queen's version of the song.^[5]

Track listings

7-inch single (1985)

A. "I Was Born to Love You" - 3:37

B. "Stop All the Fighting" - 3:17^[6]

12-inch single (1985)

A. "I Was Born to Love You" (Extended Version) - 7:03

B. "Stop All the Fighting" - 3:17

Personnel

Original version

Freddie Mercury - lead vocals, piano, synthesizer, Synclavier
Fred Mandel - synthesizer, rhythm guitar
Paul Vincent - lead guitar
Curt Cress - drums
Stephan Wissnet - bass guitar, Fairlight CMI
Reinhold Mack - Fairlight CMI, Synclavier II

Queen version

Freddie Mercury - lead and backing vocals, piano, keyboards
Brian May - electric guitar, keyboards
Roger Taylor - drums, percussion
John Deacon - bass guitar

Chart history

Freddie Mercury version

Chart (1985)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)^[7]	19
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)^[8]	20
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)^[9]	35
Ireland (IRMA)^[10]	7
Japanese Oricon Singles Chart	55^{[citation needed]}
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)^[11]	34
South African Singles Chart ^[12]	4
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)^[13]	24
UK Singles (OCC)^[14]	11
US Billboard Hot 100^[15]	76
West Germany (Official German Charts)^[16]	17
Chart (2016)	Peak position
Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100)^[17]	69

Queen version

Year	Chart	Peak position
1996	Japanese Oricon Chart	45
2004	Japanese Oricon Chart	1 (Re-Entry)

Chart (2018)	Peak position
Japan (Japan Hot 100)^[18]	63

Worlds Apart version

Chart (1997)	Peak position
West Germany (Official German Charts)^[19]	71

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Japan (RIAJ)^[20] Physical	Gold	100,000^{^}
Japan (RIAJ)^[21] Ringtone	2× Platinum	500,000^*
Japan (RIAJ)^[22] Full-length ringtone	Gold	100,000^*
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

External links

Freddie Mercury

Freddie Mercury
Discography
Studio albums	Mr. Bad Guy Barcelona
Compilations	The Freddie Mercury Album The Solo Collection Lover of Life, Singer of Songs Messenger of the Gods: The Singles Never Boring
Singles	"I Can Hear Music" "Love Kills" "I Was Born to Love You" "Made in Heaven" "Living on My Own" "Love Me Like There's No Tomorrow" "Time" "The Great Pretender" "Barcelona" "The Golden Boy" "In My Defence"
Other songs	"There Must Be More to Life Than This"
Depictions	Mercury: The Afterlife and Times of a Rock God (play) Freddie Mercury: The Great Pretender (documentary) Bohemian Rhapsody (film)
Related	The Hectics Sour Milk Sea Smile Queen 17473 Freddiemercury The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert Mercury Phoenix Trust Cirolana mercuryi Mercurana Heteragrion freddiemercuryi Logan Place

Queen songs

Queen songs
Queen	"Keep Yourself Alive" "Liar"
Queen II	"Seven Seas of Rhye"
Sheer Heart Attack	"Killer Queen" "Now I'm Here" "Flick of the Wrist" "Lily of the Valley" "Stone Cold Crazy" "Brighton Rock"
A Night at the Opera	"Bohemian Rhapsody" "You're My Best Friend" "Death on Two Legs (Dedicated to...)" "I'm in Love with My Car" "'39" "Sweet Lady" "The Prophet's Song" "Love of My Life" "Good Company" "God Save the Queen"
A Day at the Races	"Somebody to Love" "Tie Your Mother Down" "Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)" "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy" "Long Away"
News of the World	"We Will Rock You" "We Are the Champions" "Spread Your Wings" "It's Late" "Sheer Heart Attack"
Jazz	"Bicycle Race" "Fat Bottomed Girls" "Don't Stop Me Now" "Mustapha" "Jealousy"
The Game	"Crazy Little Thing Called Love" "Save Me" "Play the Game" "Another One Bites the Dust" "Need Your Loving Tonight"
Flash Gordon	"Flash's Theme"
Hot Space	"Under Pressure" "Body Language" "Las Palabras de Amor (The Words of Love)" "Calling All Girls" "Staying Power" "Back Chat"
The Works	"Radio Ga Ga" "I Want to Break Free" "It's a Hard Life" "Hammer to Fall" "Is This the World We Created...?"
A Kind of Magic	"One Vision" "A Kind of Magic" "Princes of the Universe" "Friends Will Be Friends" "Pain Is So Close to Pleasure" "Who Wants to Live Forever" "One Year of Love"
The Miracle	"I Want It All" "Breakthru" "The Invisible Man" "Scandal" "The Miracle"
Innuendo	"Innuendo" "I'm Going Slightly Mad" "Headlong" "These Are the Days of Our Lives" "The Show Must Go On" "I Can't Live with You" "Ride the Wild Wind"
Made in Heaven	"Heaven for Everyone" "A Winter's Tale" "Too Much Love Will Kill You" "I Was Born to Love You" "Let Me Live" "You Don't Fool Me" "Made in Heaven" "Mother Love"
Queen Rocks	"No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)"
Queen Forever	"Let Me in Your Heart Again" "Love Kills" "There Must Be More to Life Than This"
Other songs	"Thank God It's Christmas" "Face It Alone"
Category

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