On October 28, 1977 Queen released their sixth studio album News of the World, which went 4x platinum in the US and sold over 6 million copies worldwide. The album featured the now universally known rock anthems “We Will Rock You” and “We are the Champions” as well as the lesser known gem “All Dead, All Dead” – a tune that was penned by Brian May about his experiences following the death of his childhood pet cat. In a 1983 interview with Guitar Magazine, May spoke fondly of the song:
“That’s one of my favourites. That was one of the ones which I thought came off best, and I was really pleased with the sound. It always gives me a surprise when I listen to it because it was meant to really bring tears to your eyes. It almost does it to me.”
In recognition of the 40th anniversary of this iconic album, an animated video has been released for the song “All Dead, All Dead.” The soundtrack for the song is an exclusive hybrid of the original rough mix from News Of The World: Raw Session and the final 1977 album version sung by May.
Perhaps the most exciting part of this new hybrid version are the Freddie Mercury vocals that were previously unheard outside Queen’s inner circle. The new lyric video was created by Unanico Studios and stars an animated version of May’s childhood pet cat Pixie exploring a mysterious world of cogs, pipes, wires and circuit boards. The scene is later revealed to be the inner working of the robot featured on the NOTW album cover. Check it out below.
