Greatest Hits II (Queen album)
1991 greatest hits album by Queen
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Greatest Hits II is a compilation album by the British rock band Queen, released on 28 October 1991.[3] The album consisted of Queen's biggest hits between 1981 and 1991, from the UK chart-topper "Under Pressure" to "The Show Must Go On".
| Greatest Hits II | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Greatest hits album by | ||||
| Released | 28 October 1991 | |||
| Recorded | 1981–1990 1981–1995 (2011 Japan reissue edition) | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 76:32 | |||
| Labels |
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| Queen chronology | ||||
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The compilation Greatest Hits II reached number one on the UK Albums Chart, and is the tenth best-selling album in the UK with sales of 3.9 million copies as of 2014.[4] It is the seventh best-selling album in Germany,[5] the thirteenth best-selling album in France,[6] and the best-selling album by a foreign artist in Finland.[7][8] Accumulated sales (Greatest Hits II and Classic Queen for the US and Canada combined) are in excess of 25 million worldwide.[9][10]
Freddie Mercury designed the crest on the album cover, using the astrological signs of the four members: two Leos (Roger Taylor and John Deacon), one Cancer (Brian May) and one Virgo (Mercury).[11]
Content
The compilation contains most of Queen's hits from 1981 to 1991. The singles "Body Language", "Back Chat", "Las Palabras de Amor", "Thank God It's Christmas", "Princes of the Universe" and "Scandal" were omitted for this release. "Las Palabras de Amor", "Thank God It's Christmas", "These Are the Days of Our Lives" and "Princes of the Universe" were later included on Greatest Hits III.[12]
Release
Greatest Hits II was released less than a month before the death of lead singer Freddie Mercury and was the last Queen release of any kind while he was still alive. The album was not initially made available in the United States and was replaced with its counterpart Classic Queen in early 1992 to capitalise on the band's renewed popularity in the country following the inclusion of "Bohemian Rhapsody" in Wayne's World.[13][14] Greatest Hits II was later made available in the US with its inclusion in two box sets, Greatest Hits I & II in 1994, and The Platinum Collection: Greatest Hits I, II & III in 2002. On 19 April 2011, Hollywood Records released the newly remastered version of Greatest Hits II in the United States as an individual album for the first time.
A companion video release entitled Greatest Flix II was released at the same time, but is currently out of print. Most of the videos are now available on the DVD Greatest Video Hits 2 with the exception of the videos from the 1991 Innuendo album.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "A Kind of Magic" | Roger Taylor | A Kind of Magic, 1986 | 4:22 |
| 2. | "Under Pressure" (with David Bowie) | Queen, David Bowie | Hot Space, 1982 | 3:57 |
| 3. | "Radio Ga Ga" | Taylor | The Works, 1984 | 5:43 |
| 4. | "I Want It All" (single mix) | Queen (Brian May) | The Miracle, 1989 | 4:01 |
| 5. | "I Want to Break Free" (single mix) | John Deacon | The Works, 1984 | 4:18 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Innuendo" | Queen (Mercury/Taylor) | Innuendo, 1991 | 6:27 |
| 7. | "It's a Hard Life" | Freddie Mercury | The Works, 1984 | 4:09 |
| 8. | "Breakthru" | Queen (Mercury/Taylor) | The Miracle, 1989 | 4:09 |
| 9. | "Who Wants to Live Forever" | May | A Kind of Magic, 1986 | 5:16 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10. | "Headlong" | Queen (May) | Innuendo, 1991 | 4:37 |
| 11. | "The Miracle" | Queen (Mercury/Deacon) | The Miracle, 1989 | 5:01 |
| 12. | "I'm Going Slightly Mad" | Queen (Mercury) | Innuendo, 1991 | 4:22 |
| 13. | "The Invisible Man" | Queen (Taylor) | The Miracle, 1989 | 3:58 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14. | "Hammer to Fall" (single mix) | May | The Works, 1984 | 3:40 |
| 15. | "Friends Will Be Friends" | Mercury, Deacon | A Kind of Magic, 1986 | 4:08 |
| 16. | "The Show Must Go On" | Queen (May) | Innuendo, 1991 | 4:37 |
| 17. | "One Vision" (single mix) | Queen (Taylor) | A Kind of Magic, 1986 | 4:01 |
| Total length: | 76:31 | |||
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "A Kind of Magic" (early fade) | 4:22 |
| 2. | "Under Pressure" (edited version) | 3:58 |
| 3. | "Radio Ga Ga" | 5:43 |
| 4. | "I Want It All" (single version) | 4:01 |
| 5. | "I Want to Break Free" (single remix) | 4:18 |
| 6. | "Innuendo" | 6:27 |
| 7. | "It's a Hard Life" | 4:09 |
| 8. | "Breakthru" | 4:09 |
| 9. | "Who Wants to Live Forever" (edited version) | 4:57 |
| 10. | "Headlong" (original Innuendo LP edit) | 4:33 |
| 11. | "The Miracle" (early fade) | 4:54 |
| 12. | "I'm Going Slightly Mad" (original Innuendo LP edit) | 4:07 |
| 13. | "The Invisible Man" | 3:58 |
| 14. | "Hammer to Fall" (single version) | 3:40 |
| 15. | "Friends Will Be Friends" | 4:10 |
| 16. | "The Show Must Go On" (early fade-out) | 4:23 |
| 17. | "One Vision" (single version) | 4:01 |
| Total length: | 75:57 | |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18. | "I Was Born to Love You" (From Made in Heaven, 1995) | Mercury | 4:48 |
| Total length: | 79:53 | ||
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Certifications and sales
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Argentina (CAPIF)[45] | Diamond | 500,000^ |
| Australia (ARIA)[46] | 8× Platinum | 560,000^ |
| Austria (IFPI Austria)[47] | 4× Platinum | 200,000* |
| Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[48] | 2× Platinum | 500,000* |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[49] | Gold | 10,000‡ |
| Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[50] | 2× Platinum | 149,622[50] |
| France (SNEP)[51] | Diamond | 1,000,000* |
| Germany (BVMI)[52] | 9× Gold | 2,250,000^ |
| Italy sales: October 1991 - February 1992 |
— | 500,000[53] |
| Italy (FIMI)[54] sales since 2009 |
Platinum | 50,000‡ |
| Mexico (AMPROFON)[55] | Platinum | 250,000[56] |
| Netherlands (NVPI)[57] | 5× Platinum | 500,000^ |
| Poland (ZPAV)[58] | Gold | 10,000‡ |
| Portugal (AFP)[59] | 4× Platinum | 28,000‡ |
| Spain (Promusicae)[60] | 5× Platinum | 500,000^ |
| Sweden (GLF)[61] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
| Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[62] | 5× Platinum | 250,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[63] | 13× Platinum | 3,900,000[64] |
|
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||