Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon

"Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon" is a song by the British rock band Queen, originally released on their fourth album A Night at the Opera in 1975. It is one of five contributions by Freddie Mercury to the band's 1975 album.

Background

"Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon" is one of Queen's shortest songs; at just over one minute long it is the shortest song on the album. Mercury played piano and did all of the vocals on the record. The lead vocal was sung in the studio and reproduced through headphones in a tin bucket elsewhere in the studio. A microphone picked up the sound from the bucket, which gives it a hollow "megaphone" sound. The song's guitar solo was also recorded on the vocal track according to the album's co-producer Roy Thomas Baker on the Classic Albums documentary in 2005.

The key change going into the guitar solo (Eb to A) is a tritone relationship, making it a jarring, but very effective, transition into the key of E minor for the next track, "I'm in Love with My Car".

Live performances

The song was performed at most concerts in 1976. The first known live performance of the song was at the start of Queen's US leg of A Night at the Opera Tour in 1976. The song was not performed on the British leg of the tour the previous year. It well remained in sets until during the famous mini short tour by Queen in Summer 1976. It's unlikely that a live performance of the song will ever be officially released as it is not sure whether a show was filmed or recorded during 1976 when the song was performed. There is only one known professionally recorded show of the year and it was Queen's legendary Hyde Park concert on 18 September, where the song wasn't performed. So the song's last performance was likely to be on the 9th September 1976 at Cardiff Castle, Cardiff.

Comments

Personnel

• Freddie Mercury - lead and backing vocals, piano
• Brian May - electric guitar
• Roger Taylor - drums, cowbell
• John Deacon - bass guitar
• Uncredited - bicycle bell

References