Synopsis

Queen perform "Hammer To Fall" in a direct, concert-focused promo built around the band's powerful stage presence. Freddie Mercury commands the front of the stage while Brian May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon drive the song through its hard-rock arrangement. The video combines footage filmed for the shoot with material from a live performance, creating the atmosphere of a packed Queen concert rather than presenting a scripted storyline. Fast cuts emphasize Mercury's interaction with the audience and May's guitar work.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was filmed at the Forest Nationale in Brussels during Queen's 1984 Works Tour.

• Queen asked concertgoers to return for an additional filming session. Only around a dozen fans reportedly showed up, so footage from the previous night's sold-out concert was used to make the crowd appear larger.

• The promo deliberately takes a straightforward live-performance approach, harking back to Queen's earlier concert-style videos instead of the elaborate concepts used for "Radio Ga Ga," "It's a Hard Life," and "I Want to Break Free."

• "Hammer To Fall" was written by Brian May and released as the fourth and final single from The Works in the United Kingdom on September 10, 1984.

• The single version used for the release was edited down from the longer album recording. The video is commonly presented with the shorter single version.

• The song later became one of Queen's most recognizable live rock numbers and was included in the band's set at Live Aid in London on July 13, 1985.

• A stretched version of the video was accidentally included on some editions of the Greatest Video Hits 2 DVD.