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Queen - I'm Going Slightly Mad

Music Video | 1991
ArtistQueen
SongI'm Going Slightly Mad
AlbumInnuendo
DirectorRudi Dolezal
DirectorHannes Rossacher
GenrePop
GenreRock
IntroNo
OutroNo
Sound MixStereo
Technical Specificationscolour - format unknown

Wiki

Synopsis

Queen turn the song's surreal humor into a monochrome fever dream. Freddie Mercury appears as a flamboyant, heavily made-up eccentric, surrounded by bizarre images and theatrical gestures. Brian May becomes a penguin, John Deacon takes the role of a jester, and Roger Taylor rides a tricycle with a kettle on his head. A gorilla, bananas, distorted perspectives, and expressionist lighting add to the unsettling comedy. The video plays like a strange stage performance in which absurdity gradually replaces any sense of normality.

Factoids & Trivia

  • The video was released in 1991 as the second single from Queen's album *Innuendo*.
  • Its stark black-and-white photography draws on German Expressionism and the look of early horror and surrealist cinema.
  • Freddie Mercury was heavily involved in shaping the concept. He helped storyboard the video and contributed creatively to individual scenes, making it the last Queen video to feature substantial creative input from him.
  • The costumes were created by designer Diana Moseley. Mercury's banana headpiece visualizes the lyric "I think I'm a banana tree," while the other band members' disguises turn specific lyric images into comic characters.
  • Brian May's penguin appearance echoes an image associated with the artwork for Queen's debut album.
  • Mercury's heavy makeup, wig, layered costume, and the monochrome presentation helped disguise the visible effects of his illness. The band later acknowledged that the playful finished video was made during a personally difficult period.
  • A behind-the-scenes feature, *Mad in the Making*, preserves rehearsal footage and shows Mercury actively discussing performances and staging with the group.
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