Queen has shared the official new karaoke-style lyric video for “Cool Cat,” one of the key tracks from 1982’s Hot Space. The band said in a statement, “Dive into the groovy vibes of “Cool Cat” with our brand new lyric video! Press play, sing along, and let the cool vibes take over.” You can check the “Cool Cat” video out below.
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Released in the UK on 21st May 1982, and four days later in the USA, Hot Space reached No.4 in the UK, achieving Gold sales status – as it did in the U.S. too. Although not reaching the dizzy heights of success its predecessor The Game achieved, the album sold better in Europe, reaching No.1 in Austria and No.2 in Holland, as well as top ten chart positions throughout the rest of the continent.
Hot Space, Queen’s tenth studio album, was recorded at Mountain Studios in Montreux, Switzerland and Musicland Studios in Munich, Germany between September 1981 and March 1982.
It was produced by Queen and Mack, the man who had made such a significant contribution to previous albums. Mack also engineered the LP, with David Richards, who would go on to enjoy a long working relationship with the band lasting until the very last album fourteen years later. The last track on the album – and its first single- “Under Pressure,” was a collaboration between Queen and David Bowie and became an international No. 1 hit.
Queen were greatly prolific during this period and in addition to the eleven songs that ultimately made the album, several further tracks were started but never finished. This was not unusual for Queen at this time; certain ideas remained in the archive in various states of development only to be revisited years later for subsequent albums.
Like The Game, two years earlier, Hot Space was a huge departure for Queen in terms of musical direction. With such a massive international hit, “Another One Bites The Dust” (1980), behind them – and a No 1 in America – it probably came as no surprise that the band would want to continue down the disco/funk path to some extent. This policy did however make the album less popular with some fans; those who preferred the traditional heavier rock style they had come to expect from Queen. Hot Space does have its heavy moments, though; Brian May’s “Put Out The Fire” and “Dancer,” for example, contain some of the most aggressive guitar work of any Queen album.
Buy the 7” colored vinyl single of ‘Cool Cat.’
