| Flash | |
| Cover: | Flashusa.jpg |
| Caption: | UK single picture sleeve |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Queen |
| Album: | Flash Gordon |
| B-Side: | Football Fight |
| Released: |
|
| Recorded: | October 1980 |
| Genre: | Hard rock[1] |
| Length: |
|
| Label: | |
| Prev Title: | Need Your Loving Tonight |
| Prev Year: | 1980 |
| Next Title: | Under Pressure |
| Next Year: | 1981 |
"Flash" is a song by British rock band Queen. Written by guitarist Brian May, "Flash" is the theme song of the 1980 film Flash Gordon.
There are two versions of the song. The album version ("Flash's Theme") is in fact the start to the film, with all the dialogue from the first scene. The single version contains dialogue cut from various parts of the film, most memorably, Brian Blessed's character exclaiming "Gordon's alive?!" This version was also included on the Greatest Hits compilation from 1981.[2]
The song's lead vocals are shared by May and Freddie Mercury, with Roger Taylor adding high harmonies. May plays most of the instruments, except for the bass guitar and drums. He used an Imperial Bösendorfer piano (with 97 keys instead of 88, having an extra octave on the low range), an Oberheim OB-X synthesizer (as seen in the song's music video), and his homemade Red Special electric guitar.
The song reached number 10 on the UK Singles Chart and number three in Germany. On the U.S. charts, "Flash's Theme aka Flash" reached number 42 on the Billboard Hot 100. It peaked at number 39 on the Cash Box Top 100.[3]
Record World described the single version as a "supersonic cut with a chorus hook guaranteed to rescue tired holiday ears."[4]
The music video was filmed at Advision Studios, London, in November 1980 and directed by Don Norman and shows the band performing the song to a screen showing clips from the film.[5] An alternative version broadcast during the Concert for Kampuchea in 1981 with different clips included on the Flash Gordon 2011 iTunes edition.
| Chart (1980–1981) | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[6] | 16 | |
| Canada RPM Top Singles[7] | 24 | |
| Italy (Musica e dischi)[8] | 14 | |
| US Cash Box Top 100[9] | 39 |
| Flash | |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Queen + Vanguard |
| B-Side: | "Jam" (Vanguard)[10] |
| Length: | 3:04 (radio mix) |
| Label: |
|
| Producer: | Vanguard |
| Chronology: | Queen |
| Prev Title: | We Will Rock You |
| Prev Year: | 2000 |
| Next Title: | Another One Bites the Dust (The Miami Project Remixes) |
| Next Year: | 2006 |
German producers Vanguard released a cover of "Flash", credited to "Queen + Vanguard", on 10 February 2003. The single peaked at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart, number two on the UK Dance Chart, and number 17 in Germany.
The song is played during an ice dancing routine in the 2007 film Blades of Glory.[12]
The song is played in The Flash episode "Into the Void" where Cisco Ramon plays it when Barry Allen / The Flash enters a black hole to save Chester P. Runk, mentioning that he has been saving the song "for the right moment".[13]
In 2016, a re-recording of the song was used to advertise Flash Multi Surface Concentrated Cleaner in the UK.[14] It has since been used to promote other Flash products. In 2022, the song appeared in a Toyota Corolla Cross commercial in Australia but it used "Cross" instead of "Flash".
