Album
The Game
The Game is Queen's eighth studio album, released on 30 June 1980, and it follows Jazz from 1978. It is the record where the band first brought in a synthesizer, an Oberheim OB-X, and the sound moves towards pop, with funk and rockabilly flavours alongside the familiar hard rock.
It is also the album that gave Queen their American breakthrough at the very top. It remains their only studio album to reach number one on the US Billboard 200, and it is their best-selling studio album there, at four million copies. Two songs made the Hot 100 summit: "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", a rockabilly tribute and the band's first US number one single, and the funk-driven "Another One Bites the Dust", their second and last. Together they show a band happily stretching its style, which is a good reason to hear the album whole.
The Game: tracklist, credits and charts
10 tracks · 34:46Tracklist
- 1Play the GameFreddie Mercury3:32
- 2Dragon AttackBrian May4:13
- 3Another One Bites the DustJohn Deacon3:03
- 4Need Your Loving TonightJohn Deacon2:48
- 5Crazy Little Thing Called LoveFreddie Mercury2:44
- 6Rock It (Prime Jive)Roger Taylor4:32
- 7Don’t Try SuicideFreddie Mercury3:52
- 8Sail Away Sweet SisterBrian May3:32
- 9Coming SoonRoger Taylor2:43
- 10Save MeBrian May3:47
- Produced by
- Mack, Mack, Queen, Brian May, Roger Taylor
- Recorded at
- Musicland Studios, Musicland (Munich, Germany)
- Recorded
- June–July 1979, February–May 1980
- Engineered by
- Mack
- Labels
- Elektra, EMI
- Length
- 34:46
Line-up
- John Deacon · bass guitar, percussion, acoustic guitar, handclaps, guitar, keyboard, bass
- Brian May · electric guitar, background vocals, guitar, handclaps, acoustic guitar, synthesizer, lead vocals, piano
- Freddie Mercury · piano, synthesizer, background vocals, lead vocals, handclaps, acoustic guitar, other vocals
- Roger Taylor · drums (drum set), background vocals, percussion, handclaps, synthesizer, electric guitar, lead vocals
- Mack · synthesizer · guest
Singles
- “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” · 12 October 1979
- “Save Me” · 25 January 1980
- “Play the Game” · 30 May 1980
- “Another One Bites the Dust” · 22 August 1980
- “Need Your Loving Tonight” · 18 November 1980 (US)
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1980–1981 | 1 |
| US Billboard 200 · 1980–1981 | 1 |
| Argentina (CAPIF) · 1980–1981 | 1 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1980–1981 | 1 |
| Dutch Albums · 1980–1981 | 1 |
| German Albums · 1980–1981 | 2 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1980–1981 | 2 |
| Austrian Albums · 1980–1981 | 5 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1980–1981 | 5 |
| Swedish Albums · 1980–1981 | 7 |
All 16 charts
| Italian Albums (Musica e Dischi) · 1980–1981 | 10 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1980–1981 | 11 |
| New Zealand Albums · 1980–1981 | 11 |
| Spanish Albums (AFE) · 1980–1981 | 13 |
| French Albums (SNEP) · 1980–1981 | 17 |
| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) · 1980–1981 | 24 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Argentina | 2× Platinum |
| Austria | Gold |
| Brazil · 1984 | Gold |
| Canada · 1981 | 6× Platinum |
| Denmark · 1981 | Silver |
| Denmark · 2025 | Platinum |
| Germany | Gold |
| Italy · 2021 | Gold |
| Mexico · 1982 | Gold |
| Netherlands | Gold |
| New Zealand | Gold |
| Poland · 2009 | Platinum |
| Spain · 1981 | Gold |
| United Kingdom · 1980 | Gold |
| United States | 4× Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
78.8
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
18k
ListenBrainz listeners
206k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
1.3k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Also released on 30 June
Every year →
More from Queen
Full discography →
Queen
1973
Queen II
1974
Sheer Heart Attack
1974
A Night at the Opera
1975
A Day at the Races
1976
Queen’s First E.P.
1977
News of the World
1977
Jazz
1978
Live Killers
1979
Flash Gordon
1980
Greatest Hits
1981
Hot Space
1982
The Works
1984
A Kind of Magic
1986
Live Magic
1986
Hungarian Rhapsody: Live in Budapest
1987
The Miracle
1989
At the Beeb
1989
Innuendo
1991
Greatest Hits II
1991
Box of Tricks
1992
Classic Queen
1992
The 12″ Collection
1992
Live at Wembley ’86
1992
Five Live
1993
The Greatest 3
1995
Made in Heaven
1995
Queen Rocks
1997
The Crown Jewels: A 25th Anniversary Celebration
1998
Greatest Hits III
1999
Highlander
2000
Greatest Hits I, II & III: The Platinum Collection
2000
We Will Rock You
2002
Jewels
2004
We Are the Champions: Final Live in Japan
2004
Queen on Fire: Live at the Bowl
2004
Stone Cold Classics
2006
The A–Z of Queen, Volume 1
2007
Rock Montreal
2007
The Singles Collection, Volume 1
2008
The Singles Collection, Volume 2
2009
Absolute Greatest
2009
The Singles Collection, Volume 3
2010
The Singles Collection, Volume 4
2010
Deep Cuts, Volume 1 (1973–1976)
2011
Deep Cuts, Volume 2 (1977–1982)
2011
Deep Cuts, Volume 3 (1984–1995)
2011
Icon
2013
Live at the Rainbow ’74
2014
Queen Forever
2014
A Night at the Odeon
2015
Bohemian Rhapsody: The Original Soundtrack
2018
Riffs
2025
Pop
2025
Anthems
2025
Ballads
2025
The best of 1980
All of 1980 →
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Ozzy Osbourne · 1980
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Flash Gordon
Queen · 1980
Live!! + One
Iron Maiden · 1980
On Through the Night
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Mr. Crowley Live EP
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"The Golden Years" Live EP
Motörhead · 1980
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Black Sabbath · 1980
More on Elektra
The label →
Ride the Lightning
Metallica · 1984
Kill ’Em All
Metallica · 1983
News of the World
Queen · 1977
Sheer Heart Attack
Queen · 1974
Jazz
Queen · 1978
A Day at the Races
Queen · 1976
Stiff Upper Lip
AC/DC · 2000
Reinventing the Steel
Pantera · 2000
Greatest Hits
Queen · 1981
Flash Gordon
Queen · 1980
Sound of White Noise
Anthrax · 1993
The Nothing
Korn · 2019
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + wikidata; also seen: 1980-06-24 (musicbrainz)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 24 June 1980 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 30 June 1980 | |
| Wikidata | 30 June 1980 | |
| US release | 30 June 1980 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 24 June 1980 | earliest UK or European date |
43 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | CA | Hollywood Records | 00050087522063 | other |
| — | CA | Hollywood Records | 00050087245481 | remaster |
| — | US | Hollywood Records | 720616106322 | other |
| 1980 | JP | Elektra | other | |
| 1980 | GB | EMI | other | |
| 1980 | DE | EMI | other | |
| 24 June 1980 | GB | EMI | original | |
| 24 June 1980 | CA | Elektra | original | |
| 30 June 1980 | GB | EMI | other | |
| 30 June 1980 | US | Elektra | other | |
| September 1983 | US | Elektra | 075596451321 | other |
| 1986 | GB | EMI | 077774621328 | other |
| 1989 | JP | EMI | 4988006610293 | other |
| 17 June 1991 | US | Hollywood Records | 720616106322 | other |
| 1994 | NL | Parlophone | 077778949626 | other |
| 1994 | IT | Parlophone | 077778949626 | other |
| 3 February 1994 | DE | Parlophone | 077778949626 | other |
| 27 September 1994 | US | Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab | 015775161023 | other |
| 16 April 1995 | US | Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab | 015775121119 | other |
| 6 November 1998 | JP | EMI | 4988006760868 | other |
| 2001 | JP | EMI | 4988006796010 | other |
| 29 April 2003 | US | DTS Entertainment | 692860111097 | other |
| 11 February 2004 | JP | EMI | 4988006818170 | other |
| 16 March 2008 | ES | EMI | 8423793300218 | other |
| 2011 | — | EMI | 00602527717524 | remaster |
| 2011 | ZA | Universal | 6009143473430 | remaster |
| 22 June 2011 | JP | Universal Music | 4988005667908 | remaster |
| 22 June 2011 | JP | EMI | 4988005667908 | remaster |
| 27 June 2011 | GB | Island | 602527717517 | remaster |
| 27 June 2011 | — | EMI | 602527717517 | remaster |
| 27 June 2011 | GB | Island | 602527717524 | remaster |
| 13 September 2011 | US | Hollywood Records | 050087245481 | remaster |
| 22 February 2012 | JP | Island | 4988005697646 | remaster |
| 2014 | XW | — | 602547025692 | deluxe |
| 2014 | XW | — | 602547024732 | other |
| 27 August 2014 | JP | Island | 4988005838131 | other |
| 27 October 2014 | US | Hollywood Records | 050087318352 | other |
| 4 November 2014 | US | Hollywood Records | 050087318345 | deluxe |
| 25 September 2015 | XE | Virgin EMI Records | 602547202758 | other |
| 20 June 2018 | JP | Island | 4988031277355 | other |
| 21 December 2018 | US | Hollywood Records | 050087400286 | other |
| 19 May 2021 | JP | Universal Music | 4988031426814 | other |
| — | — | EMI | 077774621328 | other |
Cover art sources
deezer · upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1200×1200 | upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25) |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| coverartarchive | 480×480 | upscaled |