"Living on My Own" is a song written and performed by British singer-songwriter Freddie Mercury, originally included on his first solo album, Mr. Bad Guy (1985). It was released as a single (backed with "My Love Is Dangerous") in September 1985 by CBS in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number 50. The July 1985 release in the United States had "She Blows Hot and Cold" as its B-side.[3] Eight years later, in 1993, "Living on My Own" was remixed by Belgian producers No More Brothers and re-released to widespread chart success. The song's lyrics reflect Mercury's longstanding admiration for Greta Garbo, whose quotations are featured prominently in the lyrics.[4] The accompanying music video was directed by Hannes Rossacher and Rudi Dolezal, and features footage of Mercury's 39th birthday celebration at a nightclub in Munich, West Germany.
1993 No More Brothers' Mix version
On 19 July 1993, almost two years after Mercury's death, the No More Brothers Mix of "Living on My Own" was released by Parlophone.[5] This remix, produced by Serge Ramaekers, Colin Peter and Carl Ward, reached number one in the UK, Ireland, and France (for 15 weeks), becoming Mercury's first solo number-one hit. Meanwhile, in the United States, the 1993 version was not officially released.[6] It remained at the top for two weeks on the British charts.[6]
Critical reception
Tom Ewing of Freaky Trigger felt that Mercury "sounds terrific over house music".[2] Pan-European magazine Music & Media wrote that the Belgian dance producers "picked up a Mercury vocal track, put it on top of sequencers—with surprising results—and made a local top 10 hit out of it".[7] John Kilgo from The Network Forty said that "hitting you over the head like a hammer, the harmony-laden hook compliments (sic) an uptempo groove".[8] A reviewer from Sandwell Evening Mail declared it as "a stunning Euro-style remix".[9]
Chart performance
The 1993 No More Brothers Mix of "Living on My Own" was very successful in Europe. It peaked at number one in Denmark (1 week),[10] France (15 weeks),[11] Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy (12 weeks),[12] Norway (2 weeks),[13] Spain (3 weeks),[14] Sweden (5 weeks),[15] and the United Kingdom, as well as on the Eurochart Hot 100. In the UK, it hit the top spot in its third week on the UK Singles Chart, on 8 August 1993; the single spent two weeks at the top of the chart and 13 weeks within the UK Top 100.[16] Additionally, it reached number two in Austria, Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland. In these countries, it was held off reaching number one by 4 Non Blondes' "What's Up". "Living on My Own" debuted on the Eurochart Hot 100 at number 83 on 3 July,[17] after charting in Belgium. It peaked at the top thirteen weeks later, on 30 October and held the position for two weeks,[18] before Meat Loaf's "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" took over as number one.
"Living on My Own" earned a gold record in the Netherlands (50,000), Sweden (25,000), and the UK (400,000), while it earned a platinum record in Austria (50,000) and Germany (500,000).
Music video
The accompanying videos for both the original 1985 and the 1993 remix versions of "Living on My Own" show footage of Mercury's 39th birthday celebration on 5 September 1985 at the travesty nightclub Old Mrs. Henderson in Munich, where Mercury lived from 1979 to 1985.[19][20][21] The theme of the birthday party was "A Black and White Drag Ball". Because of the garishly costumed homosexual men and transvestites celebrating a decadent raucous party in the video clip, the British broadcaster BBC long refused to broadcast the music video on its channels.[22] The video was directed by Hannes Rossacher and Rudi Dolezal,[23] and received heavy rotation on MTV Europe.[24] It was later made available on Mercury's official YouTube channel in 2012, and as of January 2023, the video had generated more than 100 million views on the platform.[25]
Track listings
1985 release
7-inch
A. "Living on My Own" (single version)
B. "My Love Is Dangerous" (album version) – 3:41
12-inch
A. "Living on My Own" (extended version) – 6:42
B. "My Love Is Dangerous" (extended version) – 6:28
^Mercury, Freddie; Brooks, Greg; Lupton, Simon (5 September 2019). Freddie Mercury: A Life, In His Own Words. London: Mercury Songs Ltd. p. 120. ISBN978-1688967489.
^ ab"Living on My Own" spent 12 weeks at number one on the Italian Musica e dischi singles chart in October, November and December 1993, and in January and February 1994.
