{{For|the sport|Cycle sport}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2014}} {{Use British English|date=July 2014}} {{Infobox song | name = Bicycle Race | cover = Queen Bicycle Race1.png | alt = Rear view of a woman, wearing only a thong which partially exposes her buttocks, riding a bicycle against a white background. On the top right in black text is the band's name; the song's name is on the left side in pink text, while "Fat Bottomed Girls" is on the right. | border = yes | caption = UK single picture sleeve | type = single | artist = Queen | album = Jazz | A-side = “Fat Bottomed Girls" (double A-side)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bicycle Race - Queen {{!}} Song Info |url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/bicycle-race-mt0041498364 |access-date=2019-04-02 |website=AllMusic |language=en-us}}</ref> | released = 13 October 1978 | recorded = July 1978 | studio = | venue = | genre = Rock | length = 3:01 | label = *EMI (UK) *Elektra (US) | writer = Freddie Mercury | producer = Queen and Roy Thomas Baker | prev_title = It's Late | prev_year = 1978 | title = | title2 = Fat Bottomed Girls | next_title = Don't Stop Me Now | next_year = 1979 | misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|xt0V0_1MS0Q|"Bicycle Race"}}}} }} "'''Bicycle Race'''" is a song by the British rock band Queen. It was released on their 1978 album ''Jazz'' and written by Queen's lead singer Freddie Mercury. It was released as a double A-side single together with the song "Fat Bottomed Girls", reaching number 11 in the UK Singles Chart and number 24 in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the US.<ref name="US Chart">Whitburn, Joel (2006). The ''Billboard'' Book of Top 40 Hits. Billboard Books.</ref><ref name="UK Chart">Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums. London: Guinness World Records Limited.</ref> The song is included in their 1981 ''Greatest Hits'' compilation.
The song is notable for its video featuring a bicycle race with nude women at Wimbledon Stadium. The controversial video was edited or even banned in several countries. The song itself has appeared in various media with a bicycle theme.<ref>{{cite news |title=Victoria Pendleton back on her bike for Strictly Come Dancing |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/victoria-pendleton-back-her-bike-strictly-come-dancing-8320166.html |access-date=19 June 2021 |newspaper=The Independent |quote=She and professional partner Brendan Cole are due to perform a paso doble to the Queen hit Bicycle Race. Her arrival is expected to be reminiscent of the flying bike scene in movie hit ET}}</ref>
==Composition== The song was written by Freddie Mercury and was inspired by watching the 18th stage of the 1978 Tour de France passing Montreux, where the band were recording ''Jazz'' in the Mountain Studios.<ref name=b1/><ref>{{Cite book |last1=M. Felsani |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=80i-yJVN2TwC&pg=PA16 |title=Queen. Tutti i testi con traduzione a fronte |last2=M. Primi |last3=M. Saita |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=1997 |isbn=978-88-09-02418-2 |pages=16 |access-date=2011-02-23}}</ref> It starts with a chorus unaccompanied by instruments. The chorus is followed by two verses connected with a bridge, both followed by a chorus. Around the middle of the song is a solo played with numerous bicycle bells. The song has an unusual chord progression with numerous modulations, a change of metre (from {{music|time|4|4}} to {{music|time|3|4}}) in the bridge, and multitracked vocal and guitar harmonies.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Queen Songs – The Book: Bicycle Race |url=http://www.queensongs.info/the-book/songwriting-analyses/modern-era-queen/the-works/Bicycle-race.html |archive-date=21 July 2011 |website=Queensongs.info|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721231706/http://www.queensongs.info/the-book/songwriting-analyses/modern-era-queen/the-works/Bicycle-race.html }}</ref>
==Reception== ''Cash Box'' called it "a jaunty theatrical tribute to bike riding."<ref name=cb>{{cite news|title=CashBox Singles Reviews|date=November 4, 1978|page=26|newspaper=Cash Box|accessdate=2022-01-01|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1978/CB-1978-11-04.pdf}}</ref> ''Record World'' said that it combines "inventive lyrics and harmonies" with class.<ref name=rw>{{cite magazine|magazine=Record World|date=November 11, 1978|accessdate=2023-02-13|title=Hits of the Week|page=1|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/70s/78/RW-1978-11-11.pdf}}</ref>
==Lyrics== The lyrics are topical for the time and contain social, political, and pop culture references, such as religion, the Vietnam War, Watergate, cocaine, fictional characters (Peter Pan, Frankenstein and Superman), and the films ''Jaws'' and ''Star Wars''.
Brian May has said that the song was not an autobiographical portrait of Mercury and that Mercury did not particularly enjoy bicycling, also noting that despite the lyric "I don't like Star Wars", Mercury was a ''Star Wars'' fan.<ref name="Starwars">{{Cite web |last=Van Luling |first=Todd |title=5 Things You Didn't Know About Queen, Even If You Know Every Word Of 'Bohemian Rhapsody' |url=http://www.huffpost.com/entry/queen-band-didnt-know_n_5768476 |access-date=2015-12-24 |website=HuffPost|date=5 September 2014 }}</ref>
The song references the band's song "Fat Bottomed Girls" with the line "fat bottomed girls, they'll be riding today". "Fat Bottomed Girls" reciprocates with "Get on your bikes and ride!" The two songs were released together as a double A-sided single.
==Music video== Filmed by Denis de Vallance, the promotional video featured 65 nude women, all professional models, bicycle racing at Wimbledon Greyhound Stadium, southwest London. The group rented the stadium and several dozen bicycles for one day for filming the scene; however, when the renting company became aware of the way their bikes were used, they requested that the group purchase all the bicycle seats.<ref name="b1">{{Cite book |last1=Phil Sutcliffe |title=Queen: The Ultimate Illustrated History of the Crown Kings of Rock |last2=Peter Hince |last3=Reinhold Mack |date=15 November 2009 |publisher=MBI Publishing Company |isbn=978-0-7603-3719-6 |pages=122 }}. Sutcliffe counters a popular belief that Mercury was inspired by seeing the Tour through a hotel window in Nice by that the Tour did not pass through Nice that year.</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Peter Buckley |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=haEfq-nKqjgC&pg=PR7-IA782 |title=The rough guide to rock |date=28 October 2003 |publisher=Rough Guides |isbn=978-1-84353-105-0 |pages=7 |access-date=2011-02-23}}</ref> The original video used special effects to hide the nudity.<ref>[http://www.ultimatequeen.co.uk/videos/queenpromo.htm Queen Promo Videos – Bicycle Race] Ultimate Queen. Retrieved 2011-09-03.</ref> However, due to the nudity, the video was age-restricted on YouTube and banned in several countries, including China.{{Citation needed|date=January 2026}}
==Distribution== The song was released as a single and is also included in the following albums and box sets: ''Queen'', ''Bohemian Rhapsody'', ''15 Of The Best'', ''Queen Live In Concert'', ''Greatest Hits'' and ''The Singles Collection Volume 1''.<ref>[http://www.ultimatequeen.co.uk/discography/queenalbumsnonuk.htm Queen Non-UK Albums Discography]. Ultimatequeen.co.uk. Retrieved on 2011-02-20.</ref>
The single was mostly distributed in 1978, on 7-inch vinyl records, with "Fat Bottomed Girls" on the B-side and EMI record label. In Argentina, the titles were translated as "{{lang|es|Carrera de Bicicletas}}" and "{{lang|es|Chicas Gordas}}" respectively. The labels were changed to Pepita in Hungary and to Elektra in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. The Polish issue had the label of Tonpress<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DyQEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT97 |title=Billboard |date=1 September 1979 |publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc. |pages=97– |issn=0006-2510 |access-date=2011-02-24}}</ref> and either "Spread Your Wings" or nothing on the B-side. Both 7-inch and 12-inch records were issued in the US; there the song also appeared in 1979, on the B-side of the single "Crazy Little Thing Called Love". In nearly all countries, the covers featured a backside photo of a naked woman on a racing bike, with a red bikini painted over the original photo.<ref name=b1/><ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-09-05 |title=BBC Two – Queen – Days of Our Lives, Episode 1 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b011pwd9 |access-date=2016-10-13 |website=Bbc.co.uk}}</ref> A brassiere was added to the US covers.<ref name="cd">[http://www.pcpki.com/cgi-bin/discography.cgi?qs:BICYCLE+RACE BICYCLE RACE as an a-side], pcpki.com</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-05-30 |title=Bicycle Race (Велогонка) — Queen : Интересные факты о песне |url=http://music-facts.ru/song/Queen/Bicycle_Race/ |access-date=2016-10-13 |website=Music-facts.ru |language=ru}}</ref>
==Personnel== *Freddie Mercury – lead and backing vocals, piano, bicycle bells *Brian May – guitars, backing vocals, bicycle bells *Roger Taylor – drums, backing vocals, bicycle bells *John Deacon – bass guitar, bicycle bells
==Chart performance== {|class="wikitable sortable" style="float:left; text-align:center" |- !Country !Peak<br />position !Held during !Charted<br/>for (weeks) |- |Australia<ref name=r2/> |28 | |9 |- |Austria<ref name="at">{{Cite web |last=Steffen Hung |title=Queen - Bicycle Race |url=http://austriancharts.at/showitem.asp?interpret=Queen&titel=BICYCLE+RACE&cat=s |access-date=2016-10-13 |website=Austriancharts.at}}</ref> |21 |Jan 1979 |4 |- |Belgium<ref name=at/> |15 |Jan 1979 |5 |- |France<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.infodisc.fr/Tubes_Artistes_Q.php|title=InfoDisc : Les Tubes de chaque Artiste commençant par Q|website=www.infodisc.fr}}</ref> |7 |November – December 1978 |11 |- |Germany<ref>{{Cite web |title=Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets |url=http://www.musicline.de/de/chartverfolgung_summary/title/QUEEN/Bicycle+Race/single |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121011192913/http://www.musicline.de/de/chartverfolgung_summary/title/QUEEN/Bicycle+Race/single |archive-date=11 October 2012 |access-date=2016-10-13 |website=Musicline.de}}</ref> |27 |11–18 Dec 1978 |12 |- |Ireland<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Irish Charts |url=http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100105231849/http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement |archive-date=2010-01-05 |access-date=2012-12-25 |publisher=Irishcharts.ie |df=dmy}}</ref> |10 | |7 |- |New Zealand<ref name=at/> |20 | |8 |- |The Netherlands<ref name="at2">{{Cite web |last=Steffen Hung |title=Queen - Bicycle Race |url=http://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Queen&titel=BICYCLE+RACE&cat=s |access-date=2016-10-13 |website=Dutchcharts.nl}}</ref> |5 |25 Nov – 2 Dec 1978 |11 |- |Norway<ref name=at2/> |7 | |9 |- |Portugal<ref>{{cite magazine|url= https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/70s/1979/Billboard%201979-02-03.pdf|title=Hits of the World|date=February 3, 1979|magazine=Billboard|access-date=November 9, 2021|page=78}}</ref> |9 | 3 February 1979 |2 |- |UK<ref name="r2">{{Cite web |title=Queen International Singles Chart Positions |url=http://www.pcpki.com/queen/singles.html |access-date=2016-10-13 |website=Pcpki.com}}</ref><ref name="uk">{{Cite web |title=Official Charts Company |website=Official Charts |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/Bicycle%20Race_slash_Fat%20Bottomed%20Girls |access-date=2011-02-24 |df=dmy}}</ref> |11 |25 Nov – 9 Dec 1978 |11 |- |US ''Billboard''<ref name=r2/><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jyQEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT95 |title=Billboard |date=26 June 1982 |publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc. |pages=95– |issn=0006-2510 |access-date=2011-02-23}}</ref> |24 |Jan 1979 |12 |} <br /> {{clear}}
==Certifications== {{Certification Table Top}} {{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|award=Gold|type=single|artist=Queen|title=Bicycle Race|relyear=1978|certyear=2023|source=radioscope|access-date=February 1, 2026}} {{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=single|title=Bicycle Race|artist=Queen|award=Platinum|relyear=1978|certyear=2022}} {{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}
==Sample== The song's chorus was sampled by Eminem in "C'mon Let Me Ride" by Skylar Grey.<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=Eminem Sings Classic Queen Hook on Skylar Grey's New Single |magazine=Rolling Stone |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/eminem-sings-classic-queen-hook-on-skylar-greys-new-single-187008/ |access-date=5 April 2019}}</ref>
==Alternate artwork== <!-- Deleted image removed: thumb|Back cover|center|230px --> A bicycle race with nude women was held to promote the ''Jazz'' album, the single and the "Fat Bottomed Girls" single. This photo was included as a fold-out poster with the album ''Jazz''. It was also included as an alternate single cover.<ref name="race">{{Cite web |title=Sixty-five naked women were perched atop bicycles rented from Halford's Cycles and sent racing around Wimbledon Stadium |url=http://www.queenpedia.com/index.php?title=Jazz |access-date=2012-12-25 |publisher=Queenpedia.com}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist|35em}}
==External links== * {{YouTube|id=xt0V0_1MS0Q|title=Official music video}} * [http://www.queenonline.com/en/the-band/discography/jazz/#lyrics Lyrics at Queen official website]
{{Queen singles}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Queen (band) songs Category:1978 singles Category:Songs written by Freddie Mercury Category:Songs about bicycles Category:Song recordings produced by Roy Thomas Baker Category:EMI Records singles Category:Elektra Records singles Category:Hollywood Records singles Category:1978 songs Category:Obscenity controversies in music Category:Music video controversies