Personnel

Information is based on the album's liner notes

  • Freddie Mercury – lead and backing vocals, hand claps, foot stamping
  • Brian May – guitars, backing vocals, hand claps, foot stamping
  • Roger Taylor – backing vocals, hand claps, foot stamping
  • John Deacon – hand claps, foot stamping
  • Elizabeth Edwards – backing vocals, hand claps, foot stamping
  • Andrew Turner – backing vocals, hand claps, foot stamping

|align="center"|1

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|rowspan="4"|1992

|Australia (ARIA)<br />

|align="center"|81

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|US Billboard Hot 100

|align="center"|52

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|rowspan="4"|2003

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|2006

|US Billboard Hot Digital Songs

|align="center"|13

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|Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan)

|align="center"|15

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|2019

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|2024

|Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100)

|align="center"|51

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Year-end charts

{| class="wikitable sortable"

!Chart (1978)

!Position

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|Australia (Kent Music Report) <br> (Double-A sided single with "We Are the Champions")

| style="text-align:center;"|57

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{|class="wikitable"

!Chart (2018)

!Position

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|US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)

|align="center"|68

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{|class="wikitable"

!Chart (2019)

!Position

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|US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)

|align="center"|22

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Certifications

Notable cover versions

Five + Queen version

British boy band Five released a cover of "We Will Rock You" on 17 July 2000. It was the fourth single released from their second studio album, Invincible (1999). The song contains rap verses from Five's members Jason "J" Brown and Richard "Abs" Breen, and features two members of Queen: Brian May on guitar and Roger Taylor on drums (only on the single version); however, they do not sing any vocals on the track. Freddie Mercury had died in November 1991, nearly a decade before this version's release, and John Deacon had retired from public life three years before the release of the Five cover.

The song charted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, making it Five's second number-one single, and their ninth consecutive top-ten hit.

Track listings

"Megamix" consists of four songs by Five: "Don't Wanna Let You Go", "If Ya Gettin' Down", "Keep On Movin", and "We Will Rock You".

UK CD1

  1. "We Will Rock You" (radio edit) – 3:08
  2. "Keep On Movin" (The Five-A-Side Mix) – 3:32
  3. "We Will Rock You" (UK version) – 2:57
  4. "We Will Rock You" (video—enhanced track)

UK CD2

  1. "We Will Rock You" (radio edit) – 3:08
  2. "We Will Rock You" (UK version) – 2:57
  3. "Megamix" – 4:19
  4. "Megamix" video (enhanced track)

UK cassette single

  1. "We Will Rock You" (radio edit) – 3:08
  2. "We Will Rock You" (UK version) – 2:57
  3. "Keep On Movin" (The Five-A-Side Mix) – 3:32
  4. "Megamix" – 4:19

European CD single

  1. "We Will Rock You" (radio edit) – 3:08
  2. "We Will Rock You" (UK version) – 2:57
  3. "Megamix" – 4:19

Australian CD single

  1. "We Will Rock You" (radio edit) – 3:08
  2. "We Will Rock You" (UK version) – 2:57
  3. "Megamix" – 4:19
  4. "Keep On Movin" (The Five-A-Side Mix) – 3:32
  5. "We Will Rock You" (video—enhanced track)

Charts

Weekly charts

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!Chart (2000)

!Peak<br />position

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|Czech Republic (IFPI)

|align="center"|33

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|El Salvador (El Siglo de Torreón)

|align="center"|1

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|Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)

|align="center"|11

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|Guatemala (El Siglo de Torreón)

|align="center"|10

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|Latvia (Latvijas Top 30)

|align="center"|9

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|Poland (Music & Media)

|align="center"|5

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|UK Airplay (Music Week)

|align="center"|16

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Year-end charts

{|class="wikitable sortable"

!Chart (2000)

!Position

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|Australia (ARIA)

|align="center"|34

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|Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)

|align="center"|20

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|Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)

|align="center"|81

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|Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)

|align="center"|65

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|Germany (Media Control)

|align="center"|58

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|Ireland (IRMA)

|align="center"|54

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|Latvia (Latvijas Top 50)

|align="center"|49

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|Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)

|align="center"|70

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|UK Singles (OCC)

|align="center"|45

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Certifications

KCPK version

A remix by KCPK, sung by a chorus of children under the name Forever Young, was released in a series of animated Evian adverts which aired in France, Germany and Belgium. The remix was later released as a single and entered the local charts.

Chart performance

{|class="wikitable sortable"

!Chart (2003)

!Peak<br />position

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|Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)

|align="center"|10

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Year-end charts

{|class="wikitable"

!Chart (2003)

!Position

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|Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)

|align="center"|36

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|France (SNEP)

|align="center"|10

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|Romania (Romania Top 100)

|align="center"|66

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|Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)

|align="center"|57

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Megan Thee Stallion version

American rapper Megan Thee Stallion covered "We Will Rock You" in a September 2024 Pepsi television advertisement. On 5 September 2024, the song, sampling the original chorus, was released as a single; Queen are credited as co-lead artists.

Other versions

  • 1992: American glam metal band Warrant covered the song for the film Gladiator. The song charted at number 83 on the Billboard Hot 100.
  • 2004: American pop singers Britney Spears, Beyoncé and Pink used this song in an international commercial Pepsi campaign along with Spanish singer-songwriter Enrique Iglesias, and the song was released on the Pepsi Music 2004: (Dare for More) CD.
  • 2007 on Nickelodeon's hit kid's TV show Drake & Josh in the episode "The Storm" where Drake and his band were supposed to perform at the arena downtown San Diego but a big storm ruined the show.
  • 2021: British rock band The Struts, whose lead singer Luke Spiller is strongly influenced by Mercury, recorded their version of the song as non-album single.
  • 2025: American rapper Pitbull and producer RedOne made a remake for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.

Sampling

  • 1992: American rapper Ice Cube sampled the beat in his song "When Will They Shoot?", from his album The Predator.
  • 2002: American rapper Eminem interpolated the "stomp-stomp-clap" beat in his song "'Till I Collapse" from his album The Eminem Show and also used a similar pattern in the songs "Puke" from his album Encore and "Cinderella Man" from his album Recovery.
  • 2003: The J-Kwon song "Tipsy" directly samples the "We Will Rock You" beat, but reworked into a different beat.
  • 2005: The Young Jeezy song "And Then What" released in mid-2005 as the first single from his debut album Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101 samples the beat, changing the "stomp-stomp-clap" beat in the hook to "boom-boom-clap."
  • 2011: American pop singer Katy Perry interpolated the "stomp-stomp-clap" beat in her song "E.T".
  • 2011: Beyoncé interpolated the "stomp-stomp-clap" beat in her song "Dreaming", featured on the Japanese edition of her 4th album 4.
  • 2011: Lady Gaga sampled the "stomp-stomp-clap" in her song "You and I", which also features the band's guitarist Brian May, from Gaga's album Born This Way.
  • 2012: One Direction interpolated the "stomp-stomp-clap" and references "Rock" in their song "Rock Me" featured on their second album Take Me Home.
  • 2012: Kesha interpolated the "stomp-stomp-clap" in her song "Gold Trans Am", featured on the deluxe edition of her second album, Warrior.

Live cover performances

1990s

  • 1992: Guns N' Roses lead singer Axl Rose performed the song with Queen at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert.
  • 1992: U2 used the song as a set list opener before they performed on stage during the Zoo TV Tour.
  • 1993: Nirvana performed it in São Paulo, Brazil, changing the lyrics to "we will fuck you".
  • 1996: Alanis Morissette and her band ended the first encore of her "Can't Not" Tour (following the song, "You Learn") with a cover of the song, with Alanis playing the "stomp-stomp-clap" rhythm on drums.

2000s

  • 2003: English singer and songwriter Robbie Williams performed the song live at Knebworth.
  • 2007, 2010: Japanese pop singer Kumi Koda covered this in her a-nation '07 performance, and three years later in a medley at her 10th anniversary concert at the Tokyo Dome.
  • 2008: Canadian singer Celine Dion performed a Queen medley with "We Will Rock You" and "The Show Must Go On" in her Taking Chances World Tour.
  • 2009: American guitarist Joe Perry from Aerosmith and singer Katy Perry covered the song at the MTV's Video Music Awards 2009.

2010s

  • 2011: American rock band My Chemical Romance performed the song with Queen guitarist Brian May at the Reading Festival.
  • 2011: Christina Aguilera, CeeLo Green, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton covered the song on The Voice (U.S.).
  • 2012: English pop singer Jessie J performed the song live with Brian May and Roger Taylor at the closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London on 12 August.
  • 2012: English rapper Dappy covered the song live alongside Brian May for BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge. The song later appeared on UK chart-topping album BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge 2012.

2020s

  • In a pre-recorded comedy segment at the opening of the Platinum Party at the Palace on 4 June 2022, Queen Elizabeth II and Paddington Bear tapped their tea cups to the beat of "We Will Rock You" before Queen + Adam Lambert performed the song live outside Buckingham Palace.

Remixes

  • 1991: Rick Rubin produced remixes of "We Will Rock You", for an EP released by Hollywood Records. The "Ruined Remix" also contains contributions by Flea and Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
  • 1991: Emergency Broadcast Network achieved an underground hit with their remix of the song with a speech by U.S. president George H. W. Bush.
  • 2004: Scum Of The Earth made a remix of "We Will Rock You" titled as "Pornstar Champion" for their debut album, Blah...Blah...Blah...Love Songs for the New Millennium
  • 2011: Geddy (a.k.a. Armageddon), former member from hip hop group Terror Squad, mashed up "I Want It All" and "We Will Rock You" for the soundtrack to the 2011 film Sucker Punch.
  • 2012 : Helmut VonLichten (formerly of E.S. Posthumus) mixed this song with an orchestral version of "Posthumus Zone" for CBS's Super Bowl 50 coverage. This mashup was later used for the 2015 film Pixels.
  • 2014 : Canadian dubstep producer Excision and downlink remixed this song in the track Rock You.

Parodies and references to the song

  • 1987: Henry Rollins did a parody of "We Will Rock You" titled "I Have Come to Kill You".
  • 1998: Friends episode "The One Where Ross Moves In" - [S05E07]: Ross moves into Joey and Chandler's apartment. As time goes by, Ross reveals he's quite annoying by imposing a lot of changes to the norm of the apartment. One being the changing of the answering machine message to the tune of "We Will Rock You" by Queen, to which Ross alters the lyrics to "We Will, We Will Call You Back!".
  • 2000: In The 10th Kingdom the parody are WE WILL SHEAR YOU.
  • 2010: The cast of the Off-Broadway musical Avenue Q performed covers of "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions" in a video spoof of the Muppets' "Bohemian Rhapsody".
  • 2012: In the 12 March edition of WWE Raw, The Rock performed his version during the Rock Concert segment by adding references to Team Bring It and fans chanting "Cena Sucks" in the chorus while taking aim at John Cena before they square off at WrestleMania XXVIII.
  • 2014: Indonesian singer Ahmad Dhani made a controversial political campaign video with a parody of the song to support presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto for the 2014 Indonesian presidential election. Dhani wore Heinrich Himmler's SS Uniform in the video.
  • 2015: In The Big Bang Theory episode "The Bachelor Party Corrosion" Raj, Howard and Leonard sing a modified version of the song called, "We Will Percussive Shock You" and Sheldon burst out singing the first verse of the original song, which he then credited to his eidetic memory, mentioned that in this instance it was a 'curse.'
  • 2023: The intro from "We Will Rock You" was the first music transmitted from lucid dreams into reality in real-time. The study was published in Dreaming, an American Psychological Association peer-reviewed journal.
  • 2023: In Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom the parody are ANTIVIRUS.

See also

  • List of best-selling singles
  • List of number-one singles of 1978 (France)
  • List of UK Singles Chart number ones of the 2000s

References

  • Lyrics at Queen official website (from Queen Rocks)