Freddie Mercury ~ Love Kills 1984 Disco Purrfection Version

In honour of his highness birthday this September 5, I present to you Freddie Mercury's "Love Kills" from the original soundtrack of "Metropolis". I had never seen the 1927 silent film from German director Fritz Lang until Giorgio Moroder obtained the rights to the movie and re-scored the silent film by adding mood music peppered with songs by a variety of hot rock stars: Bonnie Tyler, Pat Benatar, Jon Anderson, Loverboy, Adam Ant, Billy Squier and Freddie Mercury. It was a labour of love for Moroder, who attempted to bring the timely message of the film which is "the mediator between the head and the hands must be the heart" to a completely new audience. His version used then recently found photographs to replace scenes cut from the movie to help the audience understand what was going on. The film was butchered for its original American release leaving the audiences bewildered at the spectacle. Moroder connected the plot dots and had some very famous singers on hand to underscore the scenes with appropriate music. Freddie's "Love Kills" was used in a scene where Rotwang, a man who had lost the love of his life Hel, to his friend Joh Fredersen now his enemy, through marriage, and then lost the same woman he loved when she died giving birth to Freder, Joh's son. In his grief builds a female robot that will to replace the dead woman and has kidnapped Maria, intending to use her similarity to the deceased Hel to give the robot a human form. Rotwang has become an emotionally twisted mess over this and is easy prey for Joh Fredersen, who uses Rotwang and the robot to control the overworked men of the underground who provide the city with the manpower that keeps the lights on and are planning a revolt against the authoritarian and spartan rule of Fredersen. The futuristic feel of the movie is enhanced by the electronic music that Moroder has created. The dread and monotony of the city workers life is accurately translated in the music and the coloration of the film. It's a fascinating and captivating film that was recently restored when two copies of the full movie were found in 2008 resulting in the theatrical release in 2010 with the original 1927 music. Did you know that "Love Kills" was actually written and recorded for Queen's "The Works" LP but ultimately not used. It became Freddie Mercury's first solo single in 1984. The original ballad version was reworked by Brian May and Roger Taylor for the "Queen Forever" LP.