A previously unreleased track of "Time Waits for No One" premiered on Thursday after being "lost" for four decades.
ADVERTISEMENTA previously unreleased — and striking— performance of Freddie Mercury singing "Time Waits For No One" premiered on Thursday after the Queen frontman's friend Dave Clark unearthed the lost track.
The song was originally part of Clark’s 1986 concept album for the West End musical “Time”.
Clark, a musician, record producer and long-time friend of Mercury, was also previously the drummer and manager of the 1960s group the Dave Clark Five.
“When we first recorded it, I went to Abbey Road and we ran through with just Freddie and piano. And it gave me goosebumps, it was magic,” Clark told BBC Radio 2 on Thursday before the song premiered on radio.
The song released in 1986 went by the title of the musical "Time". It had 96 vocal and backing tracks.
“But I felt there was just something about the original rehearsal,” Clark said.
He had his engineer search for the first version of all the tracks.
After searching for years, Clark found the original version in 2017. He brought in the original keyboardist, Mike Moran, to record a new piano track.
“I was really pleased with it,” Clark told BBC Radio 2.
The accompanying video released Thursday was developed from the negatives from a 4-camera shoot and unprocessed film, according to a statement posted on Freddie Mercury’s website.
The Queen frontman died in 1991 at the age of 45 but recently re-entered the spotlight after the 2018 film Bohemian Rhapsody met critical acclaim. Actor Rami Malek won an Oscar, Bafta and a Golden Globe award for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury.
Clark said Mercury would have loved the attention if he were still alive.