A Rumor That Would Put Me in a “State of Shock”
It’s one of my favorite Michael Jackson stories: not long after Thriller, Jackson and Randy Hansen collaborate on a few songs together, one of which ends up on The Jacksons’ mostly-forgettable Victory in 1984. That song, “State of Shock,” is recorded as a duet with Mick Jagger and becomes the biggest hit off the album.
The thing is, though, that Jagger wasn’t meant to sing the song. Hansen was. And Hansen isn’t even a real person. It’s the pseudonym of one Freddie Mercury, the Queen frontman extraordinaire. Jackson and Mercury demoed several songs together, including “State of Shock” and “There Must Be More to Life Than This,” the latter of which appeared on Mercury’s solo album Mr. Bad Guy sans Jackson’s vocals. (Rumors persist of a title track to Victory featuring The Jacksons alongside all of Queen, a face-meltingly awesome proposition if ever there was one.)
Now, rumors are coming through the pipeline from 411 Mania that these songs may soon see release. Though this writer would treat it as a rumor, the report has Queen drummer Roger Taylor saying, “We are now working on some never-before-released songs that Freddy made with Michael in the early 80′s. I’m not allowed to say too much about it but they sound incredible!” Whether it’s true or not, let’s hope it happens someday soon – and keep it here for info if it actually does!
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Wow, I never knew Queen was involved in that song, and perhaps more?!? They were pretty busy in 1981/2 – working with Bowie, Billy Squier, and now MJ – perhaps all the original versions of these songs with the original guest artists will come out! Cool beans!
“Face meltingly awesome” that’s hilarious when talking about anything MJ did.
I’ve had the “State of Shock” bootleg for years. Laughed my butt off when I realized they basically just threw Jagger’s voice on the same bed in place of Mercury’s. Would be great to hear this for real.