Now I'm Here

"Now I'm Here" is a song by the British heavy metal/hard rock band Queen. The sixth song on their third album, Sheer Heart Attack (1974), it was written by lead guitarist Brian May. The song is noted for its hard riff and vocal harmonies. In the UK, the song reached #11 on the charts when released as a single in 1975. The song was a live favourite, performed at virtually every concert from late 1974 to 1986.

Details
The song draws on May's fond experiences of the band's US tour earlier in 1974. Mott the Hoople, whom Queen was supporting, are referenced in the line: Down in the city, just Hoople and me.

It also appeared on the 1981 compilation album Greatest Hits, and the 1997 compilation album Queen Rocks. In March 2005, Q magazine placed "Now I'm Here" at number 33 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks.

Live performances
"Now I'm Here" was a fixture of Queen's set lists, being performed on every concert tour from 1974 until the band's final tour in 1986. It was first performed on the Sheer Heart Attack Tour in Manchester on 30 October 1974. The song's first performance would mark the first show where Queen employed the use of delay on Freddie Mercury's voice.

On the Sheer Heart Attack Tour, Mercury would be seen singing the line "Now I'm here" on one side of the stage amidst the darkness and dry ice, and a few bars later, at "Now I'm there," he would "appear" on the other side of the stage, an illusion created by an identically-dressed stagehand.

May continued to perform the song as a solo artist following Mercury's death in 1991. At The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in 1992, Brian May joined Def Leppard on stage to perform the song which went on to become a B-Side to Def Leppard's single "Tonight" and would make it also onto the deluxe edition of Def Leppard's Adrenalize album. And it was used as the opening song on the American, Asian and Australian legs of the Queen + Adam Lambert Tour 2014–2015.

Personnel

 * Freddie Mercury - lead and backing vocals, Hammond organ
 * Brian May - electric guitar, piano, backing vocals
 * Roger Taylor - drums, percussion, backing vocals
 * John Deacon - bass guitar

Live recordings

 * Live Killers (1979)
 * Concerts for the People of Kampuchea (1979) (recorded at their Christmas concert in Hammersmith Odeon, London)
 * Queen Rock Montreal (1981)
 * Queen on Fire - Live at the Bowl (1982)
 * Live at Wembley '86 / Live at Wembley Stadium (1986)
 * Hungarian Rhapsody: Queen Live in Budapest ’86 (1986)
 * The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert (1992) (played by Def Leppard and Brian May)
 * Live at the Brixton Academy (Brian May album) (1993)
 * Live at the Rainbow '74 (2014)
 * A Night at the Odeon – Hammersmith 1975 (2015)