Flash Gordon - success or flop ?

Well, wasn't Jazz a flop as well then, because it shifted less copies than its predecessors ?
And what about Queen II ? It fared better than their debut, but sold less than FG in most countries bar the UK. Does this make it a hit or a flop album ? Is ADATR a flop because it sold less than ANATO ?
Taking your definition, what are all the artists who had the bad luck of having one mega-seller among a number of highly successful albums (Jacko, Bon Jovi) supposed to do ?

Finally, do you seriously think that Queen or their record companies had any reason to be disappointed with the way Flash Gordon sold ?

You say you "just picked the one before Flash, the one people were thinkin of when they heard of the Flash Album, when they saw the movie and when they were listening to the record."

Do you really think that the record-buying public (excluding you) and the press seriously measured Flash Gordon against The Game, writing it off as a commercial flop ?

Wanna know what Flash Gordon REALLY was in the public eye ? A proof of the ongoing popularity of Queen, because there's no way that an album as seemingly un-marketable as Flash Gordon was going to be such a massive hit without the status of Queen as one of the biggest bands in the world at that time.
Considering Flash Gordon a flop would mean regarding it as the direct successor of The Game, as a new Queen studio album. However, no-one did that. No-one (but you) still does. It would take quite an imbecile to think like that.
Every sane person took it for granted that Flash Gordon was gonna sell less than The Game. Thus, no-one measured it against The Game (or ANATO or NOTW etc...). Looking at Flash Gordon as what it is, a mostly instrumental album, it was a massive worldwide success.

[Record Mirror: I haven't heard this kind of music since Charlton Heston had won the cart-rase in Ben Hur. It's an album of epic dimensions and high quality.
Sounds: As a music for Flash Gordon it is something absolutely extraordinary.]

And please have the decence of responding properly to these points, because anserine "yawning" will make you look really dull and unable to gainsay by bringing forward some proper arguments.

whahaahah ur seriously referring to a review from a magazine??? u gotta be kiddin me! Wow, nice job, wot about the opinion of REAL people, not some fucktart journalist? Unless u have some real facts, just don't bother.

I'm not gonna call u names, not my style. Carry on livin in a world where Flash "ahaaaa" Gordon is great and successful single and album. And leave me alone in the REAL world.

thank u

*reads Phillip's profile*
Fave Queenalbum: Flash

lol >.<

Is that all you can come up with ? Are you gonna disprove my point that Flash Gordon was a commercial success or not ? Come on and show some intelligence, because these responses are really dull. Why don't you try to discuss the subject seriously instead of wallowing in this mixture of mistaking subjective tastes for facts and general narrow-mindedness ?
I've already stated several times, that I don't wanna discuss matters of taste, so please stop constantly retreating to this level in such a childish manner.
De gustibus non disputandum est.

Besides that, there must be many people living outside your self-proclaimed "real world", because there are many people who like the album.

The mag-quotes were nothing but an example of the reception of the time. They were an illustration, nothing more. I've made my points elsewhere. Instead of making some yourself you keep distracting by dwelling upon such bagatelles.

I'm still waiting for facts my dear Phillip, i'm just joking around while waiting. I haven't seen facts of Flash Gordon being a success as u were saying. I want no vague magazinereviews, i want hard facts that this album woz a success! Not givin me that semi-smartass crap, ur not foolin anyone. I want chartpositions, salesnumbers, everybody's honest opinion on the Flash Gordon "Soundtrack/film-on-record". Why were the sales lower than any other Queenrecord Phillip??
Flash Gordon ISN'T in the successful soundtrackalbum lists or any other album list for that matter, just the 1980 charts for a few weeks, depends on the territory.

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here's a review from AllMusic:

While writing and recording The Game, Queen were asked by renowned movie director Dino de Laurentiis to provide the soundtrack for his upcoming sci-fi epic, Flash Gordon. The band accepted, and promptly began working on both albums simultaneously. Although at first many fans criticized Flash Gordon, since it was issued as an official Queen release rather than a motion picture soundtrack, it has proven to be one of rock's better motion picture soundtracks over the years. The majority of the music is instrumental, with dialogue from the movie in place of Freddie Mercury's singing (only two tracks contain lyrics), but the songwriting is still unmistakably Queen. Highlights abound, such as "Football Fight," "Vultan's Theme (Attack of the Hawkmen)," "The Wedding March," and the heavy metal roar of "Battle Theme." But it was the two more conventional songs that were the album's two best tracks — the anthemic U.K. Top Ten hit "Flash's Theme," and the woefully underrated rocker "The Hero." With Queen involved, Flash Gordon is certainly not your average, predictable soundtrack.

rating: 2 stars

review woz not by a journalist by the way.

other review on MOVIEMUSIC.COM

...Unfortunately, all of this is presented on the album buried under dialogue and effects. Although cleverly edited to tell the story without the benefit of the kinky visuals, there are times when this practice is very distracting. Certainly, the track "Vultan's Theme" could have been presented without Brian Blessed shouting "Dive! Dive!" all over the place. As a standout musical sequence, this is particularly dissapointing, as is Melody Anderson's chanting of "Go, Flash, Go!" over the well-wrought rock anthem "Football Fight."

All in all, while Queen's music would be fairly well represented on this album were it not for the continuous stream of dialogue, Howard Blake's orchestral contribution to this film is used here and there only as connective material...
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Chartpositions:

UK release: Monday 8th December 1980
Highest Chart Position: 10 (15 weeks on chart)
Award status: Gold

USA release: 27th January 1981
Highest Chart Position: 23 (13 weeks on chart)
Rolling Stone review: 2 outta 5 stars
Hollywood rerelease (June 1991)
Award status: Gold

Highest Japanese Chart Position: 12 (19 weeks on chart)
Highest Dutch Chart Position: 13
Highest Italian Chart Position: 15 (15 weeks on chart)

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opinions of average listeners, not necessary fans:



If I Wanted Dialogue Over The Music, I'd Watch The Movie, July 29, 2004
Reviewer: J. Maher (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews (2 outta 5 stars)


Don't get me wrong, I like when soundtracks/scores include memorable dialogue on them, but it should be separated from the music. I bought this expecting to hear the music from the film, but the dialogue is actually played OVER the music!!!! It is like watching the movie with a blindfold on!!!!
Maybe one day, Queen will release a music-only soundtrack.



it is so bad you gotta love it..., July 26, 2004
Reviewer:

You obviously didn't bother reading any of what I wrote above. So here we go for the umpteenth time:
The sales of Flash Gordon were not the lowest of all Queen albums. Their debut album didn't do better. Furthermore:
- it sold more than Queen II and The Miracle (they haven't been certified gold so far) in the USA and among all studio albums that followed, only Hot Space charted higher.
- it went to no.2 in Germany (better than all previous albums bar the Game)
- it went to no.1 in Austria
- it went higher than Jazz and NOTW in Italy
- it shipped gold in the USA, the UK and Germany to name the cases known to me.

Whilst it may not be a patch on other albums sales-wise, it cannot be considered a flop by any serious definition of the term.
- Records are referred to as being flops when they very strongly fail to meet commercial expectations
- When albums go top ten and receive gold awards, they're regarded as a "success" in most cases, except when these results do not live up to the original expectations.

IMHO, There's no reason to suppose that anyone posed extortionate expectations (i.e. expecting that it would sell as much as the last Queen album or the ones before) in Flash Gordon, an album consisting mostly of ambient instrumentals.
In some countries (Germany, Austria) it became a big hit nevertheless.
Their record companies had every reason to be pleased with the results, given the noncommercial nature of the material.

I'm looking forward to your relevant comments.

PS:
Awesome-O _4000
Champion: 56 posts Posted: 11/30/2004 9:40:08 PM:
Actually, it's kind of funny. On the Pink Floyd forum, when somebody mentioned Queen, everybody began to talk about "Flash Gordon"
Wow...

NOTWMEDDLE
Bohemian: 125 posts Posted: 12/1/2004 2:49:14 AM:
I bought the FG soundtrack on CD in July of 1992 after I recorded a copy off a friend's cassette in March of 1992. Actually, FG was the eleventh legit Queen album I owned(I had recorded the albums I didn't have on cassette until I got the CDs) and is one of my favorites!

Rainbow
Be Gentle, I'm a newbie: 9 posts Posted: 11/28/2004 9:56:38 PM:
I remember reading an article in Mojo or Q some years ago. It was with a guy who was big within the electronica scene. He was listing his biggest influencies, and one of them was the FG soundtrack. He said it was one of the greatest ambient albums he had ever heard.

- Queen II and The Miracle both certified Gold in the US

- We'll never settle this matter, because there's no direct prove unless someone will have the patience and time to make this graphic, not gonna be me...but then again i don't care really.

- So u've found a few people who think FG is brilliant, i can find hundreds of people who think all Britney cd's are brilliant...

- Like i said America and Britain are the biggest markets in the World when it comes to music. I'm sure Germany and Italy etc are important too...but the US and UK take the cake.
These are well what u call it scales when it come to taste, when a cd is big in America or/and in Britain u can bet your sweet pancakes it will sell in the rest of the World too especially Europe.

- I have no proof the Flash Gordon soundtrack really did fail commercially, only comparisations,you have no proof it DID really well...for a soundtrack!! So i'm still waiting for that. Yes it did sell, not for Queenstandards, YES it's a Queenrecord so we should treat it like one. And yes it's soundtrackalbum, but a really crappy one imo and that of many MANY others.

That's last i have spoken about this very sad matter. So no lameass remarks to lure me back i won't bite.

Thank You.

<Queen II and The Miracle both certified Gold in the US >

Not according to my source (see NOTWMEDDLE's list)

<So u've found a few people who think FG is brilliant, i can find hundreds of people who think all Britney cd's are brilliant...>

So ? What kind of argumentation is this ? I can find hundreds of people who don't like your favourite albums. This is incredibly lame.

<Like i said America and Britain are the biggest markets in the World when it comes to music. I'm sure Germany and Italy etc are important too...but the US and UK take the cake.>

No they don't. How often am I supposed to repeat this ? US, Germany and Japan are the most important markets. The UK comes fourth.

<I have no proof the Flash Gordon soundtrack really did fail commercially>

Exactly. So why do you try to defend your point ?

<only comparisations,you have no proof it DID really well...for a soundtrack!!>

The above is all I have, but IMHO it sufficiently shows that Flash Gordon did well enough for what it was and thus can be considered a success. Of course, it may not be enough to convince you, but at least I have more to prove my point than you came up with to prove yours.

Queen II and The Miracle certified gold!
Which means your sources aren't reliable, so your story isn't 100% true.

Unless someone else has something relevant to say, or just close this stupid thread.

thank you