One Vision - Promotional Video

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Screenshot from the regular version of the video
Screenshot from the Extended Vision version of the video

Following Hammer To Fall, Queen's next real foray into the world of music video came in September 1985. Following the success of their performance at Live Aid, Queen felt more of a functioning unit than they had in years. The urge to record together once again was strong, and inspired by the work of Martin Luther King the first seeds of this came with the One Vision single - writing credits given to Queen and released as a single in November of that year. The song was a big hit, reaching number seven in the UK singles charts and was a major hit in most of Europe.

The video was the first of many future projects that Queen Productions would entrust to Rudi Dolezal and Hannes Rossacher, affectionately known as the Torpedo Twins. Shot in Munich during work on the A Kind Of Magic album, the video finds the band in a playful mood, relaxing and recording with a smirk on their faces. Outtakes from this session appeared in the Torpedo Twins three-part VHS documentary The Magic Years, including some off-the-cuff, somewhat X-rated alternate lyrics courtesy of Freddie.

The video also features brief clips from the band's recent tour, highlighting the incredible sense of unity in their audiences. This was arguably a reaction to the heavy criticism the band were receiving at the time for their decision to perform concerts in South Africa's infamous Sun City complex the previous year.

With the opening and closing shots being stills from the beginning and end of the Bohemian Rhapsody video, which morph into and out of the band recreating the pose as they were in 1985, the video feels somewhat profound in spite of, or perhaps because of all the tomfoolery. It suggests that despite their enormous success in the ten years since "Bo Rhap", the band had not changed who they were and what they stood for - powerful, compelling music... and never taking themselves too seriously.

There are three versions of this promo. The standard cut features on the Greatest Flix II and Classic Queen VHS releases and the Greatest Video Hits 2 DVD, while an alternate version was used to promote the film Iron Eagle, which the song appears in. This version is identical to the standard cut bar the inclusion of shots from the film. Finally, an extended version was made to match the 12" cut of the song. Entitled "Extended Vision", this is featured on the Greatest Video Hits 2 dvd.

Credits

Version Name Artist Recorded Format Length Director Filming Location
Standard Version One Vision Queen August 1985 Video 4.02 The Torpedo Twins Musicland Studios, Munich
Iron Eagle Version One Vision Queen August 1985 Video 4.02 The Torpedo Twins Musicland Studios, Munich
Extended Version One Vision Queen August 1985 Video 6.29 The Torpedo Twins Musicland Studios, Munich

Availability