commentators 
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Jazz,
Hollywood Records, 1979 Released in all countries as double A-sided single with "Bicycle Race." BILLBOARD CHART ACHIEVEMENTS:
# 11 in the UK, Oct. '78Pop Singles: # 24 GLOBAL CHART ACHIEVEMENTS: # 7 in Holland # 28 in Australia top 10 hit at MATT RADIO |
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| Queen guitarist Brian May wrote "Fat Bottomed Girls." It's about a young man who comes to appreciate women of girth. |
| Queen staged a bicycle race around a stadium in England with naked women as contestants to promote this single in England. Images from the race were used for the video and the cover of the single. |
| The cover of the single, which featured a nude woman riding a bicycle, was altered after many stores refused to stock it. The new version was the same photo, with panties drawn over the woman. |
| At a 1978 concert in Madison Square Garden, Queen re-created the video by having women with very little clothing ride bicycles around the stage. |
| The album contained a poster of the women in the bicycle race. It was left out of some copies sent to stores that did not want to stock it, but fans could mail-order the poster if they desired. |
| Queen rented 65 bicycles for the race. When the company found out what they'd been used for, they refused to take the bikes back. |
| This was released as a double A-side single with "Bicycle Race." The songs ran together on the album and were often played that way by radio stations. The year before, Queen released "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions" as a double A-side. They are also still usually played together by radio stations. |
1978 saw Queen
score a big double-sided hit in their homeland of England, a single
that contained the merry Freddie
Mercury tune "Bicycle Race" on one side and a sleazy piece of Brian
May rock on the other, "Fat Bottomed Girls." The band caught some
flack from longtime fans who felt that the band had no business doing
risqué rock and should stick with positive and spiritually-based
anthems (such as "Somebody to Love," "We Are the Champions," "Keep
Yourself Alive," etc.). Looking back, though, it's not nearly as
raunchy as some made it out to be, and it remains one of Queen's
best rockers. The song is based on a detuned guitar riff that is
both
bluesy and metallic, while the song begins with its chorus, as Queen
shows off their impeccable vocal harmony skills. Although the
song was rarely played live, it remains a
classic rock radio favorite to this day.