Flick of the Wrist

"Flick of the Wrist" , written by Freddie Mercury, was the Double A-side of "Killer Queen" but it was much less promoted and therefore not as popular outside the Queen fandom. The song includes Mercury singing octave vocals.

When Brian May returned to work having recovered from a bout of acute hepatitis, he had not heard the song before he recorded his guitar and backing vocals.

It is a heavy track with quite dark lyrics and an aggressive tone, something that may seem unusual for later Queen-songs, but in the early days (especially on Queen II) Mercury and May would often write grim songs, such as "Great King Rat" and "Son and Daughter".

At about 1:14 - 1:16, the line "Baby you've been had" can be heard. This line is also the opening to the next song on the album, "Lily of the Valley", making a 3-song overlap (Tenement Funster into Flick Of The Wrist, Flick Of The Wrist into Lily Of The Valley).

Dream Theater covered the entire three-song arch of Sheer Heart Attack ("Tenement Funster," "Flick Of The Wrist" and "Lily Of The Valley") for their album Black Clouds & Silver Linings and it appears on the Special Edition release.