On this day (May 29) in 1992, Queen re-released their 1977 hit “We Are the Champions” as a single in the United States. The decision to reissue the single came after eighth graders at a New Jersey middle school called their local radio station hundreds of times to request the song in response to the school’s principal banning students from singing it during their graduation ceremony.
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Queen released “We Are the Champions” as a double A-side single with “We Will Rock You” in 1977. It went to No. 3 in the United States and No. 2 in the United Kingdom. Written by Freddie Mercury as a celebratory song for teams and fans to sing at sporting events, the song has long been associated with victory. In films like The Mighty Ducks, it is an anthem for those who have overcome trials to find triumph. In short, it is a near-perfect song for a graduation ceremony. However, the principal at Sacred Heart School in Clifton, New Jersey, a Catholic parochial school, didn’t agree.
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The eighth-grade class at Sacred Heart voted to sing “We Are the Champions” at their graduation ceremony. However, the principal vetoed their vote, banning the song from the ceremony. According to UPI, students and the school’s administration gave different reasons for the ban. The administration said the secular song was inappropriate for a religious ceremony. The students, on the other hand, claimed the administration wouldn’t allow them to sing the song due to its connection to Mercury. The openly bisexual rock star died from AIDS less than a year before the ceremony.
Students Protest the Ban of Queen’s Victory Anthem
The student body of Sacred Heart wouldn’t let the school’s administration ban the Queen classic without a fight. They called in activists from ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) to protest at the school. This led to two arrests. More than that, students called the local radio station, Z100, countless times to request the song as a form of protest.
The increased airplay led to the reissue of “We Are the Champions.” More specifically, it led to a CD single that contained “We Are the Champions” as well as “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions” as a medley. The second track reflected how many radio DJs played the song in the 1970s because the two tracks played seamlessly.
No Wins for the Sacred Heart Kids
One would think that after the eighth graders at Sacred Heart raised a big enough stink to make national headlines and prompt a reissue of a nearly 20-year-old single that the school’s administration would relent and let the kids sing their victory song. That wasn’t the case, though. Instead, they canceled that year’s graduation ceremony.
Featured Image by Paul Natkin/WireImage
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