"Innuendo" is the fourteenth studio album by the British rock band Queen, released on 4 February 1991 by Parlophone in the United Kingdom and by Hollywood Records in the United States. As the follow-up to The Miracle, "Innuendo" consists of songs that encompass a wide variety of genres, featuring heavy rock, pop, psychedelic rock, and ballads.
This album is notable for being the last one released during the lifetime of lead vocalist Freddie Mercury, who was diagnosed with AIDS in 1987. From this point on, he was increasingly ill and could not tour, so the band concentrated on studio work, taking much of 1990 to record the album at Mountain Studios in Montreux, Switzerland and Metropolis Studios in London.
The album’s title track opens with a flamenco guitar intro before hard rocking strikes in. It is one of Queen's longest songs and their third number-one single in the UK. "The Show Must Go On", written primarily by Brian May as a tribute to Mercury’s determination to keep working in spite of his illness, is another highlight and was released as the album’s closing track.
Despite Mercury's deteriorating health, the band pushed their creative boundaries, and "Innuendo" was highly acclaimed upon its release, topping the UK Albums Chart for two weeks. The critical and commercial success of the album reaffirmed Queen's place at the apex of the rock world.
The artwork for the album was designed by Queen and Richard Gray. The booklets and single covers from the album are by Grandville, or are inspired by his illustrations.
After the album release and one more album later, Queen virtually retired due to Mercury's ill health. Mercury died on 24 November 1991, just a few months after "Innuendo" was released.
