The Ukulele Alphabet: Radio Ga Ga by Queen

Letter Q, Week 1
“Radio Ga Ga” by Queen

Well. Did you honestly expect me to choose any other artist for the letter Q in the Ukulele Alphabet?

Actually, I picked the band, but I let my sibling, who’s the bigger Queen fan between the two of us, pick the song, and I think they nailed the choice.

And here’s an example of faulty memory: Even though I knew this song — not by heart, but I thought quite familiarly — when I cued up my vinyl copy of Queen’s Greatest Hits (1981 version), it wasn’t there.

It’s true! “Radio Ga Ga” somehow did not not make the cut of a “greatest hit” back in the day! How rude.

I mean, if the song was important enough to inspire Lady Gaga’s nom de plume, how could it not be in the pantheon with such bangers as “Fat Bottomed Girls” and “Bicycle Race”?

Luckily, this was rectified when Greatest Hits II came out in 1991. (That album officially includes “Under Pressure” too, which missed the cut on the original, so we can all rest easy.)

I’m breaking with tradition and including Queen’s 1985 Live Aid performance below as the first video, because watching Freddie Mercury perform is always such a treat and it’s such a famous concert.

Or listen to the original version of “Radio Ga Ga”:

What’s the Ukulele Alphabet?

Read all about my 2025 ukulele performance project (and its rules) here.

I want to A-B-SEEEE some more!

Watch all the performances in the Ukulele Alphabet project.