Queen fans around the world were shocked when it was announced that the band’s beloved song Fat Bottomed Girls had been mysteriously excluded from their new Greatest Hits collection.
Though the song hit the charts over forty years ago, it remains a favorite of many fans who appreciate its humor and classic rock energy.
In the song, which was written by guitarist Brian May, a young man expresses appreciation for fuller-figured ladies through the lyrics, “left alone with big fat Fanny, she was such a naughty nanny, big woman, you made a bad boy out of me” and “fat bottomed girls, you make the rockin’ world go round.'”
The song was a huge hit for Queen and has been included in several of the band’s past Greatest Hits albums. It was so popular that it was the fourth song on the band’s original 1981 greatest hits album, even placed ahead of other hits like “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Don’t Stop Me Now” and “We Will Rock You.”
However, it didn’t make the cut for the new Greatest Hits collection released last week by Universal Records. Music industry insiders are bemused as to why the track has been left off the album, insisting that it is “merely a bit of fun” and should not have been sidelined in this way.
Though the song has always sparked debate about its lyrical content, it seems even more difficult to accept its exclusion in the era of “cancel culture” where it appears that even the most good-natured attempts at humour are not allowed.
The exclusion of Fat Bottomed Girls appears to be even more disappointing when one takes into account that the Greatest Hits album has been released in collaboration with Yoto, a new audio platform aimed at young people – many of whom are sure to have grown up with this classic Queen track.
The new Greatest Hits collection will hopefully still find favour with Queen fans but for many, the exclusion of Fat Bottomed Girls is heartbreaking.
Fans are furious.
“It is woke gone mad,” one fan said. “Why not appreciate people of all shapes and sizes like society is saying we should, rather than get rid of it. It’s outrageous.”
