You Don't Fool Me


"You Don't Fool Me" is a song by British rock band Queen from their 15th and final studio album, Made in Heaven. It was released as a single in February 1996 in Europe and in November 1996 in the United Kingdom, containing various remixes of the song. The song is one of the few which were actually written and recorded after the Innuendo sessions, and was written and composed by the band, under David Richards' supervision. It proved to be the band's final European hit.

Background

"You Don't Fool Me" was one of the last tracks recorded for the album Made in Heaven and came about in a most unusual way. Brian May has explained on his website that the producer for the band, David Richards, more or less created the framework of the song single-handedly, building from bits of lyrics recorded just before Freddie Mercury's death. May has said that before Richards' work, there was no song to speak of. However, after Richards edited and mixed the song, he presented it to the remaining members of the band. Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon then added their instruments and backing vocals and were surprised to end up with a finished song that had begun as nothing. The style of the song is reminiscent of their 1982 album Hot Space, and a comment over that featured on their Greatest Hits III album.

Music video

The video is set in a night club where a young man encounters his former girlfriend and recounts the memories of their brief relationship. The theme of the song could possibly be a continuation of the story set up by earlier Queen songs "Play the Game" and "It's a Hard Life".

Track listings

Original version

CD single
  1. "You Don't Fool Me" – 3:54
  2. "You Don't Fool Me" – 5:25
CD maxi
  1. "You Don't Fool Me" – 5:25
  2. "You Don't Fool Me" – 3:54
  3. "You Don't Fool Me" – 10:18
  4. "You Don't Fool Me" – 7:07
12-inch maxi – Europe
  1. "You Don't Fool Me"
  2. "You Don't Fool Me"
  3. "You Don't Fool Me"
  4. "You Don't Fool Me"
12-inch maxi – U.S.
  1. "You Don't Fool Me" – 7:02
  2. "You Don't Fool Me" – 5:24
  3. "You Don't Fool Me" – 5:53
  4. "You Don't Fool Me" – 6:33

Remixes

CD single
  1. "You Don't Fool Me" – 3:15
  2. "You Don't Fool Me" – 4:40
CD maxi – UK release only
  1. "You Don't Fool Me" – 5:24
  2. "You Don't Fool Me" – 7:05
  3. "You Don't Fool Me" – 10:53
  4. "You Don't Fool Me" – 10:34
12-inch maxi – UK release only
  1. "You Don't Fool Me" – 7:05
  2. "You Don't Fool Me" – 10:34
  3. "You Don't Fool Me" – 10:53
  4. "You Don't Fool Me" – 5:24
Cassette single
  1. "You Don't Fool Me" – 5:24
  2. "You Don't Fool Me" – 7:05
The Sexy Club Mix is the nearly the same on all formats. The UK CD and 12-inch versions list the wrong time of 10:53, when it should only be 10:18 like the other formats list it. The UK CD version has a mastering error and the first four seconds are lost, bringing the running time down to 10:14.

Personnel