We Are the Champions
song written and composed by Freddie Mercury; originally recorded by Queen and released in 1977
"We Are the Champions" is a song by the British rock band Queen, released from the band's sixth album News of the World (1977). Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, it remains one of rock's most recognisable anthems. The song was a worldwide success, reaching number 2 in the UK, number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, number 3 in Canada, and the top 10 in many other countries. In 2009, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and was voted the world's favourite song in a 2005 Sony Ericsson world music poll.
Written with audience participation in mind, Mercury said "We" in the song's title refers to everyone who is singing it. Brian May called the song "unifying and positive". "We Are the Champions" has become an anthem for victories at sporting events, including its use during the 1994 FIFA World Cup, and has been often used or referenced in popular culture. The song has also been covered by many artists.
On 7 October 2017, Queen released a Raw Sessions version of the track to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the release of News of the World. It was made from previously unheard vocal and instrumental takes from the original multi-track tapes.
“We Are the Champions” enters the record as song written and composed by Freddie Mercury; originally recorded by Queen and released in 1977. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Champions, song and written can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“We Are the Champions” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Champions, song and written provides the most credible route into that argument.
Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q238564. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1977, 2009, 2005 and 1994.
Public reputation and documentary evidence do not always develop together; absence from a summary is not evidence of historical absence. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “We Are the Champions”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow We Are the Champions primary sources, We Are the Champions archive and Champions research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “We Are the Champions”?
- How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
- Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “We Are the Champions” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.