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Return of the Champions is a double live album by English rock band Queen + Paul Rodgers. All of the tracks, apart from “Imagine”, were recorded in May 2005 during the Queen + Paul Rodgers Tour at the Hallam FM Arena in Sheffield, England. “Imagine” was performed in Hyde Park, London on July 15th 2005. The performance was meant to take place on July 8th, but was postponed due to the London bombings that occurred the previous day. The album was released on 19 September 2005. A companion DVD was released in October, directed by David Mallet.

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllmusicStarStar link
Robert ChristgauD+ link
The Rolling Stone Album GuideStar [1]

Track listing

All lead vocals performed by Paul Rodgers, except where noted.

Disc 1

Track List
No.TitleWriter(s)Original AlbumLength
1.Reaching OutDon Black, Andy Hill  
2.Tie Your Mother DownBrian MayA Day at the Races (1976 / Queen) 
3.I Want to Break FreeJohn DeaconThe Works (1984 / Queen) 
4.Fat Bottomed GirlsMayJazz (1978 / Queen) 
5.Wishing WellFreeHeartbreaker (1973 / Free Album) 
6.Another One Bites the DustDeaconThe Game (1980 / Queen) 
7.Crazy Little Thing Called LoveFreddie MercuryThe Game 
8.Say It’s Not True” (Lead Vocals by Taylor)Roger TaylorThe Cosmos Rocks (2008) 
9.'39″ (Lead Vocals by May)MayA Night at the Opera (1975 / Queen) 
10.Love of My Life” (Lead Vocals by May)MercuryA Night at the Opera 
11.Hammer to Fall” (Lead Vocals by May & Rodgers)MayThe Works 
12.Feel Like Makin’ LovePaul Rodgers, Mick RalphsStraight Shooter (1975 / Bad Company) 
13.Let There Be DrumsSandy Nelson, Richard Podolor  
14.“I’m in Love With My Car” (Lead Vocals by Taylor)TaylorA Night at the Opera 
15.“Guitar Solo” (Brighton Rock)   
16.Last HorizonMayBack to the Light (1992 / Brian May) 

Disc 2

Track List
No.TitleWriter(s)Original AlbumLength
1.These Are the Days of Our Lives” (Lead Vocals by Taylor)TaylorInnuendo (1991 / Queen) 
2.Radio Ga Ga” (Lead Vocals by Taylor & Rodgers)TaylorThe Works 
3.Can’t Get EnoughRalphsBad Company (1974 / Bad Company) 
4.A Kind of MagicTaylorA Kind of Magic (1986 / Queen) 
5.I Want It All” (Lead Vocals by Rodgers & May)MayThe Miracle (1989 / Queen) 
6.Bohemian Rhapsody” (Pre-Recorded Vocals by Mercury, With Lead Vocals by Rodgers)MercuryA Night at the Opera 
7.The Show Must Go OnMayInnuendo 
8.All Right NowAndy Fraser, RodgersFire and Water (1970 / Free) 
9.We Will Rock YouMayNews of the World (1977 / Queen) 
10.We Are the ChampionsMercuryNews of the World 
11.God Save the QueenTraditional, Arr. MayA Night at the Opera 
DVD Tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Original AlbumLength
12.“It’s a Beautiful Day” (Remix / Pre-Recorded Vocals by Mercury)MercuryMade in Heaven (1995 / Queen) 
13.Imagine” (Live at Hyde Park / Lead Vocals by May, Taylor & Rodgers)John Lennon  

NOTES: Tracks 12–13 are bonus songs from the DVD

Personnel

  • Paul Rodgers – lead vocals, guitars
  • Brian May – guitars, arrangements, vocals
  • Roger Taylor – drums, percussion, vocals
  • Spike Edney – keyboards, percussion, vocals
  • Jamie Moses – guitars, vocals
  • Danny Miranda – bass guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals
  • Freddie Mercury – pre-recorded vocals (“Bohemian Rhapsody”, “Beautiful Day”), pre-recorded piano (“Bohemian Rhapsody”)

Charts

Album

Chart (2005) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[2] 107
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[3] 19
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[4] 52
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[5] 39
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[6] 19
French Albums (SNEP)[7] 80
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[8] 13
Irish Albums (IRMA)[9] 47
Italian Albums (FIMI)[10] 19
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[11] 28
Scottish Albums (OCC)[12] 10
Spanish Albums (Promusicae)[13] 44
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[14] 42
UK Albums (OCC)[15] 12
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[16] 2
US Billboard 200[17] 84

DVD

Chart (2005) Peak
position
Australian Music DVDs Chart[18] 16
Austrian Music DVDs Chart[19] 2
Belgian (Flanders) Music DVDs Chart[20] 7
Belgian (Wallonia) Music DVDs Chart[21] 6
Danish Music DVDs Chart[22] 10
Dutch Music DVDs Chart[23] 2
Greek Music DVDs Chart[24] 3
Italian Music DVDs Chart[25] 4
Spanish Music DVDs Chart[26] 6
US Music Videos Chart[27] 13

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[18] Gold 7,500^
France (SNEP)[28] Gold 10,000*
Germany (BVMI)[29] Gold 25,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ “Queen: Album Guide”. Rolling Stone. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  2. ^ “Queen ARIA chart history (1988 to 2025)”. ARIA. Retrieved 18 April 2026 – via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release’s peak on the national chart.
  3. ^ “Austriancharts.at – Queen + Paul Rodgers – Return of the Champions”. Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  4. ^ “Ultratop.be – Queen + Paul Rodgers – Return of the Champions”. Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  5. ^ “Ultratop.be – Queen + Paul Rodgers – Return of the Champions”. Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  6. ^ “Dutchcharts.nl – Queen + Paul Rodgers – Return of the Champions”. Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  7. ^ “Lescharts.com – Queen + Paul Rodgers – Return of the Champions”. Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  8. ^ Offiziellecharts.de – Queen + Paul Rodgers – Return of the Champions” (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  9. ^ GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 38, 2005“. GfK Chart-Track. IRMA. Archived from the original. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  10. ^ “Italiancharts.com – Queen + Paul Rodgers – Return of the Champions”. Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  11. ^ “Portuguesecharts.com – Queen + Paul Rodgers – Return of the Champions”. Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  12. ^ Official Scottish Albums Chart on 25/9/2005 – Top 100“. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  13. ^ “Spanishcharts.com – Queen + Paul Rodgers – Return of the Champions”. Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  14. ^ “Swisscharts.com – Queen + Paul Rodgers – Return of the Champions”. Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  15. ^ Official Albums Chart on 1/10/2005 – Top 100“. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  16. ^ Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart on 25/9/2005 – Top 40“. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  17. ^ “Awards: Queen + Paul Rodgers – Return of the Champions”. Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  18. ^ a b “ARIA Top 40 DVD” (PDF). The ARIA Report (823): 23. 5 December 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 December 2005. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  19. ^ “Austria Top 40 – Musik-DVDs Top 10 11.11.2005”. Austriancharts.at (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  20. ^ “Ultratop 10 Muziek-DVD”. Ultratop (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  21. ^ “Ultratop 10 DVD Musicaux”. Ultratop (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  22. ^ “Musik DVD Top-10”. Hitlisten.nu (in Danish). IFPI Denmark. Retrieved 1 March 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  23. ^ “DVD Music Top 30”. GfK Dutch Charts (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  24. ^ “Top 20 DVD/Video”. IFPI Greece (in Greek). Archived from the original on 14 December 2005. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  25. ^ “Classifiche: Archivio – DVD Musicali”. FIMI (in Italian). Retrieved 2 March 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  26. ^ “Top 20 DVD Musical” (PDF). PROMUSICAE (in Spanish). Media Control GfK International. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  27. ^ Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 5 November 2005.
  28. ^ “French video certifications – Queen + Paul Rogers – Return of the Champions” (in French). SNEP. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  29. ^ “Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Queen; 'Return of the Champions')” (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 2 March 2013.