The Miracle

The Miracle is the thirteenth studio album by the British rock band Queen, released on 22 May 1989. Released by Capitol Records in the United States, it is the band’s first studio album to be released by Parlophone Records in the UK. The album was recorded as the band recovered from Brian May’s marital problems and Freddie Mercury’s AIDS diagnosis in 1987 (which was known to the band, though not publicised at the time). Recording started in January 1988 and lasted for an entire year. The album was originally going to be called The Invisible Men, but three weeks before the release, according to Roger Taylor, they decided to change the name to The Miracle. It was also the last Queen album with a band photo on the front cover.

The album reached #1 in the UK, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, and #24 on the US Billboard 200 chart. The Miracle is estimated to have sold 5 million copies, indicating that despite slower sales in the United States, the record sold well around the world, even without a supporting tour. Allmusic would name The Miracle as Queen’s best album of the 1980s, along with The Game. It would prove to be the band’s penultimate album to be recorded with Freddie Mercury, as he died in November 1991, less than a year after the next album, Innuendo, was released.