The two tracks were built on audience response following a concert at Bingley Hall in Stafford, England, in which the audience sang “You’ll Never Walk Alone” back to the band, according to Mojo magazine. The resulting effort was not one but two tracks, “We Are the Champions” and “We Will Rock You” — tunes that embody numerous elements of participatory arena rock. As noted on Songfacts, lead guitarist Brian May wrote the tracks, claiming that the idea for “We Will Rock You” came in a dream. He told Mojo in October 2008 that he wanted to “create a song that the audience could participate in.”

“We wanted to get the crowds waving and singing. It’s very unifying and positive,” May recalled to MailOnline in 2009. “People love it because it’s so uplifting. Although much of our music was created using multi-layered arrangements and vocal harmonies — which work especially well in the recording studio — we were into making our concerts musical events.”