On this day 53 years ago, one of the most legendary rock bands in music history released its first single.

Keep Yourself Alive from Queen was released on July 6, 1973 and failed to catch on in both the United Kingdom and the United States, where the song never officially charted. It was the band’s only single that failed to chart in the United Kingdom.

“Unfortunately, apart from a few places like Japan, it didn’t get much airplay. We were told ‘it takes too long to happen, boys. It’s more than half a minute before you get to the first vocal.’ So when we made the second album, we felt right we’ll show them,” legendary guitarist Brian May revealed.

While it’s become somewhat of a cult classic, even he wasn’t pleased.

Brian May Liked the Demo Best of All

In a conversation with Guitar Player, May was asked why the band changed from an acoustic guitar at the start of the demo for the song.

“No. I think that’s a good observation. I don’t quite know why we switched. I like the old version. It’s so relaxed. It’s got such a great feel to it. From that day on, I always had this theory that it’s really not a good idea to make demos,” he said.

He was ultimately never happy with the subsequent recordings of the track.

“I’m not saying you can’t use your tape recorder as a notebook. I find that very valuable. But to actually make a demo of a record you’re going to make in the future, it’s generally disastrous because almost certainly you get something fabulous at the first attempt, something which you will never be able to revisit, no matter how hard you try. The more you chase it, the further it gets away. I was never happy with any the recordings we made after that first one,” he admitted.

While Keep Yourself Alive never charted, Queen went on to have five No. 1 singles in the United Kingdom and two in the United States’ Billboard charts.

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This story was originally published by Men’s Journal on Jul 6, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men’s Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.