The Works (Queen album) 19 November 1984, and promotional copies were indeed pressed ("QUEEN 5") and sent out (b/w "Keep Passing the Open Windows"), but the band opted for a Christmas single ("Thank God It's Christmas"). The fifth track on "The Works", "Machines (Or 'Back to Humans')", came about as an idea by Taylor, and May collaborated with him and finished it. Producer Reinhold Mack programmed the synth-"demolition" using a Fairlight CMI II Sampler, and the song is sung as a duet between a double-tracked Mercury (singing in harmony with himself), and a robotic Taylor (using a Roland VP330 Vocoder). The instrumental remix of
Last Christmas Ridgeley the introduction and chorus melody to "Last Christmas", which Ridgeley later called "a moment of wonder". The song was recorded in August 1984, at Advision Studios, London, England. George Michael had written, performed, produced and played every single instrument on the track. With a Linn 9000 drum machine, a Roland Juno-60 synth and sleigh bells, they began recording the song in the summer. The only person who was in the studio was engineer Chris Porter and two assistants. According to Porter, lyrically "you’ve got the happiness of the rhythm track, but against that you’ve got the sadness of the