Richard Irvine-Brown
@richib.bsky.social
5.8K followers 640 following 1.9K posts
Portfolio: https://www.clippings.me/users/richardirvinebrown Journo. BBC Verify. Digital investigative journalism since 2014, cars/money data before, BBC Sport 2007-2011. Also running the #QueenWorldCup.
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richib.bsky.social
#QueenWorldCup

Final whistle! Cease voting!

This has been a mild one. A well-mannered crowd in a delicate stadium.

THE INVISIBLE MAN - 4

THESE ARE THE DAYS OF OUR LIVES - 16

Comfortable, would be the word.

Tomorrow is another.
a man in a batman costume is standing next to a man in a suit on a couch in a living room .
Alt: Batman, in full costume, dives onto a sofa prepared by Alfred, his butler, in a fancy apartment
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richib.bsky.social
#QueenWorldCup

Little bit of a rally going for The Invisible #Man but it looks like These Are The #Days Of Our Lives is strolling home.

About an hour left to vote, including injury time.
richib.bsky.social
#QueenWorldCup

Oh, right, yeah. An update.

Absolute hammerings don’t hammer much harder than this.

So far, BBC mates, Transformers nerds and my music buddies have all gone 100% on These Are The #Days Of Our Lives.

The single vote for The Invisible #Man is here on BlueSky.

You have until 10pm!
richib.bsky.social
I think you’re the first!
richib.bsky.social
We had Was It All Worth It earlier but it was trounced by I Want It All in a tie I found confusing to keep track of.
richib.bsky.social
Yeah, good on you! I went into the Beatles World Cup determined to get Hey Bulldog all the way, egged on by @twgerken.bsky.social.
richib.bsky.social
QUEEN WORLD CUP
#QueenWorldCup

THE INVISIBLE MAN
or
THESE ARE THE DAYS OF OUR LIVES

TATDOL was once used by BBC Sport to soundtrack a montage of 80s/90s snooker. My dad taped it. Watching it was the only time he’d cry.

Anyway. Vote #Man or #Days in the replies.
Pool Beer GIF
Alt: Tom, the cat from Tom and Jerry, plays pool, dragging the pocket to where he wants it
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richib.bsky.social
#QueenWorldCup

That’s it, game over, I’m late home from seeing Heart Attack Man at the Underworld.

SOMEBODY TO LOVE - 15

THE FAIRY FELLER’S MASTER STROKE - 6

A routine win, indeed. Immediate need for bed.

Support live music!
Heart Attack Man playing at the Camden Underworld, 7 October 2025
richib.bsky.social
#QueenWorldCup

The thing about The Fairy Feller’s Master Stroke is @markwainwright.bsky.social couldn’t believe the song title.

As @paulmyersbbc.bsky.social points out, it’s all about a painting at the Tate.

Vote #Master or for #Somebody To Love!
Detail from the Fairy Feller’s Master Stroke by Richard Dadd, Tate Britain. It shows several small characters in a pastoral tableau of bracken and small flowers. The primary colours are gold and brown.
richib.bsky.social
#QueenWorldCup

(No, this thing isn’t over yet.)

Comfortable but not unassailable lead for #Somebody To Love over The Fairy Feller’s #Master Stroke.

You should really check out TFFMS, as a precursor to Bohemian Rhapsody, at least. Or don’t. I don’t know your life.

But VOTE!
richib.bsky.social
Well, we had to seed the most-nominated songs against the least.

Or risk having a final of Killer Queen vs Thank God It’s Christmas.

Still, it’s led to a lot of people saying, “whoah, Queen II rocks,” and “I’ll go listen to Sheer Heart Attack”.
richib.bsky.social
QUEEN WORLD CUP
#QueenWorldCup

As per, we’ve got a massive hit up against an amazing track off Queen II which nobody has heard before.

SOMEBODY TO LOVE
v
THE FAIRY FELLER’S MASTER STROKE

Reply-vote #somebody or #master
freddie mercury is smiling and giving a thumbs up in front of a record .
Alt: freddie mercury is smiling in front of a record with the words Yas Queen underneath
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richib.bsky.social
#QueenWorldCup

Final whistle.

Chants of “Easy, easy,” from the crowd.

A little unfair on Sheer Heart Attack, which was today’s winner of all the “oh, that’s actually quite cool” comments.

Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy wins, as it was always going to do, 22-5.
richib.bsky.social
#QueenWorldCup

It's a familiar pattern, the big hit is turning over the proto-metal album track.

"What a racket," said the journalist on the desk next to me, regarding Sheer #Heart Attack.

Didn't say it was bad, though.

So vote for it, or Good Old-Fashioned #Lover Boy, by 10pm.
richib.bsky.social
#QueenWorldCup

Lunchtime update: GOOD OLD-FASHIONED LOVER BOY is out ahead, but SHEER HEART ATTACK is gaining.

Again, maybe worth giving SHA a listen as it's not as well known.

Reply with #Heart or #Lover to register your vote by 10pm!
A still from the 1985 Transformers episode The Girl Who Loved Powerglide, showing red robot called Powerglide opening his chest to show an array of pink lights in the shape of a heart
richib.bsky.social
QUEEN WORLD CUP
#QueenWorldCup

Same again, really. A more-obscure track which rocks or the one we know from probably an advert / soundtrack / your dad's car tape.

SHEER HEART ATTACK
v
GOOD OLD-FASHIONED LOVER BOY

Give both a listen, vote for which you like more by replying #Heart or #Lover.
a man singing into a microphone while playing piano
Alt: Freddie Mercury furiously playing the piano on stage
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richib.bsky.social
No.

17-14

I am being a soft touch with late votes.

And because WHITE QUEEN RULES.

That’s it, though, no more voting. Stop it.
richib.bsky.social
And another, down the back of the settee.

17-13

And really is all over now.
richib.bsky.social
Letting a late vote get in.

16-13 to I Want To Break Free
richib.bsky.social
OK, sure I’ll count it late.
richib.bsky.social
I know. It’s like the blueprint of Radiohead and Cradle Of Filth in one.

The other is a pleasant 80s single.
richib.bsky.social
#QueenWorldCup

We tried, God knows, we tried.

I WANT TO BREAK FREE - 15
WHITE QUEEN - 13

Another win for a big single, but another early Queen song has become ever so slightly more popular.

And the narrowest win of the tournament so far.

Have some more of this tomorrow.
a close up of a man 's face with the words everything about freddie on the bottom right
Alt: a close up of Freddie Mercury’s face in the 1970s, with long dark hair against a black background
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richib.bsky.social
#QueenWorldCup

15-12, I Want To Break Free looks like it has taken control with an hour to play.

Vote #boring if you want this to happen, vote #awesome if you want White Queen to win.
a woman with blonde hair and a bow in her hair is wearing a pink shirt and tie .
Alt: Roger Taylor and Freddie Mercury of Queen are both dressed as women in a suburban home and sing God Knows
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richib.bsky.social
#QueenWorldCup

11-11, Cupset put on ice.