Who wrote the song "Death on Two Legs"?

Freddie Mercury wrote “Death on Two Legs,” Queen’s bitter opening track on the 1975 album A Night at the Opera. Mercury wrote it about the band’s former manager, Norman Sheffield, following Queen’s acrimonious split from Trident Studios and its management.

The lyrics never name Sheffield directly, but their hostility was unmistakable. Sheffield sued Queen and the record label for defamation, and the case was settled out of court. That settlement effectively confirmed the person behind the song’s attack, although Sheffield later disputed the band’s account of their business relationship.

Mercury shaped the song’s dramatic piano-led arrangement and performed the lead vocal. The other Queen members supplied the instrumental backing, but the composition is credited to Mercury alone. The song is therefore sometimes confused with a group composition, since Queen typically arranged and recorded its songs collectively.