"Innuendo" began as a jam session in Switzerland amongst May, Taylor and Deacon in spring 1989. Mercury was upstairs and heard them playing the beat, and turned it into a song, creating the melody and starting off the lyrics. From then on they all four worked on polishing the track and Taylor took over the lyrics (which were written as a tribute to Led Zeppelin and their song "Kashmir"). The middle section, written by Mercury, was included later and it featured a synth-orchestra programmed by producer David Richards and a flamenco interlude played by Yes guitarist Steve Howe, who had come to visit them and was asked to play what Brian May himself admitted he couldn't. Like "Kashmir", the title of the song is only mentioned once.