It might be 2018, but many people still talk about a live performance that took place 33 years ago in London during the summer of 1985.
On July 13, 1985, Queen took the stage at Live Aid and blew the world away with what has been called the greatest live performance of all time.
Live Aid was a dual-venue benefit concert that was hosted in London, England and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (and is still an ongoing music based fundraising initiative). The original event was organized by Midge Ure and Bob Geldof to raise funds for the Ethiopian famine.
72,000 people turned up at John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, while 100,000 people attended in London. In total, the concert was watched by over 1.9 billion people from 150 different countries.
Popular artists like Sting, Phil Collins, The Who, David Bowie, U2, Queen, and more performed at Wembley Stadium. Between the two stadiums, there were 50 artists set to perform over 16 hours.
Out of all of the performers that put on a show, Queen is still one of the most talked about sets to this day, three decades later.
During their 21-minute-long set, Queen performed many of their biggest hits, including:
“Bohemian Rhapsody”
“Radio Ga Ga”
“Hammer to Fall”
“Crazy Little Thing Called Love”
“We Will Rock You”
“We Are the Champions”
According to The New York Times, Queen took the 16-hour long concert more seriously than many of the other 50 artists that performed. Leading up to the show, they practiced and rehearsed for three days straight.
Their practice proved to be worth it, as they delivered a show that blew people away. Freddie brought the energy, while John Deacon, Brian May, and Roger Taylor brough the rock energy and theatrics that Queen became known for.
Later on during Live Aid, Queen’s frontman Freddie Mercury and guitarist Brian May returned to the stage to help end the show by performing “Is This the World We Created?”.
When people talk about Queen’s performance, it is always with high praise. Brian May has since given all of the credit to the late Freddie Mercury. He said:
“That was entirely down to Freddie. The rest of us played okay, but Freddie was out there and took it to another level.”
In the 2018 film Bohemian Rhapsody, a biopic based on Queen’s formation and the moments that lead up to their Live Aid performance, a 10-minute portion of this epic performance was recreated near perfectly.
While the film has critics very mixed in their reviews based on the accuracies and inaccuracies included about Freddie Mercury’s life, this scene, in particular, has been hailed for its brilliance.
Bohemian Rhapsody star Rami Malek channeled Freddie Mercury excellently and truly brought him to life on stage. He worked with a movement coach in order to embody the late Queen frontman.
Minor details, like the number of Pepsi cups and beers on the piano to how Freddie ran onto stage, were all included in the film and mirror the original performance almost perfectly.
You can watch Queens entire 21-minute performance and Freddie Mercury & Brian May’s second set at Live Aid in the video below:
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