He Was in Queen, But On This Day, He Was The King.

Queen at Live Aid.

July 13th 1985. The world came together, in JFK Stadium in Philadelphia and Wembley Stadium in London (and around the world via television) to raise some money and raise awareness to the famine in Africa. The concerts brought out some of the best musical acts at the time. Duran Duran, Hall & Oates, Madonna and legendary acts like Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones knocked them dead in Philadelphia. While Elton John, Sting, Phil Collins and U2 were the bands to see in Wembley.....until Queen took the stage.

It was 6:40 in the afternoon and it was really hot that day in London. Add in 72,000 people and you had a very warm crowd. The show had started at noon and would finish up at nearly 11:30 PM, so it can be understood if an ordinary crowd might not be ready to get into a performance. But this was no ordinary crowd and this was no ordinary band. By 1985 the band had been around for 15 years and had proven themselves to be a fantastic live band, having toured the world many times over and being able to rely on a deep background of hits that were solid crowd pleasers. When you include a lead singer like Freddy Mercury......they were unstoppable. And this was the kind of crowd and the kind of moment that someone like Freddy lived for.

As the band took the stage, the crowd had just finished watching Dire Straits and U2 before them (who everyone said had the best performance....up to that point). Freddy almost immediately proved that he was a master of the live arena, taking control of the entire 72,000 people strong crowd and lifting them up to a height that has probably never been attained before or since. He literally has the entire stadium in the palm of his hand. And he does what any master showman would do....he entertains them completely.

In the years since this performance, music critics have almost unanimously agreed that this is the best live performance ever given. The entire set is 21 minutes and includes 6 songs (or 5 and a half since Bohemian Rhapsody is only half of the song). Watch the video and be impressed.

(the video included the song that Freddy and Brian May, his guitarist, came back out later and performed. Its a good song but there were several sound issues, so stop the video after the 21 minute spot)

Please enjoy.