After the conclusion of the 1986 "Magic Tour", Queen would retire from touring (at least in their original, pre-Paul Rodgers, pre-Adam Lambert form). Known for being one of the most electrifying live acts, the band concluded the stage in style, with a rousing set of shows, highlighted by a huge concert at Wembley Stadium in July. No strangers to Wembley, Queen took on the world at Live Aid the previous year, captivating all those in attendance, Queen fans or not, with a universally-praised set that is synonymous with the entire event.
This concert is all about entertainment, it's all about Freddie (and the rest of the band) displaying their prowess as entertainers and performers. There is nothing important about the concert in the grand scheme of things, well at least when considering music as a whole, but of course, it being the latest live release we'd get from the group, it's a profound experience for diehard fans. This show survives simply on being great - it's no "Kick Out The Jams" (MC5) or "Live At Leeds" (The Who), it's no "Live At The Apollo" (James Brown) or "Stop Making Sense" (Talking Heads), it's Queen insane level of performance and nothing else.
We open with "One Vision", a certified crowd-pleaser, electrifying in its "we're gonna rock tonight" heavy guitar style, and also very fresh at the time. "Tie Your Mother Down", perhaps the band's best "great rock opener" post - "Brighton Rock" follows, and much like "One Vision", the fans hang on every word, every lick from Brian, every chance to sing along, they were adhesively attached to the music, and the ridiculous bombast presented by Freddie.
Speaking of Freddie's bombast, his enigmatic showmanship, "Live At Wembley" proves his connection with the audience via many of the band's most famous live moments. Whether it be the sing-along bridge in "Another One Bites The Dust", which sounds amazingly richer than the studio version here, or his audience-testing "ayyy ohh" moments, or the strangely connective "impromptu", the bond was always present.
Despite having a shitload of hit singles at this point, Queen weren't dependant on the hits here. They briefly play "In The Lap Of The Gods...Revisited", the closer from "Sheer Heart Attack", quite beautiful in its nostalgic balladry, and "Seven Seas Of Rhye" follows, which did get to Nr10 in the UK charts, but by Queen standards at this point, that may as well have been an album track.
"Tear It Up", the song that Queen surely hoped initially would become a major hit is played, as is the namesake of the "Magic Tour", "A Kind Of Magic", with length and nifty jam portions. Following is "Under Pressure", one of the true highlights of the first half of the live album, with Freddie singing both his and David Bowie's parts beautifully.
After the aforementioned "Another One Bites The Dust", Freddie says the poignant words: "We're going to stay together until we fucking well die", addressing apparent rumours that Queen were going to break up. It's a fairly bittersweet statement, as Queen's togetherness was only broken by Freddie's death in 1991, with the band seemingly planning on going and going if possible, but his discovery of his illness just a year later, and the fact that the next song they play is "Who Wants To Live Forever", makes the statement an incredibly sad one.
In "I Want To Break Free", Freddie doesn't shine on his vocal performance, and the song does seem to be the only moment in the entire show where he doesn't seem to really get the crowd to sing along in the way he'd like. Then there's "Brighton Rock Solo", which is an amazing showcase of Brian May's talent. "Now I'm Here" picks the show up straight after, a crucial reminder that Queen put together a few bangers in their early days.
The oldie covers aren't going to be to everyone's liking. Queen were always adamant that they broadcast a number of their influences, and fair enough, their cover of "Tutti Frutti" is nicely amped-up, but "Baby I Don't Care" and "Hello Mary Lou" come close to really cheesing up the concert, and "Big Spender", while pretty groovy, is too short. We continue with premium Queen balladry, firstly in the form of a guitar version of "Love Of My Life", with Freddie receiving a nice ovation after speaking the words "I Still Love You", and "Is This The World We Created?" follows, a sometimes overlooked Queen song and the audience loves it here.
Later on, the band essentially goes into its Live Aid set, with "Bohemian Rhapsody" kicking it off. Then Freddie shouts "Hammer To Fall" and plays it to the delight of a devoted audience. It sounds mind-blowingly powerful, with Queen somehow continuing to rock pretty hard even though they'd been playing for a good while at this point. Freddie gets his own guitar out and struggles his way through a lengthy rendition of "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", with an extended solo (guitar and piano). The audience didn't seem to be able to get the rhythm right when clapping along. They do the same in the intro of "Radio Ga Ga", although it's a quite excellent performance.
Unlike what fans had become accustomed to, "Friends Will Be Friends" is positioned in between "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions", which makes for a nice change, even if it is a brief rendition. The other two definitely fulfil their duty of being the grand climax of a Queen gig. As always, Queen's version of "God Save The Queen" echoes out of the speakers to end the show, and there you have it, an incredibly substantial collection of hits, and a demonstration of what almighty performers Queen were.
But before we get to the main feature, let's enjoy...
The Pre-Show:
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In our "Film Extras" section we will enjoy two interesting video-documents, first we recuperate the 1985 Queen Live Aid Concert and second we'll have the opportunity of enjoying an interesting BBC documentary on Freddie Mercury titled "The Final Act". Very interesting though sad to watch how such a brilliant artist and human being had to leave too soon. It wasn't meant to be.
Concerning our "TV On Deck" section, we continue with our 60s-70s comedy sitcoms and our cartoon delight. Plus our "newbie" and his continued adventures in Las Vegas.
The Main Feature:
Title: Queen: Live At Wembley Stadium
Director: Gavin Taylor
Cast: Freddie Mercury / Brian May / Roger Taylor / John Deacon
Release Date: December 1990
Country: UK
On Your Way Out:
As our motto goes: "Grab 'em, Use 'em, Enjoy 'em". You all know by now this section is here to hopefully, enhance your experience of viewing today's flick. The pictures, the reading material plus the listening extras, all have one common goal: pleasure through learning!
Cheers.
Shade.
Note: Password for all files: Shade'sVintageRadio
The truest poetry is the most feigning. (William Shakespeare)
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