Freddie drank tea with honey. He would not drink beer for fear of burping and being rude to the audience. Great product placement on that piano. Freddie’s doctor told him not to perform at Live Aid because he had a bad throat infection.
A little info about the band. Freddie Mercury had a diploma in graphic design. He was never vocally trained and had 4 octave vocal range. Sir Dr. Brian May, the guitarist has a PHD in astrophysics and was knighted a year or two ago. He and his father made his guitar out of things around his house and 50 plus years later still uses it most of the time. It is called the Red Special. The drummer, Roger Taylor has a degree in Biology and sing falsetto. John Deacon, the bass player has a first class honors degree in electronic engineering and made the “Deacy Amp” for Brian May that he still uses. Brian said he has tried to get another one made that had the same sound but could never duplicate it. Queen is the only band ever to have all it’s members write a number 1 hit. All of them wrote multiple number 1 hits. Okay, I’ll shut up now. 😂
Yes, been a Queen fan since 1974 and saw them live multiple times (I mean Queen with Freddie), so this is common knowledge to followers of the band. I realise you are trying to give more background info to the reactor. But I don't think I have ever seen a reaction channel featuring Queen where someone doesn't feel the need to say Brian May has an Astrophysics degree and PhD! As if they are the only person who knows. I did get to meet Brian once and ask him about astronomy/space and why this subject is barely mentioned in the band's long catalogue. The band came from an era when many great UK bands met at College/University. Out of this came Art Rock, Progressive Rock, both genres which Queen's music explored in the early years. A couple of other big groups that met in a similar way were Pink Floyd and Genesis. Queen's education kept them level headed and focused and they got to a point where they did their own managing after being ripped off in the early years. I still have an article from a 1981 Sunday magazine titled "Britain's highest paid executives in 1980 were the four members of the band Queen, at over a million each". Very smart boys. And pretty talented too!
Freddie was actually quiet ill at the time and having vocal trouble. His doctor advised him not to perform, but he did it anyway and stole the show. He was seriously talented and a true performer.
Freddie didn't usually drink beer during performances, water with honey, it's mostly product placement. And all these singers today couldn't possibly perform without auto tune no matter how much green tea they consume. What you see here is pure unadulterated talent. All of Queen's live performances are fabulous... try anything from Wembley 1986 or Montreal 1981. Queen has a huge catalog to choose from and a genre for every taste. Keep doing Queen and the Queenies will follow!
Now that’s down speaking. ☝️A lot of performers are singing without autotune now. Starting with Miley Cyrus and I’m not the biggest fan of hers. But we can go down from the most famous ones like Coldplay to the smallest Against the Current or One Ok Rock. He wasn’t the only one singing without autotune and still he is not, I even heard Victoria Justice or Zendaya sing without any tune. So let’s get back to earth and don’t speak like that about other singers just because he was great. Or here is Rachel Zegler from the last Hunger Games. She proven sang live on set. And actually sang Queen covers. She is an outstanding singer. From opera to musical to country, she proved herself at 22…
THE whole concert is off the hook. They released it for IMAX a few months ago, now it is on Disney and of course you buy it. I love that concert amazing.
Queen had what I can only describe as an intimate connection to their fans. Each person knew they were part of a collective, but also felt that Freddie and the boys were singing *to them* - it's why the fan base continues to be one of the most loyal out there. If you really want to see that intimacy, watch "Love of My Life" from Rock in Rio.
For the entire time Freddie was on that stage he literally had the planet in his hand. From our homes we all sang and clapped along with him. That's why it is truly the greatest performance in music history.
I'm now 66 and I was in THIS crowd of fans... I had been a fan of queen since MY late teens / early 20's - EVERY true fan knew the cues to clap, point or sing etc. - Really NO prompting needed. Words to Queen songs are ingrained and we knew when to join in... Freddy knew his fan base and we knew him... The ONLY other charismatic musicians or singers who came close were David Bowie and Mark Knofler of Dire Straits. I went to many of their gigs and have so many happy memories... 😊
Freddie call and response was unmatched. Freddie would never have to get involved they all new what to do and everybody would follow Freddie in everything he did without be prompted. It not just a few fans that did it it would be everybody in the whole stadium. That's the power of Freddie! R.I.P FREDDIE WE MISS YOU
I watched this performance LIVE as an 18 year old. We absolutely knew, in that moment, that this was a world class performance. I cried watching it. They had not performed together in quite some time and had very little rehearsal prior to performing live in front of over a billion people watching world wide (and 72,000 in stadium). They were literally added at the last possible minute. It was an incredible performance and for many the last time we saw Freddie perform live.
It wasn’t only Queen who realized they had been sensational. Paul Gambaccini, who was part of the BBC broadcasting team at Live Aid, recalled the awe among other superstar musicians watching backstage. “Everybody realized that Queen was stealing the show,” said Gambaccini. These were the very words Elton John uttered when he rushed into Mercury’s trailer after the set. “You bastards, you stole the show,” joked the charismatic star. “Queen smoked ’em. They just took everybody. They walked away being the greatest band you’d ever seen in your life, and it was unbelievable,” said Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters. “And that’s what made the band so great; that’s why they should be recognized as one of the greatest rock bands of all time, because they could connect with an audience.” “It was the perfect stage for Freddie: the whole world”
David Bowie - who was on next - was supposed to have said "How the H*ll do I follow THAT?" 72,000 at Wembley, 120,000 at the JFK Stadium, Philly, watching on big screens,1.6 billion (est.)(I'm told) worldwide watching on live worldwide TV. Now, that's a hell of a gig.
Freddie my God the ultimate showman ever crazy vocals of course no body can top this man sometimes I feel like he was unhuman really but all the guys in this band outstanding talent great musicians love themm❤❤
Guitarist Dr. Sir Brian Harold May’s beautiful curls are 100% natural. He still has those curls, but bright white instead of chocolaty brown… still the same basic style too, albeit not quite as thick as in his youth. Bassist John Deacon had a perm here, but that was because he was trying to disguise a receding hairline - his hair had a lot of natural waves though (could look loosely curly or styled straighter when short, but beautiful shiny rippling waves when he had long hair in the early-mid 70s) Freddie also had very wavy-to-loosely curly hair too, but he usually tried to style it straighter. Sometimes you can see the curls start to emerge when it’s hot and humid, or well into the concert during the 70s when his hair was longer - his hair was near-black in color, and beautifully glossy. Only Roger Taylor’s hair was straight , which he liked to style tousled .
The shortest 20 minutes in history that rocked the world. I loved the movie, but there are a lot of inaccuracies in it, so if you want to know more about the band and Freddie you have to search for interviews, documentaries like Days of Our Lives, and the live performances. Please, check out Dragon Attack at Montreal 81.
Freddie only drank tea with honey in order to keep his throat from drying out during the performance. One of the sponsors always put a bottle of their beer on the piano, hoping people would buy it because it looked like Queen drank it.
Roger saw the crowd at one point and thought "this is going well". And the first thing Freddie said after getting off stage was "Thank God that's over!"
No auto-tune, no inear monitors, no trickery, just pure unadulterated talent. Plus he has been told not to sing for this performance due to throat issues. Regardless they came on stage and absolutely crushed it.
There was 72,000 at Wembley and 89,484 people at the Philadelphia concert. It was shown simultaneously worldwide by tv, seen by 1.2 BILLION people. Phil Collins played both concerts thanks to the Concord jet. Each act had 20 minutes. Queen rehearsed for hours to get the timing right.
Radio Gaga had a video which showed the audience what actions they should take - it was very well known but I guess you can smile at the fact this isn’t a “Queen” audience yet everyone knew what to do 😂
Freddie sounded this good even though he had laryngitis the week before. His doctor recommended that he cancel his appearance at Live Aid to give his throat time to heal. Freddie ignored that advice and did a magnificent performance even though he was later heard to say that it felt like he was singing with a throat full of glass shards.
These four musicians consistently and smoothly bring legendary performances to us . . . each Roger, drums and backing vocals ...Deaky, Bass ...Brian, Guitar and backing vocals ... plus Freddie Lead Singer and keyboards, etc. did this, i.e., pulled off the best 20 minute concert. They each always aim to excel. Not one will let the other down. What a great group of guys! And it's probably not beer or alcohol sharing performance time with Mr. Mercury.
If you react to Queen your channel will grow. Queenies love to support. Read all the comments. We can give you some great insight into the best band ever! Live Aid was 2 concerts, one in the UK and one in Philadelphia on the same day broadcast worldwide. 13 satellites were used. 1.9 billion watched this concert. It was reported that during Radio Gaga when everyone (72000) started clapping all the stars backstage quit talking and moved up front to see what was happening. As Elton John put it, Queen stole the show. David Bowie who would come on after Queen said, How am I supposed to follow this? 90,000 thousand people at the concert in Philadelphia watched Queen on the big screen and were all clapping and singing along as well. Queen had performed at Rock in Rio months prior to this in front of 250,000 to 500,000 fans so they weren’t nervous. What made them nervous was all the tickets were sold for this concert prior to them being put on the lineup so it was not going to be an audience of their fans.
@@willreacts_official @@willreacts_official ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vLcF4tkuc6M.html Love Of My Life Rock in Rio Brasil 2015 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-k__yBNF1YYY.html
I love your comment about the band being "tight". The casual observer may not notice, but in performance they constantly look at each other for cues and they nail it. (attended their concerts since early 70's)
For “a Thing Called Love” Freddie’s guitar wasnt connected via cable. Volume was down lower than expected. He turned back to Roger to cue him when to start. It’s absolutely seamless. There are a couple of other reactions on YT highlighting the utter brilliance of the teamwork and support within the band. Sorry - can’t remember the guy’s name but he’s a musician too. Roger backed Freddie in BR with the high notes because of Freddie’s sore throat. Freddie was a masterful leader when the band played. The only other musician I’ve seen who comes remotely close is Bruce Springsteen.
Greatest live musical event ever!!!! Live Aid was amazing..... over a Billion people watched this live and Queen stole the show!!!!!! Freddie was amazing and didn't drink on stage...... Freddie was an amazing frontman!!!!!! This concert was on 2 continents and live broadcasted all over the world!!!! Phil Collins sang in London, took the Concord to the US and then helicopter to the Philadelphia location and played there.... So many artists played at this concert, but Queen was by far the best!!!!! You should check out the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert... George Michael did an amazing job on Somebody To Love.... that was another amazing day in music history!!!!
This was not a Queen audience as they were not on the schedule when tickets were sold. Many who went for other artists, came away Queen fans. They practiced their music for about a week to be sure they could cover as much of their songs in the allotted time, shortening some What the light right side of stage move from green, to yellow then yellow with blinking red. When Freddie indicates to stop, the light will turn red and the power to the instruments would have shut down, but they had completed their set. Queen was used to playing stadiums so no problem for them
Actually, Freddie never drank the beer because it made him belch. He drank tea. He actually had a throat infection during this performance and went on stage against doctor’s orders.
I’m glad you enjoyed it, it was indeed a masterclass in stage presence. I remember watching it at the time on tv and was blown away. I still watch it a couple of times a year and it still blows me away. I think they knew straight away as did the rest of us that we had witnessed something very special. David Bowie said how could he go on after that, he knew how good they were. Freddie will always be the ultimate front man for me, sadly taken way too soon. I wouldn’t get all of my backstory to this from watching the film though.
Liked & subscribed! More Queen pls, if you do the Queen Army will subscribe in droves! This iconic performance thrills me every single time. Could you pls do their live performance at Montreal of “Somebody to Love” it will blow you away. Just remember the golden rule, never ever pause during a Dr Sir Brian May guitar solo or that same army will down on you hard! ( Yes Brian is a Dr of Astrophysics & was knighted by King Charles 111!) Great reaction, thank you, love from Australia 🇦🇺
1985. Sophomore in high school. Watching this live on mtv with 40 percent of the planet singing along. Freddy had us all in the palm of his hand. No cell phones, no internet, we played outside. We had the best music Pay attention kids. These are real singers with no autotune or ear monitors and muscians who can really play their instruments to perfection. They all sound the same live as they do on the album. We were lucky to live in this time. Freddy was the master at owning the crowd. I felt bad for david bowie having to follow a perfect and epic performance. The other performers were in awe of him. This was the perfect performance. Best ever. For 20 minutes the world forgot about the differences and rocked out to queen as brothers and sisters. Im glad i was alive to see it live. It was a great time to be a teenager. I think the only band that could have followed queen might have been ac/dc because of their catchy tunes and angus of course but they weren't there unfortunately. I think freddy was the best vocalist of all time not just because of his voice but also his stage presence and command of the crowd. He was one of the greatest performers of all time and is dearly missed. Who is Queen? Rock Gods!
Freddie only drank tea with honey or warm water when he preformed. That crowd is singing right along, which is pretty spectacular! This is one their best shows. Incredible. Thank you for sharing this.
This wasn't about Queen, but Live Aid was a fundraiser for the hunger in Africa. There was not only music at Wembley, but also in America, and Australia, sent simutanius over the whole world. All the bands played for free, and the money they would normaly take, went integral to the hungry countries in Africa.
The Australian concert wasn't a part of Live Aid; Live Aid was Philadelphia and London. The Australian concert was called Oz for Africa and was organized by someone else.
The joke Smith and Jones made in the beginning is a reference to the Rooftop Concert by the Beatles, where some bobbies entered the rooftop to tell the Beatles to turn down the volume because people were complaining about the noice
Once you 'Get' Queen...They become part of your soul and mental wallpaper. Although now in this 21st century there is so much mystique surrounding Queen, and particularly Freddie's legendary status...We who were privileged to see Queen perform live, knew instinctively that we were witnessing inimitable greatness. I was so very fortunate to attend several of their concerts in different parts of the world in the mid 80's...This band were the perfect storm, and Freddie was the God with pockets full of fairy dust, who ensured each and every ticket holder experienced the absolute time of their lives. Dear Freddie showed us inside his heart...and we will love him forever for it.❤
Well said. I saw them in Sydney in 1985. A fan since 1974. Best live concert I’ve seen. Ever. Queen’s Live Aid performance reduces me to happy tears every time I see it. Takes my breath away.
@@juneabbott6805 I was there for the last 2 nights of the Sydney shows. Memorable experience, as I was in the 2nd row from the stage. If you were there on the last night, I was the girl who slid the giant bunch of red and white roses onto the stage at the closing of the concert.
@@alainemancini3366most definitely. Here we are almost 40y later with the memories still fresh. How many people worldwide hold similar memories? Their legacy is truly amazing.
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta was so impressed with the song "Radio Gaga" that she used part of the title for her stage name. That's how she became Lady Gaga.
BTW… There is also a QUEEN ENCORE at Live Aid: As part of the event’s Grand Finale, Freddie Mercury & Brian May were asked to come back and perform: Is This The World We Created? (The video is on the official Live Aid channel.)
Remember this was a hastily arranged CHARITY concert for starving Africans in response to 'on the spot news' by the BBC. It wasn't even a 'Queen' fanatic's crowd as such. People in the UK care about others. The last shot you saw was the American (same day) event with a certain UK drummer playing in BOTH, thanks to Concorde!
Us old folks are used to the audio/video quality. 😄😂 I saw Queen back in 1978 and Freddie was already having the crowd sing back back to him, whatever he threw out there. It wasn't a set thing like all the AaaaOhhhhs at Live Aid. Just when he felt like at the time. They are great in concert for many reasons, my personal ones are that they never tried to recreate the studio performance. You got something different every time. And they had songs that were just made for the crowd to sing and perform. I hope you enjoy your journey down the Queen rabbit hole. ✌💖😃
All of Queens live performances were all unbelievable. There will never be another queen and the will definitely not be another Freddie. HE was one of kind.
Queen is great live. All four of them played their instruments extremely well, wrote songs, sang beautifully, and arranged their songs. They put on a terrific show with Freddie being the most flamboyant showman. They were pure talent. One of the best bands ever!
Freddie was drinking Honey Tea ! ❤ the crowd was just mesmerized and in sync with Freddie on their own (Epic) ❤️ 72,000 strong in the audience and millions watching around world as this was simulcasted live to the world ! 😎 David Bowie was up next and when he passed Freddie , he says to Freddie…. “How The F*#k am I supposed to follow that” 🙏🏻
Brain May's hair is naturally curly. The 'beer' is Lemon tea. It wasn't a Queen audience, It was sold out before they were announced as playing. This Freddie on a bad day, he had a throat infection & advised by doctor not to sing. They rehearsed, these are cut down version of their anthem hits to fit the strict 20 minute slot. They also each did a sound check b4 Freddie did his on the piano& adjusted it. They also stole the show !!!!!
I think one of the most important aspects of this Queen performance is this was not a Queen audience. There were 16 bands which included Elton John, The Who, U-2, Paul McCartney, and many more. The show was sold out even before Queen joined the lineup. This crowd joined in without preamble and this was 5+ hours into Live Aid on an exhaustingly hot July day at Wembley Stadium which holds 72,000 people. I like your comment about "when people could play their instruments." Queen (and most at the time) did not wear earpieces, therefore no clicks, no prompts. There was no Melodyne, no autotune, nothing to "fix" anything they did. They are also working with corded instruments and mics! Queen is one of the tightest bands you will ever hear. They practiced for a week before this concert to get it down to the second (mics were cut as the red light turned on). Queen was the only band to practice and it showed. They practiced before every tour and did sound checks before every concert. Professionalism was important to them. Amusingly, their tightness was criticized (by critics, of course) as not loose enough, but from what Roger and Brian have said in many interviews, two shows were never the same. As someone said below, play Queen and the Queenies will come! Live HAS to be next!
18:04 - "I can't get over how many people are there.' They said 'You can buy a ticket to see every musician you like for $25 and support a good cause at the same time,' and everyone who could show up, showed up, along with billions around the world watching from home. It was the greatest concert that will ever be.
Freddie was under doctor's orders not to perform with the throat infection he had. The drinks were not beer or alcohol! If you listen carefully there is a slight crack in his voice at the very end of their set, when singing 'We Are The Champions' - an amazing achievement
You probably already know by now that Brian May's hair is totally naturally curly. He used to straighten it, early days, but then decided to defy convention. John Deacon's was a perm, I think. You'll get told many things about Queen, as you continue your journey
Thanks, Will - especially for recognizing the band.. Freddie was always astounding.. but so were the entire band... (please don't mock Brian May's hair.. not a "perm" still grows out of his head the same way today.. only now, it's thinner and silver-white... lol)... of course, this was not even a Queen crowd.. they were a last-minute addition to the program.. yet.. widely agreed that they "stole the show"... I'll look forward to more of your reactions...
You notice no ear pieces. They played off one another and I think Roger Taylor said the acoustics were so bad that the band couldn’t hear one another so they used hand signals to stay in sync. Now…that’s a band.
Yeah you can take the word arguably out of the sentence " arguably the best live performance ever". You've got the best frontman in rock history, with one of the best male vocalists this worlds ever known, with a massively talented band behind him, and they took a crowd that was pretty quiet, and very bored, who probably wanted to make their way home at that point, and turned it into the most iconic performance in the history of music. Queen ruled the world that day despite freddie having a bad throat infection, and he decided to go against his doctors orders, who wanted Freddie to pull out of of the event because of how bad his throat was. Freddie was without doubt a once in a lifetime talent, he had no formal vocal training, well unless a short time with his school choir counts as vocal training. The man is a true musical genius.
One Vision from the Wembley 1986 concert is worth reviewing. It opened the show and you can see how they capture the audience from the start with a dramatic build up and entrance to the stage.
hey Will freddie didnt drink beer it was tea and honey for his sore throat he had that day😅 he's amazing, awesome, beautiful, top of the line singer, master performer, Queen are the BEST! I still love you all❤
Was an amazing performance. Can we just give props to Brians guitar tech for the not one but two seamless guitar changes in Crazy Little Thing Called Love. Acoustic to Tele to Red special.
I wasn't there but I watched it on television, I am 58 years old and I can say that it was the best concert That I have ever seen.. Everyone who participated was a star in their own right.. We need more of this ( humanity over money) 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
Thanks for the raction.....and one thing many people do not know......freddy whas a heavy smoker....how the h**l did he maintain his vocalchords....so pure.....almost no miss or tone switch He was the greatest
Imagine if this was today, all you would see is the crowd holding up their bloody mobile/cell phones!! Anyway, I remember watching this live when I was a kid.
Not beer on the piano. Tea with honey. (Looks like beer!) He was having some throat strain at that time. His doctor said don't do the show. Freddie said, :"THE SHOW MUST GO ON!"
Freddie had a special knack for making every member of the audience feel like he was playing just to you. He had some kind of special energy. Even if you were back in the cheap seats, you felt like he had singled you out and you felt special. I love this concert. I have seen it hundreds of times, I think and I still love it every time. I watched this concert on TV on the day it happened, everyone I knew did. It was a very special day. Thank you for reacting to this outstanding set by Queen. Next act up, David Bowie. I think he was the only person who could have kept the momentum generated by Queen going, and he did. Not perms, those are natural curls on Brian and John. On this day, Freddie had a throat infection so he is probably sipping tea with honey and lemon. He always had that on stage too but also water and beer. That would be Spike Edney on piano, he is a multi-instrumentalist who played with Queen live so Freddie could be up front more. Spike was often referred to as the Fifth member of Queen. As they were leaving the stage they said to one another "That went alright I think" they couldn't hear on stage and they had no sound check but as they left the stage Bowie who was next us walked up to them and said "Basta**s!" It was all in fun Queen and Bowie were good friends. Elton John chided Freddie for stealing the show. It was only then that the band realized it had gone so well.
After they got off stage Freddie said " thank god that's over" and took a shot. His doctor told him not to perform cuz he was sick ( not Aids yet). So many people miss a few hours later when they took the stage again for 1 more beautiful song.
