Watch Queen Reenact Live Aid Set at Fire Fight Australia
Queen + Adam Lambert re-enacted the band’s showstopping Live Aid performance when they appeared at the Fire Fight Australia fundraising concert.
You can see the full video and dozens of photographs of the performance below.
In 1985 Freddie Mercury and his colleagues made headlines around the world with a 22-minute set that featured classic tracks “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Radio Ga Ga,” “Hammer to Fall,” “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions.” You can watch the performance below.
All six tracks were delivered in the same format at the ANZ Stadium, Sydney, as Queen helped generate cash to help deal with the aftermath of Australia’s record bushfire season, which raged out of control for weeks.
In addition, video screens displayed the late Mercury performing the audience-participation routine he’d delivered at Wembley Stadium, London – although the recreation finished with a cheeky “fuck you.”
Queen at Fire Fight Australia
“For the first time in its history, Queen, fronted by singer Adam Lambert, will perform the band’s iconic 1985 Live Aid set tonight,” the group had said in a statement before the show. “The six-song set… is widely regarded as one of the greatest live performances of all time!
“This is Australia’s pain but it’s humanity’s problem,” guitarist Brian May had said of the band’s involvement with the show. “My heart has broken seeing the plight of the animals.” Drummer Roger Taylor added: “This would seem to be not only Australia’s problem but a climate change problem that affects the whole world. We are here right now and anything we can do to help in finding Australia a way to recover is the least we can do as musicians. We are all in trouble.”
Last year, Queen’s musical director and keyboardist Spike Edney said the idea of compressing a greatest hits medley into the tightly-timed Live Aid show had been “common sense,” adding: “It’s only in hindsight that everything seems to be so big, important and iconic. At the time, we were match-fit and ready to to play. …Once we sat there and joined up the running order they were going to go, it pretty much just took care of itself.” He continued: “I hate to sort of disappoint everybody. There was no master plan.”