Live AID: At the time, did you think Queen stole the show?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by KevinP, Jan 20, 2019.

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  1. modrevolve

    modrevolve Forum Resident

    I was to young to know the difference..but it’s the reason our family got it’s first VCR!
     
  2. At the time Queen were well received but U2 were pretty much universally considered the stars of the show.The fact is that they tried something different to running through a medley of their hits/best known songs and they seemed to embody the energy and passion of rock music rather than show business.
    Queen were good but the movie does rewrite history.
     
  3. GillyT

    GillyT Forum Resident

    Location:
    Wellies, N.Z
    In the audience at Wembley this was pretty much my reaction too, not being a Queen fan at all. I was waiting for Bowie.
     
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  4. Talisman954

    Talisman954 Forum Resident

    I don’t agree.
    Saying Queen were good when Freddie had 120,000 in the stadium in the palm of his hands,is hugely downplaying the unique performance.
    Up till that point the crowd really hadn’t got going to any performance, then enter Freddie and he totally had every person, Queen fan or not going crazy in that crowd.
    To this day I have never seen another performance like it, so to pass it off as good,just makes no sense to me.
    And trust me back then I was a much bigger U2 fan than Queen.
    I remember the press for weeks after all over Europe was all about Queen and how Freddie stole it.
    U2 were by far the new stars of the show, but overall it was Queen then U2.
     
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  5. nuclear_error

    nuclear_error Forum Resident

    Queen was outstanding that day and received very well at the time. Americans had largely stopped following Queen by then so it made an impression. U2 on the other hand were on their way prior to their performance and walked out superstars. Advantage: U2
     
  6. Roland Stone

    Roland Stone Offending Member

    I remember U2 being the band that got the most out of the event.

    There were a lotta veteran bands that day, a lotta distractions -- Dylan and the Stones, inevitable Beatles reunion rumors, Phil Collins's stunt -- and Queen had fallen off the commercial map in the US. They weren't headliners to most of the young American MTV audience.

    My friends and I were kinda surprised they were still around: "Hey, did you see Queen? They were pretty good!" But U2 was the up-and-coming (and relevant) band.
     
    Last edited: Jan 20, 2019
  7. Partyslammer

    Partyslammer Lord Of The New Church

    I agree. Watching the entire event on TV (in the US) the whole day and evening with a group of friends, I was more surprised Queen was as popular as they were even in the UK at that point in their career. I fall in line with the opinion that The Works album continued the downward artistic slide beginning with the Flash soundtrack and Hot Space albums. On the other hand, U2 was on the cusp of becoming the biggest rock band on the planet and their performance seemed to cement that opinion.

    Perversely, everyone and myself included really were looking forward to the Led Zeppelin reunion and afterwords, we all thought they sounded pretty awful and Page looked like he was going to chunder his breakfast.
     
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  8. redfloatboat

    redfloatboat Forum Resident

    Since that performance, over the years i've read and heard a zillions times how it was the best part of the whole show. Now, as a massive Queen fan i personally just thought it was a good performance, however as i've said before, i'm not a huge fan of watching the band play live. Radio Ga Ga was brilliant with everyone clapping in unison at the right points of the song.[just like in the original video to the song]

    The most cringeworthy point of Live Aid was definitely Bowie saying the lord's prayer, however i love his suit!
     
  9. Whizz Kid

    Whizz Kid Forum Resident

    My recollection is that Queen's set was good... although it only confirmed for me what I already felt about the band.
    I had been a massive Queen fan in the 1970s... but I had jumped off the bus when 'News Of The World' came out.
    Their new stadium rock image... with Freddie's Village People / Cruising look and John's perm job... left me cold.
    I kept thinking, wow, is this the same band I used to love so much??

    On the other hand, U2 were mesmerising that day... powerful and totally in their element. They were the high point of the day.

    My personal second-most favourite was Midge Ure / Ultravox... they were on early (third band of the day?) and they blew me away. I was unfamiliar with the music (those singles were unknown outside the UK) and I just thought Midge was the epitome of 80s cool in his blue mirrored shades and longcoat... what a voice!

     
    Last edited: Jan 20, 2019
  10. woody

    woody Forum Resident

    Location:
    charleston, sc
    I’ve actually watched all the pertinent performances recently after a Band Aid related YouTube Christmas search. I saw most live on TV as a teenager. U2 and Madonna were impressive. Bowie was great. That Queen performance is one for the ages. I was so impressed to make my 12 year old daughter watch it later. She didn’t complain, which I take as a compliment.
     
  11. TonyCzar

    TonyCzar Forum Resident

    Location:
    PhIladelphia, PA
    Sitting on the grass in the USA with a friend who had also kinda moved on from Queen (we didn't even bother to stand up and look at the screens, preferring to remain seated on the grass and listen ("Meh. It's Queen."), we were astonished at how good they were. Jaws were dropped. They were one of many astonishing things to happen that day, as others have said, particularly U2, etc.
     
  12. frightwigwam

    frightwigwam Talented Amateur

    Location:
    Oregon
    Well, U2 had come on a few spots before Queen, and then Dire Straits & Sting made a pretty good impression in between. The Bowie-Jagger video directly followed Queen, and got as much attention on MTV as anything else, too. My sister and her friends loved imitating their dance moves and falling out laughing.

    I recall that the biggest thing was just that Geldof had managed to assemble so many stars. The whole production was a spectacle. INXS beamed in via satellite from Australia. Phil Collins jumped on the Concord to play both sides of the Atlantic. Bowie & Jagger made their goofy video. And one big name after another. Queen made a good impression, but there really was a lot going on to talk about, later.
     
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  13. music4life

    music4life Senior Member

    Location:
    South Elgin, IL
    I recall the focus being on the return of Led Zeppelin and then...:shrug:
     
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  14. JoeRockhead

    JoeRockhead Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey
    I wasn't a big Queen fan then or now but agree they absolutely stole the show
     
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  15. Cachiva

    Cachiva Forum Resident

    Location:
    Houston, Texas
    I remember everyone talking about Phil Collins taking
    the Concord so he could play on both continents that
    day, Madonna refusing to take off her jacket (as nude
    photographs from her youth had just been published in
    Penthouse): "You guys ain't gonna see s**t!" And, Mick
    Jagger ripping off Tina Turner's skirt onstage!
     
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  16. Psychedelic Good Trip

    Psychedelic Good Trip Beautiful Psychedelic Colors Everywhere

    Location:
    New York
    Queen stole the show but Sir Elton was incredible himself.
     
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  17. RogerB

    RogerB Forum Resident

    Location:
    Alabama
    Queen and U2 were awesome but the single greatest moment was Bowie singing Heroes!! I watched it again last night and even his band was having a blast knowing they nailed it!

    And talk about appropriate lyrics for the occasion:

    We can be heroes...just for one day! Awe inspiring!
     
  18. tommy-thewho

    tommy-thewho Senior Member

    Location:
    detroit, mi
    Wasn't a big Queen fan but they did a good job.

    Liked U2 performance better.
     
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  19. Gaslight

    Gaslight ⎧⚍⎫⚑

    Location:
    Northeast USA
    My recollection was that Queen was impressive. But U2 really went off the page and you had absolutely no idea what was going on. It was like nothing I had seen before.

    Of course I had videotaped many highlights that day, but "Bad" was the song I watched over. And over.
     
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  20. Somerset Scholar

    Somerset Scholar Ace of Spades

    Location:
    Bath
    Yes they did steal the show. It was clear at the time too rather than a historical looking back.
     
  21. BeatlesObsessive

    BeatlesObsessive The Earl of Sandwich Ness

    Queen was a group I'd always liked from Bohemian Rhapsody in 2nd grade thru crazy little thing... freddie mercury just seemed like one of those guys mick jagger, rod stewart..force of nature unknowable but always this outsized proclaiming figure behind these major epic hits that dot my growing up.

    By the mid 80s queen was sort of part of the firmament they were in a crowd of hard rock metal type bands that stood out from the new wavey, r&b sounds that were the thing in 85... the police, eurythmics, madonna, prince, pointer sisters, squeeze, the clash... certainly in the us queen wasnt as big as theyd been but their track record was solid if not their latest stuff like radio ga ga.

    Live Aid was going to be an exciting saturday ...everyone was going to play. Most acts came off ok...some were on the edge of their seats for zeppelin, mccartney, dire straits...there was some stuff you could only see on cable..some stuff heard over the radio...some broadcast... everything was live which sounded kind of flat and windblown but what else could you expect. The Cars were a bit underwhelming and after a few hours it was just marking off all these great acts that were there and you were gonna watch. But that set by Queen cut through...it was live and powerful and it was jump out of your chair inspiring..it was some great songs we loved and it was a new song we didn't much care for that was sold on the strength of the wembley crowd clapping in unison. It grabbed us in that early evening slot when it was shown and the MOMENT they finished I shouted "THAT was the set of the day!" and the day wasn't even over yet!
     
  22. richard a

    richard a Forum Resident

    Location:
    borley, essex, uk
    That wasn’t Live Aid, that was at the Freddie Mercury memorial gig some years later. And the prayer surprised Bowi too as he’d not planned on saying it...
    Live Aid - Bowie’s performance was superb, great band, great vocals, great emotion.
     
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  23. BeatlesObsessive

    BeatlesObsessive The Earl of Sandwich Ness

    I remember we were all excited waiting for the big Bowie Jagger collaboration. Or Prince's taped contribution The Tears That You Cry... I remember Madonna with dark hair doing a scrappy sort of set. Tom Petty George Thorouhgood that whole afternoon. Ron, Keith and Dylan with their dour acoustic set and Dylan proposing Farm Aid. It was ok but nothing was particularly gripping as musical performance. Liked U2's Bad ..a great performance and an audiotape i replayed many times and U2 was already huge at my school. But Queen restored their name that day. The film may be mythologizing the event but facts are facts..they came out and roared through that set like they meant it and nobody got more out of a half hour that day.
     
  24. Picca

    Picca Forum Resident

    Location:
    Modena, Italy
    Yes
     
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  25. ausgraeme

    ausgraeme Forum Resident

    Interesting fact about the U2 performance. They actually came off stage thinking they’d blown the gig. Bono went off wandering during “Bad” for so long that they had to cut a song from their set list and the other guys were far from happy with him. Ironically, that performance of “Bad” went on to become one of the most iconic moments of the band’s career.
     
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