by Georg Purvis
What is presented is terrific: the full, uncut 120-minute concert with updated sound and visuals, with enough bonus material to please even the most cynical fans. Six songs – ‘A Kind Of Magic’, ‘Another One Bites The Dust’, ‘Tutti Frutti’, ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’ and the finale of ‘We Are The Champions’ – are from the Friday night concert, which was used as a dry run for the camera crew to prepare angles and shot composition, while another six titles from pre-tour rehearsals are included, the quality of which isn’t stunning but is fascinating nonetheless. Perhaps the most interesting bonus feature is the ‘Queen cam’, which allows the viewer to switch between exclusive angles of Brian, Roger, John and Freddie on four songs: ‘One Vision’, ‘Under Pressure’, ‘Now I’m Here’ and ‘We Are The Champions’. A picture gallery is interesting but mostly superfluous, though it does mark the first release of the original version of ‘A Kind Of Magic’, last heard over the credits of Highlander in 1986.
The only thing that prevents this from being a definitive release is the omission of highlights from other Magic tour shows, which would have been a better alternative than the interviews and documentaries included on the second disc (one can only hope these will be released when Live In Budapest is given the DVD treatment). However, those omissions (and inclusions) detract little from the overall product, and Live At Wembley Stadium should be the template on which further live DVD releases are based. For anyone who grew up watching Live At Wembley ’86 in wide-eyed wonder, or for anyone who had seen Queen at Live Aid and wanted to know what the fuss was all about, or for a budding Queen fan who needs a place to start their obsession, Live At Wembley Stadium is the genuine article.
GREATEST VIDEO HITS 2
• 2003 (200 mins) • Hollywood Records 2061 69017 9
• Directors: Russell Mulcahy, David Mallet, Rudi Dolezal, Hannes Rossacher, Mike Hodges, Brian Grant, Tim Pope • Producers: Simon Lupton and Rhys Thomas
‘A Kind Of Magic’, ‘I Want It All’, ‘Radio Ga Ga’, ‘I Want To Break Free’, ‘Breakthru’, ‘Under Pressure’, ‘Scandal’, ‘Who Wants To Live Forever’, ‘The Miracle’, ‘It’s A Hard Life’, ‘The Invisible Man’, ‘Las Palabras De Amor (The Words Of Love)’, ‘Friends Will Be Friends’, ‘Body Language’, ‘Hammer To Fall’, ‘Princes Of The Universe’, ‘One Vision’, ‘Back Chat’, ‘Calling All Girls’, ‘Staying Power’ (live at Milton Keynes Bowl), ‘One Vision’ (Extended Vision), Freddie Mercury interview (‘A Musical Prostitute’), The Works interviews, A Kind Of Magic interviews, Documentary: The Making of ‘One Vision’, The Miracle interviews, Documentary: The Making of The Miracle videos (‘I Want It All’, ‘Scandal’, ‘The Miracle’, ‘The Invisible Man’, and ‘Breakthru’), Montreux Golden Rose Pop Festivals (1984: ‘Radio Ga Ga’, ‘Tear It Up’, ‘It’s A Hard Life’, ‘I Want To Break Free’; 1986: ‘One Vision’, ‘A Kind Of Magic’, ‘Friends Will Be Friends’, ‘Hammer To Fall’)
Easter Eggs: ‘Who Wants To Live Forever’ (Highlander version), ‘Who Wants To Live Forever’ (1989 Ian & Belinda version)
In November 2003, a little over a year after the first compilation appeared, Greatest Video Hits 2 was released, and was of more interest than its predecessor. Abandoning straightforward performance videos in favour of producing mini-epics, the videos included on Greatest Video Hits 2 are much more appealing to casual and ardent fans alike.
Of particular interest are the inclusions of some truly rare videos: ‘Scandal’, ‘It’s A Hard Life’, ‘The Invisible Man’ and ‘Friends Will Be Friends’ had been previously unavailable in the US, and while ‘Las Palabras De Amor (The Words Of Love)’ and ‘Princes Of The Universe’ had been previously released on Greatest Flix III, their inclusion here is more than welcome considering the 1999 compilation was available only on VHS and was out of print by 2003. As before, Brian and Roger provide commentary for each video, though their remarks were recorded separately and edited together to suggest they were in the same room; while it’s not detrimental to the release, the camaraderie and interplay between the two is missed.
While the bonus features don’t feature anything as revelatory as ‘Inside The Rhapsody’, there is plenty to rejoice in. For the first time, rarely seen videos of ‘Calling All Girls’ and ‘Back Chat’ make their appearance, with a live rendition of ‘Staying Power’ from the June 1982 Milton Keynes performance and an extended edit of the ‘One Vision’ video also included. Along with these videos, four interview segments were compiled – three feature each band member talking separately about The Works, A Kind Of Magic and The Miracle, while the fourth is Freddie talking with Rudi Dolezal in 1984 and is called ‘A Musical Prostitute’. There are also three documentaries, with one detailing the making of the album cover for The Miracle, a second showing the recording of ‘One Vision’ (this documentary had been released in 1987 on The Magic Years, but that video anthology has been out of print for years), and the third showing the making of the videos from The Miracle.
To cap it all, two performances of Queen at the Montreux Golden Rose Pop Festival (one in 1984, the other in 1986) are also present, though these are inconsequential considering both were mimed and not performed live. The only thing missing is Queen’s videos for Innuendo, Made In Heaven, and ‘No-One But You (Only The Good Die Young)’; though these were initially promised for a third instalment, Greatest Video Hits 3 has been abandoned indefinitely, and a more comprehensive, double-disc overview of Queen’s videography may be on deck instead.
46664: THE EVENT
• 2004 (377 mins) • Warner Music Vision B 0001DI51M • Director: David Mallet • Producers: Simon Lupton, Jim Beach, Jean Francois Cecillon
‘Say It’s Not True’, ‘Invincible Hope’, ‘46664: The Call’, ‘The Show Must Go On’, ‘Toss The Feathers’, ‘Is This The World We Created...?’, ‘Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime’, ‘Amandla’, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, ‘I Want It All’, ‘I Want To Break Free’, ‘Radio Ga Ga’, ‘We Will Rock You’, ‘We Are The Champions’, ‘46664 Chant’, Interviews
Queen’s performance from the November 2003 Cape Town concert in support of Nelson Mandela’s 46664 campaign to bring awareness of the AIDS virus contains the first appearances of new material (‘Say It’s Not True’, ‘Invincible Hope’, ‘46664: The Call’ and ‘Amandla’) on a commercial release since Made In Heaven in 1995. The DVD 46664: The Event features Brian and Roger’s complete set (credited as Queen), along with other guest performances – Brian with Andrea Corr on ‘Is This The World We Created...?’ and Roger with The Corrs on ‘Toss The Feathers’, among others – and is not only worthwhile from a musical standpoint, but also as a charitable venture.
QUEEN ON FIRE: LIVE AT THE BOWL
• 2004 (200 mins) • Parlophone 7243 5 44187 9 2 • Director: Gavin Taylor • Producers: Simon Lupton and Rhys Thomas
‘Flash’ / ‘The Hero’, ‘We Will Rock You’ (fast), ‘Action This Day’, ‘Play The Game’, ‘Staying Power’, ‘Somebody To Love’, ‘Now I’m Here’ / ‘Dragon Attack’ / ‘Now I’m Here (reprise)’, ‘Love Of My Life’, ‘Save Me’, ‘Back Chat’, ‘Get Down, Make Love’, Guitar Solo / Drum Solo, ‘Under Pressure’, ‘Fat Bottomed Girls’, ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, ‘Tie Your Mother Down’, ‘Another One Bites The Dust’, ‘Sheer Heart Attack’, ‘We Will Rock You’, ‘We Are The Champions’, ‘God Save The Queen’, Selections from Tokyo, November 1982 (‘Flash’ / ‘The Hero’, ‘Now I’m Here’ / ‘Put Out The Fire’ / ‘Dragon Attack’ / ‘Now I’m Here’ (reprise)’, ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’, ‘Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)’. Selections from Vienna, May 1982 (‘Another One Bites The Dust’, ‘We Will Rock You’, ‘We Are The Champions’, ‘God Save The Queen’)
Fans rejoiced at the DVD release of Queen On Fire: Live At The Bowl: even though it had been filmed for and broadcast on TV in 1982, it was from an era of Queen’s history that was unfairly maligned and now interesting to explore. Hot Space m
ay have been a let-down, but the band’s performance at Milton Keynes Bowl on 5 June 1982 saw them blazing through a wonderful set combining old favourites and new compositions. And it should be noted that the Hot Space tracks – ‘Action This Day’, ‘Staying Power’ and ‘Back Chat’ – sound much better live than on record.
The video is shot superbly, again by Gavin Taylor, and while some of the shots focus a bit too much on Brian and Freddie, it’s a minor complaint. The second disc contains a smattering of extras, including live performances of some neglected tracks from concerts in Vienna and Tokyo; the latter concert features an absolutely scorching version of ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’ and a great rendition of ‘Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)’. While all the Japanese footage had been released on Live In Japan in 1982, it was released here worldwide for the first time.
Interview footage is also included, though the questions revolve around the band’s light show instead of anything worthwhile. Brian and Roger are interviewed together, both of them alternating between weariness and humour; Freddie appears alone and bounces back and forth between indifference and annoyance. Overall, the bonus features are nice (a photo gallery of the 1982 tour is also included, though the only thing of interest is the backing music: the slideshow is set to a previously unreleased live version of ‘Calling All Girls’, also from the Japanese concert), but the real attraction is the first disc, a reminder that when Queen were on fire, they were virtually unstoppable.
LIVE AID
• 2004 (10 hours) • WSM R2 970383
• Producers: Jill Sinclair, Bob Geldof, John Kennedy
‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, ‘Radio Ga Ga’, ‘Hammer To Fall’, ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’, ‘We Will Rock You’, ‘We Are The Champions’, ‘Is This The World We Created...?’
When Bob Geldof received word that bootleg DVDs of the July 1985 Live Aid performance were being traded and sold for exorbitant prices on the internet, he was outraged and went against his original claim that the performance would be a one-off, never to be seen again. Instead of having greedy bootleggers receive the profits, an edited four-disc box set of the two simultaneous concerts was released in November 2004, with all proceeds going to famine relief.
It was inevitable that Queen’s set, widely considered the best of the day, was included, and what a treat it is. Finally, fans who were mere toddlers or not even born at the time of the concert were able to see what the hype was all about, and why the band (but mostly Freddie) were held in such high regard. As with the other sets, the technical setbacks were edited as well as possible (Brian’s solo during ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’ was marred by irritating feedback, which was almost entirely omitted) to provide the most accurate portrayal possible of that legendary day. Some fans have argued that too much attention was paid to Freddie, while the others only occasionally stroll into the camera’s view, but Brian, Roger and John have all stated that Live Aid was Freddie’s time to show the world who he was, and there’s no better place to see this than here.
For those not wishing to purchase the four-disc box set (though it really is worth it), a single disc of highlights was released. Titled Live Aid: 20 Years Ago Today, Queen are the only act to feature a full song (‘Radio Ga Ga’ in its entirety), with others reduced to merely soundbites.
THE MAKING OF A NIGHT AT THE OPERA
• 2005 (141 mins) • Eagle Vision EREDV579 • Director: Matthew Longfellow • Producers: Terry Shland, Geoff Kempin, Jamie Rugge-Price, Nick de Grunwald, and Martin R. Smith
To coincide with the thirtieth anniversary of A Night At The Opera, Eagle Vision commissioned a fascinating documentary into the making of each track from Queen’s seminal fourth album. With a slew of new interviews with Brian, Roger, Roy Thomas Baker, Jac Holzman, Nicky Horne, and Queen’s peers Joe Perry, among many others, the documentary deconstructs the album and offers insight and knowledge of the recording process. This is highly recommended, and one wishes Queen would commission these kinds of documentaries for all of their albums.
QUEEN ROCK MONTREAL (AND LIVE AID)
• 2007 (95 mins) • Eagle Vision EREDV666-P
• Director, Montreal: Saul Swimmer
• Director, Live Aid: John G. Smith
• Producers, Montreal: Saul Swimmer, Jim Beach, Adrian Scrope, Mack, Roger Taylor, Brian May, Geoff Kempin, Terry Shand, Kris Fredrikkson, Justin Shirley-Smith, Joshua J. Macrae • Producers, Live Aid: Michael Appleton, Phil Chilvers, Justin Shirley-Smith
Montreal: ‘‘Intro’, ‘We Will Rock You’ (fast), ‘Let Me Entertain You’, ‘Play The Game’, ‘Somebody To Love’, ‘Killer Queen’, ‘I’m In Love With My Car’, ‘Get Down, Make Love’, ‘Save Me’, ‘Now I’m Here’, ‘Dragon Attack’, ‘Now I’m Here’, ‘Love Of My Life’, ‘Under Pressure’, ‘Keep Yourself Alive’, Drum Solo, Guitar Solo, ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’, ‘Jailhouse Rock’, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, ‘Tie Your Mother Down’, ‘Another One Bites The Dust’, ‘Sheer Heart Attack’, ‘We Will Rock You’, ‘We Are The Champions’, ‘God Save The Queen’; Live Aid: ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, ‘Radio Ga Ga’, Freddie Singalong, ‘Hammer To Fall’, ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’, ‘We Will Rock You’, ‘We Are The Champions’, ‘Is This The World We Created...?’, Live Aid rehearsal, TV interview
Another year, another opportunity to milk the November 1981 Montreal concert. But this time, instead of Saul Swimmer and Mobilevision doing so, Queen Productions finally purchased the rights to and released the definitive release of this concert. It may be familiar to every Queen fan, but the footage has been fixed considerably, and is fascinating in that it feels like the audience is right there with the band – not a coincidence, as this was the original intent of the concert. A commentary track, recorded by Brian and Roger, complements the footage, and many fascinating tidbits are discovered, though a lot of it centres around the band’s dislike of Saul Swimmer and his production team and camera crew.
On his Soapbox, Brian had promised “exciting bonus features” for the DVD, leading many fans to salivate at the thought of footage from their spring 1981 tour across South America, but what materialized was only marginally exciting: the band’s full set at Live Aid (already released on the 2004 box set, Live Aid) and footage of the band rehearsing for their big day. While Queen Rock Montreal is undeniably a major upgrade in both sound and visuals, it was a disappointing release, with little to entice the fan who had countless versions of We Will Rock You.
SOLO VIDEOS
THE BRIAN MAY BAND:
LIVE AT BRIXTON ACADEMY
• 1994 (89 mins) • PMI MVN 4911873
• Director: Gavin Taylor • Producer: Jim Beach
‘The Dark’, ‘Back To The Light’, ‘Driven By You’, ‘Tie Your Mother Down’, ‘Love Token’, ‘Headlong’, ‘Love Token’ (reprise), ‘Love Of My Life’, ‘’39’ / ‘Let Your Heart Rule Your Head’, ‘Too Much Love Will Kill You’, Keyboards Solo, ‘Since You’ve Been Gone’, ‘Now I’m Here’, ‘Guitar Extravagance’, ‘Resurrection’, Band Introduction, ‘Last Horizon’, ‘We Will Rock You’, ‘Hammer To Fall’
The video equivalent of Brian’s sole live album (his 1998 Royal Albert Hall show was originally planned to be issued in early 1999 as a video and album release, but was cancelled for unknown reasons) is an enjoyable romp through former Queen hits and new solo songs as Brian does his best to replicate his past band’s old glories. The video differs slightly from the album, with a longer running time and additional dialogue. Live At The Brixton Academy has been deleted and is difficult to locate anywhere, but should be picked up for a reasonable price since it serves as the only official documentation of Brian’s first post-Queen tour.
ROGER TAYLOR: LIVE AT THE CYBERBARN
(THE MAKING OF A WORLD RECORD)
• 1998 (58 mins) • PMI QD010002NJ • Directors: Rudi Dolezal, Hannes Rossacher and Simon Witter
• Producers: Jim Beach and Tim Massey • Sound producer: Joshua J. Macrae
FREDDIE MERCURY:
THE FREDDIE MERCURY VIDEO COLLECTION
• 2000 (VHS: 53 mins; DVD: 96 mins) • Parlophone 7243 4 92443 9 9 • Directors: Gavin Taylor, David Mallet, Rudi Dolezal and Hannes Rossacher
‘Barcelona’ (mimed), ‘The Great Pretender’, ‘I Was Born To Love You’, ‘Time’, ‘How Can I Go On’ (mimed), ‘Made In Heaven’, ‘Living On My Own’, ‘The Golden Boy’ (mimed), ‘The Great Pretender’ (extended version), ‘Barcelona’, ‘In My Defence’, ‘Guide Me Home’ (closing titles)
Also released as part of the mammoth Solo Collection release in October 2000, The Freddie Mercury Video Collection amassed eleven of Freddie’s official promotional videos into a neat little package, the first time any of them had been released as a unit. While the track listing appears to have been chosen completely at random, each video is more elaborate than its predecessor, with live versions of three songs from Barcelona thrown in at intervals: the title track, ‘How Can I Go On’ and ‘The Golden Boy’. An added bonus is the extended version of ‘The Great Pretender’, which shows Freddie, Roger and Peter Straker goofing off behind the scenes while getting into their outfits. Freddie may have only made seven true promotional videos – and each of them is brilliant, showing just how much detail Freddie demanded of his directors – the four extra videos are worthy inclusions. The real treat comes later, however: interviews with the directors of each video explain the process and give tidbits of information. Definitely a terrific addition to the Queen video catalogue, though similar packages for Brian and Roger’s videos would also be welcome.