Talk:Queen, Knebworth, 9th August 1986

From MemoryArchive

I didn't go to Knebworth but to the Wembly concert. That day will always stay in my list of top concerts and days out. Freddie was superb - I feel very provilidged to have seen him perform live.

Queen - Knebworth 86

I was there. It was the best performance i have ever seen by any live band.

It was the only time i ever saw Queen perform and im glad i did.

I cannot belive its not been released on DVD. i'd love to have a copy of one of the best days of my life.

Freddie was and remains one of the best live performers to ever grace the stage.

Long Live Queen.

my first gig

August 9th 1986 is a day i will never forget.i was 17 years old and had been fascinated with and loved queens music for years before that. however,actually going to gigs was somthing i simply hadnt got round to doing.i was actually offered a wembley ticket,bought it,then swapped it for the knebworth ticket so i could go with my best mate,jon. i remember us being stuck in a ten mile tail back panicking that i'd miss somthing ,then parking up and walking for what seemed miles to get to the massive grass bowl that i knew had previously played host to such legends as the stones ,genesis, pink floyd and led zep....i enjoyed the quo's set and was a big fan of big country anyway, but nothing could prepare you for the entrance queen made(those of you who were there will know exactly what im on about)..the sun was setting on a beautifully hot day. the intro to one vision boomed out from a rig as big as,well,as big as fuck,and those opening chords tore through your stomach,smoke poured from the stage and the band were on,they were there in front of me,doing what they did best.performing live!as i turned to jon to admit that i just didnt believe what i was seeing,(or hearing,the sound they had that night was astounding),one vision was over,straight into my favourite then, and now,tie your mother down,my bottom jaw had dropped open ten minutes earlier but i was still in visual disbelief when after the 1st audience participation with in the lap of the gods,freddie took to the piano! seven seas! tear it up!(i prefered it heavy!)ive since heard roger say "deafen and blind 'em in the 1st ten minutes!".. i remember thinking it was a good job i swapped my wembley ticket,it couldnt have been this good could it? the songs kept coming as the hertfordshire sky darkened,and the most incredible lighting rig surely possible containing every conceivable colour was brought to glorious life by the fading natural light. bohemian rhapsody,hammer to fall, crazy little thing, utter perfection is how this 17 year old saw it(THIS WAS MY FIRST GIG!)they said there was 120,000 there.!,ok,so give or take one or two, 240,000 hands raised aloft in time to radio ga ga, and i know you have all tried to expain to loved ones who wernt there just how mindblowing an experience that was.in truth,you just cant..so then, tragically, the end of the show was almost upon us but not before the obligatory we will rock you and champions.as the band hit those final chords, freddie mercury stood on that knebworth stage dressed as the king of england,and for everyone who was there on that historic night in rock history,he was........

Postscript… as the years following the Magic Tour came and went, I, along with millions of others waited for another tour, with an inability or desire to believe the rumours surrounding Freddie’s health. As speculation grew concerning his well-being, with relative privacy and a definite dignity which is sadly bereft from the lives of the ‘famous’ today, the great artist kept from all but who were closest to him, his unthinkable condition a secret…with the release of ‘the miracle’ and of course ‘innuendo’ my desire to see these ‘new classic’ songs come to visual life on a stage grew strong and I would hear nothing of the opinions of people who believed that could never happen. from a purely music point of view ,the tragedy was that songs such as ‘I want it all’,’ headlong’, ‘the show must go on’ and ‘innuendo’ will never be performed live by the four people who recorded them. Just imagine, and I have many times, a set at Knebworth including all of the above, and with all the technology that a touring band could have at their disposal only a couple of years after ‘magic’ (not that queen needed gimmicks, they were simply THE tightest rock band who ever picked up three instruments and a mic.)., and the impossible dream certainly makes the mouth water, and just in case John, Roger or Brian stumble into this discussion page, .. Just thanks, for that very real day in August ’86! Ian (Evesham)