Queen Play ‘Live Aid’ Set for First Time in 35 Years at Australian Benefit
When taking part in a benefit, why not pull out all the stops. That's what Queen did earlier today (Feb. 16), taking part in the Fire Fight Australia benefit, playing their classic "Live Aid 1985" set list.
This marked the first time since that classic performance, dubbed by many as one of the greatest live performances of all-time, that the band had played the six-song medley in succession live onstage.
Though Freddie Mercury is no longer with us and Adam Lambert handles vocals for the band these days, there was a Freddie presence in the set as an animation came on screen during Mercury's famous "Ay-Oh" call and response vocal gymnastics he often performed with the crowd.
The set started with "Bohemian Rhapsody," pulled the audience in while Brian May added some slide guitar on "Radio Gaga," gave a brief respite from the full band with the "Ay-Oh" viewing, then saw Lambert and the group return to the spotlight onstage running through a powerful "Hammer to Fall," the catchy "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and the frequently combined tracks "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions," bringing things to a feverish finish.
Queen have already posted their performances of "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions" online, with the official video clips available to view below. You can also see some shots the band tweeted out right here and make donations to Fire Fight Australia at this location.
The evening, which featured 10 hours of musical performances including sets from Alice Cooper as well as Aussie natives like John Farnham, Olivia Newton-John and Icehouse among others, generated $9.5 million at show's end to help communities affected by Australia's massive brushfires.
Queen + Adam Lambert, “We Will Rock You” (Fire Fight Australia)
Queen + Adam Lambert, “We Are the Champions” (Fire Fight Australia)
Queen + Adam Lambert Full Fight Fire Australia Set
Queen's 1985 Live Aid Set
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