10 Close Calls In Rock History
2. Queen Almost Turn Down Live Aid
In terms of the greatest shows in rock and roll, history has been extremely kind to the massive festival known as Live Aid. While the entire concept behind having proceeds going to starving children in Africa feels a touch on the bloated side nowadays, getting all of these amazing artists playing at the peak of the powers is something that we may never see again. Then again, history could have gone a lot differently had Freddie Mercury had his way.
Never one to engage in politics, Mercury was originally hesitant to even play at Live Aid, considering that he never really wanted to be involved in the broader discussion of world matters. Knowing the actual charity behind it though, Freddie decided to take the gamble and devour Wembley Stadium, having every audience member eating out of the palm of his hand throughout every minute of them onstage.
In fact, a lot of people forget that there was a lot more than just politics preventing this from happening, with Queen being at a lower point in their hit making career and emerging onto the stage like seasoned veterans and never breaking a sweat in the process. Considering how much importance this one show has to Queen's career alone, the entire landscape of '80s rock would look completely different if it were removed from the equation.