10 Legendary Rock Shows In Music History

Anyone who’s even slightly interested in a future in rock and roll showmanship needs to devote an intense study to most of Queen’s live shows. Even though they made their own studio masterpieces on songs like Bohemian Rhapsody, they always did the most damage when they hit the stage, as Freddie Mercury transformed himself into the ideal frontman figure of rock and roll. There are many different Queen live cuts, but Live Aid is a clinical study of how to engage with your audience.

Leading up to this show, Queen had already come off of one of the biggest tours of their career for the Works, and were more than up to the challenge of taking on Wembley Stadium. As much as it might have been for a good cause, the main reason why Freddie took the job in the first place was to put the rest of the bands on the bill to shame, using their 25 minutes of stage time to tear through their greatest hits with ease, taking bits and pieces of Bohemian Rhapsody and pairing them with Hammer to Fall and Crazy Little Thing Called Love.

The real highlight of the performance is Freddie’s vocal practice, where he leads the audience in an impromptu singalong, acting as their vocal coach as he whips everyone into a frenzy with just the raw power of his voice. Even with all of the other bands on the bill, this feels like a Queen show that just happens to have a few more musicians playing. For all the iconic faces to grace that stage, Freddie had the entire crowd eating out of the palm of his hand.