Queen's performance at Live Aid is often acknowledged as one of the greatest live sets in rock history, and arguably the most iconic moment of the band's storied career.
Brian May and Roger Taylor reflect on that historic day in a new interview with Radio Times, and May recalls that his instincts were initially telling him not to participate in the event booked for July 13, 1985 at London's Wembley Stadium.
"We weren’t touring or playing, and it seemed like a crazy idea, this talk of having 50 bands on the same bill," guitarist May remembers. "We thought it was going to be a disaster. Freddie, in particular, said, ‘I haven’t got the right feeling for this.’ He wasn’t the leader of the band, but if he dug his heels in there was no dragging him, so we parked it."
Roger Taylor was the member of Queen most enthusiastic to perform at the show, and May remembers that with event co-organiser Bob Geldof repeatedly calling up to talk the band into playing, he eventually came around to sharing the drummer's view.
"I said to Freddie, If we wake up on the day after this Live Aid show and we haven’t been there, we’re going to be pretty sad," the guitarist remembers. "He said, ‘Oh, f*** it, we’ll do it'."
Roger Taylor says that, for the quartet, the next big decision was which songs Queen should perform in the 17 minutes they were allowed for their set. The drummer tells Radio Times that it was "obvious to open with the verse of Bohemian Rhapsody; it was so immediately recognisable. Then to finish with We Will Rock You and We Are The Champions was a no-brainer."
The two musicians recall that Bob Geldof gave Freddie Mercury a very blunt piece of advice pre-show. "Don’t get clever; just play the hits."
"Queen had a great trust in each other," says May. "We were perhaps lacking in oil, but we were a well-exercised machine. Then, from the moment we hit the stage, the response from the crowd was so deafening, it took your breath away. I ran on, which I don’t normally do, all due to adrenaline. From the beginning, we felt we were at home.
"It was one of the few moments in anyone’s life that you know you’re doing something for all the right reasons."
