The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness was a

benefit concert A benefit concert or charity concert is a type of musical benefit performance (e.g., concert, show, or gala) featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate hu ...

held on Easter Monday, 20 April 1992, at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, United Kingdom for an audience of 72,000. The concert was produced for television by

Ray Burdis Ray Burdis (born 23 August 1958 in London) is an English actor, screenwriter, director and film producer. Biography Burdis started acting at eleven years old when he attended drama school and trained at the Anna Scher Theatre in Islington, Grea ...

, directed by David Mallet and broadcast live on television and radio to 76 countries around the world, with an audience of up to one billion. The concert was a tribute to

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

's lead vocalist, Freddie Mercury, who

died Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

of AIDS on 24 November 1991. The show marked bassist John Deacon's final full-length concert with Queen (save a short live appearance with

Brian May Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and astrophysicist, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen. May was a co-founder of Queen with lead singer Freddie Mercury and ...

, Roger Taylor and Elton John in 1997). The profits from the concert were used to launch the Mercury Phoenix Trust, an AIDS charity organization.

History

Following Freddie Mercury's death on 24 November 1991 from AIDS, the remaining members of

( John Deacon,

and Roger Taylor) came together with their manager,

Jim Beach Henry James Beach (born 9 March 1942), known as Jim Beach or "Miami" Beach, is a British lawyer and band manager, best known for being the long-time manager of the rock band Queen, its individual members and the comedy group Monty Python. He ...

, to organise a concert to celebrate the life and legacy of Mercury, and to raise money for AIDS research and spread awareness about the disease. In the 1992

BRIT Awards The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

ceremony, May and Taylor announced plans for the concert. When tickets finally went on sale, all 72,000 tickets sold out in just three hours, even though no performers were announced apart from the remaining members of

.Freddie Mercury Tribute
The Times. Retrieved 27 August 2011

Concert

The concert opened with a message from the three remaining members of Queen in tribute to Mercury. The music then commenced with short sets from artists that were influenced by the music of Queen, including Metallica, Extreme (playing a Queen medley),

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), ...

(who brought

onstage for a version of "

Now I'm Here "Now I'm Here" is a song by the British rock band Queen. Written by lead guitarist Brian May, it was the sixth song on their third album, ''Sheer Heart Attack'' (1974). The song is noted for its hard riff and vocal harmonies. In the UK, the so ...

"), and Guns N' Roses. Between bands, several video clips honouring Freddie Mercury were shown while

roadies Roadie refers to support personnel who travel with a band on tour. Roadie or roadies may also refer to: * ''Roadie'' (1980 film), a 1980 film starring Meat Loaf * ''Roadie'' (2011 film), a 2011 American comedy film * ''Roadies'' (TV series), an A ...

changed the stage for the following act's performance. Elizabeth Taylor then gave an AIDS prevention speech, which was followed by a compilation of Mercury's various interactions with audiences. The second half of the concert featured the three remaining Queen members – John Deacon (on bass),

(on guitar) and Roger Taylor (on drums) – along with guest singers and guitarists, including Elton John,

Roger Daltrey Roger Harry Daltrey (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer, musician and actor. He is a co-founder and the lead singer of the rock band The Who. Daltrey's hit songs with The Who include " My Generation", " Pinball Wizard", " Won't Get Fooled ...

(of

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

), Tony Iommi (of

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

Mick Ronson Michael Ronson (26 May 1946 – 29 April 1993) was an English musician, songwriter, arranger, and producer. He achieved critical and commercial success working with David Bowie as the guitarist of the Spiders from Mars. He was a session musici ...

, James Hetfield (of Metallica), George Michael,

Seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to imp ...

Paul Young Paul Antony Young (born 17 January 1956) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. Formerly the frontman of the short-lived bands Kat Kool & the Kool Cats, Streetband and Q-Tips, he became a teen idol with his solo success in the 1980s. ...

, Annie Lennox (of Eurythmics), Lisa Stansfield, Robert Plant (of

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

), Joe Elliott and

Phil Collen Philip Kenneth Collen (born 8 December 1957) is an English musician who is best known as the co-lead guitarist for the rock band Def Leppard, joining the band in 1982 during the recording of the ''Pyromania'' album. Prior to joining Def Leppa ...

(of

Axl Rose W. Axl Rose (born William Bruce Rose Jr.; born February 6, 1962) is an American musician. He is best known for being the lead vocalist and lyricist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, and has been the band's sole constant member since its incep ...

and Slash (of Guns N' Roses), Liza Minnelli, and others. Via satellite from Sacramento, California, U2 dedicated a live performance of " Until the End of the World" to Mercury.

Home releases

The concert was originally released in VHS form (usually in two-tape releases worldwide), but due to time limitations, "Love of My Life" and "More Than Words" by Extreme, "Animal" and "Let's Get Rocked" by Def Leppard, Spinal Tap's "The Majesty of Rock", U2's "Until The End of the World", Mango Groove's " Special Star" and Robert Plant's version of "Innuendo" were removed from the original release. The US release also omitted Bob Geldof's performance of "Too Late God", and Zucchero's performance of " Las Palabras de Amor". In April 2002, for the 10th anniversary of the Mercury Phoenix Trust, the second half of the concert (featuring the performances by the surviving members of Queen) was released on DVD and entered the UK charts at No. 1. " Innuendo" was not included on the DVD, at Plant's request. In addition, the original 4:3 footage had been cropped down to widescreen. The DVD was certified Gold in Poland. On 24 June 2013, Queen announced on their

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...

page that a new remastered version of the concert would be released in late 2013 on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

and

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...

. The DVD and Blu-ray was released on 2 September 2013. Like the earlier VHS release, this version excludes Extreme's "Love of My Life" and "More Than Words", Def Leppard's "Animal" and "Let's Get Rocked", performance by Spinal Tap, U2 and Mango Groove from the opening acts segment, and Plant's "Innuendo" from the Queen+ segment. It was certified Platinum in the UK. Clips of rehearsals and of Metallica's set (as well as James Hetfield's performance of "Stone Cold Crazy" with Queen and Tony Iommi) were featured in the 1992 documentary '' A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica''. In May 2020, Queen announced that they would be premiering the concert on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

to raise money for the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. It was available for 48 hours. In April 2022, Queen streamed the concert again to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the concert as well as the Mercury Phoenix Trust. Several songs from the concert have also been released in audio-only format: *Metallica's three-song performance was made into a UK tour edition single for "Nothing Else Matters", entitled ''Live at Wembley Stadium'' and released in Europe just one week after the concert, on 27 April 1992. *Guns N' Roses' performance of "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" was released in May 1992 as a double A-side, with the band's studio recording of the song; it was also featured on their album '' Live Era '87–'93''. The single entered the UK charts at No. 2. *Def Leppard released their version of "Now I'm Here" (with May) from the concert, as a B-side to their single " Tonight" in April 1993. *an EP of the George Michael performances with Queen was released as ''

Five Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station Broadcasting of sports events, covering sport in ...

'' in April 1993. It entered the UK singles chart at No. 1. *the Queen + Ian Hunter, Mick Ronson, David Bowie and Def Leppard performance of the song "All the Young Dudes" was released on the Mick Ronson album 'Heaven and Hull'. *the Queen + David Bowie performances of the songs "All the Young Dudes" and "Heroes" were released on the soundtrack album to the 2018 film ''Beside Bowie: The Mick Ronson Story''.

Performances

Without Queen

# Metallica – "

Enter Sandman "Enter Sandman" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica. It is the opening track and lead single from their self-titled fifth album, released in 1991. The music was written by Kirk Hammett, James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich. Vocalist an ...

", " Sad but True", " Nothing Else Matters" # Extreme – Queen Medley (including "Mustapha" (intro), "

Bohemian Rhapsody "Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock band Queen, released as the lead single from their fourth album, '' A Night at the Opera'' (1975). Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, the song is a six-minute suite, notable for its lack o ...

" (Rock Section), "

Keep Yourself Alive "Keep Yourself Alive" is the debut single by the British rock band Queen. Written by guitarist Brian May, it is the opening track on the band's eponymous debut album (1973). It was released as Queen's first single along with "Son and Daugh ...

", "

I Want To Break Free "I Want to Break Free" is a song by the British rock band Queen, written by their bassist John Deacon. It appears on the album '' The Works'' (1984), and was released in three versions: album, single and extended. The track became a staple of ...

", "

Fat Bottomed Girls "Fat Bottomed Girls" is a song by the British rock band Queen. Written by guitarist Brian May, the song appears on the band's seventh studio album ''Jazz'' (1978) and later on their compilation album ''Greatest Hits''. When released as a single ...

", " Bicycle Race", " Another One Bites The Dust", "

We Will Rock You "We Will Rock You" is a song written by Brian May and recorded by British rock band Queen for their 1977 album ''News of the World''. ''Rolling Stone'' ranked it number 330 of " The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2004, and it placed at num ...

", "

Stone Cold Crazy "Stone Cold Crazy" is a song written and performed by British rock band Queen for their 1974 album ''Sheer Heart Attack''. The song is the eighth track on the album. Although the song was not released as a single at the time, it was performed ...

" and "

Radio Ga Ga "Radio Ga Ga" is a 1984 song performed and recorded by the British rock band Queen, written by their drummer Roger Taylor. It was released as a single with " I Go Crazy" by Brian May as the B-side. It was included on the album '' The Works'' ...

"), “ Love Of My Life” and "

More Than Words "More Than Words" is a song by American rock band Extreme, released as the fifth track and third single from their second album, ''Pornograffitti'' (1990), in March 1991. It is a ballad built around acoustic guitar work by Nuno Bettencourt and ...

" ( Gary Cherone and

Nuno Bettencourt Nuno Duarte Gil Mendes Bettencourt (born September 20, 1966) is a Portuguese-American guitarist, singer-songwriter, record producer, and businessman. He became known as the lead guitarist of the Boston rock band Extreme. He has also recorded ...

) #

– "

Animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...

", " Let's Get Rocked", "

" (With

) # Bob Geldof – "Too Late God" # Spinal Tap – "The Majesty of Rock" # U2 – " Until the End of the World" – beamed via satellite, pre-recorded on April 18 in Oakland, California.

Cindy Crawford Cynthia Ann Crawford (born February 20, 1966) is an American model, actress and television personality. During the 1980s and 1990s, she was among the most popular supermodels and a ubiquitous presence on magazine covers, runways, as well as fash ...

announces as "via satellite... straight from Sacramento, California". # Guns N' Roses – "

Paradise City "Paradise City" is a song by the American rock band Guns N' Roses, featured on their debut album, ''Appetite for Destruction'' (1987). Released as a single in January 1989, it is the only song on the album to feature a synthesizer. The song pea ...

", " Only Women Bleed", "

Knockin' on Heaven's Door "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, written for the soundtrack of the 1973 film '' Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid''. Released as a single two months after the film's premiere, it became a worldwide hit, ...

" # Mango Groove – " Special Star" – played via satellite from Johannesburg, South Africa # Elizabeth Taylor – AIDS Prevention Speech # Freddie Mercury – compilation of various interactions with the audience

With Queen

+ Joe Elliott and Slash – "

Tie Your Mother Down "Tie Your Mother Down" is a song by the British rock band Queen, written by lead guitarist Brian May. It is the opening track and the second single from their 1976 album '' A Day at the Races''. On its original release as a single in 1977 the ...

" #Queen +

and Tony Iommi – " Heaven and Hell" (intro), " Pinball Wizard" (intro), " I Want It All" #Queen + Zucchero – " Las Palabras de Amor" #Queen + Gary Cherone and Tony Iommi – "

Hammer to Fall "Hammer to Fall" is a 1984 song by the British rock band Queen. Written by guitarist Brian May, the song is the eighth track on their 1984 album '' The Works''.

" #Queen + James Hetfield and Tony Iommi – "

" #Queen + Robert Plant – " Innuendo" (including parts of " Kashmir"), " Thank You" (intro), "

Crazy Little Thing Called Love "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" is a song by the British rock band Queen. Written by Freddie Mercury in 1979, the track is included on their 1980 album '' The Game'', and also appears on the band's compilation album ''Greatest Hits'' in 1981 ...

" #

Spike Edney Philip "Spike" Edney (born 11 December 1951) is an English musician who, since the 1960s, has performed with a number of bands, most notably with Queen in their live concerts, where his participation started in 1984 during Queen's The Works t ...

– "

Too Much Love Will Kill You "Too Much Love Will Kill You" is a song written by British guitarist Brian May of Queen, Frank Musker and Elizabeth Lamers.Paul Young Paul Antony Young (born 17 January 1956) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. Formerly the frontman of the short-lived bands Kat Kool & the Kool Cats, Streetband and Q-Tips, he became a teen idol with his solo success in the 1980s. ...

– "

" #Queen +

– "

Who Wants to Live Forever "Who Wants to Live Forever" is a song by the British rock band Queen. A power ballad, it is the sixth track on the album '' A Kind of Magic'', which was released in June 1986, and was written by lead guitarist Brian May for the soundtrack to t ...

" #Queen + Lisa Stansfield – "

I Want to Break Free "I Want to Break Free" is a song by the British rock band Queen, written by their bassist John Deacon. It appears on the album '' The Works'' (1984), and was released in three versions: album, single and extended. The track became a staple of ...

" #Queen +

and Annie Lennox – "

Under Pressure "Under Pressure" is a song by the British rock band Queen and singer David Bowie. Originally released as a single in October 1981, it was later included on Queen's 1982 album ''Hot Space''. The song reached number one on the UK Singles Chart, ...

" #Queen + Ian Hunter, David Bowie,

, Joe Elliott and

– "

All the Young Dudes "All the Young Dudes" is a song written by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, originally recorded and released as a single by the English rock band Mott the Hoople in 1972 by Columbia Records. Bowie produced the song, which he had given to ...

" #Queen + David Bowie and Mick Ronson – " Heroes" #David Bowie – "

Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...

" #Queen + George Michael – " '39" #Queen + George Michael and Lisa Stansfield – "

These Are the Days of Our Lives "These Are the Days of Our Lives" is a song by the British rock band Queen. Although credited to the whole band, it was largely written by their drummer Roger Taylor, and is the eighth track on the band's 1991 album ''Innuendo''. The song was ...

" #Queen + George Michael – " Somebody to Love" #Queen + Elton John and

– "

" using the same light show as The Magic Tour from 1986 for the opera section, and vocals played from a tape using the original 1970s’ studio recording featuring Freddie Mercury. #Queen + Elton John and Tony Iommi – " The Show Must Go On" #Queen + Axl Rose – "

" #Queen + Liza Minnelli, supported by everyone else who performed at the concert – "

We Are the Champions "We Are the Champions" is a song by the British rock band Queen, released from the band's sixth album ''News of the World'' (1977). Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, it remains among rock's most recognisable anthems.

" #Queen – "

God Save the Queen "God Save the King" is the national and/or royal anthem of the United Kingdom, most of the Commonwealth realms, their territories, and the British Crown Dependencies. The author of the tune is unknown and it may originate in plainchant, bu ...

" (taped outro)

Queen's activity

* Freddie Mercury – pre-recorded piano and vocals (on "

") and compilation of various interactions with the audience during the section before the Queen + section of the concert. *

–

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...

and acoustic guitars, keyboards (on "

Too Much Love Will Kill You "Too Much Love Will Kill You" is a song written by British guitarist Brian May of Queen, Frank Musker and Elizabeth Lamers.Who Wants To Live Forever "Who Wants to Live Forever" is a song by the British rock band Queen. A power ballad, it is the sixth track on the album '' A Kind of Magic'', which was released in June 1986, and was written by lead guitarist Brian May for the soundtrack to t ...

"), lead vocals (on "

" for 1st verse, then co-lead vocals with Roger Taylor on 1st chorus on "

" and "

Too Much Love Will Kill You "Too Much Love Will Kill You" is a song written by British guitarist Brian May of Queen, Frank Musker and Elizabeth Lamers.I Want It All"),

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

* Roger Taylor – drums,

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...

, backing vocals, co-lead vocals (on "Tie Your Mother Down" with Brian May on 1st chorus, and on "

" as a trio with

and Annie Lennox on choruses). * John Deacon –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, backing vocals

Guest musicians

* Elton John – piano on "

" * Slash – electric guitar on "

" * Tony Iommi – electric guitar on " Heaven and Hell" (intro), " Pinball Wizard" (intro), " I Want It All", "

Hammer to Fall "Hammer to Fall" is a 1984 song by the British rock band Queen. Written by guitarist Brian May, the song is the eighth track on their 1984 album '' The Works''.

", "

" and " The Show Must Go On" * Ian Hunter – electric guitar on "

" *

– electric guitar on "

" and " Heroes" *

– alto saxophone on "

" * Joe Elliott – backing vocals on "

" *

– backing vocals on "

Backing musicians

Queen were backed by the following musicians: *

– keyboards, piano, backing vocals * Mike Moran – piano on "

" and " Somebody to Love" *

Josh Macrae Joshua J Macrae (born 1964 in Tel Aviv, Israel) is an English drummer, audio engineer and record producer. Starting with a snare drum & hi hat in Primrose Hill Primary orchestra then from school punk band in Cornwall "Inconvenience" he left sc ...

– percussion in some Queen tracks * Chris Thompson – backing vocals, acoustic guitar on " I Want It All", "

" and " Heroes", additional percussion * Maggie Ryder – backing vocals *

Miriam Stockley Miriam Arlene Stockley (born 15 April 1962) is a British singer. She was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and her work is influenced by the African music of her home country. Her distinctive '' vocalise'' style gained international acclaim whe ...

– backing vocals * London Community Gospel Choir – backing vocals on " Somebody to Love" and "

" * John Jones – organ and backing vocals on "

Certifications and sales

References

External links

*
Transcript of the DVD edition
{{DEFAULTSORT:Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, The Queen (band) video albums Benefit concerts in the United Kingdom Freddie Mercury Tribute concerts in the United Kingdom Concerts at Wembley Stadium 1992 in London 1992 in music Hollywood Records video albums April 1992 events in the United Kingdom HIV/AIDS