When an interviewer asked Freddie what instruments he played he replied “The AUDIENCE, darling!!”

I was there in that crowd. Queen were the absolute highlight of the whole thing. Freddie lifted the atmosphere from low to ecstatic in 15 seconds, it was electric. I'll never forget it. I bought the ticket to see Bowie, then I discovered it was a whole day.

Generation X passing this on to their kids is one of the greatest things to witness on KZfaq. I hope the younger generations pass it on too.

I think the thing that must floor most 16 year olds hearing Queen live for the first time is how much the band and Mercury sound exactly like they do in the studio. That's so rare in performers these days.

you paused Radio Gaga............One never pauses a Queen song,

I saw it live sitting on the floor in front of the TV. Still gives me chills today.

This is the greatest set in history and cant be appreciated when paused after every song . RIP Freddie Mercury the greatest performer of all time

Queen was harshly attacked by critics and yet proved that the real judge is the people on the street. They ignored the criticism and made Queen one of the most legendary bands in history. This was another of Queen's great legacies. It doesn't matter what the critics think. Don't let anyone tell you what you have to like or what you don't. There is no better judge for a person than oneself. A big hug and God save the Queen. We miss you Freddie.

20 minutes that changed rock and roll forever, they stole the show ,Brian gave it all to Freddie.

What makes Freddies control of the crowd more amazing is the fact that this was not a Queen crowd. When the tickets for this concert were sold Queen were not yet on the bill. Besides, Freddie had issues with his throat. Doctors told him not to perform live aid, but he did and it was one of the best live performances ever. There are singers, lead singers, frontmen....and then there's Freddie Mercury. No one can touch him. No performer before or since has been able to work an audience like Freddie. Yes, he is dead, but he is a legend, and a legend never dies.

Queen was the best. They were so unique and please don’t ever pause a Queen song. Love all their songs.

Around 72.000 people at Wembley. It’s the old stadium. No one compares to Freddie. He’s the best composer, singer and front man EVER ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I was there at Wembley on the day, the most amazing concert anyone will ever have seen bar none

You have to remember "We are the Champions" was the B-side to "We Will Rock You". Even on the cassette and CD, these two songs were placed back to back. Plus on the radio, they usually played them both

Just thought I would let you know. I’m from London, I was 13 in 85, I lived 10 miles from Wembley stadium. The hole family was watching it on tv but didn’t need any volume. Loudest concert ever!

Lady Ga Ga took her name from the Queen song Radio Ga Ga and it was drummer Roger Taylor's son who said the words Radio Ga Ga there were 80.000 people at the concert including Prince Charles and Princess Diana

I have been a Queen fan for 45 years. I love their music and I think it is timeless! Greetings from Poland

I actually LOVE the rendition of Radio gaga in the live aid performance - it's one of my favorites in the set - it's like something magical happening. But the entire set is AMAZING.

No big TV screens, just one man and his voice & command.

I like that you noticed his Posture! Freddie had the best posture ever!

that boy was sitting there under pressure (ba dum tsss)

They started with Bohemian Rhapsody because it was their most iconic song. The crowd went nuts from the start. Also, no, Pepsi was not a sponsor. On wanting "Fat Bottomed Girl," probably not cool for a fundraiser for famine relief perhaps?

Their underreaction was kind of soul crushing.

Hard for the die hard Queen fans to hear the lack of enthusiasm that the 2 of you showed here. This live aid set was the ultimate performance of all time!!! FREDDIE best front man ever!!!

They all had the same time limit. Roughly 20 minutes. Queen just used their time brilliantly.

Just fyi Queen didn't get any preferential treatment among all the bands. They were alloted the same amount of timing like the others too. Only difference Queen condensed all their famous hits into a medley jukebox for all to enjoy. Whereas all the other bands opted to perform full renditions of their songs.

when queen took the stage the whole UK woke up, seriously a life changing moment

Actually every band there at Live Aid had exactly 17 minutes and the crowd was kind of bored by the time Queen came on; they energized the audience with this 17 minute set and the rest is history. This performance gave Queen a huge resurgence after their 1984 tour which was not too successful.

I was 15 and watched this at home on TV with my mum here in the UK. It was a very warm day and we don't have AC over here so everyone had their windows open in the street and all you could hear was Live Aid.

Magnificent Freddie best frontman ever, Roger Brian & John amazing, all of them together is what makes Queen the greatest rock band ever , that’s my opinion ...😍😍😍😍

At the time of Live Aid I was serving in the British Royal Marine Commandos in a refugee camp in Ethiopia. We listened to it on the radio. We were surrounded be the horror of the Famine, but when Queen came on the radio those poor soles who were there even reacted in a very positive way. I remember that a lot of us Royal Marine Commandos were crying watching some of the children dancing along, I'm teary eyed just remembering. I looked around at men I had fought alongside, who were tough, hardened Royal Marine Commandos who had fought a life and death war against Argentinian's in 82. By the end of Queen's set we were dancing with the children. It went along way to help build their trust in us. The famine is one of the two worst memories I have.

My favorite fun fact about this concert, revealed in an interview: Queen was told not to perform Radio Ga Ga. They did it anyway. And during that song, a man called the hotline for donations. He asked what band was on and was told it was Queen. He asked what song and was told it was Radio Ga Ga. He said "that's my favorite song. I'm donating a million dollars." That was the President of Kuwait. You go, Queen. You know what the people wanted! And Queen was a late addition to the list so most people weren't even there to see them.

Every band got the exact same amount of time. They did many songs because they shortened all of them except We Are the Champions. Wembley stadium holds 72,000 people. There were 90,000 in attendance in Philadelphia, which by the way, all of them were clapping in sync to Radio Ga Ga. Queen always opened up all their concerts with a high energy fast song. This gig was different. It was brilliant that they opened with their most iconic song, which had been voted the best song in 25 years in England. Radio Ga Ga was also a brilliant choice being a crowd participation song. You should watch their concert one year later at Wembley 1986. It’s a Queen concert and was fabulous. We Are the Champions is the song they always close their concerts with. It was voted the best rock and roll song. John Deacon was facing Roger (the drummer) because he played his base precisely in sync with Rogers base drum. He was watching for Rogers move. Their choice of songs was strategically picked for their allotted 17 minute spot. This gig will forever be in history as the best live rock and roll performance. All these years I’ve never ever heard any complaints about their songs. He didn’t have but a couple cracks in his voice. No one else can sound almost identical to the studio version. You should watch Somebody to Love live in Montreal 1981. It’s an amazing performance. There’s a large catalog of their music where they actually sound better live than studio version. Maybe do a little research and watch some live vs studio videos. Freddie’s Dr told him not to do Live Aid because of a throat infection. It would probably be advantageous to watch a few Queen documentaries to learn a little about the group. Also, stopping a reaction video to discuss the plot of Highlander and discuss streaming music was very odd. No offense, but you stopped the video way to often. Most might pause once and then discuss the video after it’s over. Several never pause at all and wait to comment after it’s over.

I was lucky enough to see them in 1980 (yeah, I'm old) on "The Game" tour. Best concert I ever went to. It was in an arena, not a stadium, so not as many people. Freddie sure knew how to work an audience. He made them feel like they were part of the show.

Each act was allotted 17 minutes & Queen rehearsed a lot relative to the other bands & pack a lot into those 17 minutes. Yes he had a throat infection and was told by his dr not to perform. Freddie: hold my beer.

Thanks for the video!!! Here, from Chile, I’m a huge fan ..., Freddie’s voice, talent and courage has a legend..., a musical gift for all of us !!! 💔💔💔💔 He really knew how to connected with each and every one in the stadium

Another cool thing about their set. At the very end look in the lower right hand corner that has the "traffic lights". Watch the red light come on at the exact moment they stop. Perfect timing from perfect practice.

Freddie and Queen ruling the world !

When they did the song We Are The Champions in that show: "We are the Champions... of the world!" Yes, in that moment, they were. Great reaction! It's great to see the younger generation still gets what Queen was about. Do some more Queen, please!

Dad loves it.. but kid looks like he's being punished by being forced to listen... what did he do???

It was a very hot summer's day and I spent it glued to the telly watching this. What a performance Queen put on! A group we Brits can be justifiably proud of.

I was part or the billion watched it on tv was awesome but really appreciate it more now. Lady Gaga got her name from Radio Gaga she is a queen fan. The sound guys were Queens guys, there was a volume limit but when Queen came out they upped the volume!! Everyone had the same 20 min set.

1) Roger Taylor actually wrote Radio Gaga when his son, Felix, said radio caca. Roger has also stated that if you listen, Freddie often says caca during their live performances. I have every dvd of their live shows, and I’ve definitely heard it. 2) Nobody seems to notice that Brian plays 3 different guitars when they perform Crazy Little Thing Called Love. He starts with an acoustic, then uses a black Fender (I think) for the middle solo, and ends with his signature “Red Special” for the second solo. 3) You didn’t view the last song. On the album “The Works”, which they had just finished touring just 2 months before LiveAid, they had some space left and realized that they hadn’t done a ballad. So Freddie & Brian quickly wrote and recorded “Is this the world we created?”. It was so appropriate for this occasion that Bob Geldof asked them if they would close out the concert with it at 9:48pm. (The UK show ran from noon until 10pm. Queen appeared at 6:41pm) There were some feedback issues in the original footage, but it’s been remastered to remove most of it. 4) Their live shows almost always started off with a HUGE song. But, for this concert they chose to start off with a small part of their most popular song, then a medley of their biggest hits at the time to fit the allotted time slot.

Lady Gaga is a massive Queen fan and took the Gaga from the song Radio Gaga.

I was there, standing to the left-centre, half way between the stage and the mixing desk. It's a day I'll never forget. The moment we all started clapping in time with Radio Gaga was really special. There was also something special going on with the diffused light too, as I think the sun was starting to go down. It was a truly great day.

According to Wikipedia Brian May wrote on his website that "Hammer to Fall is really about life and death, and being aware of death as being part of life", and that "the Hammer coming down is only a symbol of the Grim Reaper doing his job!"

Actually their set was the same length as every other performer during Live Aid. They did, however, rehearse for a week to get the timing down so they could do as much as possible in that 20 minutes. Other performers didn’t rehearse like they did and just went with doing a few songs to fill the time.

Impossible to appreciate how good this was when your pausing it so much

72,0000 people at Wembley, another 100,000 in Philadelphia, and 1,2 billion watching on TV globally. The Olympics have 3 satellites...Live Aid had 13. I wasn't a Queen fan at all, but after that day..I was lol! I remember it was very hot that day in Wembley Stadium July 13th 1985 but it was worth it, best day in my life! 👏👏🇳🇱

Fact, Phil Collins played both venues of live aid. He played in London. Then hopped on the super sonic and flew to America. To play there. On the same day.

Cor, this bloke would never drown, he’d talk under water

Watched it all live, and just bought the DVD a few years ago and watch it all the time. Iconic day. Super iconic performance. And just a few years later, his band mates held an AIDS benefit concert celebrating Freddie. I bought that on DVD as well, and I cry every time I watch it

interesting fact. Queen wasn't added to the lineup until after the event had sold out, so No-one in the crowd actually came to see them.

Fun fact. Hugh Laurie was one of the coppers at the beginning of the video. Frye and Laurie were the name they went by. They were a comedy duo. So here is our beloved Hugh Laurie from the show House hanging with Freddie in '85 😍

If you’re into Highlander you must listen to who Wants to live forever. Live either Budapest or Wembley 86. Amazing performance.

There was around 70 000 there. Radio Ga Ga is actually one of my favorite Queen songs haha. And yes you're right, he had some throat issues here and was advised from his doctor not to sing. I'd love to see you react to Somebody To Love live from Montreal! That's my all time favorite live performance.

millenials of today dont know what real music is they wouldnt appreciate an iconic band like Queen but this kid liked it though what a performance

Saw it live on MTV. Live Aid was something to see. 3 days of amazing artists but, Freddie strutting around like a peacock was one of the greatest moments. David Bowie was up right after Queen and, didn’t know how to compare.

I have a feeling, that 16 years old doesn't like this music... He's more for Billie or ( lil )

At the same time the audience was clapping during Radio Gaga... the audience in the US at the concert there, also clapped in time to the song... amazing

Each band had 17-20 minute sets. There was a traffic light set up to help each band time themselves so that when the light turned yellow, you were running out of time. If it went red, the power was cut. I understand that Roger Daltry kicked it so the traffic light was no more.

Your comment that the crowd didn't come to see Queen is right. In fact nobody knew they were going to be there as they were a late addition and didn't appear on the playlist. About 72000 were there in the audience.

Free form radio is great. I love not knowing what will be played next. That's how I discover new artists especially on college radio stations. I pray there will always be real radio.

When I saw Freddie working the crowd i that kids age and I was spellbound. The best live performance carried out by any band EVER and he was looking at it like it was the news or something - WERID

"That's gotta be so loud" You bet it was! We couldn't get tickets, so we went to a cousin's house in Wembley a block over from the stadium. We could hear it and we and other households were sing along out of their bedrooms and their back gardens. It was a perfect summer's day. It's fascinating isn't it, that music streaming is killing off music radio, and podcasting is killing talk radio.

Did you also know, ir was one of the first Queen club performances, when suddenly a microphone stand was broken, so Freddie just pulled out what was left of it, and no one knew back then that it will become his trademark in the future! This is amazing!

Wembley stadium held 72,000 people that day. As you said, not “their” crowd, but they blew all the other bands that performed away. Queen actually didn’t perform any longer than other bands, they just made better use if the time allocated them. Each band had exactly 20 minutes. Bob Geldof, the main organiser (with Midge Ure from Ultravox), said Queen were the only band who got the idea of Live Aid. They crammed (modified) hits into the space and rehearsed leading up to the day. In fact they timed it so perfectly, there was a “traffic light” on the front of the stage with the feedback speakers (which is what they used in the “old days” instead of ear pieces - note, NO earpieces, nor auto tune, which didn’t exist at the time). When the allocated time got close, the orange light would begin to flash, then turn red. The story goes that if they went past the red light, the sound guys would switch off the sound system (not sure about that bit though). Watch the end of their set, just before Freddie brings down his arm to finish the set, the light is flashing and turns red immediately after they played the last note! Astonishing perfection. True entertainers. True musicians, true artists. Synergetic: greater than the sum of their individual parts. The band was a total unit! Crazy Little Thing Called Love: Yes, a tribute to Elvis. Released in 1980, written in 10 minutes in the bath. I watched it live in South Australia in 1985. Wouldn’t have missed Queen for the world.

I'm a massive Queen fan there is a belief that Queen's sound engineer Trip Khalaf turned off the sound limiters so they were louder than everyone else. Brian May (Queen guitarist) told Mojo in 1999: “We didn't have a soundcheck, but we sent our brilliant engineer to check the system, so he set all the limiters for us. We were louder than anyone else. I remember being in the audience and hearing the first few acts thinking that I could hardly hear them. You've got to overwhelm the crowd in a stadium."

Radio Ga Ga has never been my favorite Queen song, but having watched Live Aid about a thousand times, I have come to love it.

So much of the momentum that Freddie built up in this performance is lost with the constant pausing of the tape

Back in the Stone Age when listened to radio, we heard all the new music that way. If you only stream your favourites you never get turned on to the new bands or records. And if you had a cassette recorder, you taped your favourites until you could afford to by the album.

I was one of those people (it started at noon on BBC TV). Brian May and his dad made his "Red Special" guitar from scraps of wood.

Your son and his grandchildren will treasure these music reactions in the future and the distant future. Great to see.

Brian May and his father made his guitar, he wrote a lot of the songs, played all of them and in his spare time earned a PhD in astrophysics..

Queen dominated this performance. People that were going after them said how are we going to top that

The concert was asleep practically until Queen hit the stage. They woke right up for this. 70-90k at Wembley and a billion around the world. Rogers Kid was the originator of radio caca. Queen+Adam Lambert recreated this iconic set for FireFight Australia. You should try it. It was fantastic.

Wembley Stadium..over 170K people between London and Philadelphia ... Radio Gaga was a Worldwide Top 5 hit and was the inspiration for Lady Gaga... Bohemian Rhapsody, Radio Gaga, Hammer To Fall, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, We Will Rock You and We Are The Champions.....The Silly Faces he was making at the Camera were for his mother... He also had a severe throat infection and was unable to speak until just before the concert and performed against Medical orders.... Also this concert started at 6:41 PM in London, which was roughly 1:41 PM in NY

One of the most iconic moments in live music history - over 70,000 people performing the clapping sequence from the video for this song - and you pause????

You don't have the complete performance. Freddie and Brian come back a few hours later and perform, "Is This The World We Created?" . It got a little chilly by that point and Freddie is wearing a matching white jacket. They both are sitting on stools. Brian is playing acoustic guitar and Freddie, of course, is singing.👼💖🙏🎶🎤🎼🎵

I found Queen on Highlander, too! It was just this amazing sound! I still remember their crest coming up on the credits, all gold and glistening, and writing down their name! They had 20 minutes at Live Aid and so did all the acts. They just worked in more songs, rehearsed and timed them to get in six songs. Watch "20 Minutes that Changed Music." Queen fans listen for Brian May solos as well as for Freddie!

Queen rehearsed and rehearsed to get cut down segments of their songs into the REQUIRED TIME FOR ALL ACTS. That was why they were so good. They took it seriously while many other groups just 'phoned it in'. My husband I watched it on TV and Queen was definitely the most professional of all of the groups. There were 72k in the UK audience and 80K or more in the US.

Mr. charismatic Freddie Mercury and Mr. androgyny himself. - btw nobody in the crowd knew that the band was supposed to be there because the bands had already been announced and the concert had sold out a month or two prior. Queen was on tour until mid May 1985 so they kind of came in the last couple of weeks and got placed then around 6:30 PM. I think maybe five or 10 people who saw them rehearse knew they were performing but most people did not. Queen was the best surprise of the day!! ❤️❤️

I grew up listening to queen my dad and grandma was hugh Queen fans. At age 4 i would call Freddie uncle. When I was a teenager my dad and grandma had to break it to me that Uncle Freddie was gone first time I cried. R.I.P Uncle Freddie 🌹 I was told by my dad that some music artist when singing or trying to sing another artist song they can't. Radio gaga 😉 when he would get the crowd to yell A-yo it was Freddie way of spending time with his fans and we loved him for it. One thing about Freddie he never used auto tune. Like today music artist. When Freddie took stage it was Freddie voice real as on stage as his recordings. When I heard I'd showed more excitement when I was 4 then this teenager 😂 during this concert Freddie had aids which later killed him on November 24 1991. Imagine having to come on stage after Freddie 😂

I remember him coming into my local pub in west London and he seemed awfully shy. The one thing I really remember is his beautiful hair and he stood there with a couple of friends looking terribly shy but then he hadn't really become Freddie Mercury at that time. Nobody approached as it wasn't the done thing in those days but everybody saw him and he was the subject of discussion over the following weeks. Thank you for your reaction video: A proud dad showing off.

Did you know Brian May's guitar is homemade? His father and him made it when he was 18, from bits and pieces lying around - a table, a piece of an old fireplace, everything handcrafted, because they couldn't afford buying an electric guitar. It took them two years, and no guitar in the world sounds exactly like it.

Freddie Mercury said some time later that he was only at about 70% strength because of his health. He took 3-4 shots of vodka and went out on the stage. Queen wasn't originally scheduled to play that day; they were added after the event tickets had already been sold. They also didn't want to perform like every other artist or band. Others were only interested in promoting their latest hits or albums. Queen decided to do things a bit differently, which is why they played a lot of older (more familiar) stuff of theirs, except Hammer To Fall. It also explains the simplicity of the stage setup, the lights, and even the way they dressed. They didn't want the performance to be about being flamboyant; they wanted it to be all about the music. The next act to go on stage, after Queen, was the legendary David Bowie. It's noted that as he passed by Queen on his way to the stage, he was upset at how well they had been received by the crowd, and he reportedly said "How the f**k am I supposed to follow that?!?!" Queen had just owned the crowd (over 72,000 standing room only) for over 21 minutes, and in doing so, they set the standard for how a music performance was supposed to be done, and all the other acts had to scramble to try to match their intensity.

In Freddie’s solo bit the long high note was considered the “note heard around the world”. Also it was reported that when the audience did the movements for Radio GaGa; that was the 1st Freddie ever saw the people do to the song.

I was a young girl from a small town in the south, clapping and singing my heart out, lol. I doubt we’ll see a moment like this ever again, when so many people, from all over the world, were mesmerized and following along.

No they didn’t do the longest song, they just rehearsed and compressed the set. Everyone got 17 minutes, however queen did the most compressed and dynamic performance.

9:26 Yes my lad, this was at the time Englands biggest football (soccer) stadium seating 70,000. Home to the England football team and held countless concerts and other big football cup finals on an annual basis. The stadium here was demolished in the early 2000s and rebuilt to the stadium with the massive arch which you may have seen. Its again still home to the England football team and the Football Association and still hosts concerts, rugby occasionally and the NFLs UK tour.

My daughter is now a 28 year old Blues singer and band leader in Nashville. Growing up, she was the only one in her high school to be happy when the local station went from endless top forty to classic rock. of course, at age nine, her only Christmas wish was for the Led Zep four CD boxed set so I raised her to have a bit of musical taste! ;-)

No offense but kid looks like he's being forced to hear this while the Dad is just having a good time

Hey Guys, I just watched your reaction video to Queen at Live Aid and Dad, as a Father myself I wanted to compliment you on your Queen knowledge and I enjoyed watching you teaching your son all about the group and their songs. You know your stuff about their history. You actually taught me some very interesting things especially the stuff about Radio GaGa". FYI, it was Roger Taylor who wrote it and it was Roger who heard his baby saying Radio CaCa one morning in front of their radio. I have listened to "Radio GaGa" a million times and I never got it that it was about the death of radio. Thank you. FYI, "Hammer To Fall" is about a young person getting up in the early morning and being sent off to an unnecessary war which most of them are. Keep up the good work.

Both queen and Freddie are legends respect and rest in peace Freddie

Elvis the Pelvis died in 1977, “ Crazy little thing called Love “ was written as a tribute to Elvis by Freddie in 1979. ❤ Queen are consistent and wrote songs that people will sing 100 yrs in the future. Their repertoire was / is huge and everlasting. At 16 I wasn’t a fan. I watched this live and realised I sang every song all the way through. So I was a fan after all.

After the concert was over, the crowd spontaneously sang Bohemian Rhapsody as they exited the stadium. Hammer to Fall is about an apocalypse caused by nuclear weapons. Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins of the Foo Fighters said QUEEN was their very first concert, and Queen was so good they ruined every other concert for them after that. No One could compare.

Any stage Freddie Mercury was on, he OWNED. He could've strutted around in flip flops, shorts and a tank top and still own the stage. The dude was a God!

The greatest performance of all time

You can’t know how much I admire to see you with yours kids sharing Queen and Freddie’s music 🎼 🎵 🎶 !!!! It’s amazing!!! I love Queen since ever..., and I “cultures” my daughter too...! And It’s incredible how much you can bonded with them trough the music, specially Queen’s music 💔💔💔💔 Loves for all of you, from Chile (Sorry about my English)

This is a brittish stadium so the whole crowd new these interactive songs... Roger was radio gaga...I wish I could talk cos I'm sooo garbish at texting!!! Radio" is about how crappie the radio was... to change with the times. I watch this at least 2 times a week!😊 He was a thespian and starred in lots of theatre.... his love of his crowd and he felt he wanted them to have a memorable night out!!! Enjoyed your show. Your son and you have a great energy!!! See you before the hammer falls. 😂❤❤