A dream team: Adam Lambert and Brian May.
Photo: Getty Images, Andrew Chin. All rights reserved.
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Bringing back the spirit of Live Aid. Sydney instead of London. Adam Lambert instead of Freddie Mercury. 45 years after the legendary benefit concert at Wembley Stadium … even for a giant band like Queen this is no everyday exercise.
In the final episode of the 50-part band portrait Queen The Greatest on YouTube, Brian May and Adam Lambert look back on a memorable 2020 show in Australia. Although Lambert had been around for almost a decade as a new singer, the former US musical actor continued to struggle with being just a surrogate Freddie Mercury to some fans. The benefit concert for “Fire Fight Australia” should convince even the last doubters.
“It was horrible to see the fires sweeping Australia and the hardship and people losing their homes; how many wild animals were killed,” Brian May recalls of the devastating bushfires. According to May, the band was on tour in Sydney. And spontaneously decided to raise money for the local firefighters. “So we had already played our regular show the evening before and made the stage in the stadium fully available for the next evening”. The band itself wanted to play again.
The question “With which songs?” was quickly answered. For once, the legendary Live Aid performance from 1985 should be revived. New situation, legendary setting.
“We’ve always thought about it. But that was a total adrenaline rush,” says Brian May. “Like the original Live Aid, it was a special situation. The audience went wild like they did back then, full of energy.” It would be just the right place for this legendary set-up with “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “Radio Ga Ga”, “Hammer To Fall”, “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and to finale “We Will Rock You” and “We Are The Champions”.
Adam Lambert – of course – did a great job. Historical baptism of fire passed.
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