Queen live at the private farm, Sunbury, Australia (27.01.1974)

Fan stories

Written by blind freddie

Sunbury was a three day outdoor rock festival of the Woodstock kind, held near Melbourne at the height of a stinking hot Australian summer. Alcohol was being served for the first time at such an event and the mood was variously happy, ugly, violent or ecstatic.

I was 17 and loving it.

Late in the afternoon of the second day, Daddy Cool (local favourites) played what was supposedly their last ever gig before splitting. The well-lubricated crowd received them rapturously, squeezing out several encores.

Then, the "headline" act of the festival was due to play. No-one had ever heard of this English band called "Queen" (sounds poofy, though, doesn't it?) and their arrival at the festival site in limousines alienated some people.

Then there was a long delay on stage. We were told there were technical problems but after a while the slow handclapping and jeers started. After what seemed like forever, four casually dressed men came out on to the stage and exposed their arses to the audience, then walked off. I have always assumed that this was the band, although I have never been sure. In any case, it made a bad situation even worse.

Eventually Queen came on and played to a response that varied from uninterested to positively hostile (but always alcohol impaired). I was trying to be openminded, but wasn't very impressed. The set was short and there was no encore.

It took a lot of persuading from my friends to go and see Queen in concert a year or so later, after that negative experience. Fortunately, I did go and

was converted, but it was touch-and-go for a while.

Anybody else remember Sunbury?