Afternoon All,
I attended the Leeds 82 gig when I was 15 years old (I’m 43 now) and it will be etched on my memory for all time. It was the first gig I ever attended which made it special in itself but the performance, as many of you will already know, was spectacular.
For many years and aside from listening to the bootlegs, I have dreamt of re-living some of my memories of that day, either through photographs or audience shot cine film. Unfortunately and after much searching, there appears to be next to nothing to visually document this amazing concert. All I have been able to find are a few pro-shot and close-up photographs which, visually, are no different from those taken at any of the other Hot Space tour gigs. I’d love to see some shots of the crowd and the stage, just to bring back the memories. I’ve placed adverts in Leeds/Yorkshire newspapers and contacted the local TV companies but nothing has surfaced.
A few years ago, I came across a lead that amazingly, led me to believe that the show may have been filmed. For any Queen fan, this would be an incredible find although I am still not convinced that any footage exists. Through a 3rd party, I heard about an individual who claimed to have seen the film and to add credence to their story, one of the executives of Leeds AFC was running his own television company, Televista, at the time of the concert. Could he have gained permission to film the show? Knowing how these things work, I very much doubt it but the possibility niggles me to this day. Here is an excerpt from the web about the man in question;
(Patrick) Barrie Whitford, aged 66, Chief Executive Officer
Barrie Whitford has been involved in sport throughout his life and, as a young man, represented Cornwall in sprinting and the high jump at inter-county championships. His business career has seen him apply his diverse skills in a variety of roles. He worked as an engineer and consultant in a number of industries including aerospace, nuclear & conventional power and North Sea oil & gas exploration and established the world’s first Non-Destructive Ultrasonic Testing School that trained over 8,000 technicians. He served on the Executive Committee of Leeds United Football Club for two years and in 1982, he also co-founded the Sheffield Eagles Rugby League Club, which emerged rapidly and played in the final of the Silk Cut Challenge Cup at Wembley. In 1984, his television company, Televista, sponsored Tessa Sanderson to a gold medal at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles. In the same year, he was appointed a Governor of The Sports Aid Foundation. He co-founded The Sports Management Company, established in 1993, which was the forerunner of Sports TG Limited.
I tried to contact Barrie via e-mail a few years ago while he was still at STG but to no avail (I think they have since closed down).
Anyway, I thought I’d share my thoughts on this in case anyone else wishes to pick up the baton. It may be a dead-end but one can always hope. Oddly, in one of the photographs I found on the net marked as Leeds 1982, there is a camera man behind Freddie. I put this down to a mix-up with one of the MK photos but who knows? I certainly don’t recall seeing any camera men on the day but the years can fade the memory.
Cheers,
Keith.
zephead2112 wrote:Oddly, in one of the photographs I found on the net marked as Leeds 1982, there is a camera man behind Freddie. I put this down to a mix-up with one of the MK photos but who knows?
Yes, this well know "Leeds" photo come from Milton Keynes.
Myself and Martin Scully were looking at this a little while back. I think we found a guy who worked there at the time as a cameraman and he seemed to think it wasn't filmed. He was very friendly and helpful so I suspect he was telling the truth. But you never know in this world!