| Fredfan 02.09.2018 00:05 |
Queen at Live Aid was big and I know it was televised to a big audience, but what kind of reception did they get in the US immediately afterwards? I read somewhere that it was the Led Zeppelin reunion that was focus on the other side of the Atlantic. |
| Daniel Nester 02.09.2018 03:47 |
The reception was fairly minimal. MTV cut away after "Hammer to Fall" and didn't even show the whole set. It was only as the years went on, and the account of the performance, the full video getting posted online, round-ups of the "greatest live peformances of all time," and the Queen documentaries with band and other artists' accounts, did the U.S. start to recognize Queen's Live Aid performance as this great event. I attended Live Aid in Philadelphia as a teenager, and it was one of the few times no acts were performing, instead projecting London's performer on the screens. There wasn't that much a reaction, honestly, to Bohemian Rhapsody/Radio Ga Ga/Hammer to Fall; instead, it was the second half of the set that got some people stomping and clapping. At any rate, MTV was the only way to see Live Aid in the US, and they used it as an excuse to break for commercials, cutting back for the last minute of 'Champions.' A minute-by-minute account of MTV's broadcast of Live Aid is online here: link And, yes, the Led Zeppelin reunion was the thing that made JFK stadium explode. It was loud. Was it good? I think everyone agrees Led Zep was a hot mess. |
| master marathon runner 02.09.2018 13:17 |
Led Zep were so embarrassed by their performance they refused permission for it to be included in the official DVD release. |
| The Real Wizard 02.09.2018 17:01 |
Daniel Nester wrote: MTV cut away after "Hammer to Fall" and didn't even show the whole set.Interesting. But unsurprising, as Queen's best years in the US were behind them. But in Canada, the whole thing was shown (I think on MuchMusic). Anecdotal it may be, but I've spoken to plenty of people who were disappointed with their performance on Saturday Night Live a few years earlier, but thought they were fantastic at Live Aid. Indeed - it was all about the Zeppelin reunion in the US, as most American rock fans saw Zeppelin as the biggest band of the 70s. Everything else was secondary to that, and there was a massive build-up to it. Queen were just one of many of the older acts. While you won't have much trouble running into people who will tell you what a let-down Zeppelin were that day, that wasn't the case in the audience. In the moment, the excitement of seeing them together after nearly a decade (their last US tour was in 77) was plenty enough. The criticism became universal after everyone saw the video. |
| master marathon runner 02.09.2018 17:09 |
......and yet our UK broadcast showed the JFK crowd responding true enough to Radio Ga Ga. ??!? |
| dysan 02.09.2018 19:33 |
I just checked out the Led Zepplin slot again (every few years I'll have a look) Jiminy Cricket. |
| Daniel Nester 02.09.2018 20:35 |
People were truly going crazy about the Led Zep reunion. It was a very classic rock AOR crowd in Philly. People were going nuts over a Crosby, Stills, and Nash reunion with Neil Young, about Keith Richards playing sloppy guitar with Bob Dylan, and a Black Sabbath reunion earlier in the day (which a lot of people forget to mention). Duran Duran were a big thing for some of the teenyboppers in my section--and they were famously not very good, since Andy Taylor already had one foot out the door. I do think people who had VCRs in the States realized how great Queen were that day. I remember looking at it on tape, how Brian chunka-chunked through "Radio Ga Ga" and Freddie's crowd singing really stood out compared with the other acts. And when Magic Year came out in 1987, there was already the whole "Queen stole the show" narrative happening, and deservedly so. |
| Daniel Nester 02.09.2018 20:37 |
...and seeing Led Zeppelin on tape, man alive. Jimmy Page throwing Tony Thompson and Phil Collins under the bus for that performance was not a classy move. It's not like Phil Collins made him drool on his shirt. |
| dysan 02.09.2018 21:03 |
There's a clue about a minute in when Paige has an argument with a mic stand. If a drummer is to blame, it was probably Thompson - Collins stopped playing at points when he was going all out session drummer dickishness. But I think the combination was lethal. Phil and John were ok. That said, I think if I saw it live I'd just think it was a fine raucous set. |
| runner_70 02.09.2018 22:59 |
Just proof what a lousy crowd Americans are when it comes to Queen |
| Jeremy 02.09.2018 23:15 |
The Real Wizard wrote:A little off topic, but the SNL "Crazy Little Thing" performance is my favorite performance of that song. Brian's guitar tone and his note choice are perfect. That TONE!! Even the Telecaster sounds warm and crunchy. I first saw this performance on Vh1's 8-Track Flashback hosted by David Cassidy. in the mid/late 90'sDaniel Nester wrote: MTV cut away after "Hammer to Fall" and didn't even show the whole set.Interesting. But unsurprising, as Queen's best years in the US were behind them. But in Canada, the whole thing was shown (I think on MuchMusic). Anecdotal it may be, but I've spoken to plenty of people who were disappointed with their performance on Saturday Night Live a few years earlier, but thought they were fantastic at Live Aid. Indeed - it was all about the Zeppelin reunion in the US, as most American rock fans saw Zeppelin as the biggest band of the 70s. Everything else was secondary to that, and there was a massive build-up to it. Queen were just one of many of the older acts. While you won't have much trouble running into people who will tell you what a let-down Zeppelin were that day, that wasn't the case in the audience. In the moment, the excitement of seeing them together after nearly a decade (their last US tour was in 77) was plenty enough. The criticism became universal after everyone saw the video. |
| The Real Wizard 03.09.2018 00:20 |
runner_70 wrote: Just proof what a lousy crowd Americans are when it comes to QueenA Night At The Opera: US - 3x platinum UK - platinum A Day At The Races: US - 2x platinum UK - gold News Of The World: US - 4x platinum UK - gold You were saying? |
| The Real Wizard 03.09.2018 00:29 |
Jeremy wrote: A little off topic, but the SNL "Crazy Little Thing" performance is my favorite performance of that song. Brian's guitar tone and his note choice are perfect. That TONE!!That CHORUS PEDAL ! But you're not wrong. I just watched the video, and Brian indeed slays. Very loose performance of the song, considering they were on TV. The good old days when TV could be spontaneous. |
| master marathon runner 03.09.2018 08:31 |
The US had (s ) 5 x the population of the UK though Bob ! (Re album sales) /\ |
| *goodco* 03.09.2018 14:39 |
^ And the qualification number for sales is different in each country (1M for platinum in the USA, 300K for the UK). As to Live Aid, if memory serves, our broadcast cut away during WWRY, showed the band playing in the background, with an insert of someone asking for donations. Then, the audio came back but they showed the MTVee Jays sitting in chairs, with Alan Hunter rocking away to the music....with the big screen in the background showing Queen on stage...and then they showed the direct feed for most of WATC. If memory serves correctly. Other memories....my first time seeing Queen 'live' since Joe Louis Arena in '82. A couple of lackluster albums and 'hits' here, that they were off the radar to most. And, yes, the Led Zep 'reunion' was big here. I recorded it on a cassette and listened to it more than a few times after. |
| The Real Wizard 03.09.2018 15:15 |
master marathon runner wrote: The US had (s ) 5 x the population of the UK though Bob ! (Re album sales) /\Of course. But it's still measured as a percentage of the population. By that account, nothing outside of China or India is significant. |