Watch Freddie Mercury warm up before his final Queen performance
The late Queen frontman Freddie Mercury is one of the most iconic musicians of all time, much deserving of his place in the great pantheon of popular culture alongside some of theg greatest, such as John Lennon, David Bowie, Bob Dylan, and Leonard Cohen.
Mercury always stayed true to his artistic sensibilities, an iconoclast in every sense of the world. Together, he and Queen carved out a space for themselves that has always remained relevant despite the shifting of societal attitudes and the broader zeitgeist changing.
In addition to this unyielding character, Mercury was a once-in-a-generational talent when it came to his vocal range and songwriting ability, which was topped off by an otherworldy stage presence that remains unmatched, even some 31 years after his death. A true legend, the classics he gave us, such as ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, ‘We Will Rock You’ and ‘I Want to Break Free’, are timeless, meaning his spirit endures.
Many great nuggets from Mercury’s career exist on the internet, and one of the finest is the footage of his backstage warmup at Queen’s 1986 show at Knebworth, his final show with the band. Notably, there is a shortage of videos from the show, something that even the band members regret, which is strange because Anglia TV were filming it, as were documentary filmmakers Rudi Dolezal and Hannes Rossacher, and the entire set was also relayed on the screens either side of the stage.
“It is one of the biggest blunders in our history,” Queen guitarist Brian May once recalled. “The cameras were rolling, and visuals of the entire concert were relayed to the Eidophor screens simultaneously with the show. All it needed was for someone in our team to put a tape machine on the end of either the screen mix or the cameras themselves. No-one did. So it all went into the ether.”
He concluded: “There is a little bit of documentary footage in existence, also shot at the time separately, by Rudi and Hannes, I think, which includes some beautiful audience footage – which has been used in the odd documentary. But that’s it. It would have been a great DVD to have, wouldn’t it. Queen’s Last Concert! Well, sadly, it will never happen.”
Unfortunately for the surviving Queen members and fans, only minor snippets from the show remain available, including the short clip of Mercury warming up before heading on stage. Clearly in high spirits, we see him going through his classic call and response vocal run decked in his most iconic outfit of the yellow top with white trousers. It’s a marvellous trip down memory lane watching one of the finest musicians of all time in such a candid setting in what is a stark reminder of just how brilliant Freddie Mercury was.
