Production Year: 1992 - Music / Performing Arts - Original Language: English - Classification: Exempt - Starring: Brian May, Roger Taylor, John Deacon, David Bowie, Def Leppard, Extreme, Elton John, Bob Geldof more
This sell-out concert took place in 1992 before a crowd of 72,000 at Wembley Stadium, London as a tribute to Freddie Mercury from Queen who died in 1991. Some of the many artists... more
of Queen took the stage of London's Legendary Wembley Stadium to announce the start of one of the biggest events in rock history organised by Queen themselves ...
of Queen, took the stage of London's Legendary Wembley Stadium to announce the start of one of the biggest events in rock history, organised by Queen themselves to pay tribute to their former colleague - the incomparable Freddie Mercury. The atmosphere of emotion, mixed joy and sadness, shared by stadium audience, worldwide television viewers, and performers alike, was an experience that will never be forgotten.Queen had invited some of the greatest musical talent in the world to join them in paying tribute to Freddie, who tragically dies of AIDS on 24th November 1991. The aim of the concert was to celebrate Freddie's life and work, but also to increase public awareness of the awful disease which prematurely ended his life . A bonus result was a huge and still growing sum of money raised by the event and it's spin off which has provided funds to help fight AIDS worldwide ever since. All the guests artists offered their participation for free. The concert was broadcast live on television and radio in 76 countries, from the USA to Russia, and all proceeds, then and now go to the Mercury Phoenix trust, a charity formed at the time whose charter is the relief of suffering from AIDS throughout the World. The 72,000 people who were fortunate enough to see the concert live did so in glorious Spring weather in front of a stage 370ft wide and 90 ft deep. The stage was flanked by scaffolding towers over 80ft tall and crowned at the centre of the proscenium arch by a gigantic Phoenix - a symbol from Queen's crest designed by Freddie in 1969, and now the emblem of the Mercury Phoenix Trust. The second half of the event, featuring Brian, Roger and John joined a glittering array of guests vocalists and players, is captured here on specially remastered Digyal Video with surround sound. In addition the DVD contains many extras including unseen rehearsal and backstage footage
Features GunsNRoses Axl Rose at Wembley Stadium, London, Britain - Apr 1992 FREDDIE MERCURY TRIBUTE CONCERT, WEMBLEY STADIUM, LONDON, BRITAIN - APRIL 1992 454218ad
Rex Features GunsNRoses Axl Rose at Wembley Stadium, London, Britain - Apr 1992 FREDDIE MERCURY TRIBUTE CONCERT, WEMBLEY STADIUM, LONDON, BRITAIN - APRIL 1992 454218ad
Andre Csillag / Rex Features GunsNRoses Axl Rose at Wembley Stadium, London, Britain - Apr 1992 FREDDIE MERCURY TRIBUTE CONCERT, WEMBLEY STADIUM, LONDON, BRITAIN - APRIL 1992 454218ad
Andre Csillag / Rex Features LISA STANSFIELD, GEORGE MICHAEL AND BRIAN MAY FREDDIE MERCURY TRIBUTE CONCERT, WEMBLEY STADIUM, LONDON, BRITAIN - APRIL 1992 454218aa
A review by drewish on Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert (10th Anniversary Edition) (DVD) March 8th, 2007
Author's product rating:
Did you enjoy it?
Loved it
Characters / Performances
Outstanding
Soundtrack
Outstanding
How does it compare to similar films?
Not applicable
Advantages:
A great tribute . Stellar line - up . Benefits a worthy cause .
Disadvantages:
Some of the fashons are now very dated !
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
These two DVDs comprise a tribute to Freddie Mercury, who died in 1991 after succumbing to AIDS. All the artists involved gave their time for free - and those included reads like a Who's Who of British rock music, in addition to artists from overseas such as Metallica and Liza Minelli.
There is an array of "extras" on the 2 DVDs, including rehearsal footage for each act (press enter when you see the "i" box at the corner of your screen), a documentary on the great Freddie Mercury and press photos from the event itself.
---Why should I bother listening to something that is over 10 years old?----
Because Queen were a seminal rock group; because buying the video will help AIDS charities fight the disease; because it is a moving and uplifting event; because the atmosphere is captured brilliantly in the film; because it contains deliver heartfelt and sincere performances from all concerned; because it represents some of the higlights of Queen's music, involving artists spanning a whole generation.
--Are there any drawbacks?--
Well, the footage was originally on ordinary television (4:3) format, but has been squeezed into a widescreen format for the DVD - resulting in a loss of some areas of the picture.
Some of the songs from the concert are also missing - Robert Plant complained that his voice was not in the best of shape during the live performance, and listening to him sing on the tracks that are present on the DVD, I would have to agree. This resulted in one of his songs, "Innuendo" (one of Queen's finest tracks in my opinion) being deleted from the disc.
The inclusion of 80s crooner Paul Young also mystified me. His vocal range was simply inadequate to the immense task of emulating Freddie Mercury and his voice was reedy and thin.
Also rather strangely Zucchero (who??) were included performing Las Palabras Del Amor (what? - maybe a more dedicated Queen fan could point out where this song came from - is it anything to do with Barcelona?)
Spinal Tap's performance was also left out, along with Def Leppard. I would much rather have seen the mighty Tap than Paul Young or Zucchini any day! On DVD, surely some of the second disc could have shown the remaining footage of the concert, rather than be filled up with extras.
--- Despite all these shortcomings, is it still worth buying? --
Definitely. The two disk set spans the length of Queen's career - from the seventies to the nineties. It is a rare showcase of musical talent and it is very well produced.
Parts are also very moving - a speech by George Michael,on homophobia reminded me of how far we have coming in combatting such prejudices, and of how far there is still to go. He gives an estimate that there would be 40,000,000 people with AIDS wordlwide by the year 2000 - given the AIDS epidemic in South Africa which is still raging, I think his estimate was probably on the low side if anything.
--- And the music - can the artists replace Freddie Mercury? ---
Well, no - but that is a bit of a tall order. The only person who did justice to the vocals was probably George Michael, although Elton John, Annie Lennox and Lisa Stansfield's performances were also excellent. For the most part, artists like James Hetfield of Metallica chose to give their own interpretation of the song (wisely) rather than trying to match the vocal range of Mercury note for note. And it will probably be the only chance you have to see Elton John singing alongside W. Axl Rose of Guns n' Roses fame, on 'Bohemian Rhapsody'.
--- Did it capture the atmosphere of Wembley Stadium? --
One of the best things about the disc was seeing a massive crowd clapping in unison to tracks like We Will Rock You. There is also a lot of audience participation and you get a real sense of what the event was like. However, the cutting down of the format into widescreen could not have helped here, as some of the picture would have been lost.
Advantages: The biggest names in music contribute, money goes to AIDS charities Disadvantages: A bit boring in places, some questionable performances
...Stadium to pay tribute to Freddie Mercury who died of AIDS on 24th November 1991.
It's embarassing to admit, but because I'm only 19 now, a lot of the artists on the video I didn't know when I first bought it, and admittedly some of them now I'm still not that familiar with (although a lot more familiar than other people my age I'd guess)
Because it's so long, you're not going to want to watch it all at once, unless you really have nothing else ... ...be pretty amazing to rival Freddie Mercury's vocal range and performance talent. Some tried, some failed, and some just did their own versions of the songs.
In my opinion, George Michael gives one of the best performances, he sings "These Are The Days Of Our Lives" with Lisa Stansfield and rocks out "Somebody To Love" perfectly, getting all the audience going, I can only imagine what it'd be like to have seen him perform this live.
Elton John sings ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: will bring back lots of memories, its probably the only time you will see these clebs all together Disadvantages: the first half is missing!!
...of you who remember when freddie died and watched this memorial on t.v. you may be a little disappointed. The original concert was in two halves, the first half was various groups (including metallica, def leopard and extreme) doing a short set each in honor of Freddie Mercury and in support of the charity. The second half was some members of various bands taking their turns to perform queens greatest hits alongside the remaining members of Queen. ... ...concert. All in all it's great veiwing and i challenge anyone who liked Queen's music not to end up humming or even singing along, the perfomances (put together in quite a short space of time) are good (mostly), and its a unique experience to see some of the most unlikely pairings the music world has seen. However I still can't help feeling cheated by the exclusion of the firat half. ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
Plot: Wembley Stadium plays host, in 1992, to numerous rock stars as they each pay tribute to Freddie Mercury, who died of AIDS in November 1991.
DVD Description
This sell-out concert took place in 1992 before a crowd of 72,000 at Wembley Stadium, London as a tribute to Freddie Mercury from Queen who died in 1991. Some of the many artists include: Metallica, Extreme, Def Leppard, Guns n' Roses, Elizabeth Taylor, Elton John, and many many others.
Release details
DVD Region: DVD
Studio(s): EMI MUSIC; EMI OPERATIONS
Release date: 13/05/2002
No of Discs: 2
Catalogue No: 492 8699
Barcode: 0724349286993
Music Performer: Brian May
Composer: Brian May
Music: Brian May
Languages
Main Language: English
Technical information
Special Features: Stills Gallery
Sound: DTS
Dubbing Sound: DTS English
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Listed on Ciao since : 03/03/2003
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