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The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert

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The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness
Benefit concert by Queen
Promotional poster
LocationLondon, England
VenueWembley Stadium
Date(s)20 April 1992 (1992-04-20)
Attendance72,000
Box office£20 million (equivalent to £52,278,193 in 2023)
Queen concert chronology

The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness, also known as A Concert for Life, was a benefit concert by British rock band Queen and a number of supporting artists. It took place on 20 April 1992, at Wembley Stadium in London, England.

The concert was a posthumous tribute to Queen's lead vocalist, Freddie Mercury, who had died of an AIDS-related illness on 24 November 1991. It was broadcast live worldwide, and watched by an estimated one billion people.

Proceeds from the concert totalled £20 million, and were used to launch the Mercury Phoenix Trust.

Background

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Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury died from AIDS-related complications on 24 November 1991.[1] Mercury had kept his AIDS diagnosis private until the week of his death, and it was later revealed that he had donated substantial amounts to AIDS charities that year.[2]

The surviving members of Queen (John Deacon, Brian May and Roger Taylor) resolved to continue raising money for charity to honour Mercury's legacy.[2] May said it was decided by the band the night of Mercury's death to stage a concert as his memorial, giving him "an exit in the true style to which he's accustomed.".[3]

A wishlist of performers was created by the band, with Elton John and Elizabeth Taylor recruited since they were already publicly involved with AIDS charities.[3] The band had ruled out a single vocalist performing with them, as they felt Mercury's range could not be duplicated without a variety of singers.[4] May and Taylor publicly announced the event at the Brit Awards on 12 February 1992.[4]

Production

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That was a concert to be proud of. I was very pleased about it. It went so well. A bit like Live Aid, the actual atmosphere was non-competitive in terms of showing respect for the other artists.[5]

—Spike Edney, Queen's musical director

Harvey Goldsmith promoted the concert, which was held on 20 April 1992 at London's Wembley Stadium.[6] Queen had previously played their famous Live Aid set at the venue in 1985, and sold out two nights at the stadium for their Magic Tour the following year.[7][8]

Rehearsals were held at Nomis Studios in London, Bray Film Studios in Water Oakley, and at Wembley Stadium on the eve of the concert.[3] Queen assigned their songs to the gathered artists, having decided beforehand which singers would sound best on each track.[5]

72,000 tickets were sold for the event.[9] A live television broadcast was produced by Jim Beach, directed by David Mallet, and broadcast to 70 countries.[9][10] One billion people were estimated to have watched the concert live on television.[11] The event raised £20 million for the Mercury Phoenix Trust, although the donation was presumed to be less after deducting production costs and travel accommodations for the talent.[6][12]

Concert synopsis

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Wembley Stadium, where 72,000 fans gathered for the event

The event lasted four and a half hours, exceeding the planned runtime by one hour, and ending at 22:30 BST.[11] Cindy Crawford hosted the event, providing backstage interviews with the day's performers.[13] To raise awareness for the cause, 100,000 red ribbons and 40,000 red scarves were distributed to fans entering the venue.[14]

An onstage introduction from the surviving members of Queen opened the show.[15] The concert then commenced with opening sets from Metallica, Extreme, Def Leppard, Bob Geldof, Spinal Tap, and Guns N' Roses.[15] Prerecorded performances from U2 and Mango Groove were also shown.[15] Elizabeth Taylor was introduced to the stage via satellite by Ian McKellen, and she spoke to the audience about AIDS prevention.[15]

Queen's set began with a video montage of Mercury's call and response interactions with his audiences.[15] Their performance featured the surviving Queen members playing with guest singers and guitarists, including Joe Elliott, Slash, Roger Daltrey, Tony Iommi, Zucchero Fornaciari, Gary Cherone, James Hetfield, Robert Plant, Paul Young, Mike Moran, Seal, Lisa Stansfield, David Bowie, Annie Lennox, Phil Collen, Ian Hunter, Mick Ronson, George Michael, Elton John, Axl Rose, John Jones and Liza Minnelli.[15]

Cancelled acts

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Robert Palmer was advertised as a performer for the concert, but he did not appear.[16]

Performances

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The running order and songs performed:[17]

  1. Metallica
  2. Extreme
  3. Def Leppard
  4. Bob Geldof
  5. Spinal Tap
  6. U2
  7. Guns N' Roses
  8. Mango Groove
  9. Queen (ft. Spike Edney, Josh Macrae, Maggie Ryder, Miriam Stockley, Chris Thompson)

Reception

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George Michael, whose rendition of "Somebody to Love" was widely praised

The performance of "Somebody to Love" by George Michael and Queen was regarded as the show's highlight.[18] A compilation of Michael's performances from the concert were released as the single Five Live, which was certified Gold in the United Kingdom.[19]

Guns N' Roses singer Axl Rose was protested for his involvement with the event by ACT UP, which accused him of spreading AIDS misinformation through homophobic lyrics in "One in a Million".[20] Rose interrupted his band's performance of "Paradise City" to admonish a demonstrator in the crowd holding up a "Piss Off, Axl!" sign.[21]

Home releases

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Picture Music International released the event to VHS on 23 November 1992, with all proceeds going to the Mercury Phoenix Trust.[17]

For the show's tenth anniversary, the concert was remastered by Dione Orrom and released to DVD on 13 May 2002.[10] It was certified Gold in Poland on 3 September 2003, and Platinum in Australia on 1 May 2007.[22][23]

Eagle Rock Entertainment released the concert to Blu-ray on 22 July 2013.[10] It was certified Platinum in the United Kingdom on 2 September 2013.[24]

Queen streamed the event to their YouTube channel on 15 May 2020 to raise money for the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, and again on 20 April 2022 for the show's 30th anniversary to benefit Mercury Phoenix Trust.[25][26]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Myers, Paul (25 November 1991). "Queen star dies after AIDS statement". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Queen singer is rock's first major AIDS casualty". Rolling Stone. 9 January 1992. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  3. ^ a b c Black, Johnny (26 January 2019). "Behind the scenes at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert". Louder. Retrieved 14 July 2025.
  4. ^ a b "QUEEN THE GREATEST EPISODE 40. 1992 – THE FREDDIE MERCURY TRIBUTE CONCERT". Universal Music Canada. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  5. ^ a b Greene, Andy (28 August 2019). "Queen Keyboardist Spike Edney on Live Aid, What Freddie Mercury Was Really Like". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 14 July 2025.
  6. ^ a b DiMartino, Dave (17 July 1992). "Mercurial Muddle". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 10 November 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  7. ^ "Remembering 1985 - The Year of Live Aid, EastEnders, Madonna, Whitney, Back to the Future, The Sinclair C5, and much more!". BBC. 10 July 2025. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  8. ^ "Queen The Greatest Episode 34: Queen 1986 The Magic Tour Part 2 – brianmay.com". brianmay.com – The Official Brian May Website. 5 November 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  9. ^ a b Associated Press (21 April 1992). "AIDS Benefit Concert Draws 72,000". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  10. ^ a b c "Queen "The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert" video and song lyrics". Ultimate Queen. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  11. ^ a b New York Daily News (28 April 1992). "Musicians, fans remember Mercury". Times News. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  12. ^ Cooper, Tim (21 April 1992). "Freddie tribute raises £20m for AIDS". Evening Standard. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  13. ^ Brule, Tyler (1 May 1992). "Fest of Champions". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 22 December 2009. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  14. ^ Brooks, Greg; Taylor, Gary (2 September 2013). "The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert". QueenOnline.com. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  15. ^ a b c d e f Geldard, David (21 April 2022). "The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert 30 Years On". We Are Cult. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  16. ^ "A STAR-STUDDED AIDS BENEFIT". Deseret News. 19 March 1992. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  17. ^ a b "The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert (1992)". QueenVault. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  18. ^ Greene, Andy (1 August 2017). "Flashback: Elton John, Axl Rose Play 'Bohemian Rhapsody' With Queen". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  19. ^ "George Michael & Queen Five Live". BPI. Retrieved 14 July 2025.
  20. ^ Hochman, Steve (15 March 1992). "Will Axl Say He's Sorry? ACT UP Applies Pressure". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 14 July 2025.
  21. ^ Jacobson, Colin (29 October 2013). "Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert [Blu-Ray] (1992)". DVD Movie Guide. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  22. ^ Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry (23 July 2024). "Wyróżnienia – Złote płyty DVD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 2003 roku". Archived from the original on 27 November 2024. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  23. ^ Australian Recording Industry Association. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2007 DVDs" (PDF). Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  24. ^ "British certifications – Queen – The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  25. ^ "FREDDIE MERCURY TRIBUTE CONCERT TO STREAM GLOBALLY IN SUPPORT OF THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION ON MAY 15". Universal Music Canada. 14 May 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  26. ^ "Now Live: The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert - 30th Anniversary YouTube Screening". QueenOnline.com. 20 April 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
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