Customer Reviews

Queen - Live at Wembley Stadium

5 star:		(122)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a model DVD release for a rock band. No corners seem to have been cut! The concert footage itself is very good, the extras are excellent, and there's a lot of care and attention paid to every last detail of the packaging. This probably isn't the best concert in Queen's history, but it's probably the best filmed Queen concert, and that's more than good enough for me. Everything you loved, or hated, or loved to hate about the band is preserved in exceptional detail. It's almost like being there. I prefer this DVD to other filmed Queen concerts, to be honest. Queen were not only first-rate rockers but also fantastic showmen, and Freddie and Brian's showmanship is nothing but captivating. This is one of my favorite concert DVDs, and is well worth a purchase instead of the collections of Queen lip-synched videos also available on the market.

By 1986, Queen was at their absolute peak. They had placed themselves up there with the greats. So during their Magic Tour, they decided to professionally film their Wembley Stadium concert. They played two nights at Wembley, July 11-12 1986, and each night they packed in 70,000 plus. Since it rained the first night, the Wembley Concert DVD is from the sunny, July 12th.

Since there is no track listing to be found (except for the Live At Wembley CDs), I will provide you with one.

1. One Vision
2. Tie Your Mother Down
3. In The Lap Of The Gods
4. Seven Seas Of Rhye
5. Tear It Up
6. A Kind Of Magic
7. Under Pressure
8. Another One Bites The Dust
9. Who Wants To Live Forever
10. I Want To Break Free
11. Impromptu
12. Brighton Rock Solo (Brain May's Guitar Solo)
13. Now I'm Here
14. Love Of My Life
15. Is This The World We Created
16. (You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care [Cover]
17. Hello Mary Lou (Goodbye Heart) [Cover]
18. Tutti Frutti [Cover]
19. Gimme Some Lovin' [Cover]
20. Bohemian Rhapsody
21. Hammer To Fall
22. Crazy Little Thing Called Love
23. Big Spender [Cover]
24. Radio GA GA
25. We Will Rock You
26. Friends Will Be Friends
27. We Are The Champions
28. God Save The Queen

The first thing to point out is that Seven Seas Of Rhye is only 1 minute, 18 seconds long here. In other words, it's not the complete song. That's okay though, since the Rest of the DVD is a gem. Brain's guitar solo ends up at more than 9 minutes, and in the middle of the concert, Queen throws in covers of old songs. Ending out the DVD is We Will Rock You, followed by Friends Will Be Friends. First, it's only 2 minutes of Friends Will Be Friends, but surprisingly second, it's not the We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions combo. That's okay, I never mind a little change once and a while.

Overall, the concert is excellent. It contains many great Queen songs, and other great non-Queen songs. You have songs on here like One Vision, Another On Bites The Dust, Now I'm Here, Bohemian Rhapsody, Radio GA GA, We Will Rock You, and We Are The Champions just to name a few. The stage is huge, and Freddie Mercury manages to cover every square inch of it. Every moment, he's somewhere different.

The bonus features are as followed:

1. New Interviews with Brian May and Roger Taylor
2. Multi Angle Feature
3. Rehearsal and Friday (July 11) Concert excerpts
4. Backstage Documentary

While watching the bonus features, you'll learn more about the Wembley concerts and how rainy it was at the Friday concert. You'll also learn about the camera positions and see Queen in multi angle. For four songs (One Vision, Under Pressure, Now I'm Here, and We Are The Champions) you can select one band member and watch him for the entire song. The Queen Live At Wembley bonus disc is better that most bonus discs are.

In the end, you get a wonderful Queen concert and an excellent bonus disc, along with a photo booklet for a list price of 20 dollars, but the sale price is usually under 15 dollars. It's a great DVD set and I recommend it to anyone who doesn't yet own it.

If you like Queen Live At Wembley, then you will also enjoy the Live Killers CDs, The Platinum Collection, and Queen On Fire: Live At The Bowl.

Perhaps this is the number one best live rock video you can buy. It's queen in their last live tour at a place that loves and appreciates them the most.

Some of the reviews are just too picky. One person even suggested this isn't an actual live video. Huh? What else is it? Sure not all of queen's 2 1/2 hour concert is here, the video is about 75 minutes but all 75 minutes is live footage from that concert. One can argue some with the song selection, something else instead of tutti frutti for example but most of the show is fantastic and contains stuff from most of their albums over the previous 15 years. The band hits the stage running just before sundown with "one vision" and "tie your mother down". Then comes an onslaught of hits and favorites and freddie has total control of the crowd. Rarely can you see a concert where the audience of that size is so close and intimate with a band. The band itself plays a tight, inspired self assured concert. Seasoned pros at their best playing before long time friends. Definitely a special moment and who would have guessed that just 5 years later freddie would be gone and queen would be no more.

Everyone should own this video!

................socks

I have been to 5 Queen concerts at Madison Square Garden since the release of "A Day at the Races" the last being the "Hot Space" tour. I've always said that Queen was the greatest live band of my time and possibly of all times. This release by Hollywood records proves me right! It was alway my dream to see Queen perform in one of the world's most famous venues (Wembley) but unfortunately that never happened, so I have to settle for second best. This DVD has the entire concert in DTS 5.1 and PCM sound format and then some! It has footage of Queen in rehearsal, tracks from the first concert at Wembley,new interviews with Brian and Roger (No Deacon), and interviews with their tour Manager Gerry Stickells and concert Director Gavin Taylor. Going back to the Main Event, Queen coasts through almost every one of their greatest hits (No Sombody to Love)and the audience's participation is something to see. Freddie always said he wrote music for the audience to escape into and have fun with, and boy is the audience having a great time. Freddie leads the audience with some impressive vocal scales and the audience responds with equally impressive scales, the audience participates in hand clapping songs such as Radio GaGa (in the tradition of the video),We will Rock You, then as usual the audience goes crazy with Bohemian Rhapsody.
The band also does interesting covers of Hello Mary Lou, Your So Square, Tutti Frutti, Gimme Some Lovin.
I think anyone who appreciates great music, whether you are a Queen fan or not, should give this Gem of a concert a look.
Queen wrote "Who Wants to Live Forever?" and answered the question with this performance.

While they never lost their popularity in England, some may argue that Queen went into a mild slump in the early 1980s in the United States. However when Queen performed at the Live Aid concert at Wembley Stadium in 1985, Queen clearly put themselves back on the map. Their performance at Live Aid was nothing short of legendary. Queen found themselves with a lot of momentum coming out of the Live Aid show. This momentum would lead to a new Queen album, "A Kind of Magic" and a follow-up tour. For that Tour, Queen decided to wrap the Tour up in England and decided to perform two shops at Wembley Stadium in July, 1986 (a year after Live Aid). The shows were so big that a third one was added at Knebworth. Little did fans know - that with Freddie Mercury's illness on the horizon, that this would be the last tour with the four main members of Queen. It turns out that the second to last show (the last show performed at Wembley by Queen) would be filmed The resulting film would be "Queen: Live at Wembley Stadium". Thanks to DVD, we get not only the complete concert - but also plenty of bonus footage. Queen succeeds in surpassing that legendary Live Aid performance by delivering a full concert. This concert might just be one of the greatest ones ever recorded.

This is such a great concert, there isn't room to discuss everything on here. Here are twelve "things to look for" on this concert. These are in no particular order:

1.While Freddie Mercury is a brilliant vocalist, Roger Taylor really holds his own. Not only does he deliver thundering drums throughout the concert - he is simply outstanding providing the main background vocals. Taylor's performance on "Under Pressure" is going to make you forget that David Bowie would perform this song with Queen.

2. "A Kind of Magic" really surprised me. This proved to be a great live song and this would to be the first (and only) tour Mercury would deliver the vocals. The Queen "balloons" flying in the air and throughout the stadium make for a great visual to compliment the performance.

3.I guess back in 1986 it was also a "trendy" thing to do an acoustic set. Queen will perform "Love of My Life" and "Is This the World We Created?" in Acoustic.

4.Queen's tribute to the music of the 1950s and 1960s proves to be a nice change of pace. This includes "(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care", "Hello Mary Lou(Goodbye Heart)", "Tutti Frutti", and a bit of "Gimme Some Lovin" Perhaps the highlight of this set is how during "Tutti Frutti" they change from a more acoustic set to a harder rock set - watch how Brian May will switch guitars. I kind of wish Queen would have performed all of "Gimme Some Lovin"

5."Radio Ga Ga" never disappoints me. This might be one of the greatest songs ever performed live. It was awesome at Live Aid because of how the crowd responded in-sync with the band. Once again, the crowd at Wembley responds at a high level.

6.At first I was a little bummed that Queen will use a pre-recorded version of the "Opera" section of "Bohemian Rhapsody", but the way they use it actually works - and will make for one heck of a performance.

7.Overall, it is going to be last nine songs that are going to be the highlight of this concert. On the bonus DVD, Queen discusses how much attention they paid to ordering the songs. I wouldn't have changed a thing.

8.Little did we also know that this concert would be the second to last time that Freddie Mercury would perform "We are the Champions" with Queen. It is an emotional performance, especially when Mercury goes "I Thank You All" and the crowd responds. Mercury, who is in mid-performance turns to the crowd and acknowledges them. Watch how Mercury crosses his arms as he plays the piano during this song.

9.Brian May will also do the guitar switch during "Crazy Little Thing Called Love". Freddie Mercury will pick up a guitar for this song. It's worth noting that on the Friday show, Freddie and Brian perform an even better guitar jam.

10.John Deacon - the Bass player is all business. He's very underrated, but doesn't miss a beat during the show. He shines during "Under Pressure" and "Another One Bites the Dust".

11.The bonus DVD discusses the use of Technology for the 2nd Wembley show. The bonus DVD also contains highlights from the first show which was filmed as a test-drive for the main show. That first show had less cameras and as a result doesn't have the same "in house" realism of the second concert.

12.Overall the Bonus DVD contains some great information: As mentioned above, there are some highlights from the first show as well as some of the "behind the scenes" information about how the concert came together. There are also some terrific interviews with Brian May and Roger Taylor. There is some raw home video of Queen rehearsing for the concert. Queen also provides multi-angle features for "One Vision", "Under Pressure", "Now I'm Here", and "We are the Champions". There are four angles - one focused on each member of the band. This will provide a unique perspective for seeing the members perform these songs in action. Perhaps the best part is the commentary provided on the tearing down of Wembley Stadium - great stuff.

Overall, this is simply an outstanding concert - and an outstanding video of the concert. You will find yourself watching the concert and bonus material over and over again. This is clearly the gold standard for concert DVDs. The only weak spot is I wish the enclosing booklet contained some written material about the concert. This is a must for Queen and music fans.

Check some of the 1 star reviews for this DVD. It's not because it is bad, but because these people bought the wrong DVD.

People please pay attention... The Official 'Queen Live at Wembley DVD' includes 2 Discs and shows Freddie on the cover kind of kneeling on one foot.
The Brazilian bootleg has only one disc, it doesn't include the complete show and it has very poor audio and video quality. It's a pirate version and it shouldn't be sold in stores. Please be careful when you buy it.

Here is some advice for any Band, Group, Singer, or Performer thinking about putting together a concert DVD. Watch "Queen: Live At Wembley Stadium" first as a reference DVD! Probably the best covered concert I have ever viewed and considering the date of the concert, 1986, the video and sound are as good as anything produced today.

The quality is apparent when viewing the bonus material. The interviews with Gavin Taylor (Director) and Gerry Sickells (Tour Manager) shows the foresight in camera, sound, and stage development; no less than 16 cameras were used (I'm told your average concert uses 9 cameras). You almost feel they knew this would one day be put on DVD, which didn't even exist then. The Bonus material is rich as well. There are multi angle shots for several of the sets, including "Under Pressure". Behind-the-scene material, rehearsal sets, interviews with Brian May and Roger Taylor, and a backstage documentary.

My system does not support DTS. However, watching it with my Dolby/THX certified system the sound was crisp, clean, and well balanced. I can just imagine how well DTS would sound. John's bass sounds just as good as Brian's acoustic solos and Freddie's voice is as good as ever with clean backup performances by Roger. I felt as if I was at the concert itself. With the crowd cheering and ambient sounds in my surround speakers and the explosive music and vocals coming from all around, I got Goosebumps!

The concert itself is Queen at their best. They perform 28 songs and cover their career up to that point. With classics like "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Hammer to Fall", and "Radio Ga Ga" they also include music from their roots like "Tie your mother down", "Seven Seas Of Rhye" and great renditions of "Big Spender" and "Tutti Frutti". The energy of the band never falters either. They have the same energy from the opening with "One Vision" to their finale "God Save the Queen".

Do I have anything negative to add? Yes. Queen did not perform more of my favorites like "Somebody to Love", "Spread Your Wings", "Fat Bottomed Girls", or "Don't Stop Me Now". But hey, They're not machines.

Get this DVD!

The guy above unfortunately is reviewing the Brazilian bootleg DVD. The above ad is for THE REAL THING!!! This is the Queen DVD I have been waiting for. I too bought the Brazilian bootleg thinking it was just an import. The 2 disc set above includes TONS more than the bootleg and it's CHEAPER!!! Every Queen fan should own this DVD, but if you're not a Queen fan, THIS WILL TURN YOU INTO ONE!!! This DVD will show you why Queen could entertain like no other!!! All four members put on a show that literally made me jump out of my seat. We definately lost a "one of a kind" guy when Freddie Mercury passed away. I'm getting kind of long winded so I'll make one thing clear- BUY THIS DVD. For more info about it, go to queenonline.com. It's the official Queen website.

I admit I became a true Queen fan late in life. I've known their music for years, of course, but never saw any performances to fit to the music. Then, I got my copy of Live Aid on DVD. To say that Queen ruled that show from on high would a MAJOR understatement. That performance was incredible, amazing, and completely once-in-a-lifetime. I was hooked. When I found this DVD on Amazon, I promptly ordered it. I wasn't disappointed. The group hits the stage running, and all engines firing. The sound is wonderful, and I really enjoy hearing the crowd roar along in sing-along mode or in approval, it makes the whole concert DVD experience like stepping back in time to actually be there. Some have taken exception to Queen doing old rock standards like 'Tutti Frutti' and 'Hello Mary Lou', but I feel they did those to just have fun with the show and the audience, so just enjoy it. The whole presentation is top-notch, the picture quality is outstanding for 19-year-old video tape recordings, and the sound will blow you away! Honestly, VERY few artists have innate showman and performance talents. So many try, but that's really all they do. Freddie Mercury had a God-given gift to own a stage by sheer presence alone, not to mention what the man could do with his voice. We really likely won't see his like again in this pre-packaged age we live in now, which is a true shame. Get this DVD and enjoy the amazing talent on display, and keep it in mind when you see a concert on TV, and just appreciate what true talent is.

I am a HUGE fan of Queen; they, in my opinion, are the best band EVER.
Freddie's performance is mesmerizing; it's hard to believe that 5 years later he would pass away...But you know what? Too many people focus on that. People shouldn't watch this concert thinking, "Oh, he messed up that bit because he had AIDs," or "Poor fellow, he's going to die." And yes, it is very sad (I should know; I've sat down multiple times and had a good cry over him, just because I never got the chance to meet my hero), but he knew he was going to die! And you know what? He performed superbly despite it!
VERY SADLY, I never got to go to a proper Queen concert, seeing as Freddie passed away one year before I was born, but watching this DVD put me up close and personal with the band, and made me feel like I WAS THERE.
Everytime I hear "Love Of My Life," I cry, everytime I hear "Another One Bites The Dust," I dance, everytime I hear "Bohemian Rhapsody," I sing along, everytime I hear, "Brighton Rock," I play air guitar, and everytime I watch this DVD I come away very happy that I've gotten the chance to watch the greatest rock band ever! God bless 'em!
So, what are you waiting for? Buy the DVD!