Queen Didn't Want To Play Live Aid: 'Thought It Was Going To Be A Disaster'

LiveAid is one of the most legendary concerts to ever happen, and Queen's set was arguably the most famous of their career, but according to the band's guitarist Brian May, he and Freddie Mercury were skeptical about playing the show.

"We weren’t touring or playing, and it seemed like a crazy idea, this talk of having 50 bands on the same bill," May recalled in an interview with The Radio Times about LiveAid's 40th anniversary. "We thought it was going to be a disaster. Freddie, in particular, said, ‘I haven’t got the right feeling for this.’ He wasn’t the leader of the band, but if he dug his heels in there was no dragging him, so we parked it."

Drummer Roger Taylor did want to be involved and was the one who convinced Mercury to do it. "I said to Freddie, If we wake up on the day after this Live Aid show and we haven’t been there, we’re going to be pretty sad," he said. "[Freddie] said, ‘Oh, f*** it, we’ll do it'."

After they decided they were in, Queen then had to choose their setlist for the short 17-minute set. Taylor said it was "obvious to open with the verse of "Bohemian Rhapsody"; it was so immediately recognisable. Then to finish with "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions" was a no-brainer."

The two musicians then recalled the blunt piece of advice the event's co-organizer Bob Geldof gave Mercury before the show: "Don’t get clever; just play the hits."