Coronation.

Many years ago, I became a converted Queen fan. Today, I still believe that Freddy Mercury is one of the best Rock singers to have ever graced this planet. Maybe the best, period.

I'll also admit that I am not overly impressed with the vocal weirdness of Bohemian Rhapsody, which is so often sited when the rock elite talk about Freddy's brilliance. I understand that the song was an achievement both in concept and execution, and that multi tracking took a huge step forward because of Freddy's work, but the truth is that the song itself is a bit too Broadway for my tastes.

I think Freddy shined brightest when he was straight up killing it vocally. I could watch Queen at Wembley on repeat and not get tired. It's that damn good.

Queen were at their prime at that stage in their career, and even though America mostly had moved on, the rest of the world saw the band turn into the monster they were really meant to be. 

Recorded on July 12th, 1986 during the Magic Tour, this second show of a 2 night stint was viewed live by approximately 72,000 blessed fans lucky enough to be there. 

It should be said that this was a small crowd for the band during this era, playing to 350,000 in Rio the prior year, and several shows with over 100,000 in attendance during a two year tour cycle.

If you've never seen the video for this concert, watch it immediately. It's all over YouTube. The crowd participation in Radio GaGa alone is chilling, but Freddy is on fire.

Sadly this would be Queens last tour with Freddy, but with that in mind, they absolutely went out at their peak.

I got to see Queen when they toured with Paul Rodgers as their vocalist. It was an amazing night, but just not the Magic it would have been 20 years earlier.

Freddy was two months shy of 40 years old at the time of taping, but he was ageless and his performance showed the world that a talent of that caliper was timeless. It's still amazing today. The world has not seen his equal.

Brian May is a legend guitar player and Queen always was a very solid Rock band. Brian's signature sound, also never duplicated, was the perfect backdrop for the voice, personality and presence of Freddy Mercury, but Queen was the sum of its parts. Brian, John, Roger and Freddy were the perfect muses for one another.

Very few people do exactly what they were meant to do in life. Freddy and Queen were one of the exceptions. 

Happy Birthday Freddy. RIP.

Nago