Queen: The Complete Works (125 page)

FINAL LIVE IN JAPAN

• 1992 (90 mins) • BMG BVVP 79

‘Machines (Or ‘Back To Humans’)’, ‘Tear It Up’, ‘Tie Your Mother Down’, ‘Under Pressure’, ‘Somebody To Love’, ‘Killer Queen’, ‘Seven Seas Of Rhye’, ‘Keep Yourself Alive’, ‘Liar’, ‘It’s A Hard Life’, ‘Now I’m Here’, ‘Is This The World We Created...?’, ‘Love Of My Life’, ‘Another One Bites The Dust’, ‘Hammer To Fall’, ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, ‘Radio Ga Ga’, ‘I Want To Break Free’, ‘Jailhouse Rock’, ‘We Will Rock You’, ‘We Are The Champions’, ‘God Save The Queen’

Filmed at Yogishi Swimming Pool Auditorium in Tokyo on 11 May 1985 (not, technically, Queen’s final concert in Japan, but at least shot during their final Japanese tour),
Final Live In Japan
improves upon the
Live In Rio
video by offering a nearly complete film of the much-criticized
Works!
tour. Sadly, the video was available only in Japan, though it was finally reissued in 2004 on DVD (again, exclusive to Japan), causing casual fans to pass over this interesting relic – which includes many performances rarely seen on video: ‘It’s A Hard Life’, ‘Jailhouse Rock’ and one of the last live renditions of ‘Somebody To Love’ – because of incompatible video players and inflated import prices.

A CONCERT FOR LIFE: THE FREDDIE MERCURY

TRIBUTE CONCERT FOR AIDS AWARENESS

• 1992 (VHS: 180 mins; DVD: 120 mins)

• PMI MVB 4910623

•
Directors:
David Mallet, Jim Beach

1992 VHS release:
Insert 1, Queen Introduction, ‘Enter Sandman’, ‘Sad But True’, ‘Nothing Else Matters’, Insert 2, Queen Medley, Insert 3, ‘Now I’m Here’, Insert 4, ‘Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door’, ‘Paradize City’, Elizabeth Taylor speech, Insert 5, ‘Tie Your Mother Down’, ‘I Want It All’, ‘Hammer To Fall’, ‘Stone Cold Crazy’, ‘Thank You / Crazy Little Thing Called Love’, ‘Too Much Love Will Kill You’, ‘Radio Ga Ga’, ‘Who Wants To Live Forever’, ‘I Want To Break Free’, ‘Under Pressure’, ‘All The Young Dudes’, ‘“Heroes”’, The Lord’s Prayer, ‘’39’, ‘These Are The Days Of Our Lives’, ‘Somebody To Love’, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, ‘The Show Must Go On’, ‘We Will Rock You’, ‘We Are The Champions’, ‘God Save The Queen’, Insert 6

2002 DVD release:
Insert 1, Queen Introduction, ‘Tie Your Mother Down’, ‘I Want It All’, ‘Las Palabras De Amor (The Words Of Love)’, ‘Hammer To Fall’, ‘Stone
Cold Crazy’, ‘Thank You / Crazy Little Thing Called Love’, ‘Too Much Love Will Kill You’, ‘Radio Ga Ga’, ‘Who Wants To Live Forever’, ‘I Want To Break Free’, ‘Under Pressure’, ‘All The Young Dudes’, ‘“Heroes”’, The Lord’s Prayer, ‘’39’, ‘These Are The Days Of Our Lives’, ‘Somebody To Love’, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, ‘The Show Must Go On’, ‘We Will Rock You’, ‘We Are The Champions’, ‘God Save The Queen’, Insert 6, ‘These Are The Days Of Our Lives’ (rehearsal), ‘Under Pressure’ (rehearsal), ‘Somebody To Love’ (rehearsal), Inserts 1-6, The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert TV Documentary, Photo Galleries, Elizabeth Taylor speech

The 1992 A Concert For Life was not just a suitably grandiose send-off for Freddie, it was also an event to promote awareness of AIDS and its effects. No surprise, then, that portions of the video were released merely seven months after the event (in the UK; the US release didn’t come until April 1993), with proceeds going to the Mercury Phoenix Trust. The film is beautifully shot by David Mallet, with several video inserts of Freddie throughout, and, despite the high emotions of the day, Brian, Roger and John play superbly.

The original VHS release was slightly edited, with most of the omissions due to licensing issues or sub-par performances. (Robert Plant’s version of ‘Innuendo’ falls into the latter category, while Extreme’s rendition of ‘Love Of My Life’ and their own ‘More Than Words’, Bob Geldof’s ‘Too Late God’, U2’s satellite performance of ‘Till The End Of The World’, Spinal Tap’s ‘Majesties Of Rock’, Mango Groove’s ‘Special Star’ and Zucchero’s rendition of ‘Las Palabras De Amor (The Words Of Love)’ fall into the former.) The DVD release, issued to mark the tenth anniversary of the event, completely edited out the first half of the concert, though a bonus disc of rehearsals and photo galleries make interesting viewing.

BOX OF FLIX

• 1992 (20 mins) • PMI MVB 99132343

•
Directors:
Bruce Gowers, Dennis DeVallance, Rock Flicks, Derek Burbridge, Kliebenst, Brian Grant, Daniella Green, Keith McMillan, Don Norman, Russell Mulcahy, David Mallet, Rudi Dolezal, Hannes Rossacher, Tim Pope

During the massive catalogue reissue craze in the wake of Freddie’s death, Queen Productions bundled together the two
Greatest Flix
videos, with the original 1981 VHS long out of print, and threw in the added incentive of four previously unreleased performances: ‘Keep Yourself Alive’, ‘Liar’ (the first version from August 1973), ‘Killer Queen’ (from
Top Of The Pops
) and ‘Now I’m Here’ (from the November 1974 Rainbow Theatre concert).

LIVE AT THE RAINBOW 1974

• 1992 (52 mins) • released as part of
The Box Of Tricks
•
Director:
Bruce Gowers •
Producers:
Roy Thomas Baker (original sound), Mike Stone (original sound), Arkadi de Rakoff

‘Procession’, ‘Now I’m Here’, ‘Ogre Battle’, ‘White Queen (As It Began)’, ‘In The Lap Of The Gods’, ‘Killer Queen’, ‘The March Of The Black Queen’, ‘Bring Back That Leroy Brown’, ‘Son And Daughter’, Guitar Solo, ‘Father To Son’, Drum Solo, ‘Keep Yourself Alive’, ‘Liar’, ‘Son And Daughter’
(reprise)
, ‘Stone Cold Crazy’, ‘In The Lap Of The Gods... Revisited’, ‘Jailhouse Rock’, ‘God Save The Queen’

Live At The Rainbow 1974
was released as part of
Box Of Tricks
in 1992 and was presented in a heavily edited and overdubbed fifty-two-minute video performance. The overdubbing may be considered heresy among Queen fans, but it should be remembered that the band had intentions of releasing this concert as their first live album and video. Brian wrote in the spring 1975 Fan Club letter that “we’re working everyday and most nights on our film of the Rainbow concert, mixing and editing to a suitable form for the
Whistle Test
and suchlike – so you’ll be able to see us while we’re away in the USA and Japan these coming three months.” Unfortunately, the appearance on
The Old Grey Whistle Test
never happened, though it was released as an opener for
Jaws
in some UK theatres in 1977, and in the US it was the opener for
The Song Remains The Same
in 1976.

Easily the best reason to track down
Box Of Tricks
, this concert performance features much for fans to rejoice in, not least the much-coveted first incarnation of the medley (‘In The Lap Of The Gods’ through ‘Bring Back That Leroy Brown’), as well as a smattering of early concert favourites that would be omitted from the repertoire by the time the band became masters of the arena. Simply,
Live At The Rainbow 1974
is exciting, scintillating and awesome, undoubtedly Queen’s definitive concert performance. In mid-2011, Brian confirmed that there are plans to release both the 1986 Budapest concert in a 3D format, and to finally issue
the Rainbow gig on DVD. Whether this materializes or falls into the category of brilliant but discarded ideas remains to be seen.

CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD

• 1995 (120 mins) • PMI MVD 4915053

•
Directors:
DoRo (Rudi Dolezal and Hannes Rossacher)

To coincide with the release of
Made In Heaven
came
Champions Of The World
, a two-hour video anthology attempting to cover Queen’s expansive history. Originally intended as a fourth instalment of
The Magic Years
to cover the 1987–95 period, it was decided in the early stages of compilation that the result would be too sombre, instead giving way to a condensed overview of the years 1969 to 1995. While new interviews with Brian, Roger, David Richards, Jim Beach and others were conducted, there’s a lot of recycled material from
The Magic Years
, with many inaccuracies along the way in terms of the dates of particular songs being performed.

While it’s not as comprehensive as it could be,
Champions Of The World
is an entertaining and enthralling documentary, and should be sought out by completists and fans alike (though it’s currently unavailable on DVD). Fans still hold high hopes, however, for a thorough chronicle of Queen along the lines of
The Beatles Anthology
, which was also released in November 1995.

MADE IN HEAVEN – THE FILMS

• 1996 (60 mins) • Wienerworld WNR 2066 •
Directors:
Bernard Rudden, Jim Gillespie, Nichola Bruce, Richard Heslop, Simon Pummell, Mark Szaszy, Chris Rodley •
Producers:
Jim Beach and Ben Gibson

‘I Was Born To Love You’, ‘Evolution’ (‘Heaven For Everyone’), ‘Heart-Ache’ (‘Too Much Love Will Kill You’), ‘O’ (‘My Life Has Been Saved’), ‘You Don’t Fool Me’, ‘Outside-In’ (‘A Winter’s Tale’), ‘Return Trip’ (‘Let Me Live’), ‘Mother Love’, ‘Made In Heaven’ (closing titles)

While Freddie had been adamant that he keep recording until he was physically unable to in the post-
Innuendo
sessions, it was a different matter when it came to visuals. With the release of
Made In Heaven
, the Freddie-less Queen then had a difficult task: to promote their singles on music television without their frontman. So the British Film Institute was commissioned to come up with a slew of experimental videos, with the result released on VHS later in 1996. Fan reception has varied, with the consensus being that without the band appearing in it, it’s decidedly uninteresting, though those with more open minds were able to appreciate that each video told a story, instead of merely being a straightforward performance. The result is like a mini art film, and is one of their more interesting and unique video releases.

The VHS was re-released in 2003 with a bonus video of the making of
We Will Rock You: The Musical
, included simply because the musical had debuted the year before and the powers that be decided that any exposure is good exposure, when in reality, the two totally unrelated projects sit awkwardly side-by-side.

QUEEN ROCKS

• 1998 (78 mins) • Toshiba EMI TOVW 3292

•
Directors:
Compiled by: DoRo (Rudi Dolezal and Hannes Rossacher)

‘Tie Your Mother Down’ (Through The Years), ‘It’s Late’, ‘Headlong’, ‘Now I’m Here’, ‘I Want It All’, ‘Tear It Up’ (Making Videos), ‘One Vision’
(Extended Version)
, ‘I’m In Love With My Car’, ‘We Will Rock You’, ‘Seven Seas Of Rhye’, ‘Hammer To Fall’, ‘Keep Yourself Alive’, ‘Stone Cold Crazy’, ‘Put Out The Fire’, ‘Sheer Heart Attack’, ‘Fat Bottomed Girls’, ‘No-One But You (Only The Good Die Young)’, ‘I Can’t Live With You’ (Closing Titles), ‘No-One But You (Only The Good Die Young)’ (Making-Of Video)

Almost every compilation in the US or UK markets since 1981’s
Greatest Hits
came with a video equivalent, and
Queen Rocks
was no exception. Instead of providing the already released versions, however, many of the videos here were either montages or new edits altogether. Unfortunately, much like the
Rare Live
fiasco nearly a decade before,
Queen Rocks
suffers the same fate of poor editing and over-familiar footage. Some of the more dubious edits include flames laid over footage of Queen performing ‘Put Out The Fire’ from 1982, while ‘I’m In Love With My Car’ is an amalgamation of Roger singing his composition from a 1981 concert and footage of – get this – automobiles.

The sole interesting aspect of the release was the video for ‘No-One But You (Only The Good Die Young)’, filmed in the summer of 1997, reuniting Roger, Brian and John in front of the cameras for the first time since Freddie’s death. Though the video
would later suffer under the montage-happy hands of DoRo, the original version is a subdued and suitable performance. Presented entirely in black and white, the three remaining members are shown performing the song, with Brian appearing on piano for the first time on a Queen video. Unfortunately, sepia-toned shots of Freddie in his heyday would later be inserted to visually reinforce the fact that the song is, in fact, a tribute to him (as if the casual fan couldn’t have gathered that from the lyrics), and it’s this edit that has become the standard version.

GREATEST FLIX III

• 1999 (90 mins) • Parlophone 7243 4

•
Directors:
Rudi Dolezal, Hannes Rossacher, David Mallet, Russell Mulcahy, Bernard Rudden, Mark Szaszy

‘Under Pressure’
(‘rah’ mix)
, ‘These Are The Days Of Our Lives’, ‘Princes Of The Universe’, ‘Barcelona’, ‘Too Much Love Will Kill You’, ‘Somebody To Love’
(live with George Michael)
, ‘The Great Pretender’, ‘Heaven For Everyone’, ‘Las Palabras De Amor (The Words Of Love)’, ‘Let Me Live’, ‘Living On My Own’, ‘You Don’t Fool Me’, ‘Driven By You’, ‘No-One But You (Only The Good Die Young)’, ‘The Show Must Go On’
(live with Elton John)
, ‘Thank God It’s Christmas’
(closing titles)

Unlike
Greatest Hits III
, that compilation’s video companion is actually worthwhile: Queen’s visuals in later years became more intricate and better planned, and there isn’t a poor selection on this collection. It’s unfair to compare the third
Greatest Flix
to the third
Greatest Hits
, since the video flows better and filters out the duff items (thankfully, the rap remix of ‘Another One Bites The Dust’ is absent), while presenting rarely seen videos of ‘Princes Of The Universe’, ‘Las Palabras De Amor (The Words Of Love)’, Brian’s ‘Driven By You’ and alternative videos for ‘Heaven For Everyone’ and ‘Too Much Love Will Kill You’.

While the other videos had been previously released, it was usually in slightly different variations: ‘These Are The Days Of Our Lives’ had been included on
Classic Queen
with animation interspersed, while this version was the full black and white rendition. Freddie’s solo videos were released on several video EP releases; ‘Somebody To Love’ with George Michael was issued on
A Concert For Life
in 1993; and the
Made In Heaven
videos had been released on
Made In Heaven: The Films
in 1996.