This was Queen in their flamboyant pomp, with Freddie Mercury prancing round the stage in a white leotard, calling everyone darling.
The fact that it was a free concert brought this corner of the West End of London to a standstill for the day. I well remember the crowds at Marble Arch and all along Park Lane. Despite the crowds, there was not much trouble, save for a brief fight down at the front during the show that got Steve Hillage very angry, for a hippie.
Queen wanted to cement their fanbase after the success of Bohemian Rhapsody, so they hit upon the idea of a free concert. The Rolling Stones had done one in 1969 and there were a few others, notably Blind Faith's first show in the UK that same year.
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| Queen playing '39 at Hyde Park |
In 1976 Richard Branson was developing the Virgin Records roster. He saw this as a good opportunity to promote the brand so Virgin agreed to help organise the concert and into the bargain Branson got to feature some of his acts, namely Steve Hillage and Supercharge.
Kiki Dee was also on the bill, fresh from her number one hit duet with Elton John. Elton wasn't available though, so at Hyde Park Kiki duetted with a life-sized
cardboard cut-out.
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| A review of the show |
I’d seen Steve Hillage live as part of Gong at Hammersmith Palais the previous year, playing their Flying Teapot music. I had both of Steve’s solo albums up to that point, Fish Rising, which featured most of the classic Gong band minus Daevid Allen, and L, which featured Todd Rundgren’s Utopia. His live band at Hyde Park included ex-Jethro Tull drummer Clive Bunker and a bass player called, naturally, Colin Bass. They played a really good set, topped off with Hillage’s version of the Beatles’ song ‘It’s All Too Much’.
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| Steve Hillage at Hyde Park |
Anyway, a fight broke out and Hillage actually stopped playing to remonstrate with the offenders: “Stop fucking fighting! I don't care if we don't play another note.” I was rather shocked to hear this long-haired hippie get so irate.
The bad vibes at the front didn’t spoil the party for everyone else, but it was clearly still a bit volatile down there as Queen took the stage. Well into their set, with cans being thrown, (presumably not at the band!) Freddie was told by the Police to instruct the audience to stop throwing stuff.
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| The view from Roger Taylor's drumkit |
Visually more engaging than anything else that day, there was a sense that this was a really big event for the band, getting this level of support from a British audience.
Brian May has said that Hyde Park was one of the most significant gigs of their career. “There was a great affection because we'd kind of made it in a lot of countries by that time, but England was still, you know, we weren't really sure if we were acceptable here. So it was a wonderful feeling to come back and see the huge crowd and get that response.”
Like many of the bands who came of age in the early to mid 1970s, Queen's image changed radically in the post-punk era. Ten years later, post Live Aid, Queen's career gained a second wind and they became belatedly - if not hip - then at least more credible than they were in the mid-70s.
No, it wasn’t hip to like Queen back then. For the record, though, this is the only time in their career when I actually bought their albums – Queen II being a particular favourite.
This is the best footage available of Queen's show, that marries the original video with a separate audio source.
Despite the poor visuals, the audio track is still largely intact, and as a snapshot of the time, it’s fascinating to revisit for anyone who was there.
The concert ended abruptly owing to a strict curfew. Queen were prevented from playing their usual rock 'n' roll medley as a second encore. The show had over-run its allotted time and the police were adamant that the show must NOT go on.
The stage was dark for ages before any announcement was made to the crowd. Finally, DJ Bob Harris had the thankless task of announcing to the crowd that Queen would not be coming on again. The main power was cut and plunged 150,000 people into darkness. Not a great way to end the day.
Queen’s Hyde Park Set List: Overture / Ogre Battle / Sweet Lady / White Queen / Flick of the Wrist / Medley: You’re My Best Friend, Bohemian Rhapsody, Killer Queen, March of the Black Queen / Bring Back That Leroy Brown / Brighton Rock / Son & Daughter / ’39 / You Take My Breath Away / The Prophet’s Song / Stone-cold Crazy / Keep Yourself Alive / Liar / In The Lap of the Gods.
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| A week later this advert appeared in the UK music papers |
