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Post by fabiogminero on Aug 10, 2021 19:12:02 GMT
Hello everybody,
in recent years I have done some research to find out which concerts (by other artists of course) Queen have participated as an audience. It's well known, from interviews and other audio and video sources, that Freddie, Brian, Roger and John often went to enjoy the concerts of some illustrious colleagues.
Below I wanted to list a series of concerts that the boys have been lucky enough to attend. I would like to ask those who will read this thread to add some informations (if they have it) or to correct any shortcomings.
1) 24th September 1969: some sources claims that John Deacon (at the time a student at College of Technology in London) attended the Deep Purple concert at the Royal Albert Hall. That night, the band performed their legendary "Concerto for Group and Orchestra" with the Roayl Philarmonic Orchestra; the performance was released as a live album in December 1969.
2) 16th October 1970: according to a very well known source (queenlive.ca), John Deacon attended the Queen concert at College of Estate Management in London. At the time the band consisted of Freddie, Brian, Roger and Barry Mitchell.
3) 23rd March 1971: reportedly, Queen attended together the Led Zeppelin concert at The Marquee Club in London.
4) 27th March 1975: Queen attended the Led Zeppelin concert at Los Angeles Forum.
5) 18th May 1975: Queen attended the Led Zeppelin concert at Earls Court Exhibition Arena in London.
6) 1st July 1978: apparently, Brian May and Roger Taylor attended David Bowie's third consecutive concert at Earls Court Exhibition Centre in London.
7) 17th December 1980: apparently, Queen attended the AC/DC concert at Olympiahalle in Munich; the next day, Queen played at the same venue and AC/DC attended in the audience.
8) 27th June 1981: during the induction of Def Leppard into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2019, Brian May said that he went to Munich to see Ritchie Balckmore's Rainbow and he missed the opening act, Def Leppard (Queen were there to record "Hot Space"). Checking Rainbow's concertography, they performed at the Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle on this date, the same venue where Queen performed on 10th and 11th February 1979.
9) 14th September 1981: Roger Taylor and John Deacon, together with Tom Petersson of Cheap Trick, attended Adam & The Ants' concert at Los Angeles Forum.
10) 6th June 1982: the day after the legendary Queen gig at National Bowl in Milton Keynes, Brian May attended Heart's concert at Dominion Theatre in London (Heart was one of the openicg act during the short UK tour in 1982). May also joined them on stage that night to perform some songs.
11) 10th September 1983: Brian May was in the audience at Def Leppard's concert at Los Angeles Forum. The next day, he joined them on stage at the same venue to play "Travelin' Band".
12) 22nd May 1984: Freddie Mercury attended Elton John's concert at Olympiahalle in Munich; Elton dedicated "I'm Still Standing" to him (in fact to "Melina, the poor cow"). Freddie had fractured ligaments in his leg.
12) 16th August 1986: Brian May was in the audience during the 'Monsters Of Rock 1986' and attended Def Leppard's concert; it was the big return of drummer Rick Allen after his car accident (where he lost his arm).
13) 29th March 1987: Freddie Mercury and Mike Moran attended Montserrat Caballé's performance at Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London. Caballé performed "Exercises In Free Love", a new song written for her by Mercury and Moran.
14) 31st October 1989: Brian and Roger, with their respectives wives, attended The Who's concert at Royal Albert Hall in London during 'The Kids Are Alright' tour.
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georg
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Post by georg on Aug 10, 2021 20:22:31 GMT
Don’t forget Freddie at Elton’s show in Manchester on November 19, 1982.
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Post by fabiogminero on Aug 10, 2021 20:34:28 GMT
Don’t forget Freddie at Elton’s show in Manchester on November 19, 1982. How did I forget that? |
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Post by fabiogminero on Aug 10, 2021 21:07:38 GMT
Other appearances that I forgot to mention:
1) 13th September 1967: at the time Brian May was a member of the enterteiment committe of the Imperial College in London and said in an interview that he managed to get Jimi Hendrix to play at the college. Searching in various Hendrix's concertographies, the only performance at the Imperial College was on 13th September 1967; that night Brian attended the gig, in which also other bands performed (probably Steamhammer, Spooky Tooth and America).
It is also possible that Brian got to see several other artists playing live in that college in that years.
2) 9th September 1969: Brian and Roger, at the time still members of Smile, attended Ibex's concert at The Sink in Liverpool. They joined Freddie's band on stage and played guitar and drums respectivetely on the encores; the tape of that evening runs out after 30 minutes and the encores are missing.
2) 8th January 1982: Freddie was in the audience at Hog's Grunt Pub in Cricklewood during Taxi's concert; he also joined them on stage for "Jailhouse Rock".
Some years ago I also read somewhere that John Deacon was in the audience during The Cross' concert at Rock City in Nottingham on 24th February 1988, but this information is (most) probably false.
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Post by aleksgutt on Aug 10, 2021 23:37:04 GMT
I know that Queen surprised Ian Hunter back stage after a concert. Also a member of the audience sat next to Brian on a different Ian Hunter concert and got his ticket autographed. Can't remember the dates, but i will check it and update you when I find out  |
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Post by aleksgutt on Aug 10, 2021 23:40:18 GMT
I know that Queen surprised Ian Hunter back stage after a concert. Also a member of the audience sat next to Brian on a different Ian Hunter concert and got his ticket autographed. Can't remember the dates, but i will check it and update you when I find out Found out really quick that it was 12th June 1977 in Hammersmith where Brian attended. Will keep checking the Ian Hunter Facebook page for more info on the other concert i mentioned |
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Post by fabiogminero on Aug 11, 2021 6:09:36 GMT
I know that Queen surprised Ian Hunter back stage after a concert. Also a member of the audience sat next to Brian on a different Ian Hunter concert and got his ticket autographed. Can't remember the dates, but i will check it and update you when I find out Found out really quick that it was 12th June 1977 in Hammersmith where Brian attended. Will keep checking the Ian Hunter Facebook page for more info on the other concert i mentioned Didn't know that! |
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dysan
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Post by dysan on Aug 11, 2021 6:35:26 GMT
1971 Sept 25th David Bowie Friars Club Aylesbury Roger, according to Kevin Cann in day by day Bowie book Any Day Now
1972 Jan 29th David Bowie Friars Club Aylesbury (sometimes confused with the July 15th show there) "Freddie and I saw the first Ziggy gig at Friar’s Aylesbury. We drove down in my Mini. We loved it. I’d seen him there about three weeks before in the long hair and the dress. Suddenly you saw this spiky head coming on stage. You thought, wha-a-at??? They looked like spacemen." (Roger in Mojo 1999)
1972 Feb 12th David Bowie at Imperial College "Queen drummer Roger Taylor is again in the audience, accompanied by the group's founder and Imperial College student Brian May. After the show May and Taylor hang around the stage, quizzing the roadies about Mick Ronson's equipment and looking for tips on how he creates his guitar sound" (Kevin Cann, Any Day Now)
1977 The Quick at either The Starwood or the Whisky a Go Go LA (difficult to pin down a date as they played there a lot) - Brian May sees the band and offers them a support slot
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Post by fabiogminero on Aug 11, 2021 7:32:48 GMT
Another interesting fact that I found over the years:
In a Rolling Stone article about Freddie Mercury, an anecdote about him and David Bowie was told. In the late 60s, Bowie was playing around England visiting colleges, pubs and small theatres; one day he was booked to play a lunchtime gig at Ealing Art College in London, where Freddie was one of the students at the time. Freddie helped him to built the small stage where he performed that day and a few time later he opened a stall at Kensington Market with friend Roger Taylor; David Bowie visiting them one day and Freddie gave him a pair of vintage boots because he wasn't able to afford them yet.
Searching around, I found out that David Bowie's only known concert at Ealing Art College in London took place on 29th April 1969; his last single "Space Oddity" was the opening song.
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Post by fabiogminero on Aug 11, 2021 7:36:55 GMT
1971 Sept 25th David Bowie Friars Club Aylesbury Roger, according to Kevin Cann in day by day Bowie book Any Day Now 1972 Jan 29th David Bowie Friars Club Aylesbury (sometimes confused with the July 15th show there) "Freddie and I saw the first Ziggy gig at Friar’s Aylesbury. We drove down in my Mini. We loved it. I’d seen him there about three weeks before in the long hair and the dress. Suddenly you saw this spiky head coming on stage. You thought, wha-a-at??? They looked like spacemen." (Roger in Mojo 1999)
1972 Feb 12th David Bowie at Imperial College "Queen drummer Roger Taylor is again in the audience, accompanied by the group's founder and Imperial College student Brian May. After the show May and Taylor hang around the stage, quizzing the roadies about Mick Ronson's equipment and looking for tips on how he creates his guitar sound" (Kevin Cann, Any Day Now) 1977 The Quick at either The Starwood or the Whisky a Go Go LA (difficult to pin down a date as they played there a lot) - Brian May sees the band and offers them a support slot Interesting, I have never heard about it before now! (especially the anecdote about The Quick). Thank you  |
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dysan
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Post by dysan on Aug 11, 2021 8:39:53 GMT
Another interesting fact that I found over the years: In a Rolling Stone article about Freddie Mercury, an anecdote about him and David Bowie was told. In the late 60s, Bowie was playing around England visiting colleges, pubs and small theatres; one day he was booked to play a lunchtime gig at Ealing Art College in London, where Freddie was one of the students at the time. Freddie helped him to built the small stage where he performed that day and a few time later he opened a stall at Kensington Market with friend Roger Taylor; David Bowie visiting them one day and Freddie gave him a pair of vintage boots because he wasn't able to afford them yet. Searching around, I found out that David Bowie's only known concert at Ealing Art College in London took place on 29th April 1969; his last single "Space Oddity" was the opening song. Space Oddity was still quite new then and wouldn't be released as a single until July. Interestingly that day Bowie was close to signing with Mercury (the record label) and met with his manager that night to discuss. I wonder if that sowed a seed in young Freddie's mind. |
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Post by aleksgutt on Aug 11, 2021 11:37:23 GMT
I know that Queen surprised Ian Hunter back stage after a concert. Also a member of the audience sat next to Brian on a different Ian Hunter concert and got his ticket autographed. Can't remember the dates, but i will check it and update you when I find out Update! According to Horse’s Mouth (Issue #220, April 2021) (Ian Hunter's Q&A page for fans) they didn't surprise him backstage after a show, but Queen (minus John) met Ian Hunter's wife at a plane from UK to the US and she invited them to the studio where he was recording All American Alien Boy album. Ian Hunter was didn't knew about it until they arrived. The asked how they could help and sang backing on You Nearly Did Me In. I'm sure they have attended more Ian Hunter concerts through the years, as they where good friends after opening for Mott The Hoople in the early days, but as far as I know the one at Hammersmith Odeon is the only one I'm sure of |
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n39
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Post by n39 on Aug 11, 2021 18:35:02 GMT
Any link to that tape? Don't think I've heard it before |
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Post by Chopin1995 on Aug 11, 2021 20:40:24 GMT
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Post by fabiogminero on Aug 11, 2021 20:51:24 GMT
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Post by fabiogminero on Aug 11, 2021 20:51:49 GMT
Great, this one is new for me! Thanks! |
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Post by Chopin1995 on Aug 11, 2021 20:59:35 GMT
Great, this one is new for me! Thanks! I happen to have a MUCH better copy of this letter. The part about Zeppelin is in the last paragraph.  |
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Post by fabiogminero on Aug 11, 2021 21:03:34 GMT
Well, it's also certain that Brian May attended these two concerts:
1) 13th May 1967: Brian saw Jimi Hendrix in concert at Imperial College in London on this date; his first band 1984 played as a supporting act.
2) 26th October 1968: Brian and Roger saw Pink Floyd live at Imperial College in London; also on this date, Smile opened for them (it was their first known live performance).
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Post by Chopin1995 on Aug 11, 2021 23:04:46 GMT
7th June 1969: members of Smile attended Blind Faith concert at Hyde Park
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Post by queenlizzyfan1973 on Aug 11, 2021 23:43:45 GMT
I remember reading this on Queen: Early Years book that on January 29th 1967 Brian attended at "Sunday Night At Saville" to see "The Who" and Jimi Hendrix. A very interesting thing is Freddie was in the audience too but they didn't know each other at the time. also some very few sources "probably" said Freddie and Mary Austin had their first date at Marquee Club during a Mott The Hoople concert on September 30th 1970
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georg
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Post by georg on Aug 12, 2021 0:00:37 GMT
I remember reading this on Queen: Early Years book that on January 29th 1967 Brian attended at "Sunday Night At Saville" to see "The Who" and Jimi Hendrix. A very interesting thing is Freddie was in the audience too but they didn't know each other at the time. also some very few sources "probably" said Freddie and Mary Austin had their first date at Marquee Club during a Mott The Hoople concert on September 30th 1971 Thats a helluva first date! |
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Post by fabiogminero on Aug 13, 2021 12:47:48 GMT
Interesting fact: I found a picture with Brian May, bassist Phil Chen, Pete Townshend from The Who and guitarist Billy Peek, taken by Dick Barnatt backstage at Wembley Arena in London on 6th December 1980. That night Rod Stewart played at this venue as part of his 'Foolish Behaviour Tour'. I don't think Brian attended the concert because Queen played that same night at NEC in Birmingham as part of 'The Game European Tour'. Maybe he went to Wembley Arena after the concert or the photo was taken the following night? Stewart performed three consecutive concerts at the arena on 5th, 6th and 7th December 1980; Queen did the same on 8th, 9th and 10th December 1980. If the photo was taken on 7th December (Queen's day off from live concerts), Brian could attend the gig. Any of you have infos about it? Here's the mentioned photo: www.gettyimages.ch/detail/nachrichtenfoto/photo-of-pete-townshend-billy-peek-phil-chen-brian-may-nachrichtenfoto/85050659?language=it |
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Post by fabiogminero on Aug 18, 2021 15:32:56 GMT
Another appearance that I forgot to mention:
18th August 1987: just one day before John Deacon's 36th birthday, he and Peter Straker attended the first Madonna's concert at Wembley Stadium in London; Madonna performed three consecutive concerts there, on 18th, 19th and 20th August 1987.
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eiricd
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Post by eiricd on Aug 18, 2021 20:14:22 GMT
Roger attended at least one of Springsteen’s London shows in 1981 (Wembley arena)
John did as well, but I think that may have been a different night than Roger
Brian was in the audience for one of the Cream reunion shows in 2005 in London (also visible on the dvd, if I remember correctly)
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Post by Chopin1995 on Aug 19, 2021 18:49:51 GMT
Brian was in the audience for one of the Cream reunion shows in 2005 in London (also visible on the dvd, if I remember correctly) I remember that! |
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jlf
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Post by jlf on Aug 22, 2021 22:52:18 GMT
Peter Freestone said that Freddie was with him in the audience at Covent Garden for a performance of Un Ballo Maschera in the early 80s. It was likely this performance. Freestone said 1983 but there's no record of Caballe and Pavarotti being in the cast together that year. There's this from 1981 though: www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOvkWE8H1Co |
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Post by funinspace81 on Aug 23, 2021 14:11:16 GMT
I believe that Brian attended one of the Genesis 2007 shows (Wembley?) and Led Zeppelin's 2007 reunion show too. I'm sure I have seen pics back in the day.
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antonio
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Post by antonio on Aug 24, 2021 9:51:31 GMT
12) 22nd May 1984: Freddie Mercury attended Elton John's concert at Olympiahalle in Munich; Elton dedicated "I'm Still Standing" to him (in fact to "Melina, the poor cow"). Freddie had fractured ligaments in his leg.
That ligament thing wasn´t in a September gig?
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Post by fabiogminero on Aug 24, 2021 14:14:27 GMT
12) 22nd May 1984: Freddie Mercury attended Elton John's concert at Olympiahalle in Munich; Elton dedicated "I'm Still Standing" to him (in fact to "Melina, the poor cow"). Freddie had fractured ligaments in his leg.
That ligament thing wasn´t in a September gig?
Freddie broke his ligaments in a Munich nightclub, around April-May 1984 (during the recordings of 'Mr Bad Guy' album); on 22 September 1984, during a Queen concert in Hanover, he fell from a stair and had problems with his leg again. |
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Post by fabiogminero on Aug 25, 2021 12:58:32 GMT
Thanks to all your contributes, this is the updated list (many updates will come I hope!):
29th January 1967: apparently, Brian May was in the audience at Saville Theatre in London. That night, The Koobas, The Jimi Hendrux Experience and The Who all performed there. Freddie Mercury was maybe there too.
13th September 1967: at the time Brian May was a member of the enterteiment committe of the Imperial College in London and said in an interview that he managed to get Jimi Hendrix to play at the college. Searching in various Hendrix's concertographies, the only performance at the Imperial College was on 13th September 1967; that night Brian attended the gig, in which also other bands performed (probably Steamhammer, Spooky Tooth and America).
It is also possible that Brian got to see several other artists playing live in that college in that years.
26th October 1968: Brian and Roger saw Pink Floyd live at Imperial College in London; also on this date, Smile opened for them (it was their first known live performance).
29th April 1969: Freddie Mercury was in the audience at David Bowie's only gig at Ealing Art College, where he was a student at the time. Freddie helped him to built the small stage where he performed that day and a few time later he opened a stall at Kensington Market with friend Roger Taylor; David Bowie visiting them one day and Freddie gave him a pair of vintage boots because he wasn't able to afford them yet.
7th June 1969: Brian, Roger, Timothy Staffell and maybe also Chris Smith attended Blind Faith's debut concert, which took place at Hyde Park in London.
9th September 1969: Brian and Roger, at the time still members of Smile, attended Ibex's concert at The Sink in Liverpool. They joined Freddie's band on stage and played guitar and drums respectivetely on the encores; the tape of that evening runs out after 30 minutes and the encores are missing.
24th September 1969: some sources claims that John Deacon (at the time a student at College of Technology in London) attended the Deep Purple concert at the Royal Albert Hall. That night, the band performed their legendary "Concerto for Group and Orchestra" with the Roayl Philarmonic Orchestra; the performance was released as a live album in December 1969.
12th October 1969: Freddie went to see Led Zeppelin playing at Lyceum Ballroom in London.
30th September 1970: apparently, Freddie Mercury and Mary Austin attended Mott The Hoople's gig at The Marquee Club in London.
16th October 1970: according to a very well known source (queenlive.ca), John Deacon attended the Queen concert at College of Estate Management in London. At the time the band consisted of Freddie, Brian, Roger and Barry Mitchell.
23rd March 1971: reportedly, Queen attended together the Led Zeppelin concert at The Marquee Club in London.
25th September 1971: Roger Taylor saw David Bowie's concert at Friars Club in Aylesbury.
29th January 1972: Roger Taylor and Freddie Mercury went to Friars Club in Aylesbury to see David Bowie perform (it was Ziggy Stardust at the time).
12th February 1972: Brian and Roger were in the audience at Imperial College in London during David Bowie's performance.
27th March 1975: Queen attended the Led Zeppelin concert at Los Angeles Forum.
18th May 1975: Queen attended the Led Zeppelin concert at Earls Court Exhibition Arena in London.
12th June 1977: Brian attended Ian Hunter's concert at Hammersmith Odeon in London.
1st July 1978: apparently, Brian May and Roger Taylor attended David Bowie's third consecutive concert at Earls Court Exhibition Centre in London.
7th December 1980: apparently, Brian attended Rod Stewart's concert at Wembley Arena in London along with Pete Townshend of The Who.
17th December 1980: apparently, Queen attended the AC/DC concert at Olympiahalle in Munich; the next day, Queen played at the same venue and AC/DC attended in the audience.
3rd February 1981 (apparently): Freddie Mercury and Peter Freestone attended Giuseppe Verdi's 'Un Ballo in Maschera' at Covent Garden, London; Luciano Pavarotti and Montserrat Caballé performed together in the opera taht night.
May-June 1981: Roger Taylor and John Deacon attended one of Bruce Springsteen's gigs at Wembley Arena in London. Springsteen performed there on 29th and 30th May and 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th June 1981; Roger and John attended two different concerts.
27th June 1981: during the induction of Def Leppard into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2019, Brian May said that he went to Munich to see Ritchie Balckmore's Rainbow and he missed the opening act, Def Leppard (Queen were there to record "Hot Space"). Checking Rainbow's concertography, they performed at the Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle on this date, the same venue where Queen performed on 10th and 11th February 1979.
14th September 1981: Roger Taylor and John Deacon, together with Tom Petersson of Cheap Trick, attended Adam & The Ants' concert at Greek Theatre in Los Angeles.
8th January 1982: Freddie was in the audience at Hog's Grunt Pub in Cricklewood during Taxi's concert; he also joined them on stage for "Jailhouse Rock".
6th June 1982: the day after the legendary Queen gig at National Bowl in Milton Keynes, Brian May attended Heart's concert at Dominion Theatre in London (Heart was one of the openicg act during the short UK tour in 1982). May also joined them on stage that night to perform some songs.
19th November 1982: Freddie Mercury attended Elton John's gig at Apollo Theatre in Manchester; he also joined Elton on stage for the encores.
10th September 1983: Brian May was in the audience at Def Leppard's concert at Los Angeles Forum. The next day, he joined them on stage at the same venue to play "Travelin' Band".
22nd May 1984: Freddie Mercury attended Elton John's concert at Olympiahalle in Munich; Elton dedicated "I'm Still Standing" to him (in fact to "Melina, the poor cow"). Freddie had fractured ligaments in his leg.
16th August 1986: Brian May was in the audience during the 'Monsters Of Rock 1986' and attended Def Leppard's concert; it was the big return of drummer Rick Allen after his car accident (where he lost his arm).
29th March 1987: Freddie Mercury and Mike Moran attended Montserrat Caballé's performance at Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London. Caballé performed "Exercises In Free Love", a new song written for her by Mercury and Moran.
18th August 1987: just one day before John Deacon's 36th birthday, he and Peter Straker attended the first Madonna's concert at Wembley Stadium in London; Madonna performed three consecutive concerts there, on 18th, 19th and 20th August 1987.
31st October 1989: Brian and Roger, with their respectives wives, attended The Who's concert at Royal Albert Hall in London during 'The Kids Are Alright' tour.
May 2005: Brian attended one of the reunion concerts of Cream at Royal Albert Hall in London; the trio performed there on 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th May 2005.
8th July 2007: Brian May, along with drummer Nick Mason, attended Genesis' concert at Twickenham Stadium in Twickenham, London.
12th December 2007: Brian attended Led Zeppelin's reunion gig at O2 Arena in London for the 'Ahmet Ertegun Tribute'.
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