Regarding the photos (and outfits) from Wembley Arena, London 1984, The Works Tour
Feb 4, 2024 21:03:41 GMT
The Real Wizard, masterstroke, and 6 more like this
Post by Chopin1995 on Feb 4, 2024 21:03:41 GMT
I always had a soft spot for London 1984 shows. Being very early on during the tour the entire band sounds very energetic and fresh (well, at least 4/5 of the band), the longer setlist resulting in almost 2 hours concert on the 7th September, Freddie receiving a birthday gift on stage and stopping the concert, Rick Parfitt as a special guest on the 3rd show etc.
As someone who collects photos I was always slightly dissapointed in not knowing exactly the specific date of many of the photos from these four London shows. That was until recently, when I had a closer look at around 150 photos from these dates and see if it was possible to determine the specific dates of the photos (and the outfits of the band for that matter). It took some time, but actually I'm pretty sure I have sorted that out.
Now, to the point. There are 3 things which made it possible:
- Freddie's outfit (trousers & tops/vests)
- Freddie's wristband
- Roger's shirt
So let's take a look at the concert number 1 - 4th September.
Not many photos actually from this night, and unfortunately all of them come from the first half of the show (before Freddie took off his top for the acoustic set, which he always did on this tour and performed the acoustic set topless).
So Freddie started the show with the red spider-man trousers & white top with red thunderbolt. From all the available sources (from the entire tour) we can assume that he did the entire show with these, as there's not a single case, when starting the show with these red trousers he ended the show with the white pair.
Also very important to take a look at his wristband. Basically speaking he always wore red wristbands in 1984, but in two different positions. Sometimes like during this show, and other times the other way around. So let's call them 'Position 1' & 'Position 2'. Position 1 is like on this show, 4th September - when of the two white stripes of the wristband the thicker, wider stripe was closer to his hand, and narrower white stripe was closer to his elbow. Now this might sound complicated, but I'm sure you know what I mean, even just by looking at the photos.
That's basically it for the first London show. I hope we'll come across the photos from the 2nd half of the show, but it's safe to assume Freddie had the red trousers from start to finish.
Concert number 2 - 5th September
Two things just from this famous photo. Freddie is wearing white trousers, and his wristband is the other way around (compared to the 1st show) which I'm calling 'Position 2'. This means he started the show in white outfit, because he was changing his outfit (IF he did change it) during Brian's guitar solo, which was obviously AFTER the acoustic section. Now the best thing is to look at the other set of the photos from this concert.
These 2 photos clearly taken from the same seat & with the same equipment. As we can see Freddie did change his outfit for the 2nd half of the show. This is nothing unusual, we can see him doing the same in Tokyo on the 11th May (the officially released video). Freddie's wristband is in 'Position 2', so to make sure this is in fact the 5th September. Worth to take a look at Roger's shirt. It was always white, but each time with different writing on it. On this show (5th September) we can see his shirt read CHOOSE [...]. While it may seem insignificant, it will become later on.
There's more than one set of photos from this show, so let's take a look at another one.
So this set of photos only confirms what I wrote earlier on, and we can end it here.
Concert number 3 - 7th September
This one is very easy, as Freddie did the entire show in white outfit - the only London show like that. He started the show in white outfit, and by the time of Jailhouse Rock (which they did with Rick Parfitt this time) Freddie is still in white trousers. So I'm going to upload a few photos from different segments of the show. And this is also nothing unusual - he did both Rock in Rio shows in white from start to finish.
We can see Freddie in white at the beginning of the show (at the piano with his top still on), in the middle of the show (acoustic set), with Rick Parfitt during Jailhouse Rock, and during God Save The Queen. And each time with his wristband in 'Position 1'. At the same time we can see that Roger is wearing a different white shirt than the previous day, with one big word in front starting with a letter W. There's a lot more photos from the first part of the show where Roger is in the same shirt.
So that's basically it, but it might be worth adding that the following (among others) undated photos from queenlive.ca (The Real Wizard ) come from this show (7th September):
Now concert number 4 - 8th September.
This one wasn't easy at all. In fact I wasn't able to determine the dates until recently, when I came across a photo set by Solomon NJie. And it was only then, when it all became clear and I actually started to think about writing this post. But first things first. Let's take a look at the two well-known photos from this night.
So we know that Freddie did the 2nd half of the show with the red spider-man trousers, and his wristband in 'Position 1'. And this was it. I wasn't aware of any photo from the 1st half of the show. Then I came across of the photo set by Solomon NJie, all labelled as the 7th September. But take a look at these two photos:
Clearly something is wrong, as both photos show Freddie during I Want To Break Free, both labelled as 7th September, but of course it's impossible as Freddie has different trousers. So I thought that Solomon NJie attended 7 and 8 September because they were day after day, and that would mean that Freddie started the 8th September show with the white outfit. Because of the wristband position it couldn't be the 5th September (I'm talking about the photo on the left, as the photo on the right is clearly from the 7th September - Freddie in white trousers during the last part of the show). But at this point it was still wishful thinking, I needed a strong proof. So I had a closer look, but this time at Roger's shirts. From the same set of photos made by Solomon NJie I stumbled upon this shot:
As Freddie is in white, and his wristband is in 'Position 1' it could be the 7th September, BUT take a look at Roger's shirt. The letters are in RED, not in black. I thought... maybe that's the lighting. So I had a look at my collection of photos from the 8th September, and guess what. Roger's shirt has indeed RED letters:
Not only that, but it's clearly a completely different word than it was on the previous show. Here it looks like 'LIFE', whereas on the 7th September it started with a letter W as previously mentioned. This could mean only one thing - Roger had a shirt with a red word on the 8th September, so the above photo by Solomon NJie with Freddie wearing white outfit at the start of the show & Roger with red letters had to be taken on the 8th September. In other words - Freddie started the last London show on the 8th September in white outfit.
And this could be the end. But it isn't. Because then we have this photo (uploaded in two versions, to make it more clear):
It was always assumed that this photo must've been taken on the 5th September, Freddie's birthday. But now it becomes clear that it wasn't. First of all - Freddie started the 5th September show in white outfit, and here he has the red spider-man trousers and black jacket. Not only that - Roger's shirt doesn't match the 5th September show. Of course it can't be the 7th September - that day Freddie didn't wear red trousers and black jacket at all (Roger's shirt doesn't match anyway), and it can't be the 8th September as Roger's shirt was again very different & Freddie started the show in white outfit. All this means that the photo almost certainly was taken on the 4th September - Freddie started the show exactly in this outfit (red trousers, white top and black jacket) & Roger's shirt doesn't match the 2nd, 3rd and 4th London show (5th, 7th and 8th September). There's one more thing to consider. Freddie's voice deteriorated before the 2nd show on the 5th September, and if he received this cake on the previous day (4th September) it certainly resulted in some party after the show was over, which would make Freddie's voice deterioration explainable. Now I'm starting to speculate, but I think the outfits alone reveal the date of this photo.
PS. Just one more thing before I finally end this. Let me tell you about that one photo from the infamous concert in Hanover, Freddie "going to fall" and leg injury.
This photo has always been described as taken just after Freddie collapsed on stage and showing the rest of the band in total shock. But take a look at Brian's outfit. As you can tell, he isn't wearing his regular Works Tour outfit anymore, but something which he only put on during Bohemian Rhapsody operatic section (and wore for the rock section & during Radio Ga Ga as well). We know this from all the video material available from the tour. There's quite a lot of photos from Hanover taken during Hammer To Fall:
Of course Brian is wearing his white shirt like he always did on this song. The photo on the right must have been taken only seconds before the incident, as the lighting rig is very low & Spike is in the centre of the stage trying to synchronise with Brian playing the main (and in this case ending) riff together. Anyway, if we look at the famous above photo, Brian is in his Bohemian Rhapsody outfit (which was played AFTER Hammer To Fall), Freddie is dragged by Terry Giddings and Peter Freestone from the piano to the centre of the stage, and Roger is also at front of the stage. So this photo must have been taken during God Save The Queen.
As someone who collects photos I was always slightly dissapointed in not knowing exactly the specific date of many of the photos from these four London shows. That was until recently, when I had a closer look at around 150 photos from these dates and see if it was possible to determine the specific dates of the photos (and the outfits of the band for that matter). It took some time, but actually I'm pretty sure I have sorted that out.
Now, to the point. There are 3 things which made it possible:
- Freddie's outfit (trousers & tops/vests)
- Freddie's wristband
- Roger's shirt
So let's take a look at the concert number 1 - 4th September.
Not many photos actually from this night, and unfortunately all of them come from the first half of the show (before Freddie took off his top for the acoustic set, which he always did on this tour and performed the acoustic set topless).
So Freddie started the show with the red spider-man trousers & white top with red thunderbolt. From all the available sources (from the entire tour) we can assume that he did the entire show with these, as there's not a single case, when starting the show with these red trousers he ended the show with the white pair.
Also very important to take a look at his wristband. Basically speaking he always wore red wristbands in 1984, but in two different positions. Sometimes like during this show, and other times the other way around. So let's call them 'Position 1' & 'Position 2'. Position 1 is like on this show, 4th September - when of the two white stripes of the wristband the thicker, wider stripe was closer to his hand, and narrower white stripe was closer to his elbow. Now this might sound complicated, but I'm sure you know what I mean, even just by looking at the photos.
That's basically it for the first London show. I hope we'll come across the photos from the 2nd half of the show, but it's safe to assume Freddie had the red trousers from start to finish.
Concert number 2 - 5th September
Two things just from this famous photo. Freddie is wearing white trousers, and his wristband is the other way around (compared to the 1st show) which I'm calling 'Position 2'. This means he started the show in white outfit, because he was changing his outfit (IF he did change it) during Brian's guitar solo, which was obviously AFTER the acoustic section. Now the best thing is to look at the other set of the photos from this concert.
These 2 photos clearly taken from the same seat & with the same equipment. As we can see Freddie did change his outfit for the 2nd half of the show. This is nothing unusual, we can see him doing the same in Tokyo on the 11th May (the officially released video). Freddie's wristband is in 'Position 2', so to make sure this is in fact the 5th September. Worth to take a look at Roger's shirt. It was always white, but each time with different writing on it. On this show (5th September) we can see his shirt read CHOOSE [...]. While it may seem insignificant, it will become later on.
There's more than one set of photos from this show, so let's take a look at another one.
So this set of photos only confirms what I wrote earlier on, and we can end it here.
Concert number 3 - 7th September
This one is very easy, as Freddie did the entire show in white outfit - the only London show like that. He started the show in white outfit, and by the time of Jailhouse Rock (which they did with Rick Parfitt this time) Freddie is still in white trousers. So I'm going to upload a few photos from different segments of the show. And this is also nothing unusual - he did both Rock in Rio shows in white from start to finish.
We can see Freddie in white at the beginning of the show (at the piano with his top still on), in the middle of the show (acoustic set), with Rick Parfitt during Jailhouse Rock, and during God Save The Queen. And each time with his wristband in 'Position 1'. At the same time we can see that Roger is wearing a different white shirt than the previous day, with one big word in front starting with a letter W. There's a lot more photos from the first part of the show where Roger is in the same shirt.
So that's basically it, but it might be worth adding that the following (among others) undated photos from queenlive.ca (The Real Wizard ) come from this show (7th September):
Now concert number 4 - 8th September.
This one wasn't easy at all. In fact I wasn't able to determine the dates until recently, when I came across a photo set by Solomon NJie. And it was only then, when it all became clear and I actually started to think about writing this post. But first things first. Let's take a look at the two well-known photos from this night.
So we know that Freddie did the 2nd half of the show with the red spider-man trousers, and his wristband in 'Position 1'. And this was it. I wasn't aware of any photo from the 1st half of the show. Then I came across of the photo set by Solomon NJie, all labelled as the 7th September. But take a look at these two photos:
Clearly something is wrong, as both photos show Freddie during I Want To Break Free, both labelled as 7th September, but of course it's impossible as Freddie has different trousers. So I thought that Solomon NJie attended 7 and 8 September because they were day after day, and that would mean that Freddie started the 8th September show with the white outfit. Because of the wristband position it couldn't be the 5th September (I'm talking about the photo on the left, as the photo on the right is clearly from the 7th September - Freddie in white trousers during the last part of the show). But at this point it was still wishful thinking, I needed a strong proof. So I had a closer look, but this time at Roger's shirts. From the same set of photos made by Solomon NJie I stumbled upon this shot:
As Freddie is in white, and his wristband is in 'Position 1' it could be the 7th September, BUT take a look at Roger's shirt. The letters are in RED, not in black. I thought... maybe that's the lighting. So I had a look at my collection of photos from the 8th September, and guess what. Roger's shirt has indeed RED letters:
Not only that, but it's clearly a completely different word than it was on the previous show. Here it looks like 'LIFE', whereas on the 7th September it started with a letter W as previously mentioned. This could mean only one thing - Roger had a shirt with a red word on the 8th September, so the above photo by Solomon NJie with Freddie wearing white outfit at the start of the show & Roger with red letters had to be taken on the 8th September. In other words - Freddie started the last London show on the 8th September in white outfit.
And this could be the end. But it isn't. Because then we have this photo (uploaded in two versions, to make it more clear):
It was always assumed that this photo must've been taken on the 5th September, Freddie's birthday. But now it becomes clear that it wasn't. First of all - Freddie started the 5th September show in white outfit, and here he has the red spider-man trousers and black jacket. Not only that - Roger's shirt doesn't match the 5th September show. Of course it can't be the 7th September - that day Freddie didn't wear red trousers and black jacket at all (Roger's shirt doesn't match anyway), and it can't be the 8th September as Roger's shirt was again very different & Freddie started the show in white outfit. All this means that the photo almost certainly was taken on the 4th September - Freddie started the show exactly in this outfit (red trousers, white top and black jacket) & Roger's shirt doesn't match the 2nd, 3rd and 4th London show (5th, 7th and 8th September). There's one more thing to consider. Freddie's voice deteriorated before the 2nd show on the 5th September, and if he received this cake on the previous day (4th September) it certainly resulted in some party after the show was over, which would make Freddie's voice deterioration explainable. Now I'm starting to speculate, but I think the outfits alone reveal the date of this photo.
PS. Just one more thing before I finally end this. Let me tell you about that one photo from the infamous concert in Hanover, Freddie "going to fall" and leg injury.
This photo has always been described as taken just after Freddie collapsed on stage and showing the rest of the band in total shock. But take a look at Brian's outfit. As you can tell, he isn't wearing his regular Works Tour outfit anymore, but something which he only put on during Bohemian Rhapsody operatic section (and wore for the rock section & during Radio Ga Ga as well). We know this from all the video material available from the tour. There's quite a lot of photos from Hanover taken during Hammer To Fall:
Of course Brian is wearing his white shirt like he always did on this song. The photo on the right must have been taken only seconds before the incident, as the lighting rig is very low & Spike is in the centre of the stage trying to synchronise with Brian playing the main (and in this case ending) riff together. Anyway, if we look at the famous above photo, Brian is in his Bohemian Rhapsody outfit (which was played AFTER Hammer To Fall), Freddie is dragged by Terry Giddings and Peter Freestone from the piano to the centre of the stage, and Roger is also at front of the stage. So this photo must have been taken during God Save The Queen.
