Queen Discussion Thread

2003 LIVE

No tours again...BUT the engine is definitely starting to rev up.

04/29/03 - Roger Taylor
Session TV SHOW @ Riverside Studios - London, UK w/SAS BAND & ERIC SINGER & NEIL MURRAY
Setlist (w/Roger):

A Kind of Magic/Jealous Guy/Radio Ga Ga/Radio Ga/Rock and Roll/The Voice/All The Way

05/08/03 - Brian May
St Paul's Convent Garden - London, UK - LONNIE DONEGAN MEMORIAL SERVICE
Setlist:

I'm Just A Rolling Stone/Have a Drink On Me

Brian memorializing one of his heroes!

05/14/03 - Queen
Billingsgate Market - London, UK ARK CHARITY w/SAS BAND
Setlist:

I Want To Break Free/A Kind of Magic/Radio Ga Ga/The Kids Are Alright (w/Bob Geldof)/We Will Rock You/Tie Your Mother Down/Rock and Roll/Wish It Could be Christmas Everyday (All Star Finale)

05/27/03 - Queen
Parco Novi Sad - Modena, Italy - PAVAROTTI & FRIENDS
Setlist:

We Will Rock You/Radio Ga Ga/Too Much Love Will Kill You (w/Pavoratti)/We Are the Champions (w/Zucchero)






One of the few times during this era, it was a proper Queen performance by Brian and Roger. Not an impromptu or WWRY aftershow or an SAS band get together. This was billed as Queen at Pavarotti and Friends. And it's great! One of only three times that Too Much Love Will Kill You was performed at a "Queen" show - the others when Brian debuted it at the Freddie Tribute(without Roger playing - it was just Brian and Spike) and then again during a 46664 show with Katie Melua). Queen fanatic and good friend of Brian, Zucchero sang We Are The Champions. He's got a lot of heart and emotion.

06/12/03 - Queen
Marriot Marquis Hotel - New York, NY, USA - SONGWRITERS HALL OF FAME
Setlist:

Crazy Little Thing Called Love (w/Wynona Judd)/We Will Rock You



The Songwriters Hall of Fame came a-calling and all four members were inducted. Wynnona Judd was an interesting choice to induct the band and even more interesting choice to perform with the band but it was a fun countryish version! What impressed me more is my personal favorite arrangement of We Will Rock You ever. I just love the drama of it.

08/07/03 - Queen
Regent Theatre - Melbourne, Australia - WE WILL ROCK YOU AFTERPARTY
Setlist:

Tie Your Mother Down (w/Amanda Harrison)/Whole Lotta Love/Rock and Roll

09/20/03 - Brian May
Dominion Theatre - London, UK - WE WILL ROCK YOU
Setlist:

Bohemian Rhapsody (w/We Will Rock You Cast)

9/27/03 - Brian May - NA
Dominion Theatre - London, UK - WE WILL ROCK YOU
Setlist:

Bohemian Rhapsody (w/We Will Rock You Cast)

10/29/03 - Brian May
Dominion Theatre - London, UK - WE WILL ROCK YOU
Setlist:

Bohemian Rhapsody (w/We Will Rock You Cast)

10/30/03 - Brian May
Dominion Theatre - London, UK - WE WILL ROCK YOU

Setlist:

Bohemian Rhapsody (w/We Will Rock You Cast)

10/31/03 - Brian May
Hammersmith Apollo - London, UK (w/DEF LEPPARD)
Setlist (w/Brian):

Tie Your Mother Down

11/29/03 - Queen
Green Point Stadium - Cape Town, South Africa - 46664 BENEFIT CONCERT
Setlist:

Say It's Not True (w/Dave Stewart)/Invincible Hope/46664 - The Call/The Show Must Go On (w/Chris Thompson/Treana Morris/Zoe Nichols)/Toss The Feathers (the Corrs with Roger)/Is This The World We Created? (Andrea Corr w/Brian)/Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime (w/Zucchero)/Amandla (w/Anastacia/Bono/Dave Stewart/Beyonce/etc.)/Bohemian Rhapsody (Opera and Rock Finale w/Soweto Gospel Choir)/I Want It All (w/Zucchero)/I Want To Break Free (w/Thandiswa Mazwai)/Radio Ga Ga/We Will Rock You (w/Anastacia)/We Are the Champions (w/Anastacia & Cast)









Ok, Definitely Queen's biggest gig in awhile! Probably since the Freddie Tribute. Tasked by Nelson Mandela to organize a concert to benefit Mandela's 46664 campaign to fight AIDS, Brian and Roger (with help from Dave Stewart) did just that! So Brian and Roger not only performed a set, they performed a few mini sets and helped out along the way.

During a set change, Bob Geldof introduced Brian, Roger, and Dave Stewart as the Fun Bad Three and they performed the debut of Say It's Not True After a speech by Mandela, Brian and Roger did a mini medley including the two newer songs they wrote and a truly wonderful version of The Show Must Go On with shared vocals by Treana Morris (of Roger's tours), Zoe Nicholas (from Brian's), and Chris Thompson. Chris Thompson has a wonderfully powerful voice and handles the tough song very well!. Afterwards Roger joined the Corrs on the traditional Irish tune for some extra drumming. Andrea and Brian performed the Queen classic, Is This The World We Created...always a fitting song in a benefit scenario even though Andrea mistakenly says that it was last performed at Live Aid. (She and Brian obviously forgot the whole 1986 Magic Tour). Then they would come back and perform the last (released) new song with Anastacia before launching into a closing set medley with all the stars coming out for We Are The Champions, including Bob Geldof, Bono, The Edge, Beyonce, Peter Gabriel, etc.

Next up? 2004 Studio stuff which includes a newly released live album and some Brian Miscellaneous!
[/b][/b]

2004 COLLABORATIONS

Zucchero - Il Mare Impetuoso Al Tramonto Sali Sulla Luna E Dietro Una Tendina Di Stelle....

Written by: Zucchero

Musicians:

Brian May - guitar
Zucchero - vocals




- Appears on Zucchero's album Zu & Co
- Brian is good friends with Zucchero and has often played with him.
- The Italian superstar does write good fun tracks.


Jimmy Gnecco - Someone To Die For

Written by: Chris Cornell/Alain Johannes/Natasha Shneider

Musicians:

Jimmy Gnecco - Vocals
Brian May - Guitar




- Appears on the Spider-Man 2 soundtrack.
- Jimmy Gnecco is the singer of Ours and may be in line to replace Scott Weiland in Velvet Revolver.
- The track was written by Soundgarden's Chris Cornell and two members of Eleven. A demo exists with Chris on vocals.
- A nice mournful track.

NEXT? 2004 LIVE. No tour again, and not a TON outside of Brian playing with the We Will Rock You casts but there is one small but momentous gig....

2005 LIVE PART I: RETURN OF THE CHAMPIONS TOUR

After working together at the end of 2004 for the UK Music Hall of Fame, Brian, Roger, and Paul felt they had a great chemistry together and for the first time Queen thought they found someone they could go back on the road with. Part of the reason it felt right to Brian and Roger was that Paul was NOTHING like Freddie and could never be compared to Freddie in anyway. In short, no one could accuse them of trying to cheaply replace Freddie. It was two heavyweights of classic rock merging to form a different sort of union. Upon first discussion Brian (and Roger) proposed they have a fifty-fifty set list whereupon half would be Queen songs, half would be songs from Paul's catalogue (Free, Bad Company, etc.). Paul graciously stated that since it had been so very long since Queen were on tour, that it would be better if it was closer to 75%-25%.

Although, Brian would say many times that as fun as it was to go on the road as Queen again, it was at least equally as fun for him to play Paul's songs. Of course it was time to play with a setlist and they could include songs that they didn't get to play on tour previously and a kind of rolling set list began at first. Partially it was that way because early on in the tour, Paul did have some vocal problems. Usually they would either cut a song or Brian or Roger would take on some extra lead vocals beyond what they initially had put in the set list.

The tour was very successful in Europe and finally brought Queen back to the US for two shows (the first of which THIS author was at - his only Queen show to date...until July). And it hit Japan for a string of shows as well.

As a note, I think in order for QAL to have happened, this needed to happen first. The band needed an anti-Freddie of sorts, someone with a great voice but from a very different world to tour with so the band couldn't be accused of replacing Freddie before trying a tour with someone who was while still different, far closer in terms of camp theatricality.

At the time it is also interesting to note that there was a large split between Queen fans about whether this tour should go on. Just like with AL, there were plenty of Freddie purists who were not too happy about this collaboration more citing that Paul couldn't handle the Queen catalogue and it's theatricality. It was much like we see today with QAL (although to be honest QAL is worse received - partially due to AL being American, partially due to being an Idol with no history or weighty catalogue of his own, and even more possibly BECAUSE of QPR. It is quite possible that being the 2nd "replacement" for Freddie made it more exasperating to purists as to them it makes it look like Freddie is easily replaceable to the "brand" - Just a thought).

Unlike some fans though, I was very receptive as it just meant seeing 2 of my favorite musicians on the road again doing songs I loved. I also was aware of Free/Bad Company and while not a fanatic I always enjoyed many of their tracks on classic rock stations and found myself highly enjoying the songs...even more when backed by Brian and Roger. For example, I thought their "Feel Like Makin' Love" was just poundingly powerful!

The set would open with a taped techno remix of It's A Beautiful Day leading into Track 13 (the 22 minute track on Made In Heaven) before strangely continuing with a taped Eminem doing Lose Yourself. It would suddenly stop with a flourish and Paul would step out from behind the curtain to start Reachin' Out the track done by Rock Therapy (a charity song done by Paul, Brian and others). They do just the beginning as Brian pops out and does a power chord before going into Tie Your Mother Down where the curtain dropped and the rest of the band played on! The opening of the gigs would be pretty fast and furious until it slowed down for a middle section. Roger would go on the catwalk with Jamie Moses and Danny Miranda to do Say It's Not True, before introducing Brian May who would go on the catwalk to do '39/Love Of My Life. He'd then start Hammer to Fall in a slow fashion (much as his 1998 solo version) before introducing Paul to sing the next verse. Roger would get a drum solo that led into his classic I'm In Love With My Car and then Brian would get his guitar solo. Roger came back on to lead These Are The Days of Our Lives and then go into Radio Ga Ga (with programmed drums behind him). Towards the end Paul comes back on and Roger goes back to his kit to finish the song and MAN the difference between the programmed drums and when Roger kicks in...just amazing. The ending flourish would start and there would be a Bohemian Rhapsody where Freddie sang the first TWO verses and then Paul came on for the rock section and the end. Then there would be a 3 song encore after The Show Must Go On. Paul's most famous track, All Right Now and then of course Rock You and Champions.

In a somewhat cool idea, the band released MANY tracks from the gigs as downloads from the Official Queen site. It was about 2-3 songs per concert although there were quite a few repeats with what they would put up.

This was also done for the 2008 European tour. It was not done during the North American tour. Perhaps we can get Brian to do so for 2014.

QUEEN & PAUL RODGERS 2005 TOUR GENERAL SETLIST: It's A Beautiful Day (techno Mix tape)/Track 13 (tape)/Lose Yourself (tape)/Reachin' Out/Tie Your Mother Down/I Want To Break Free/Fat Bottomed Girls/Wishing Well/Crazy Little Thing Called Love/Say It's Not True (Roger on vocals)/'39 (Brian on vocals - alone)/Love of My Life (Brian on vocals)/Hammer To Fall (slow/fast)(Brian/Paul on vocals)/Feel Like Makin' Love/Let There Be Drums/I'm In Love With My Car (Roger on vocals)/Guitar Solo/Last Horizon/These Are the Days Of Our Lives (Roger on vocals)/Radio Ga Ga (Roger/Paul on vocals)/Can't Get Enough/A Kind of Magic/I Want It All/Bohemian Rhapsody (Freddie/Paul on vocals)/The Show Must Go On/All Right Now/We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions/God Save the Queen

SCARCE TRACKS: A Little Bit Of Love/Seagull/Another One Bites the Dust/Under Pressure(Paul/Brian/Roger on vocals)/Fire and Water/Long Away (Brian on vocals)(1 Verse Only)/Tavaszi Szel Vizet Araszt (Part)(Brian on vocals)/Danube Waltz (in Solo)/Molly Malone (in Solo)/Sakura (in Solo)/Sunshine of our Love (Part)/Imagine (Brian/Roger/Paul vocals)/Bad Company/Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy/Teo Toriatte (Brian/Paul vocals)/I Was Born To Love You (Brian/Roger vocals)

BAND:
Paul Rodgers (lead vocals, acoustic guitar)
Brian May (electric guitar, acoustic guitar, lead/backing vocals)
Roger Taylor (drums, congas, lead/backing vocals)
Jamie Moses (electric guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals)
Danny Miranda (bass guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals)
Spike Edney (keyboards, backing vocals)



03/19/05 - Queen & Paul Rodgers
Fancourt - George, South Africa - 46664 Benefit
Setlist:

Intro/Tie Your Mother Down/Can't Get Enough/I Want To Break Free/Fat Bottomed Girls/Say It's Not True/Too Much Love Will Kill You (w/Katie Melua)/Hammer To Fall/A Kind of Magic/Feel Like Makin' Love/Radio Ga Ga/Crazy Little Thing Called Love/The Show Must Go On/All Right Now/We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions (w/African Childrens Choir)



- Queen likes to make debuts with their lead singers in large ways. While not the Ukraine with over 300,000 people this was a highly viewed and streamed around the world benefit concert. It was a bit rough at first, with some lyric flubs by Paul, and some band mishaps but overall showed the world some great potential that this collaboration had. It also featured a rare appearance of "Too Much Love Will Kill You"! This was sung by guest artist Katie Melua who has cited Queen as a big influence.


03/28/05 - Queen & Paul Rodgers
Brixton Academy - London, UK - Fanclub Gig
Setlist:

Track 13/Lose Yourself/Reachin OUt/Tie Your Mother Down/A Little Bit of Love/I Want To Break Free/Fat Bottomed Girls/Crazy Little Thing Called Love/Seagull/'39/Love of My Life/Hammer To Fall (slow/fast)/Guitar Solo/Last Horizon/These Are the Days of Our Lives/Radio Ga Ga/Can't Get Enough/I'm In Love With My Car/I Want It All (Brian vocals)/A Kind of Magic/Bohemian Rhapsody/The Show Must Go On/Feel Like Makin' Love/All Right Now/We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions/God Save the Queen



- A fanclub only gig as a preview of their tour. '39 was never meant to be a part of the setlist but Brian played when a fan asked for it. '39 then became part of the tour, but only with Brian on acoustic and singing with the audience.

03/30/05 - Queen & Paul Rodgers
Le Zenith - Paris, France
Setlist:

Reachin' Out/Tie Your Mother Down/Can't Get Enough/I Want To Break Free/Fat Bottomed Girls/Crazy Little Thing Called Love/Seagull/'39/Love of My Life/Hammer To Fall (slow/fast)/A Little Bit of Love/I'm In Love With My Car/Guitar Solo/Last Horizon/These Are the Days Of Our Lives/Radio Ga Ga/I Want It All/A Kind of Magic/Feel Like Makin' Love/Bohemian Rhapsody/The Show Must Go On/All Right Now/We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions/God Save the Queen

04/01/05 - Queen & Paul Rodgers
Palacio De Deportes - Madrid, Spain
Setlist:

Lose Yourself/Reachin' Out/Tie Your Mother Down/Can't Get Enough/I Want To Break Free/Fat Bottomed Girls/Crazy Little Thing Called Love/Seagull/'39/Love of My Life/Hammer To Fall (slow/fast)/A Little Bit of Love/I'm In Love With My Car/Guitar Solo/Last Horizon/These Are the Days Of Our Lives/Radio Ga Ga/Feel Like Makin' Love/A Kind of Magic/I Want It All/Bohemian Rhapsody/The Show Must Go On/All Right Now/We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions/God Save the Queen

04/02/05 - Queen & Paul Rodgers
Palau Sant Jordi - Barcelona, Spain
Setlist:

Lose Yourself/Reachin' Out/Tie Your Mother Down/Can't Get Enough/I Want To Break Free/Fat Bottomed Girls/Crazy Little Thing Called Love/(Seagull/'39/Love of My Life/)Hammer To Fall (slow/fast)/A Little Bit of Love/I'm In Love With My Car/Guitar Solo/Last Horizon/These Are the Days Of Our Lives/Radio Ga Ga/Feel Like Makin' Love/A Kind of Magic/I Want It All/Bohemian Rhapsody/The Show Must Go On/All Right Now/We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions/God Save the Queen

04/04/05 - Queen & Paul Rodgers
Palalottomatica - Rome, Italy
Setlist:

Lose Yourself/Reachin' Out/Tie Your Mother Down/Can't Get Enough/I Want To Break Free/Fat Bottomed Girls/Crazy Little Thing Called Love/Seagull/'39/Love of My Life/Hammer To Fall (slow/fast)/A Little Bit of Love/I'm In Love With My Car/Guitar Solo/Last Horizon/These Are the Days Of Our Lives/Radio Ga Ga/I Want It All/A Kind of Magic/Feel Like Makin' Love/Bohemian Rhapsody/The Show Must Go On/All Right Now/We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions/God Save the Queen

04/05/05 - Queen & Paul Rodgers
Forum - Milan, Italy
Setlist:

Intro Speech/One Minute Silence for Pope/Lose Yourself/Reachin' Out/Tie Your Mother Down/Can't Get Enough/I Want To Break Free/Fat Bottomed Girls/Crazy Little Thing Called Love/Seagull/'39/Love of My Life/Hammer To Fall (slow/fast)/A Little Bit of Love/I'm In Love With My Car/Guitar Solo/Last Horizon/These Are the Days Of Our Lives/Radio Ga Ga/Feel Like Makin' Love/A Kind of Magic/I Want It All/Bohemian Rhapsody/The Show Must Go On/All Right Now/We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions/God Save the Queen

04/07/05 - Queen & Paul Rodgers
Nelson Mandela Forum - Firenze, Italy
Setlist:

Intro Speech/One Minute Silence For Pope/It's A Beuatiful Day (techno remix tape)/Track 13/Lose Yourself/Reachin' Out/Tie Your Mother Down/I Want To Break Free/Fat Bottomed Girls/Crazy Little Thing Called Love/Say It's Not True/'39/Love of My Life/Hammer To Fall (slow/fast) (Brian/ROGER vocals)/I'm In Love With My Car/Guitar Solo/Last Horizon/These Are the Days Of Our Lives/Radio Ga Ga/Can't Get Enough/A Kind of Magic/I Want It All (Brian vocals)/Bohemian Rhapsody/The Show Must Go On/All Right Now/We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions/God Save the Queen



- Paul was having a bit more trouble so Seagull is dropped and Roger helps out on Hammer To Fall (while drumming) for the middle rock section. Brian takes over on I Want It All


04/08/05 - Queen & Paul Rodgers
BPA Palas - Pesaro, Italy
Setlist:

Lose Yourself/Reachin' Out/Tie Your Mother Down/I Want To Break Free/Fat Bottomed Girls/Crazy Little Thing Called Love/Say It's Not True/Long Away/'39/Love of My Life/Hammer To Fall (slow/fast) (Brian/ROGER vocals)/Let There Be Drums/I'm In Love With My Car/Guitar Solo/Last Horizon/These Are the Days Of Our Lives (CUT)/Radio Ga Ga/Can't Get Enough/A Kind of Magic/I Want It All (Brian vocals)/Bohemian Rhapsody/The Show Must Go On/All Right Now/We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions/God Save the Queen



- Long Away played for the first time EVER. Of course it's only a snippet and is reminiscent of what Brian did in Hammersmith with QAL. A little impromptu acoustic singalong. I REALLY hope this continues in 2013. I would love to get this or something like it as a snippet (or a full song really)

04/10/05 - Queen & Paul Rodgers
St. Jakobshalle - Basel, Switzerland
Setlist:

It's A Beautiful Day (remix tape)Lose Yourself/Reachin' Out/Tie Your Mother Down/I Want To Break Free/Fat Bottomed Girls/Crazy Little Thing Called Love/Say It's Not True/'39/Love of My Life/Hammer To Fall (slow/fast) (Brian/ROGER vocals)/Let There Be Drums/I'm In Love With My Car/Guitar Solo/Last Horizon/These Are the Days Of Our Lives/Radio Ga Ga/Can't Get Enough/A Kind of Magic/I Want It All/Bohemian Rhapsody/The Show Must Go On/All Right Now/We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions/God Save the Queen

- Paul's voice returning a bit he picked up I Want It All again.

04/13/05 - Queen & Paul Rodgers
Stadthalle - Vienna, Austria
Setlist:

It's A Beautiful Day (remix tape)Lose Yourself/Reachin' Out/Tie Your Mother Down/I Want To Break Free/Fat Bottomed Girls/Crazy Little Thing Called Love/Say It's Not True/'39/Love of My Life/Hammer To Fall (slow/fast) (Brian/ROGER vocals)/Let There Be Drums/I'm In Love With My Car/Guitar Solo/Last Horizon/These Are the Days Of Our Lives/Radio Ga Ga/Can't Get Enough/A Kind of Magic/I Want It All/Bohemian Rhapsody/The Show Must Go On/All Right Now/We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions/God Save the Queen



04/14/05 - Queen & Paul Rodgers
Olympiahalle - Munich, Germany
Setlist:

It's A Beautiful Day (remix tape)Lose Yourself/Reachin' Out/Tie Your Mother Down/I Want To Break Free/Fat Bottomed Girls/Crazy Little Thing Called Love/Say It's Not True/'39/Love of My Life/Hammer To Fall (slow/fast)(Brian/ROGER vocals)/Let There Be Drums/I'm In Love With My Car/Guitar Solo/Last Horizon/These Are the Days Of Our Lives/Radio Ga Ga/Can't Get Enough/A Kind of Magic/I Want It All/Bohemian Rhapsody/The Show Must Go On/All Right Now/We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions/God Save the Queen


04/16/05 - Queen & Paul Rodgers
Sazka Arena - Prague, Czech Republic
Setlist:

Lose Yourself/Reachin' Out/Tie Your Mother Down/I Want To Break Free/Fat Bottomed Girls/Crazy Little Thing Called Love/Say It's Not True/'39/Love of My Life/Hammer To Fall (slow/fast)(Brian/ROGER vocals)/Let There Be Drums/I'm In Love With My Car/Guitar Solo/Last Horizon/These Are the Days Of Our Lives/Radio Ga Ga/Can't Get Enough/A Kind of Magic/I Want It All/Bohemian Rhapsody/The Show Must Go On/All Right Now/We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions/God Save the Queen



04/17/05 - Queen & Paul Rodgers
Arena - Leipzig, Germany
Setlist:

It's A Beautiful Day (remix tape)Lose Yourself/Reachin' Out/Tie Your Mother Down/I Want To Break Free/Fat Bottomed Girls/Crazy Little Thing Called Love/Say It's Not True/'39/Love of My Life/Hammer To Fall (slow/fast)(Brian/ROGER vocals)/Let There Be Drums/I'm In Love With My Car/Guitar Solo/Last Horizon/These Are the Days Of Our Lives/Radio Ga Ga/Can't Get Enough/A Kind of Magic/I Want It All/Bohemian Rhapsody/The Show Must Go On/All Right Now/We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions/God Save the Queen

04/19/05 - Queen & Paul Rodgers
Festhalle - Frankfurt, Germany
Setlist:

It's A Beautiful Day (remix tape)Lose Yourself/Reachin' Out/Tie Your Mother Down/I Want To Break Free/Fat Bottomed Girls/Crazy Little Thing Called Love/Say It's Not True/'39/Love of My Life/Hammer To Fall (slow/fast)(Brian/ROGER vocals)/Let There Be Drums/I'm In Love With My Car/Guitar Solo/Last Horizon/These Are the Days Of Our Lives/Radio Ga Ga/Can't Get Enough/A Kind of Magic/I Want It All/Bohemian Rhapsody/The Show Must Go On/All Right Now/We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions/God Save the Queen




04/20/05 - Queen & Paul Rodgers
Sportpaleis - Antwerpen, Belgium
Setlist:

It's A Beautiful Day (remix tape)Lose Yourself/Reachin' Out/Tie Your Mother Down/I Want To Break Free/Fat Bottomed Girls/Crazy Little Thing Called Love/Say It's Not True/'39/Love of My Life/Hammer To Fall (slow/fast)/Let There Be Drums/I'm In Love With My Car/Guitar Solo/Last Horizon/These Are the Days Of Our Lives/Radio Ga Ga/Can't Get Enough/A Kind of Magic/I Want It All/Bohemian Rhapsody/The Show Must Go On/All Right Now/We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions/God Save the Queen

- Paul recovered enough to join back on Hammer To Fall

04/23/05 - Queen & Paul Rodgers
Setlist:

It's A Beautiful Day (remix tape)Lose Yourself/Reachin' Out/Tie Your Mother Down/I Want To Break Free/Fat Bottomed Girls/Crazy Little Thing Called Love/Say It's Not True/Long Away/Tavaszi Szei Vizet Araszt/Love of My Life/Hammer To Fall (slow/fast)/Feel Like Makin' Love/Let There Be Drums/I'm In Love With My Car/Guitar Solo/Last Horizon/These Are the Days Of Our Lives/Radio Ga Ga/Can't Get Enough/A Kind of Magic/I Want It All/Bohemian Rhapsody/The Show Must Go On/All Right Now/We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions/God Save the Queen



- A site of previous sentiment with Queen, it was a 1986 film. A lasting memory of that concert was Freddie singing a Hungarian folk song, Tavaszi Szei Vizet Araszt with the crowd. Brian elected to do it during his acoustic portion of the gig to great applause.

04/25/05 - Queen & Paul Rodgers
Westfalenhalle - Dortmund, Germany
Setlist:

It's A Beautiful Day (remix tape)Lose Yourself/Reachin' Out/Tie Your Mother Down/I Want To Break Free/Fat Bottomed Girls/Crazy Little Thing Called Love/Say It's Not True/'39/Love of My Life/Hammer To Fall (slow/fast)/Feel Like Makin' Love/Let There Be Drums/I'm In Love With My Car/Guitar Solo/Last Horizon/These Are the Days Of Our Lives/Radio Ga Ga/Can't Get Enough/A Kind of Magic/I Want It All/Bohemian Rhapsody/The Show Must Go On/All Right Now/We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions/God Save the Queen

04/26/05 - Queen & Paul Rodgers
Ahoy Hall - Rotterdam
Setlist:

It's A Beautiful Day (remix tape)Lose Yourself/Reachin' Out/Tie Your Mother Down/I Want To Break Free/Fat Bottomed Girls/Crazy Little Thing Called Love/Say It's Not True/'39/Love of My Life/Hammer To Fall (slow/fast)Feel Like Makin' Love/Let There Be Drums/I'm In Love With My Car/Guitar Solo/Last Horizon/These Are the Days Of Our Lives/Radio Ga Ga/Can't Get Enough/A Kind of Magic/I Want It All/Bohemian Rhapsody/The Show Must Go On/All Right Now/We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions/God Save the Queen

04/28/05 - Queen & Paul Rodgers
Color Line Arena - Hamburg, Germany
Setlist:

It's A Beautiful Day (remix tape)Lose Yourself/Reachin' Out/Tie Your Mother Down/I Want To Break Free/Fat Bottomed Girls/Wishing Well/Crazy Little Thing Called Love/Say It's Not True/'39/Love of My Life/Hammer To Fall (slow/fast)Feel Like Makin' Love/Let There Be Drums/I'm In Love With My Car/Guitar Solo/Last Horizon/These Are the Days Of Our Lives/Radio Ga Ga/Can't Get Enough/A Kind of Magic/I Want It All/Bohemian Rhapsody/The Show Must Go On/All Right Now/We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions/God Save the Queen

04/30/05 - Queen & Paul Rodgers
Globen - Stockholm, Sweden
Setlist:

It's A Beautiful Day (remix tape)Lose Yourself/Reachin' Out/Tie Your Mother Down/I Want To Break Free/Fat Bottomed Girls/Wishing Well/Crazy Little Thing Called Love/Say It's Not True/'39/Love of My Life/Hammer To Fall (slow/fast)Feel Like Makin' Love/Let There Be Drums/I'm In Love With My Car/Guitar Solo/Last Horizon/These Are the Days Of Our Lives/Radio Ga Ga/Can't Get Enough/A Kind of Magic/I Want It All/Bohemian Rhapsody/The Show Must Go On/All Right Now/We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions/God Save the Queen

05/03/05 - Queen & Paul Rodgers
Metro - Newcastle, UK
Setlist:

It's A Beautiful Day (remix tape)Lose Yourself/Reachin' Out/Tie Your Mother Down/I Want To Break Free/Fat Bottomed Girls/Wishing Well/Crazy Little Thing Called Love/Say It's Not True/'39/Love of My Life/Hammer To Fall (slow/fast)Feel Like Makin' Love/Let There Be Drums/I'm In Love With My Car/Guitar Solo/Last Horizon/These Are the Days Of Our Lives/Radio Ga Ga/Can't Get Enough/A Kind of Magic/I Want It All/Bohemian Rhapsody/Sunshine of Your Love (PART)/The Show Must Go On/All Right Now/We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions/God Save the Queen



- After Bohemian Rhapsody, Brian started out Cream's Sunshine Of Your Love and Roger joined in and then Paul joined in, but it was obviously unrehearsed and meant as a bit of a joke because they quickly stopped but it would have been nice to have heard a whole version.

05/04/05 - Queen & Paul Rodgers
MEN Arena - Manchester, UK
Setlist:

It's A Beautiful Day (remix tape)Lose Yourself/Reachin' Out/Tie Your Mother Down/I Want To Break Free/Fat Bottomed Girls/Wishing Well/Crazy Little Thing Called Love/Say It's Not True/'39/Love of My Life/Hammer To Fall (slow/fast)/Let There Be Drums/I'm In Love With My Car/Guitar Solo/Last Horizon/These Are the Days Of Our Lives/Radio Ga Ga/Can't Get Enough/A Kind of Magic/I Want It All/Bohemian Rhapsody/Under Pressure/All Right Now/We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions/God Save the Queen



05/06/05 - Queen & Paul Rodgers
NEC Arena - Bimingham, UK
Setlist:

It's A Beautiful Day (remix tape)Lose Yourself/Reachin' Out/Tie Your Mother Down/I Want To Break Free/Fat Bottomed Girls/Another One Bites the Dust/Wishing Well/Crazy Little Thing Called Love/Say It's Not True/'39/Love of My Life/Hammer To Fall (slow/fast)/Let There Be Drums/I'm In Love With My Car/Guitar Solo/Last Horizon/These Are the Days Of Our Lives/Radio Ga Ga/Can't Get Enough/A Kind of Magic/I Want It All/Bohemian Rhapsody/Under Pressure/All Right Now/We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions/God Save the Queen

05/07/05 - Queen & Paul Rodgers
International - Cardiff, UK
Setlist:

It's A Beautiful Day (remix tape)Lose Yourself/Reachin' Out/Tie Your Mother Down/I Want To Break Free/Fat Bottomed Girls/Wishing Well/Crazy Little Thing Called Love/Say It's Not True/'39/Love of My Life/Hammer To Fall (slow/fast)/Feel Like Makin' Love/Let There Be Drums/I'm In Love With My Car/Guitar Solo/Last Horizon/These Are the Days Of Our Lives/Radio Ga Ga/Can't Get Enough/A Kind of Magic/I Want It All/Bohemian Rhapsody/The Show Must Go On/All Right Now/We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions/God Save the Queen

05/09/05 - Queen & Paul Rodgers
Hallam - Sheffield, UK
Setlist:

It's A Beautiful Day (remix tape)Lose Yourself/Reachin' Out/Tie Your Mother Down/I Want To Break Free/Fat Bottomed Girls/Wishing Well/Another One Bites the Dust/Crazy Little Thing Called Love/Under Pressure/Say It's Not True/'39/Love of My Life/Hammer To Fall (slow/fast)/Feel Like Makin' Love/Let There Be Drums/I'm In Love With My Car/Guitar Solo/Last Horizon/These Are the Days Of Our Lives/Radio Ga Ga/Can't Get Enough/A Kind of Magic/I Want It All/Bohemian Rhapsody/The Show Must Go On/All Right Now/We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions/God Save the Queen

- This is the gig that is filmed and later released as a CD/DVD - Return of the Champions. However, the CD/DVD does not include Under Pressure as Brian stated that while it was being filmed, he wanted one special thing just for the audience there that night!

05/11/05 - Queen & Paul Rodgers
Wembley Pavillion - London, UK
Setlist:

It's A Beautiful Day (remix tape)Lose Yourself/Reachin' Out/Tie Your Mother Down/I Want To Break Free/Fat Bottomed Girls/Wishing Well/Another One Bites the Dust/Crazy Little Thing Called Love/Under Pressure/Say It's Not True/'39/Love of My Life/Hammer To Fall (slow/fast)/Feel Like Makin' Love/Let There Be Drums/I'm In Love With My Car/Guitar Solo/Last Horizon/These Are the Days Of Our Lives/Radio Ga Ga/Can't Get Enough/A Kind of Magic/I Want It All/Bohemian Rhapsody/The Show Must Go On/All Right Now/We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions/God Save the Queen

05/13/05 - Queen & Paul Rodgers
Odyssey Arena - Belfast, UK
Setlist:

It's A Beautiful Day (remix tape)Lose Yourself/Reachin' Out/Tie Your Mother Down/I Want To Break Free/Fat Bottomed Girls/Wishing Well/Another One Bites the Dust/Crazy Little Thing Called Love/Under Pressure/Say It's Not True/'39/Love of My Life/Hammer To Fall (slow/fast)/Feel Like Makin' Love/Fire and Water/Let There Be Drums/I'm In Love With My Car/Guitar Solo/Last Horizon/These Are the Days Of Our Lives/Radio Ga Ga/Can't Get Enough/A Kind of Magic/I Want It All/Bohemian Rhapsody (CUT)

05/14/05 - Queen & Paul Rodgers
The Point - Dublin, Ireland
Setlist:

It's A Beautiful Day (remix tape)Lose Yourself/Reachin' Out/Tie Your Mother Down/I Want To Break Free/Fat Bottomed Girls/Wishing Well/Another One Bites the Dust/Crazy Little Thing Called Love/Under Pressure/Say It's Not True/'39/Love of My Life/Hammer To Fall (slow/fast)/Feel Like Makin' Love/Fire and Water/Let There Be Drums/I'm In Love With My Car/Guitar Solo/Last Horizon/These Are the Days Of Our Lives/Radio Ga Ga/Can't Get Enough/A Kind of Magic/I Want It All/Bohemian Rhapsody/The Show Must Go On/All Right Now/We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions/God Save the Queen

07/02/05 - Queen & Paul Rodgers
Estadio Restelo, Lisbon, Portugal
Setlist:

It's A Beautiful Day (remix tape)Lose Yourself/Reachin' Out/Tie Your Mother Down/I Want To Break Free/Fat Bottomed Girls/Wishing Well/Another One Bites the Dust/Crazy Little Thing Called Love/Under Pressure/Say It's Not True/'39/Love of My Life/Hammer To Fall (slow/fast)/Feel Like Makin' Love/Let There Be Drums/I'm In Love With My Car/Guitar Solo/Last Horizon/These Are the Days Of Our Lives/Radio Ga Ga/Can't Get Enough/A Kind of Magic/I Want It All/Bohemian Rhapsody/The Show Must Go On/All Right Now/We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions/God Save the Queen



07/06/05 - Queen & Paul Rodgers
Rhein-Energie Stadion - Cologne, Germany
Setlist:

It's A Beautiful Day (remix tape)Lose Yourself/Reachin' Out/Tie Your Mother Down/I Want To Break Free/Fat Bottomed Girls/Wishing Well/Another One Bites the Dust/Crazy Little Thing Called Love/Say It's Not True/'39/Love of My Life/Hammer To Fall (slow/fast)Feel Like Makin' Love/Let There Be Drums/I'm In Love With My Car/Guitar Solo/Last Horizon/These Are the Days Of Our Lives/Radio Ga Ga/Can't Get Enough/A Kind of Magic/I Want It All/Bohemian Rhapsody/The Show Must Go On/All Right Now/We Will Rock You (w/We Will Rock You Cast)/We Are the Champions (w/We Will Rock You Cast)/God Save the Queen

07/10/05 - Queen & Paul Rodgers
Gelredome - Arnhem, Holland
Setlist:

It's A Beautiful Day (remix tape)Lose Yourself/Reachin' Out/Tie Your Mother Down/I Want To Break Free/Fat Bottomed Girls/Wishing Well/Another One Bites the Dust/Crazy Little Thing Called Love/Say It's Not True/'39/Love of My Life/Hammer To Fall (slow/fast)/Feel Like Makin' Love/Let There Be Drums/I'm In Love With My Car/Guitar Solo/Last Horizon/These Are the Days Of Our Lives/Radio Ga Ga/Can't Get Enough/A Kind of Magic/I Want It All/Bohemian Rhapsody/The Show Must Go On/All Right Now/We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions/God Save the Queen

07/15/05 - Queen & Paul Rodgers
Hyde Park - London, UK
Setlist:

It's A Beautiful Day (remix tape)Lose Yourself/Reachin' Out/Tie Your Mother Down/I Want To Break Free/Fat Bottomed Girls/Wishing Well/Another One Bites the Dust/Crazy Little Thing Called Love/Say It's Not True/'39/Love of My Life/Imagine/Hammer To Fall (slow/fast)/Feel Like Makin' Love/Let There Be Drums/I'm In Love With My Car/Guitar Solo/Last Horizon/These Are the Days Of Our Lives/Radio Ga Ga/Can't Get Enough/A Kind of Magic/I Want It All/Bohemian Rhapsody/The Show Must Go On/All Right Now/We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions/God Save the Queen





- Originally going to be July 8th it was put off for a week due to terrorist bombings in London on the 7th. Sadly, The Darkness were going to play with Queen on the 7th but couldn't do the 15th. This is why the band chose to play Imagine that night. Imagine would be a bonus track on the DVD version of Return of the Champions. Bohemian Rhapsody was also released as a download. Hyde Park housed 60,000 + that night.

10/08/05 - Queen & Paul Rodgers
Aruba Entertainment Center - Oranjestad, Aruba
Setlist:

It's A Beautiful Day (remix tape)Lose Yourself/Reachin' Out/Tie Your Mother Down/Fat Bottomed Girls/Another One Bites the Dust/Crazy Little Thing Called Love/Bad Company/Say It's Not True/Love of My Life/Hammer To Fall (slow/fast)/Feel Like Makin' Love/Let There Be Drums/I'm In Love With My Car/Guitar Solo/Last Horizon/These Are the Days Of Our Lives/Radio Ga Ga/Can't Get Enough/Rock and Roll Fantasy/I Want It All/Bohemian Rhapsody/The Show Must Go On/All Right Now/We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions/God Save the Queen

- The second leg of the tour kicked off in Aruba as a warm up to their first US gig since 1982.

10/16/05 - Queen & Paul Rodgers
Continental Airlines Arena - East Rutherford, NJ, USA
Setlist:

It's A Beautiful Day (remix tape)Lose Yourself/Reachin' Out/Tie Your Mother Down/Fat Bottomed Girls/Another One Bites the Dust/Crazy Little Thing Called Love/Bad Company/Say It's Not True/'39/Love of My Life/Hammer To Fall (slow/fast)/Feel Like Makin' Love/Let There Be Drums/I'm In Love With My Car/Guitar Solo/Last Horizon/These Are the Days Of Our Lives/Radio Ga Ga/Can't Get Enough/Rock and Roll Fantasy/I Want It All/Bohemian Rhapsody/The Show Must Go On/All Right Now/We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions/God Save the Queen

- Unfortunately nothing on YT. I have this on vid though. This was MY Queen show. And it was brilliant. The venue was electric and the band were so excited to be back. Roger walked down the catwalk to do Say It's Not True saying "Fuck me it's good to be back in America". Brian had to take a moment and was just overwhelmed, saying that after all this time it was great to get such a great reception. This night was a unique night as far as the US goes. Brian would drop '39 as Americans tended not to know it as well. Rog would drop Say It's Not True. And there would be a more Americanized setlist when the band came back in 2006. It still is the best show I've seen in my life. I'll be interested to see if QAL can top it. Given that it was my first ever Queen show, it might be tough.

10/22/05 - Queen & Paul Rodgers
Hollywood Bowl - Los Angeles, CA, USA
Setlist:

It's A Beautiful Day (remix tape)Lose Yourself/Reachin' Out/Tie Your Mother Down/Fat Bottomed Girls/Another One Bites the Dust/Crazy Little Thing Called Love/Bad Company/Say It's Not True/'39/Love of My Life/Hammer To Fall (slow/fast)/Feel Like Makin' Love/Let There Be Drums/I'm In Love With My Car/Guitar Solo/Last Horizon/These Are the Days Of Our Lives/Radio Ga Ga/Can't Get Enough (w/Slash)/Rock and Roll Fantasy/I Want It All/Bohemian Rhapsody/The Show Must Go On/All Right Now/We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions/God Save the Queen

- The second of two US dates. This time Slash from Guns N' Roses guested on Can't Get Enough. Slash, always a good friend of Brian's was happy to get on stage with them.

10/26/05 - Queen & Paul Rodgers
Saitama Arena - Saitama, Japan
Setlist:

It's A Beautiful Day (remix tape)Lose Yourself/Reachin' Out/Tie Your Mother Down/Fat Bottomed Girls/Another One Bites the Dust/Crazy Little Thing Called Love/Bad Company/Say It's Not True/'39/Love of My Life/Teo Toriatte/Hammer To Fall (slow/fast)/Feel Like Makin' Love/Let There Be Drums/I'm In Love With My Car/Guitar Solo/Last Horizon/These Are the Days Of Our Lives/Radio Ga Ga/Can't Get Enough/Wishing Well/I Want It All/Bohemian Rhapsody/I Was Born To Love You/The Show Must Go On/All Right Now/We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions/God Save the Queen

- An interesting note. At the time, Queen's version of I Was Born To Love You had spiked due to being in a commercial. Never a band to miss an opportunity, Brian and Roger decided to add a special acoustic version with them sharing vocals during the encore. They also added the Japan only (for the most part) Teo Toriatte.

10/27/05 - Queen & Paul Rodgers - QPR IN SAITAMA - 10/27/05-- OWNED – 2.5/3
Saitama Arena - Saitama Japan
Setlist:

It's A Beautiful Day (remix tape)Lose Yourself/Reachin' Out/Tie Your Mother Down/Fat Bottomed Girls/Another One Bites the Dust/Fire and Water/Crazy Little Thing Called Love/Bad Company/Say It's Not True/'39/Love of My Life/Teo Toriatte/Hammer To Fall/Feel Like Makin' Love/Let There Be Drums/I'm In Love With My Car/Guitar Solo/Last Horizon/These Are the Days Of Our Lives/Radio Ga Ga/Can't Get Enough/A Kind of Magic/Wishing Well/I Want It All/Bohemian Rhapsody/I Was Born To Love You/The Show Must Go On/All Right Now/We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions/God Save the Queen

- Recorded for DVD and later released in Japan (and later again in 2008 as part of the Cosmos Rocks) as Super Live in Japan. I'll document that release later but I'll give you a bit:



10/29/05 - Queen & Paul Rodgers
Yokohama Arena - Yokohama, Japan
Setlist:

It's A Beautiful Day (remix tape)Lose Yourself/Reachin' Out/Tie Your Mother Down/Fat Bottomed Girls/Another One Bites the Dust/Bad Company/Crazy Little Thing Called Love/Bad Company/Say It's Not True/Long Away/'39/Love of My Life/Teo Toriatte/Hammer To Fall/Feel Like Makin' Love/Let There Be Drums/I'm In Love With My Car/Guitar Solo/Last Horizon/These Are the Days Of Our Lives/Radio Ga Ga/Can't Get Enough/A Kind of Magic/I Want It All/Bohemian Rhapsody/I Was Born To Love You/The Show Must Go On/All Right Now/We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions/God Save the Queen

10/30/05 - Queen & Paul Rodgers
Yokohama Arena - Yokohama, Japan
Setlist:

It's A Beautiful Day (remix tape)Lose Yourself/Reachin' Out/Tie Your Mother Down/Fat Bottomed Girls/I Want To Break Free/Wishing Well/Crazy Little Thing Called Love/Bad Company/Say It's Not True/'39/Love of My Life/Teo Toriatte/Hammer To Fall/Feel Like Makin' Love/Let There Be Drums/I'm In Love With My Car/Guitar Solo/Last Horizon/These Are the Days Of Our Lives/Radio Ga Ga/Can't Get Enough/A Kind of Magic/I Want It All/Bohemian Rhapsody/I Was Born To Love You/The Show Must Go On/All Right Now/We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions/God Save the Queen

11/01/05 - Queen & Paul Rodgers
Nagoya Dome - Nagoya, Japan
Setlist:

It's A Beautiful Day (remix tape)Lose Yourself/Reachin' Out/Tie Your Mother Down/Fat Bottomed Girls/I Want To Break Free/Wishing Well/Crazy Little Thing Called Love/Say It's Not True/'39/Long Away/Love of My Life/Teo Toriatte/Hammer To Fall/Feel Like Makin' Love/Let There Be Drums/I'm In Love With My Car/Guitar Solo/Last Horizon/These Are the Days Of Our Lives/Radio Ga Ga/Can't Get Enough/A Kind of Magic/I Want It All/Bohemian Rhapsody/I Was Born To Love You/The Show Must Go On/All Right Now/We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions/God Save the Queen

11/03/05 - Queen & Paul Rodgers
Fukuoka Dome - Fukuoka, Japan
Setlist:

It's A Beautiful Day (remix tape)Lose Yourself/Reachin' Out/Tie Your Mother Down/Fat Bottomed Girls/I Want To Break Free/Wishing Well/Crazy Little Thing Called Love/Say It's Not True/'39/Love of My Life/Teo Toriatte/Hammer To Fall/Feel Like Makin' Love/Let There Be Drums/I'm In Love With My Car/Guitar Solo/Last Horizon/These Are the Days Of Our Lives/Radio Ga Ga/Can't Get Enough/A Kind of Magic/I Want It All/Bohemian Rhapsody/I Was Born To Love You/The Show Must Go On/All Right Now/We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions/God Save the Queen

- The final gig of the tour. The band would take a break but would resume touring in March of 2006 for their first full tour of North America since 1982. Of course few in America heard about it until afterwards....

NEXT? Miscellaneous live bits in 2005 and then Return Of The Champions before getting into 2006 studio and that North American tour.

QUEEN + PAUL RODGERS - RETURN OF THE CHAMPIONS

1. Reaching Out (Black/Hill)
2. Tie Your Mother Down (May)
3. I Want To Break Free (Deacon)
4. Fat Bottomed Girls (May)
5. Wishing Well (Bundrick/Kirke/Kossoff/Rodgers/Yamauchi)
6. Another One Bites The Dust (Deacon)
7. Crazy Little Thing Called Love (Mercury)
8. Say It's Not True (Taylor/May/Rodgers)
9. '39 (May)
10. Love of My Life (Mercury)
11. Hammer To Fall (May)
12. Feel Like Makin' Love (Ralphs/Rodgers)
13. Let There Be Drums (Nelson/Polodor)
14. I'm In Love With My Car (Taylor)
15. Guitar Solo (May)
16. Last Horizon (May)
17. These Are The Days Of Our Lives (Mercury/May/Taylor/Deacon)
18. Radio Ga Ga (Taylor)
19. Can't Get Enough (Ralphs)
20. A Kind Of Magic (Taylor)
21. I Want It All (Mercury/May/Taylor/Deacon)
22. Bohemian Rhapsody (Mercury)
23. The Show Must Go On (Mercury/May/Taylor/Deacon)
24. All Right Now (Fraser/Rodgers)
25. We Will Rock You (May)
26. We Are The Champions (Mercury)
27. God Save The Queen (arr. May)

Musicians:
Brian May - Guitar/Vocals
Roger Taylor - Drums/Percussion/Vocals
Paul Rodgers - Vocals/Guitar
Spike Edney - Keyboards/Piano/Vocals
Jamie Moses - Guitar/Vocals
Danny Miranda - Bass/Vocals/Guitar


- Recorded in May 9, 2005 in Hallam FM Arena, Sheffield, UK
- It hit #12 in the UK



- NOT the best quality for some reason. It's on the Official Queen YT page as well but a lot of those videos are blocked in the US (as UMG don't have the official rights in NA).

REVIEWS:

The Sun, 28 October 2005

WHATEVER you make of Paul Rodgers stepping in to Freddie Mercury's shoes to front Queen on tour, you have to admit he's pretty good at it. And since Queen are still as popular as ever, despite the fact that frontman Freddie died nearly 14 years ago, there's still a huge market for shows like this.

This particular leg of the tour takes place in Sheffield and the band are in fine form during this energetic set, mainly made up of greatest hits.

Every song -from upbeat tracks like Radio Gaga, to epics such as We Are The Champions and, of course, the unforgettable Bohemian Rhapsody -is a crowd pleaser.

And when Freddie himself appears on screen to sing along with the band, it could almost be 25 years ago when Queen were at their peak.

The songs still sound just as fresh, the audience is just as captivated -and Brian May's hair hasn't changed.

4/5

Townsville Bulletin, Australia


REPLACING Freddie Mercury at the front of legendary British rock band Queen is impossible.

Mercury, who died from an AIDS-related illness in 1991, had a unique voice.

So don't expect Queen's live album Return Of The Champions, featuring former Free and Bad Company frontman Paul Rodgers, to sound exactly like their original recordings.

It was never going to happen.

The music, powered by Queen originals Brian May on guitar and Roger Taylor on drums, is the same, but the vocals are not.

If you can get over that you will find the album, recorded live at a Sheffield concert in May this year, to be a worthy addition to your collection.

It features Queen hits like Tie You Mother Down, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Bohemian Rhapsody, We Will Rock You etc, with May showing he has lost none of his sublime abilities on guitar. Having the opportunity to hear him on a live recording is one of the album's big pluses.

But don't discount Rodgers.

He does a fine job, particularly with songs which made him famous like All Right Now and Feel Like Making Love, the album's high point for this reviewer.

The concert tour proved to be a huge hit with fans and this album is a nice substitute for those of us unable to experience it in person.

Daily Vault

To be honest, when I first heard news of the remainder of Queen going out on tour, I was apprehensive. Who could possibly manage to fill the enormous shoes (ballet slippers, to be specific) left by singer Freddie Mercury's premature death in 1991? Amazingly enough, seemingly out-of-left-field choice Paul Rodgers materialized at what was supposed to be a one-off performance with the band at the Hall of Fame awards in 2004 and from there, has embedded himself in the book of Queen history that most had deemed shut for good.

Rodgers, formerly of Free, Bad Company and The Firm, is an unlikely stand-in, especially when rumors of George Michael or Robbie Williams had been circling for ages. But somehow that's what makes the Queen + Paul Rodgers outing a success -- Rodgers has made it clear he's not out to replace the absolutely irreplaceable Mercury but instead, put his own spin on classic Queen hits. Along with the incredible Brian May back on guitars, drummer Roger Taylor, additional guitarist Jamie Moses (who also performed with May during his solo outings a few years back) and bassist Danny Miranda, standing in for John Deacon who opted to remain behind the scenes, the tour was a smash hit in England and ended up in New Jersey, Los Angeles and Japan before an announcement of additional dates in the US in the springtime.

Return Of The Champions, taken from their performance in Sheffield in May, welcomes back the members of Queen for their first tour in an unbelievable nineteen years. Rodgers shines on perennial crowd favorites like the blistering "Tie Your Mother Down" and Bad Company classic "Feel Like Makin' Love," while both May and Taylor step up for vocal duties on "Love Of My Life" and the subdued "These Are The Days Of Our Lives," respectively.

But the standout performances on Return Of The Champions for me are from May and Taylor, who manage to sound just as incredible, if not better, than the last time they toured together in 1986. The two have gained even more of a mastery of their instruments and, with Rodgers and the rest of the touring band, create a strong, in sync sound that's astounding for a group who came together just months before.

My only wish for future Queen shows and live albums is a wider offering of material. With the amount of songs available in both Queen and Paul Rodgers' back catalogues, I would love to see them abandon the play it safe route for a bit and bring out some songs not on featured on a greatest hits collection.

Return Of The Champions is a promising debut from some of rock's most talented performers, and I for one can't wait to see where they're headed next.

Rating: A-

NEXT? 2006 studio and first off is a single by Felix and Arty...wait who? Hint: Take a look at the second name and concentrate on the middle letters