The 40th anniversary of Live Aid takes place on July 13, 2025, marking four decades since the world came together for the unprecedented global music event. Held simultaneously in Philadelphia and London, the benefit concert united a powerhouse lineup of legendary and rising stars to raise funds for famine relief in Ethiopia. But amid the historic performances, one ’70s rock band delivered a show-stopping set that not only electrified the crowd but redefined what a live performance could be, cementing their place in music history.
Queen's explosive London set was the result of days of preparation for Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon. By the time the band took the stage at London’s Wembley Stadium, the concert had already been in full swing for hours, with performances by Dire Straits and David Bowie bookending their appearance.
The New York Times reports that the band agreed to play an early evening set, rather than close out the show. They went for songs that would draw the crowd in, including “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Radio Ga Ga,” “Hammer To Fall,” “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions.”
Despite their legendary status, Queen’s popularity had dipped by 1985, with their most recent notable hit being 1984’s “Radio Ga Ga.” But when Mercury took the stage alongside his bandmates, he commanded the arena of 90,000 concertgoers as if it were an intimate venue. Queen's delivery was a master class in live performing, and at 21 minutes long, one of the event's longest (Elton John clocked in at 32 minutes).
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At one point, Mercury launched into a powerful 30-second a cappella call-and-response with the crowd. The moment, which highlighted his incredible four-octave range, went down in music history as one of its greatest moments.
Ironically, the band was initially reluctant to participate. HISTORY reports that journalist Mark R. Blake, who wrote Magnifico! The A to Z of Queen, noted that May admitted the band "hesitated" before finally committing to perform.
May explained, “We hesitated about doing Live Aid. Not just Freddie. We had to consider whether we were in good enough shape to do it. It would have been easier not to do it as the chances of making fools of ourselves were so big.”
Taylor later revealed in a 1999 Mojo magazine interview that Queen’s engineer had adjusted the stadium’s sound-system settings. He admitted, “We were louder than anyone else.”
In 2005, the BBC reported that Queen’s Live Aid performance had been voted the greatest rock gig of all time, surpassing even Jimi Hendrix’s legendary set at Woodstock. The ranking was based on a poll of over 60 artists, music journalists, and industry insiders.
Queen's final concert with Freddie Mercury took place at Knebworth Park in England on August 9, 1986. Mercury died in November 1991, at 45, due to complications from AIDS.
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