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When Queen released The Game in the summer of 1980, it turned out
to be the apex of their career. The LP peaked at number one in seven
different countries and produced several number one singles. With a
basic rockabilly “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and the
funk-dance track “Another One Bites The Dust” both being
number one in the US proves that Queen were the most versatile and
eclectic of all the major rock bands.
Queen’s US tour was their biggest to date and by the
time they began their European tour in Zürich they had just released
their latest single “Flash” with “Football Fight” on the b-side.
The first of three shows in Wembley is sourced form a
very good to excellent audience recording with just a bit of distance from
the stage. There are minor cuts after “Save Me,” the
end of the guitar solo and around the encores but nothing is lost. It
first surfaced on the 2LP Flash Alive. Several years ago
Gypsy Eye released Standing
On The Arena (GE-135/136).
Perfume Came Naturally From Wembley
is the second silver pressed version of the tape. Compared to
Gypsy Eye, Godfather is much louder and more punchy.
Godfather also include the bonus track ”Imagine” from the
following night. Lennon was killed on December 8th (New York time,
but December 9th London time) and Queen pay tribute with a cover of
“Imagine.”
Queen make the unusual and daring decision to open these show
with a cover of “Jailhouse Rock” before the double blast of the late
seventies openers, the fast version of “We Will Rock You” and “Let
Me Entertain You.”
Things slow down a bit with “Play The Game.” None of the
live arrangements has the synthesizer swoops in the introduction and
before the guitar solo as the studio version does. That arrangement
sounds more like a gimmick anyway and the sound is much better in the
live setting.
Before “Mustapha” Freddie says, “It’s fucking freezing in this
auditorium especially for all those people in the back. But we’ll get
your asses on fire in a minute, don’t worry. We’re gonna do
something in Arabic right now and for those of you who speak it you can
join in.”
This is the beginning of a long medley with includes the first three
verses of “Death On Two Legs,” “Killer Queen” (in which Freddie
sings “perfume comes naturally from Paris” in a French accent and pronouncing
Paris correctly), “I’m In Love With My Car” and finally “Get Down
Make Love.”
John Deacon’s “Need Your Love Tonight” is a nice diversion,
occupying the same spot as his older song “You’re My Best Friend” in set
in previous tours. Freddie introduces Brian on the piano
for “Save Me” and engages in a strange conversation with someone in
the audience, saying “What did you say in belching? I’ll turn you into
a frog if you don’t watch it.”
Freddie continues before “Fat Bottomed Girls” by asking, “You girls
like this moustache? Any of the boys like the moustache? Many
people don’t like but I don’t give a fuck…I’m gonna keep it.”
He responds to an audience request, “We’re gonna do that one, yes.
You shut up! You keep out of this! We’re gonna do as he says, by
the way. This is a dirty little number, and we’ve ah…you shut up as
well. What is this!? You wanna come up and sing it? C’mon! It’s
all about tits and bums as you know. It’s called ‘Fat Bottomed
Girls.’”
May takes his turn introducing “Love Of My Life” by mentioning how
cold it is in the arena. “Well, I hope you’re all warming up a
little by now. It feels like it. Some time ago we made a live album
in which most of you actually participated. Do you remember that?
We’d like to hear your tonsils again.”
But his set piece is the long improvisation in “Keep
Yourself Alive.” Roger Taylor plays a loud tympani solo, sounding
as if he’s trying to summon the ogre from his sleep with May following
with long drones before his heavy metal clinic. This segues into
their latest single “Flash” with May switching to the
synthesizer.
“Flash” is segued with ”The Hero” with
what sounds like a soundbite from the film playing on the PA. This
portion would be expanded to include “The Battle” and “Vulcan’s
Theme” when they toured Japan in a few months. The encores
are switched around a bit with “We Will Rock You” and “We Are The
Champions” being played first.
“Another One Bites The Dust” sounds very close to the studio track and
“Sheer Heart Attack” sounds very energetic. The final song of
the night is “Tie Your Mother Down” and the final “God Save The
Queen.”
Perfume Came Naturally From Wembley is
packaged in a tri-fold cardboard gatefold sleeve with several photographs
from the tour. This is one of the best sounding tapes from the tour
and one of the best concerts to obtain and is worthy of another silver
pressing, especially since Standing On The Arena is so hard to
find. |
