| City: | Stockholm, Sweden |
| Venue: | Råsundastadion |
| Date: | June 7, 1986 |
| Setlist: | One Vision, Tie Your Mother Down, In The Lap Of The Gods...Revisited, Seven Seas Of Rhye, Tear It Up, A Kind Of Magic, Under Pressure, Another One Bites The Dust, Who Wants To Live Forever, I Want To Break Free, Bohemian Rhapsody, impromptu, guitar solo, Now I'm Here, Love Of My Life, Is This The World We Created?, (You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care, Hello Mary Lou, Tutti Frutti, Hammer To Fall, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Radio Ga Ga, We Will Rock You, We Are The Champions, God Save The Queen |
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This is the first show of the Magic tour. After releasing A Kind Of Magic (their fifth UK #1 album), the Magic tour would be Queen's final tour, as Freddie Mercury's health would make future touring impossible. The band would perform 26 shows to over a million people over the next two months. Bearing in mind how much money the band put into the visual and technical aspects of their show over the years, this reportedly is the only tour where they would actually turn in a profit. Their light show and overall stage production on this tour was the biggest ever at the time. "I think we are probably the best live band in the world at the moment, and we are going to prove it. It'll make Ben-Hur look like the Muppets. No one who comes to see us will be disappointed," Roger Taylor was humbly quoted saying before the tour. Years later, he would recall it to be Queen's best tour. The band rehearsed in a London studio for many weeks, beginning in mid-May. Footage of the band in the teching stage in early June, likely in a new and larger location, was shown on French TV (where they are still running parts of In The Lap Of The Gods...Revisited, the only old song revived for the tour), different from the rehearsal footage seen on disc 2 of the Live At Wembley Stadium DVD. 
Playing (mostly) stadium shows on this tour gave Queen the platform to demonstrate how they were still very much at the forefront of stadium rock. With this kind of commercial success, a lot of the older songs were dropped. This resulted in what today seems like a mostly 'Greatest Hits' setlist, but at the time it was more simply a "state of the union" of the band. Much of the setlist contained newer material from their latest two records, while the Works tour (especially in 1984) revisited more of the older material. The average person in Europe was once again aware of Queen after Live Aid, and the band's choice of setlist for stadium-sized audiences reflected that. The band now open the show with One Vision. The first minute of the studio version blasts through the speakers, with a couple bars towards the end repeating - which heightens the anticipation and has maximum impact on those in the audience who know the song well, even before the band play a note (a tactic they used many times throughout their career). Brian May then walks on stage to play the ever-familiar guitar riff, and the show begins. The band do a series of fanfares at the end of the song, including a small bit of Starfleet, the title track from Brian's 1983 solo project. For now, the only other new songs performed are A Kind Of Magic and Who Wants To Live Forever. Both songs are much more straight-forward rock arrangements compared to the studio versions. On the latter, Brian May plays keyboards for the first two verses while keeping his guitar on so he can quickly switch over to play the solo. There are now some pyrotechnics at the beginning of Hammer To Fall, with Freddie pointing to each side of the stage almost as if he is the one setting them off. In The Lap Of The Gods...Revisited is revived for the Magic tour, sounding much different than it did in the 70s. The first verse is only guitar and vocal, with Roger and John kicking in for the chorus - a very dramatic effect. This is the beginning of the medley, leading into Seven Seas Of Rhye, Tear It Up, and finally A Kind Of Magic. Liar also remains from the Works tour medley, although it has been reduced to a short instrumental link between Seven Seas Of Rhye and Tear It Up, with Roger's drum patterns differing greatly from the original. As on the Works tour, almost every night of the Magic tour has Freddie dispelling rumours from the papers that Queen are splitting up, before Who Wants To Live Forever. The new song leads directly into I Want To Break Free, which now has a much better ending. The impromptu is now performed before Brian's solo spot. Despite its name, it would be pretty similar from night to night. The band would play their longest ever acoustic set on this tour. In addition to offering Love Of My Life and Is This The World We Created, they happily acknowledged their roots every night with the standards "(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care", "Hello Mary Lou", and "Tutti Frutti". Recalling Led Zeppelin's legendary concert acoustic sets, Brian later said how Queen followed in their footsteps. The inclusion of Hello Mary Lou was perhaps due to Ricky Nelson's passing a few months prior to the tour. Little Richard's Tutti Frutti is one of the most important and ground-breaking songs in the last half-century of popular music, and Queen do it justice every night. The band begin the song at the front of the stage (like they did with '39 in the seventies). After three verses, Freddie exchanges a few "Womp-bomp-a-loom-op-a-womp-bam-booms" with the audience while Roger rushes back to his drum kit and Brian quickly switches to his Red Special. Roger then kicks in, bringing the song to a frenzied finale. Similar to past shows in Milan, Rio, and Tokyo, every 1986 concert outside the UK would have Freddie appearing on stage for the second encore of We Will Rock You with a British flag, and embroidered to it would be the flag of whichever country they were playing in. Freddie is seen with a Swedish flag in the last picture above (submitted by Janneman). Since this spectacle lengthens the song at the beginning, Freddie sings only the first verse and the final double chorus tonight and at the next show. He'd return to singing all three verses after that, making the Magic tour versions of the song the longest they'd ever perform. It's worth noting that Roger switched over from Ludwig to Yamaha drums this year, and that his overall drum sound was far superior to his setup on the Works tour. It's also worth noting that Freddie Mercury's goodbyes to audiences on this tour were generally more heartfelt (especially by July), as he was well aware that he was infected with AIDS at this point and thus was sure this would be the band's last tour. Never once did he leave the stage saying, "See you next time," as he had done on previous tours. While it is unknown to the public exactly when Freddie revealed to his bandmates that he was infected with the fatal virus, he did tell them early in the tour that he had less energy than he used to, and indicated to them in numerous ways that this certainly may be their last tour. There are quotes from interviews from around this time that indicate his state of mind, like this one: "I know there will be a time where I can't run around on stage because it will be ridiculous. I know there comes a time when you have to stop. But music will still be my thing." There would be various other indicators during the next couple months, both on and off stage, especially visible with the benefit of hindsight. However, Freddie's longtime girlfriend Mary Austin put all discussion to rest during an interview with the BBC in 2011, revealing that Freddie definitely did know of his mortality during the final Queen tour. Freddie's voice is in top shape tonight, and he sings many of the songs closer to the record version than ever before. He sings One Vision with such excitement (he messes up a few words, but the feeling in his voice overrides any shortcomings). It's clear that he's thrilled to be back on stage. The first few shows of the tour really exhibit the post-Live Aid energy. The band doesn't follow Freddie's "one more time" cue out of the breakdown in A Kind Of Magic, but they recover perfectly well. A couple bars later, he says, "Keep on going!" After the song, "I don't care what you say. I like the rain. I like it. If you don't like it, fuck you!" In the ensuing vocal exchange with the audience (showcasing Freddie in brilliant voice), the audience are right with him - for a while. After holding a very high note for a few seconds which the audience can't match, he says, "Wait a minute," then on his next offering, he increases the power and length of the note, which they can't quite match either! Freddie, after Another One Bites The Dust: "For those of you who don't know, this is the start of our new American... American, new European tour, right?" Bohemian Rhapsody is played very early in the set tonight - an experimental move on their part, as it was quickly moved back to where it belongs for the remainder of the tour. The impromptu that follows is a pretty unique-sounding one, during which Freddie sings 'Get Down Make Love' a few times. Brian, before Love Of My Life: "It's very nice to be back in Sweden after a very long time. Thank you most of all for believing in us. We love you." He then says to Freddie, referring to his 12-string acoustic, "There's no chance of getting it in tune; I'm sorry." After the audience sing part of the first verse on their own, Freddie shouts, "What about the people in the back? Hey!" Freddie still tells a variation of the same joke before Crazy Little Thing Called Love on most nights. "I only know three chords on the guitar, and you'll be hearing two of them in the next song." One of the opening acts on many nights of the tour is Gary Moore, once a member of Thin Lizzy who opened for Queen on their North American tour in 1977. The photos were taken by Dave Matkin. And here are a couple pro shots from the opening night of the tour: 1 2 Here are a couple reviews (1, 2) of the show in Swedish. |
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| Recording length: | 102 minutes (2 CD, complete) |
| Quality: | A |
| Source: | Audience |
| Lineage: | AUD > Master Cassette > TDK AD 90 Cassettes > Technics RS-B505 Cassette Deck > WAV (MAGIX Cleaning Lab) > FLAC |
| Track listing: | One Vision, Tie Your Mother Down, In The Lap Of The Gods...Revisited, Seven Seas Of Rhye, Tear It Up, A Kind Of Magic, Under Pressure, Another One Bites The Dust, Who Wants To Live Forever, I Want To Break Free, Bohemian Rhapsody, impromptu, guitar solo, Now I'm Here, Love Of My Life, Is This The World We Created?, (You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care, Hello Mary Lou, Tutti Frutti, Hammer To Fall, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Radio Ga Ga, We Will Rock You, We Are The Champions, God Save The Queen |
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Although lacking in bass and occasionally distorted in the louder moments, this is an excellent recording. It's also a bit distant, so audience members are sometimes heard as loudly as the music. This particular copy emerged in 2017, blowing away all previous versions. There is an interesting bit of seamless editing during We Are The Champions. Someone down the line decided to splice in a slight bit of the first chorus into the second chorus, to make it sound like Freddie hit the high C on "fighting" more than once. The second audience source below has Freddie delivering the second chorus differently. |
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| Recording length: | 102 minutes (2 CD, complete) |
| Quality: | A- |
| Source: | Audience |
| Lineage: | AUD > Master > 2nd Gen Cassette > ? > CDR (x) |
| Track listing: | One Vision, Tie Your Mother Down, In The Lap Of The Gods...Revisited, Seven Seas Of Rhye, Tear It Up, A Kind Of Magic, Under Pressure, Another One Bites The Dust, Who Wants To Live Forever, I Want To Break Free, Bohemian Rhapsody, impromptu, guitar solo, Now I'm Here, Love Of My Life, Is This The World We Created?, (You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care, Hello Mary Lou, Tutti Frutti, Hammer To Fall, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Radio Ga Ga, We Will Rock You, We Are The Champions, God Save The Queen |
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This is an inferior copy of the same audience source, but it has a couple extra minutes of audience chatter after God Save The Queen. The running time is about the same because the tape runs too quickly on this copy. |
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| Recording length: | 99 minutes (2 CD, complete) |
| Quality: | B+ |
| Source: | Audience |
| Lineage: | "Magic In Stockholm" (Gypsy Eye) silvers |
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| Track listing: | One Vision, Tie Your Mother Down, In The Lap Of The Gods...Revisited, Seven Seas Of Rhye, Tear It Up, A Kind Of Magic, Under Pressure, Another One Bites The Dust, Who Wants To Live Forever, I Want To Break Free, Bohemian Rhapsody, impromptu, guitar solo, Now I'm Here, Love Of My Life, Is This The World We Created?, (You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care, Hello Mary Lou, Tutti Frutti, Hammer To Fall, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Radio Ga Ga, We Will Rock You, We Are The Champions, God Save The Queen |
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This 2002 bootleg comes from another inferior copy, and has been processed horribly, as is the norm from this label. This copy also runs too fast. |
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| Recording length: | 102 minutes (2 CD, complete) |
| Quality: | A- |
| Source: | Audience |
| Lineage: | Sony WM-R55 Taperecorder with separate Sony stereo mic > Philips standalone CD burner CDR777 > CDR (0) > WAV > FLAC level 8 |
| Track listing: | One Vision, Tie Your Mother Down, In The Lap Of The Gods...Revisited, Seven Seas Of Rhye, Tear It Up, A Kind Of Magic, Under Pressure, Another One Bites The Dust, Who Wants To Live Forever, I Want To Break Free, Bohemian Rhapsody, impromptu, guitar solo, Now I'm Here, Love Of My Life, Is This The World We Created?, (You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care, Hello Mary Lou, Tutti Frutti, Hammer To Fall, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Radio Ga Ga, We Will Rock You, We Are The Champions, God Save The Queen |
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A second source emerged in September '06. It was recorded right in front of the left speakers, but it's still not quite as clear-sounding as the first source. |
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| Recording length: | 4 CD, complete |
| Quality: | ? |
| Source: | Audience |
| Lineage: | "Swedish Magic Night" (Uxbridge) |
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| Track listing: | One Vision, Tie Your Mother Down, In The Lap Of The Gods...Revisited, Seven Seas Of Rhye, Tear It Up, A Kind Of Magic, Under Pressure, Another One Bites The Dust, Who Wants To Live Forever, I Want To Break Free, Bohemian Rhapsody, impromptu, guitar solo, Now I'm Here, Love Of My Life, Is This The World We Created?, (You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care, Hello Mary Lou, Tutti Frutti, Hammer To Fall, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Radio Ga Ga, We Will Rock You, We Are The Champions, God Save The Queen One Vision, Tie Your Mother Down, In The Lap Of The Gods...Revisited, Seven Seas Of Rhye, Tear It Up, A Kind Of Magic, Under Pressure, Another One Bites The Dust, Who Wants To Live Forever, I Want To Break Free, Bohemian Rhapsody, impromptu, guitar solo, Now I'm Here, Love Of My Life, Is This The World We Created?, (You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care, Hello Mary Lou, Tutti Frutti, Hammer To Fall, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Radio Ga Ga, We Will Rock You, We Are The Champions, God Save The Queen |
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In May 2010 Uxbridge bootlegged both audience sources. |
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| Recording length: | 100 minutes, complete |
| Quality: | B |
| Source: | Audience |
| Lineage: | AUD > Cassette (x) > CDR (x) > WAV (GoldWave speed correction, edit) > FLAC level 8 |
| Track listing: | One Vision, Tie Your Mother Down, In The Lap Of The Gods...Revisited, Seven Seas Of Rhye, Tear It Up, A Kind Of Magic, Under Pressure, Another One Bites The Dust, Who Wants To Live Forever, I Want To Break Free, Bohemian Rhapsody, impromptu, guitar solo, Now I'm Here, Love Of My Life, Is This The World We Created?, (You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care, Hello Mary Lou, Tutti Frutti, Hammer To Fall, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Radio Ga Ga, We Will Rock You, We Are The Champions, God Save The Queen |
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This third audience is distant and average sound quality. There are a few less minutes of cheering between encores. |
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