Why Freddie Mercury almost turned down the most iconic performance of his career

3 July 2025, 13:06

Freddie Mercury initially wasn't sure about Live Aid. Picture: Alamy/Getty

By Hannah Watkin

The Queen singer almost didn't commit to what would become his career-defining Live Aid performance.

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Freddie Mercury almost turned down the opportunity to perform at Live Aid in 1985.

Speaking in an interview with Radio Times magazine ahead of the concert’s 40th anniversary, Sir Brian May revealed why his friend was initially unsure about what would become one of the band’s most iconic performances.

“We weren’t touring or playing, and it seemed like a crazy idea, this talk of 50 bands on the same bill,” Brian said, explaining it was only drummer Roger Taylor who was immediately enthusiastic about the gig.

“[Everyone else] thought it was going to be a disaster. Freddie, in particular, said: ‘I haven’t got the right feeling for this.’

Queen - Radio Ga Ga (Live Aid 1985)

“He wasn’t the leader of the band, but if he dug his heels in there was no dragging him, so we parked it,” the 77-year-old continued.

Thankfully for music history, the group reconsidered things a few weeks after they were first offered the opportunity to play the Wembley show, thanks to a healthy dose of FOMO.

After Live Aid organiser Bob Geldof called the group again to try and pressure them to say yes, Brian was convinced to try and get Freddie to reconsider his original reluctance about performing at the charity event.

“I said to Freddie: ‘If we wake up on the day after this Live Aid show and we haven’t been there, we’re going to pretty sad,” he argued.

And it brought Freddie on board: “He said: ‘Oh f*** it, we’ll do it,’” the guitarist recalled.

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Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody (Live Aid 1985)

Despite his prior misgivings, after agreeing to perform at the gig, the lead singer committed wholeheartedly to making Queen’s Live Aid performance the huge success that it was.

“Once he said yes, he led the charge,” Brian told Radio Times. “He jumped in like a lion.”

Recalling his friend’s incredible performance, Brian gushed about Freddie’s ability to enchant a crowd of over 72,000 in person – and over a billion watching at home.

“He had this magical ability to make everybody feel he was talking to them... we’d been to gigs; we knew what it felt like to be the small guy at the back of the room,” he said.

“Freddie harnessed that energy somehow and he made that person at the back feel like he could do it too.

Queen - We Are The Champions (Live Aid 1985)

“He has this power,” Brian continued. “He’s not Farrokh Bulsara. When he walks on, he’s Freddie Mercury and he owns the world.”

Live Aid raised approximately £150 million for famine relief in Ethiopia as a result of the concerts which were held in London and Philadelphia on July 13, 1985.

“It was one of the few moments in anyone’s life that you know you’re doing something for all the right reasons,” Brian and Roger recalled about Queen’s choice to be a part of the event.

Of course, the band’s performance went down in history as one of their – and especially Freddie’s - most memorable shows.

And in addition to helping raise so much money (around £350 million today) for Live Aid’s cause, the event also helped crown Queen as some of the UK’s greatest artists.

Not bad for a show which Freddie had not initially been feeling entirely sure about!