Queen live at Hammersmith Odeon (partially lost concert footage; 1979)
A photo taken from the concert.
Status: Partially Lost
On December 26th, 1979, a series of concerts were held at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, England for the benefit of the victims of war-torn Cambodia. This series of concerts was called "Concerts for the people of Kampuchea". Queen's performance (which opened the concerts) is only partially available in video form.
Background[edit | edit source]
Then United Nations secretary-general Kurt Waldheim approached Paul McCartney in the hopes of staging a reunion concert of The Beatles to raise funds for citizens affected by the wars raging in Cambodia under the reign of Pol Pot.[1] McCartney was put off by the idea of reuniting the group, though, and he instead organized a chain of concerts with appearances of such notable musicians and acts as Queen, The Who, Wings, Elvis Costello, The Clash, and others.
The concert was filmed and broadcast on BBC 1 and multiple audio recordings were made by audience members that have since appeared on bootlegs.
Setlist[2][edit | edit source]
| # | Track title | Video status | Audio status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Jailhouse Rock" | Partially Found | Found |
| 2 | "We Will Rock You (fast)" | Found | Found |
| 3 | "Let Me Entertain You" | Found | Found |
| 4 | "Somebody to Love" | Found | Found |
| 5 | "If You Can't Beat Them" | Partially Found | Found |
| 6 | "Mustapha" | Partially Found | Found |
| 7 | "Death on Two Legs" | Found | Found |
| 8 | "Killer Queen" | Found | Found |
| 9 | "I'm in Love with My Car" | Found | Found |
| 10 | "Get Down, Make Love" | Found | Found |
| 11 | "You're My Best Friend" | Found | Found |
| 12 | "Save Me" | Found | Found |
| 13 | "Now I'm Here" | Now I'm Here: Found
Improv, Now I'm Here (Reprise): Found |
Found |
| 14 | "Don't Stop Me Now" | Found | Found |
| 15 | "Spread Your Wings" | Partially Found | Found |
| 16 | "Love of My Life" | Found | Found |
| 17 | "'39" | Found | Found |
| 18 | "Keep Yourself Alive" | Lost | Found |
| 19 | "Drum Solo" | Lost | Found |
| 20 | "Guitar Solo" | Lost | Found |
| 21 | "Silent Night" | Lost | Found |
| 22 | "Brighton Rock" | Lost | Found |
| 23 | "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" | Found | Found |
| 24 | "Bohemian Rhapsody" | Partially Found | Found |
| 25 | "Tie Your Mother Down" | Found | Found |
| 26 | "Sheer Heart Attack" | Found | Found |
| 27 | "We Will Rock You" | Found | Found |
| 28 | "We Are the Champions" | Found | Found |
| 29 | "God Save the Queen" | Found | Found |
Availability[edit | edit source]
Despite the concert being very well known, for the longest time, bootlegs didn't account for much of the concert; some songs were only partially available, and others were missing in their entirety.
Not all footage is available. Jailhouse Rock, Mustapha, and Bohemian Rhapsody only have a few seconds of video. However, audio sourced from audience recordings does exist.[3][4] There is one official release of this concert, however, it's not a video release and it only has Now I'm Here.[5] Though multiple videos are being used in documentaries (primarily Don't Stop Me Now) the chances of one soon are very good.
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Huffington Post article discussing the events. Retrieved 03 Mar '18
- ↑ List of songs played. Retrieved 02 Mar '18
- ↑ A site that lists various bootleg releases. Retrieved 23 Jun '19
- ↑ The best-known audience recording of the show. Retrieved 23 Jun '19
- ↑ Discogs listing on "Concerts For The People of Kampuchea" vinyl. Retrieved 31 May '19