Queen Budapest: A Concert I Wish I Could’ve Seen

"We will be back, if you like us."

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— Freddie Mercury on Queen Budapest

Across their vast discography, Queen was masterful at pushing studio technology beyond its limits. Through layering and inventive recording techniques, they coaxed entirely new sounds from their instruments. This led them to include a disclaimer in the liner notes of albums released before The Game, proudly noting that synthesizers had not been used. This included A Night at the Opera, where the operatic sections of "Bohemian Rhapsody" reportedly required 180 layers of vocals, repeatedly combined to make room for additional recordings.

But as good as they were in the studio, their light shone brightest on the stage. Already blessed with a singer who was one of the best front men in rock and roll history, they defined what a spectacle should look like within the genre. They didn't hit the road simply to play their growing catalog of hits; they were there to put on a show.

I was fortunate enough to see Queen with Freddie Mercury on their 1982 tour supporting Hot Space. That night at Madison Square Garden in New York City was my first concert, and the band set the bar very high for what I would come to expect from live performances.

Unfortunately, that was the last time I would see Freddie Mercury perform with Queen in person. Their declining popularity in the American market was publicly cited as a reason they never brought any new tours to the United States. I would watch the remaining chapters of the original lineup from afar.

Since the band never brought the Works tour to the United States, I eagerly awaited their appearance as I sat in JFK Stadium in Philadelphia during Live Aid. My attention peaked at the first notes of "Bohemian Rhapsody." By the time they hit the first chorus of "Radio Ga Ga," they had the entire crowd in the palm of their hand. They were only on the DiamondVision screens as they played live in London, but the American crowd was joining their British counterparts in mimicking the hand motions from the music video.

Buoyed by what some call the greatest live performance in rock history, the band's popularity surged. Once rumored to be on the verge of breaking up, the band found its footing again. After releasing A Kind of Magic, they embarked on another major tour. Just not in the United States.

While the number of tour stops was smaller than in the past, the Magic Tour was grander in scale. These were the spectacles Queen was destined to play. Arenas were no longer big enough to contain them; these shows belonged in stadiums. It began with two triumphant nights at Wembley Stadium, and closed out at Knebworth Park before an audience of approximately 120,000.

The band also made history on that tour when they became the first Western rock band to perform a stadium concert behind the Iron Curtain. The audio has been newly remixed, and the concert footage restored in 4K. Last week, I was excited to receive a notification on my iPhone that Queen Budapest had arrived on Apple Music. Of course, I immediately gave it a listen.

Before the band even begins to play, it is apparent how hyped the crowd is for what they are about to experience. As the prerecorded intro to "One Vision" plays, the audience claps along, and you can almost feel them bouncing in unison.

As Brian May cuts in with the guitar intro, the care put into the new mix becomes apparent. Working from the original multitrack recordings, Queen's studio team was able to bring out details that might otherwise have been lost. As Roger Taylor counts in the rest of the band on his hi-hat, the new mix reveals every crisp cymbal strike.

"Life is much too short
To while away with tears."

— Queen, "Jealousy"

Less than two minutes into the concert and I'm already jealous. While I'm grateful that I had the opportunity to see a master command the stage, I was too young and inexperienced to fully understand just how great Mercury was. And while I wore out several copies of Greatest Hits, this was a band that was not finished. To have experienced "One Vision," "Radio Ga Ga," and "Hammer to Fall" played live by the original lineup…

Simply being part of that audience must have been unforgettable. Not only was Queen playing with renewed enthusiasm, but the crowd was participating in an event unlike anything they had experienced before.

When I saw the band, they were touring behind an album that had been widely rejected by fans, particularly in the States. It's interesting to note that none of the songs that first appeared on Hot Space are played during the Budapest concert. While the audience at the Garden was by no means subdued, they weren't part of the performance in the way the Budapest crowd was.

To Queen fans, much of the set list will seem familiar as the concert unfolds. The tour has already been documented on Live at Wembley and Live Magic, so the songs themselves aren't necessarily what make this release stand out. Rather, it's the historic significance of the Budapest performance that gives this release its identity.

The one song that isn't found on those other recordings is "Tavaszi Szél Vizet Áraszt," a traditional Hungarian folk song. It's a wonderful example of how Mercury connected with his audience by embracing their culture. The crowd's reaction to hearing the first notes, and the sing-along that follows, is amazing. The instinct to include this is what made Mercury the gold standard for rock frontmen.

As with Live at Wembley, the set lags a little toward the end, especially during the medley of early rock hits played acoustically. I'm also not a big fan of the placement of "Friends Will Be Friends" between "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions." Those songs have become so connected in popular culture that it seems unnatural to force them into a thruple.

With only five shows remaining on the Magic Tour, the Budapest concert was the last filmed live performance of Queen with Freddie Mercury. Although their touring days with Freddie were over, the band continued recording. They released two more albums with him, The Miracle and Innuendo, before completing Made in Heaven using recordings he had left behind.

Fans would have to wait until the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert to hear "I Want It All," "Innuendo," and the late-career masterpiece "The Show Must Go On" performed live by Queen using guest vocalists.

In the nearly 35 years since Mercury's death, Americans have rediscovered Queen, while May and Taylor have carefully cultivated the band's legacy. Selling out arenas is no longer an issue. I've seen them perform multiple times in the Queen + format, first with Paul Rodgers at the Hollywood Bowl and later with Adam Lambert, including the final two dates of their most recent American tour.

I'm hoping for at least one more opportunity. It would be a miracle if the persistent rumors of a possible residency at the Sphere turned out to be true. I can't think of a better band to push that venue's technical capabilities to their limits.

Carl Petersen is a former Green Party candidate for the LAUSD School Board and a longtime advocate for public education and special needs families. Now based in Washington State, he writes about politics, culture, and their intersections at TheDifrntDrmr.