Queen live at Hammersmith Odeon (partially lost concert footage; 1979)
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
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]
# | 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
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
- ↑ 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