What Is Freddie Mercury's Greatest Live Vocal Performance?

There's hundreds of them: I've seen songs from the Crazy Tour get mentioned, Live Aid, 1981 gigs, etc. The question is: What is Freddie Mercury's absolute best live vocal performance? In other words, if you had to show someone a live performance of Freddie, which would you pick? This is the song I nominate: This has to be the best version I've heard (and probably a top Freddie live vocal overall).

For me it's "We are the Champions" at Hammersmith (26th December 1979). Just love the passion with which Freddie sings the song, particularly that part after he leaves the piano.

Gregsynth wrote: There's hundreds of them: I've seen songs from the Crazy Tour get mentioned, Live Aid, 1981 gigs, etc. The question is:

What is Freddie Mercury's absolute best live vocal performance?
In other words, if you had to show someone a live performance of Freddie, which would you pick?

This is the song I nominate:

This has to be the best version I've heard (and probably a top Freddie live vocal overall).

I am lookin but I aint seein

Yup, RGG, Live Aid 85.

Best song of Live Aid. Band behind Him was great and in form to though!!

His last breath.

We Are the Champions (Live Aid)

and

Bohemian Rhapsody (Rock Montreal)

Don't know (or care) about technically greatest but Save Me from Milton Keynes is one of my favourites.

I say either Radio Ga Ga from Live Aid or BoRhap from the Champions shoot.

Hmmm a tough one!!

Liar from Newcastle 1979 is immense...

Somebody to love from Sao Paulo (amazing imrpvo opening, pretty much all the high notes, multiple C5's at the end)

WATC from Live Aid--- I mean he gets the C5 PERFECTLY, nails the chrous parts and sounds downright beastly overall, plus its the setting, to have the guts to go for that High C is impressive in that context.

Gaga is good...BUT there are a fair few versions out there that aren't that much worse then the Live Aid version...IMO there is no version even close to Live Aid's WATC...

WOW, there are lots of faves for me.

My Top 3
3. WATC at Live Aid
2. Bo Rhap Hammersmith (mainly for his passion)
1. Sombody To Love (From Rock Montreal)

My favorite vocal improvs are after they performed White Man Live from Madison Square Garden Feb 5,1977 and Houston Dec 11, 1977 and his SCAT singing during the 1986 Budapest show.

Here's some other performances that could be nominees:

-Save Me (Newcastle 1st night)
-Need Your Loving Tonight (Oakland 1980)
-Under Pressure from the first Montreal concert (Why Saul Swimmer threw that away blows my mind)
-Back Chat from Leeds 1982 (Love the guitar solo + the vocals are ace)

Gregsynth wrote: Here's some other performances that could be nominees:

-Save Me (Newcastle 1st night)
-Need Your Loving Tonight (Oakland 1980)
-Under Pressure from the first Montreal concert (Why Saul Swimmer threw that away blows my mind)
-Back Chat from Leeds 1982 (Love the guitar solo + the vocals are ace)
And Somebody to Love from Rock In Rio first night. Flawless and full of passion.

That STL from Rio is the best version from the whole Tour!

I always show Queen newbies Somebody To Love Montreal.

Freddie just nails it, drives into the piano, out front just singing his lungs out.
The band is right at their peak too, grooving hard.

Awesome.

Somebody To Love seems to be one of those songs that everybody's gotta share to someone (it's one of those quintessential Freddie songs--along with Bo Rhap).

There's so many good versions out there, it's hard to pick one!