Queen - Leiden 1986 Topic

After reviewing many Magic Tour gigs, I have to say that the 3 Leiden gigs are probably the best gigs overall on the tour: The crowd is SO into the band (chanting the football chant throughout--Queen even joins in, the crowd is also clapping and singing along to every song, etc). Every band member sounds very enthusiastic, and have an "edge" while playing (the faster songs are slightly faster than normal, very creative solos/improvs, etc). Freddie's in 100 times better shape than Wembley (he sounds fresh, actually hits the higher notes without shouting or screaming, and generally sounds very enthusiastic towards the crowd). Many of his vocal performances on the earlier gigs (AKA the Leidens), are either on par, or better than his traditional prime live era (1979-1992), and sounds tons better than the Works Tour.

While I like Wembley, I get the feeling of "We've done this before--lets do it again" from the stage impressions, while at the Leiden gigs, I get the feeling of "Lets fucking do it!"

So, you guys think the Leiden gigs are the overall best gigs?

I totally agree. Live at Wembley is legandary release on DVD. But what about a "live in Leiden 86 2 dvd set" that would be heaven....

Hope some pro recordings will see the light of the day someday...

On youtube you can see One Vision from 1 of the 3 leiden nights. You can almost taste the atmosphere... The crowd is insane !

The dutch promoter regrets he didn't do a stadium show... There was a hugge ticket demand to fill the rotterdam stadium twice.... or even more times....

Well it's all history now....

Btw : on november 18th. there will be a Queen coverband in the Arnhem stadium. 35000 tickets are on sale...for a 2 hour coverband show....

here is a link in dutch http://www.vovert.nl/2011/05/23/the-queen-experience-op-18-november-in-gelredome-arnhem-freddie-mercury-tribute/

That Leiden vid is great indeed. Notice that John swaps bass just before the instrumental jam.

Freddie with a excellent voice , people are very involved in the concert , is exellent

All three Leiden gigs are awesome.  Freddie's in great shape.  Everyone sounds strong.  Awesome Dutch crowd.  Nothing else I can add.

i was so lucky to be there... It was absolutly great fun.  I remember Magic was just in the shops...And we all could allready singalong:)

Imho tho, the Leiden '84 gig had even a more enthousiastic audience... 

The support act was simply wizzled away. Never ever seen anything like that again...

And really to bad that there isnt a concert vid. Veronica television was there, but only allowed to shoot One Vision.
It would have been their best. I do like the concerts on dvd, but they dont come close to what a queenconcert is to me.

totally agree!

My dad once had the poster promoting the Leiden 1986 gigs. He never went and the poster is lost forever.

Rick, did you attend any of the Leiden gigs? I know you posted a recording from the 3rd night (but someone else recorded it), but if you attended, do you have memories?

Rick is a young chap like you and I, so I highly doubt he'll have first-hand recollections :-)

Well I FAIL!

The Leiden gigs are great, I just wish we had them in better quality. Do you think that more video footage exists of the second night? That would be more than amazing if they filmed the whole thing. That is what I believe to be by far the greatest performance on the Magic Tour and one of Queen's greatest gigs of all time.

Gregsynth wrote: Rick, did you attend any of the Leiden gigs? I know you posted a recording from the 3rd night (but someone else recorded it), but if you attended, do you have memories?
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Well, Bob made the right conclusion: I was born in the year of the Magic (1986), so the answer is 'no', I'm afraid ;-)

The recording is indeed by someone else. I merely tracked down the guy and he was happy to help me. He gave me the original master tapes, which I still have of course (and cherish!).

PS: we can only hope Mr. Peach visited one of the Leiden concerts in 1986 and taped it, by accident ;-)

Rick wrote: Gregsynth wrote: Rick, did you attend any of the Leiden gigs? I know you posted a recording from the 3rd night (but someone else recorded it), but if you attended, do you have memories?
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Well, Bob made the right conclusion: I was born in the year of the Magic (1986), so the answer is 'no', I'm afraid ;-)

The recording is indeed by someone else. I merely tracked down the guy and he was happy to help me. He gave me the original master tapes, which I still have of course (and cherish!).

PS: we can only hope Mr. Peach visited one of the Leiden concerts in 1986 and taped it, by accident ;-)
I was also born in 1986, so I know quite a few people (friends) who were born during the Magic tour.

My own wife (well, we're not married yet but soon will be:-) was born the day after the Slane Castle gig and she has become a big Queen-fan aswell. She even sang "You take my breath away" at her music academy (for adults, she only started singing a couple of years ago but she has great ears and beautiful voice so I adore her singing).
So far my private life:-)

Regarding the Leiden concerts: they're amazing, I wish an A sounding tape would show up of one of those shows... The first Leiden '86 show is a beautiful example of how Freddie would really go for it if:
1) his voice was in great shape
and
2) the audience would push him, give him more self-confidence...

Was there on the 1 and 3 concert. Amazing show. Remember that the lights went out and 15 minutes later the band entered the stage. Crowd in totaly excited. A friend of mine taped all three shows. Remember when we listed back the tapes.GREAT.