Need help with a question

I have a couple questions you might consider asking Phoebe.

1.
I would like to know if Freddie could really sing as high a he did on his later records, like those he did with Montserrate Caballe. Another example is the high note he sang in Who Wants To Live Forever.

The reason I wonder is that I compared his live performance from a YouTube video with the official recording video, and the key in the recording is noticeably higher. I know a lot of artists do that and first noticed it at a Chaka Khan concert back in the '70s. Live, she didn't sing in the high keys her records were in, so the keys were raised in the output by the sound engineers. Or, maybe artists lower the keys in their live concerts in order to preserve their voice. I don't know.

2.
The seating capacity of the old Wembley Stadium of 1985 was 82,000. All reported accounts of that day's crowd are between 70,000 and 80,000.

The seats directly behind and directly to both sides of the stage were not used, obviously because the stage couldn't be seen from those positions. So lets assume that somewhere between 5,00 to 10,000 seats were not occupied.

However, the field is where the activity/sport takes place, so that is not counted in the seating capacity. And yet, the entire field was occupied by the crowd for this occasion at squeezing room only.

So, why weren't all those people counted as part of the crowd? It seems to me that just in Wembley Stadium alone, there had to be more like 120,000 to 140,000 people in attendance. The same goes for the number of people at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. Queen and Freddie stole the show, and I believe they won over way more people than has ever been reported.

Well, I hope you will consider asking Phoebe one or both of these questions and let us know his response. Thanks.

Incidentally, the YouTube video and the recording I said above that I compared are Who Wants To Live Forever.

1. Queen did pitch shift some things in the studio - Anoher One Bites The Dust and No One But You are two examples. They would record a vocal a semitone/tone etc down, then shift the key up for the final version.

Lots of bands change their tuning or transpose down for live performance (Bon Jovi is a prime example) to aid vocal ease and longevity. Yes, Freddie could hit the stuff you hear on Barcelona etc but that’s wi h preparation and several takes in the studio.

2. Official Wembley Stadium ticket capacity was 72,000, even for standing events. Why you believe Peter would know this or be able to answer it anymore than anyone else I don’t know.

Maybe Peter knows whether Freddie ever had a vocal coach?

[QUOTE] [b]FreddieCrazy wrote:[/b]


2.
The seating capacity of the old Wembley Stadium of 1985 was 82,000. All reported accounts of that day's crowd are between 70,000 and 80,000.

The seats directly behind and directly to both sides of the stage were not used, obviously because the stage couldn't be seen from those positions. So lets assume that somewhere between 5,00 to 10,000 seats were not occupied.

However, the field is where the activity/sport takes place, so that is not counted in the seating capacity. And yet, the entire field was occupied by the crowd for this occasion at squeezing room only.

So, why weren't all those people counted as part of the crowd? It seems to me that just in Wembley Stadium alone, there had to be more like 120,000 to 140,000 people in attendance. The same goes for the number of people at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. Queen and Freddie stole the show, and I believe they won over way more people than has ever been reported.

Well, I hope you will consider asking Phoebe one or both of these questions and let us know his response. Thanks.[/QUOTE]

The original Wembley stadium as built was for standing only, no seats. It held 100,000. When seats were added the capacity reduced to 82,000. Health and safety and crowd control reduced the capacity further in the late 70's to 72,000 seats.

The curved ends sat about 15,000 each. But when the venue was used for concerts the stage end took away 20,000 seats. A combination of the curved stands and a further 2,500 seats each side of the stage area. This figure (20,000) is about what was allowed as standing tickets. The pitch was never filled to capacity. Again safety concerns meant that a quarter of the pitch (at some venues a third) had to be free of a packed audience giving people an eara to move about and escape the crowd. Also FOH sound /lighting and Spotlight towers took up an amount of room too

[QUOTE] [b]FreddieCrazy wrote:[/b]


2.
The seating capacity of the old Wembley Stadium of 1985 was 82,000. All reported accounts of that day's crowd are between 70,000 and 80,000.

The seats directly behind and directly to both sides of the stage were not used, obviously because the stage couldn't be seen from those positions. So lets assume that somewhere between 5,00 to 10,000 seats were not occupied.

However, the field is where the activity/sport takes place, so that is not counted in the seating capacity. And yet, the entire field was occupied by the crowd for this occasion at squeezing room only.

So, why weren't all those people counted as part of the crowd? It seems to me that just in Wembley Stadium alone, there had to be more like 120,000 to 140,000 people in attendance. The same goes for the number of people at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. Queen and Freddie stole the show, and I believe they won over way more people than has ever been reported.

Well, I hope you will consider asking Phoebe one or both of these questions and let us know his response. Thanks.[/QUOTE]

The original Wembley stadium as built was for standing only, no seats. It held 100,000. When seats were added the capacity reduced to 82,000. Health and safety and crowd control reduced the capacity further in the late 70's to 72,000 seats.

The curved ends sat about 15,000 each. But when the venue was used for concerts the stage end took away 20,000 seats. A combination of the curved stands and a further 2,500 seats each side of the stage area. This figure (20,000) is about what was allowed as standing tickets. The pitch was never filled to capacity. Again safety concerns meant that a quarter of the pitch (at some venues a third) had to be free of a packed audience giving people an eara to move about and escape the crowd. Also FOH sound /lighting and Spotlight towers took up an amount of room too

[QUOTE] [b]Cyborg wrote:[/b]

Maybe Peter knows whether Freddie ever had a vocal coach?[/QUOTE]

Freddie confirmed that himself in an interview.
He tried vocal coaching at some point before NOTW , but in his opinion, he was in danger to loose his "touch" for Rock`n Roll.

[QUOTE] [b]musicland munich wrote:[/b]

Freddie confirmed that himself in an interview.
He tried vocal coaching at some point before NOTW , but in his opinion, he was in danger to loose his "touch" for Rock`n Roll.

[/QUOTE]

Wasn't it a few months after that album was recorded? It'd make far more sense.

Anyway, Peter only started working for Frederick in November 1979, so if he had a coach (even if only for one or two sessions) in the period going from September 1946 to October 1979 (which includes the recording of seven and a half albums, not to mention plenty of concerts), he wouldn't have witnessed it.

"...he wouldn't have witnessed it."

You know, people can talk about their past to their friends. It doesn't have to come down to seeing or hearing something first-hand.

Had you considered that maybe Freddie had mentioned it to someone like Peter at some point?

Of course, but my point is that Peter Freestone witnessed thousands of things in the twelve or so years he knew Frederick quite well, so why ask him about something he was *not* present for?

Same when, for instance, people ask him for details on 'Bohemian Rhapsody' (the song). He's likely to have heard stories and stuff, but he wasn't there in physical form. It'd be way more productive - IMO - to ask him about any of the dozens of songs he *did* witness being written/rehearsed/recorded.

How about asking him what artists and records were in Freddie's music collection and if he played Vinyl, Cassette or (most likely) had a CD collection.

Hi Dane.

I'm afraid the offer was given to me last week. It was through a friend of a friend, so, cheers anyway.