On this day, September 25, 1982, Queen made their final appearance in the U.S., performing a duo of hits on Saturday Night Live. The band played “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and “Under Pressure,” just further cementing them in the annals of rock history. While this performance wasn’t one of their more high-energy full appearances, such as Live Aid which would occur three years later, Freddie Mercury and Queen still gave a stunning show.
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Queen’s final show in the U.S. was actually during their Hot Space Tour, when they played in Texas in August. However, they returned that September to appear on SNL, which marked their last appearance here in general. They went on to tour exclusively in the U.K. and Europe after that.
However, their Saturday Night Live appearance wasn’t just a one-off for Queen. Despite Freddie Mercury’s deteriorating health—although he would receive an official HIV/AIDS diagnosis in 1987, he began showing signs of the illness around 1982—Queen performed the pair of hits with energy and heart.
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Freddie Mercury and Queen Make Final U.S. Appearance on SNL On This Day in 1982
The band started with “Under Pressure,” immediately bringing a calculated kind of energy to the song. The beginning of “Under Pressure” is subdued, but explodes with Freddie Mercury’s iconic vocals in the first verse.
Mercury’s voice would change over time, but he never lost the power behind his vocals. Live, he was explosive, gritty, and as many Queen fans reminisce, on top of his game, especially during the Hot Space Tour which concluded just before the SNL appearance.
During this appearance, Mercury took a lower register approach to some of “Under Pressure.” Allegedly, he lost his voice somewhat the day before, according to an anecdotal fan theory. While that claim cannot be proven, there is evidence that Mercury was taking it easy on his voice. Whether that was due to the strain of just having been on tour, or of losing his voice is unknown. What remains is this performance, which proved that Queen was a force to be reckoned with.
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