“We Didn’t Plan It”: Brian May Recalls the Iconic Freddie Mercury Moment That Was Completely Improvised

Freddie Mercury was always a bit of a wild card. Though, it’s that jump-the-gun attitude that helped him acquire his icon status. A plethora of his actions have proved this attitude to be true. Although, there is one defining moment that divulges Mercury’s rebellious demeanor and arguably, exists as the most iconic moment of not just his career, but also Queen’s.

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Surely, you already know what moment we are talking about, and if you guessed his performance at Live Aid, then you are completely correct. Even though Mercury and Queen’s performance at the event was of course scheduled, the most infamous segment of the show was completely off the cuff. Luckily, Brian May and Queen adapted to Mercury’s improvisational call and response with the audience, as it has amounted to a memory ingrained in the masses.

Brian May & Queen Did Not Know Freddie Mercury’s Plan

In an interview with The Guardian, Brian May rehashed Queen’s infamous performance and disclosed all the details embedded within it. However, the fact that Mercury improvised his call and response at the show is undeniably the most epically surprising.

He told the publication, “We didn’t plan it. It was always up to Freddie, whether he wanted to do it, and he just felt confident that it was the right moment.” “Freddie did have an aptitude, it has to be said – he just could connect. He connected with everybody. As soon as he went, ‘Ey yo,’ that was it – the place imploded. I can remember looking over at Roger, thinking, seems to have worked!”

Thanks to Freddie Mercury’s ability to connect with the audience, May also recalled the sentimental exhilaration the performance entailed. “Absolutely no inkling whatsoever. You walk off things like that with a great feeling of exhilaration, but you’re also doing the postmortem: ‘Oh, God, I didn’t do that, I wish I’d done that, that went wrong,’” recalled May. Brian May added, “It did feel different because it wasn’t a Queen audience – all of those tickets for Live Aid were sold before we were announced on the bill – yet they’d still reacted that way. The enormity of that did hit me: the ‘Radio Ga Ga,’ clap, clap. To see that happening sent big chills up my spine.”

So, if you’ve remained stunned by Freddie Mercury’s Live Aid performance, know you’re not alone. As Brian May mutually shares the feeling.

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