The hit YouTube video series Queen The Greatest Live returns with Episode 4: Rehearsals Part 4. Inviting fans to witness this vital behind-the-scenes process, the exclusive footage of Brian May and Roger Taylor rehearsing the classic Brian May written Queen track ’39 shows the hard work behind a make-or-break 2012 concert that heralded a new chapter for the band.
While every Queen show is special, some take on added significance. On June 30th, 2012, founding members Brian and Roger were preparing for their first full concert with new frontman Adam Lambert at Kyiv’s Independence Square in Ukraine. Performing a benefit for the Elena Pinchuk ANTIAIDS Foundation in front of more than 350,000 fans – plus a TV audience of millions – this was the night when the new Queen lineup proved it had wings.
“There was this sense of camaraderie,” recalled Adam in a previous episode of Queen The Greatest. “It was an instant sense of comfort and ease that we all had. We all got a kick out of each other. It felt like the right fit.”
Fans will also be thrilled by this behind-the-scenes snapshot of ’39. A highlight of 1975’s A Night At The Opera, this joyous-yet-wistful anthem is one of Brian’s finest compositions, driven by twelve-string acoustic and cascading harmonies, telling the story of a team of space voyagers who return to terra firma to find time has marched on without them and their loved ones are now aged or departed.
’39 has long been a cult favourite, with fans in high places. First surfacing on the band’s fourth studio album, A Night At The Opera, it emerged as a live favourite throughout the 70’s often being used as an audience singalong and gathered fans beyond their core base; the song was once chosen by Dan Hawkins of The Darkness as his number-one Queen moment, and was also a touchstone for George Michael throughout his career, with the singer not only busking it on the London Underground before finding fame with Wham!, but performing it at 1992’s Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert.
Now, this latest episode of Queen The Greatest Live reveals how ’39 has evolved to become a concert highlight in the modern era, with Brian and Roger leading the song on harmonies, guitar and tambourine – and here, even changing the final line to salute their Ukraine audience.
View Queen The Greatest Live Episode 4. Rehearsals – Part 4
WATCH IT HERE
