Christmas 1986

Hello! This is what you wanted, this is what you’re gonna get!

It wasn’t a surprise because I had asked for it*, but on Christmas day 1986 I felt really guilty when I unwrapped the flat 12″x12″ present. You see, gentle reader, I had committed a sin against Christmas, a serious one; technically it may even count as having violated an elf. True story.

A week before I had found where my folks had stashed my Christmas presents after I came home from school, the LP was already wrapped – a paltry defence against a sly apprentice evildoer driven by urges beyond his control. I slit the Sellotape away from the wrapping at one corner using a razor blade, extracted the album from the packaging with Hurt Locker-style care, took out the prize**, taped it on our stereo and then snuck it back into the wrapping, sealing it equally sneakily.

Later, sequestered in my room with my ill-gotten booty I played about 2 minutes of the first song and overcome by guilt, clicked it off. I think I remember crying, only briefly (because I was 14, after all) upset that I had cheated like that; upset that I may have spoiled something, crossed a line. Money was kinda tight, I knew that and it made me feel even worse about doing it. It was an odd moment for me, in retrospect an innocence lost; a fracturing between being a child and a not-quite-such-a-child^. I was never going to cut it as a super villain.

All for a bloody LP. It was almost as though records would play an important part in my life for the next 35 years, or something.

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Live Magic was the document of the 1986 tour, recorded across Wembley Stadium, Knebworth Park and Budapest and issued, strangely it seems now, as a single LP. Since Freddie died, John left and all pretences at dignity were abandoned, other live albums have been released but at the time Live Magic was the only successor to one of the best 70’s double live LPs ever, Live Killers^^.

If viewed that way it is a bit of an unfair contest, one is the sound of an incredibly talented, flamboyant youthful band unshackled, ripped to the tits on cocaine and possibilities, heading for the stars and the other is much less than that. Much as I love them Queen, by 1986 were a really great, efficient band but not one that were ever going to surprise you, or do anything other than put on a big, sumptuous show. That’s absolutely fine but listening to Live Magic I do find myself craving a few rough edges, a bit of transcendence along the way.

None of which is to say that Live Magic is poor in any way, I like it, it is a pleasant listen. I do wish there was a bit more space for it to breathe and include a few more between song interludes and crowd noise, but hey.

It is interesting to hear the A Kind Of Magic tracks in the flesh, the title track works really well – goes a bit bluesy and guitary at one point and ‘One Vision’ does the business as a set opener, I’ve always loved May’s opening guitar snarl. In this context even ‘Friends Will Be Friends’ isn’t too execrable, although it shouldn’t bisect the holy trinity du-ity of ‘We Will Rock You’ and ‘We Are The Champions’. True story.

Otherwise my highlights are side 2 opener ‘I Want To Break Free’ which works so damn well live, ‘Is This The World We Created?’ which isn’t much in the studio but really blossoms live, the bouncing rock out of ‘Tie Your Mother Down’ and the metal crunch of ‘Hammer To Fall’, which would be my go-to Queen karaoke tune, ‘We who grew up tall and proud in the shadow of the mushroom cloud‘, indeed. It is all good fun.

The best moment for me, by far actually is when Freddie snaps out ‘Hello! This is what you wanted, this is what you’re gonna get!’ and tears into an absolutely breakneck ‘Seven Seas of Rhye’, all done is less than a minute and a half.

Queen were always consummate performers and Live Magic certainly doesn’t disappoint, it doesn’t thrill either though. Queen seemed to still be in the global jukebox mode they had adopted so brilliantly for Live Aid, a few of the tunes here are truncated, at least in their edited form. A word on that, some of the editing fells a little bit clunky to me but I really do like the way they edit out the middle section of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and stick to the live bits, I approve of that.

A good time for all, guaranteed and then put back on the shelf for a long while. Not really worth tarnishing my soul for, in retrospect.

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I always really liked the artwork for Live Magic. The square-y thing works a treat and you simply have to love the big chopper in the gatefold.

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987 Down.

*along with the AD&D Monster Manual, junior chick-magnet that I was.

**there can only be one, apparently.

^still not sure I’ve ever quite ascended beyond that.

^^Live Magic was my 8th LP, Live Killers my 10th. I may have been a bit of a Queen obsessive.