Hi there. It's been nearly 36 years ago (9th August) that Queen performed at the last concert at Knebworth Park with Freddie Mercury. What are your thoughts and memories about it anyway and have you got HQ pictures of that show including Freddie Mercury wearing his plain white jacket as well?
What are your thoughts and memories about it – no personal thoughts or memories, I wasn't even born yet 😂
But everyone knows it was the big last concert of the tour overshadowed by the fact that a fan in the audience died. That must've been terrible. Freddie was even quoted saying, "If people have to die because they wanna see us, I'll never perform live again." which is a haunting statement knowing that he never did perform live again.
There’s a short paragraph dedicated to this event in Jim Hutton’s book:
“The concert was followed by a legendary Queen party, though Freddie and the band couldn't stay all night because the helicopter was standing by to fly us back to London. During that flight we heard a rumour that a fan had died, the victim of a stabbing. Because of the sheer numbers of fans it had not been possible to get him to an ambulance in time to save his life. When Freddie heard about this he was very upset.
The next morning Joe confirmed Freddie's worst fears; it was now official. A fan had died after a knife attack. Freddie seemed very subdued but appeared to cheer up once friends arrived for Sunday lunch. When I went out for the Sunday papers I was expecting the worst from the tabloids, dreading what they would have to say about Queen's farewell concert. To my amazement I couldn't find a single bad word about them, despite the fan's tragic death. The good coverage in the press cheered Freddie up a little, but the death continued to prey on his mind. He only ever wanted his music to bring happiness.”