Let’s talk about one of the most badass — and most awkward — moments in rock history you probably never heard about…
The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert — 1992, Wembley Stadium — A who’s-who of rock legends showed up: Bowie, Elton, Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, and Extreme, the band best known for “More Than Words,” but man did they have something up their sleeves that day.
And it got them into serious hot water — including with Brian May himself.
Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt recently shared his memories about The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert on Instagram. He wrote:
“33 years ago, it was one of the greatest concerts of my life to be a part of. Brian May walked out to introduce us and said, ‘more than any other group on the planet, this next band knew what Freddie was all about and what queen were all about.’ Normally, I’d take the humble approach, but that statement was 1000% spot on.”
“We wanted to make sure the true Queen fans in that stadium and watching around the world knew what Freddie meant to us. More importantly, we wanted Freddie, watching down from the heavens, one the greatest composers and rock and roll singers of all time, to know what he meant to us.”
Bettencourt revealed that no artist was supposed to perform Queen songs before the “All-Star Jam” later in the show, and Extreme basically walked out there and went full Queen karaoke.
Bettencourt added: “We got into a lot of trouble performing all Queen music instead of Extreme songs. No artist was allowed to perform Queen until the all-star jam later on with the surviving members, but it was worth it. We needed to let everyone know how much impact Freddie had on us and celebrate the music of Queen that shaped and changed our lives.”
“The only way to do that was to risk performing a Queen medley for the first time ever. It wasn’t very smart to do it in front of Queen, Bowie, Elton, Guns, Metallica and the immense talent that were there sidestage. We knew this would be the only way to rock the house that queen built, Wembley Stadium.”
Bettencourt included:
“Having survived it, I can tell you that Freddie was in that building. The shivers and lightning shooting right through me during every second of that set was something I’ve never felt again.”
The historic performance at The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert became one of the event’s most memorable moments. It showcased Extreme’s dedication to honoring Mercury’s legacy.
Footage from the archived performance shows Extreme’s ambitious Queen medley. The band performed classics including ‘Bohemian Rhapsody,’ ‘Keep Yourself Alive,’ ‘Love of My Life,’ ‘Fat Bottomed Girls,’ ‘I Want To Break Free,’ ‘Bicycle Race,’ ‘Another One Bites The Dust,’ ‘We Will Rock You,’ ‘Stone Cold Crazy,’ and ‘Radio Ga Ga.’
