Queen on Fire – Live at the Bowl

Queen on Fire – Live at the Bowl is a DVD/live album by the British rock band Queen released on 25 October 2004 in Europe and on 9 November 2004 in the US. It was recorded live at the Milton Keynes Bowl, Buckinghamshire, England, on 5 June 1982 during the Hot Space Tour. A DVD was also released with the complete concert and bonus material, such as band interviews and tour highlights.

Queen on Fire – Live at the Bowl
Live album by Queen
Released	25 October 2004 (Europe) 9 November 2004 (US)
Recorded	5 June 1982
Venue	Milton Keynes Bowl, Milton Keynes
Genre	Rock
Length	101:58
Label	EMI/Parlophone (Europe) Hollywood (US)
Producer	Brian May Roger Taylor Justin Shirley-Smith
Queen chronology
The Platinum Collection (2000) Queen on Fire – Live at the Bowl (2004) Stone Cold Classics (2006)

Queen on Fire – Live at the Bowl
Directed by	Gavin Taylor
Produced by	Jeff Brown Malcolm Gerrie Simon Lupton Brian May Roger Taylor Rhys Thomas Andrea Wonfor
Starring	Freddie Mercury Brian May Roger Taylor John Deacon Morgan Fisher Fred Mandel
Release date	2004 (2004)
Running time	170 minutes
Country	United Kingdom

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
BBC	(Positive)^[1]
Allmusic	^[2]

In 2005, the album was also released as an LP. In the UK, the DVD made No. 1 and CD, No. 20 in the DVD and CD chart respectively. In the US, neither the DVD nor album charted.

Notes

During the concert, lead guitarist Brian May had a few minor problems with his homemade Red Special guitar. During both the fast version of "We Will Rock You" and "Dragon Attack", two of the strings broke and he had to change to his Birch Red Special backup for most of "Action This Day" and for the entire second half of "Dragon Attack" and the entire duration of "Now I'm Here (Reprise)".

Before playing "Love of My Life", May played a snippet of the intro to "Las Palabras de Amor" calling it "a little fiddle around".

During May's guitar solo, the pickup switches of his guitar were switched off and May's guitar solo stopped for 20 seconds (the full 20 seconds is on the DVD, but the album version of the performance contains only 3 seconds). His guitar tech, Brian Zellis, helped May to get his guitar going again by simply turning back on the switches.

Drummer Roger Taylor and bass guitarist John Deacon performed impromptu solos during "Dragon Attack" and before "Under Pressure," respectively when May switched guitars during "Dragon Attack" and was getting his guitar fixed following his solo.

During "Fat Bottomed Girls", Freddie Mercury's voice very briefly slipped into an off-key falsetto during the lyric "in this locality" (the original error could be heard on the original BBC TV, Channel 4, MTV, an audience recording, and radio broadcasts of the concert) but the error was fixed for the release of the DVD and CD.

During the first verse of "Fat Bottomed Girls," instead of singing the original line "you made a bad boy out of me," Mercury sang "you made an asshole out of me."

Mercury performed without his trademark bottomless microphone stand for "We Will Rock You (Fast)", "Now I'm Here", and "The Hero" (shown on the Live in Japan bonus footage on DVD). This allowed Mercury to more freely scale and walk along the raised wings on either side of the stage.

Throughout the concert a member of the crowd can be heard using an air horn. The "air horn man" is thanked in the album's liner notes.

Due to censorship laws the Hong Kong and China release of the CD removed "Get Down, Make Love" and "Fat Bottomed Girls".

Track listing

Disc 1

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Flash"	Brian May	1:54
2.	"The Hero"	May	1:44
3.	"We Will Rock You" (fast)	May	3:17
4.	"Action This Day"	Roger Taylor	4:52
5.	"Play the Game"	Freddie Mercury	4:30
6.	"Staying Power"	Mercury	4:03
7.	"Somebody to Love"	Mercury	7:53
8.	"Now I'm Here"	May	6:18
9.	"Dragon Attack"	May	4:16
10.	"Now I'm Here" (reprise)	May	2:21
11.	"Love of My Life"	Mercury	4:22
12.	"Save Me"	May	4:00
13.	"Back Chat"	John Deacon	5:00
Total length:			54:24

Disc 2

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Get Down, Make Love" (not included on the China or Hong Kong release)	Mercury	3:39
2.	"Guitar Solo"	May	6:22
3.	"Under Pressure"	Taylor Mercury David Bowie Deacon May	3:47
4.	"Fat Bottomed Girls" (not included on the China or Hong Kong release)	May	5:25
5.	"Crazy Little Thing Called Love"	Mercury	4:15
6.	"Bohemian Rhapsody"	Mercury	5:38
7.	"Tie Your Mother Down"	May	4:09
8.	"Another One Bites the Dust"	Deacon	3:49
9.	"Sheer Heart Attack"	Taylor	3:25
10.	"We Will Rock You"	May	2:08
11.	"We Are the Champions"	Mercury	3:28
12.	"God Save the Queen"	Traditional; arranged by May	1:24
Total length:			47:29

DVD bonus material

• MK Bowl backstage interview
• Freddie Mercury interview
• Brian May and Roger Taylor interviews
• Songs from concert at Stadthalle, Vienna, Austria on 12 May 1982
  1. "Another One Bites the Dust"
  2. "We Will Rock You"
  3. "We Are the Champions"
  4. "God Save the Queen"
• Songs from concert at Seibu Lions Stadium, Tokorozawa, Japan on 3 November 1982
  1. "Flash / The Hero"
  2. "Now I'm Here"
  3. "Impromptu"
  4. "Put Out the Fire"
  5. "Dragon Attack"
  6. "Now I'm Here (Reprise)"
  7. "Crazy Little Thing Called Love"
  8. "Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)"
• Photo gallery (Calling All Girls)

Personnel

Queen

• Freddie Mercury – lead vocals, piano, acoustic rhythm guitar on "Crazy Little Thing Called Love"
• Brian May – harmony and backing vocals, guitars, piano on "Save Me"
• Roger Taylor – harmony and backing vocals, drums, percussion, co-lead vocals on "Action This Day" (verses) and "Sheer Heart Attack"
• John Deacon – bass guitar, rhythm guitar on "Staying Power", additional backing vocals on "Somebody to Love" and "Back Chat"

with:

• Morgan Fisher – keyboards, piano

Technical

• Justin Shirley-Smith – mix producer
• Kris Fredriksson – Pro Tools HD
• Reinhold Mack – recording engineer
• Mick McKenna – second recording engineer
• Tim Young – mastering
• Richard Gray – artwork
• Denis O'Regan – photography

Charts and certifications

Charts Album Chart (2004) Peak position Austrian Top 75 Albums^[3] 23 Belgium (Flanders) 100 Albums^[4] 60 Belgium (Wallonia) 100 Albums^[5] 80 French Top 200 Albums^[6] 75 German Albums Chart^[7] 10 Irish Albums (IRMA)^[8] 67 Italian Top 20 Albums^[9] 15 Netherlands Top 100 Albums^[10] 74 Portuguese Top 30 Albums^[11] 9 Scottish Albums^[12] 22 Swiss Top 100 Albums^[13] 52 UK Albums Chart^[14] 20 Chart (2005) Peak position Spanish Top 100 Albums^[15] 73 DVD Chart (2004) Peak position Australian Top 40 DVDs^[16] 10 Austrian Top 10 Music DVDs^[17] 1 Norwegian Top 10 DVDs^[18] 4 Swedish Top 20 DVDs^[19] 1 Chart (2005) Peak position Belgium (Wallonia) Top 10 Music DVDs^[20] 1 Hungarian Top 20 DVDs^[21] 5

Certifications Album Region Certification Certified units/sales Austria (IFPI Austria)^[22] Gold 15,000^* Germany (BVMI)^[23] Platinum 200,000^^ United Kingdom (BPI)^[24] Gold 100,000^^ ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. DVD Region Certification Certified units/sales Argentina (CAPIF)^[25] Platinum 8,000^^ Australia (ARIA)^[26] 3× Platinum 45,000^^ Austria (IFPI Austria)^[27] Gold 5,000^* France (SNEP)^[28] 3× Platinum 60,000^* Germany (BVMI)^[29] 5× Gold 125,000^^ Mexico (AMPROFON)^[30] Gold 10,000^^ Portugal (AFP)^[31] 2× Platinum 16,000^^ Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)^[32] Gold 3,000^^ United Kingdom (BPI)^[33] 3× Platinum 150,000^^ United States (RIAA)^[34] Platinum 100,000^^ ^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Music – Review of Queen – Queen on Fire: Live At The Bowl". BBC. 14 November 2003. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
2. https://www.allmusic.com/album/queen-on-fire-live-at-the-bowl-r714768/review
3. "Queen – Queen on Fire – Live at the Bowl (Album)" (ASP). Austrian Charts (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
4. "Queen – Queen on Fire – Live at the Bowl (Album)" (ASP). Ultratop (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
5. "Queen – Queen on Fire – Live at the Bowl (Album)" (ASP). Ultratop (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
6. "Queen – Queen on Fire – Live at the Bowl (Album)" (ASP). Les Charts (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
7. "Chartverfolgung / Queen / Longplay". Music Line (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
8. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Queen". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
9. "Queen – Queen on Fire – Live at the Bowl (Album)" (ASP). Italian Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
10. "Queen – Queen on Fire – Live at the Bowl (Album)" (ASP). Dutch Charts (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
11. "Queen – Queen on Fire – Live at the Bowl (Album)" (ASP). Portuguese Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
12. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
13. "Queen – Queen on Fire – Live at the Bowl (Album)" (ASP). Swiss Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
14. "Chart Archive: Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive – 6th November 2004". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
15. "Queen – Queen on Fire – Live at the Bowl (Album)" (ASP). Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
16. "ariaNET: The ARIA Report! (Issue 769)" (PDF). Australian Web Archive. Australian Recording Industry Association. p. 22. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 December 2004. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
17. "Austria Top 40 – Musik-DVD Top 10" (ASP). Austrian Charts (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
18. "Topp 10 DVD Audio: 2004 – Uke 47". VG-lista (in Norwegian). Retrieved 31 July 2011.
19. (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 26 December 2015. Search for Queen and click SØk.
20. "Ultratop 10 Musicaux" (ASP). Ultratop (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
21. "Archivum: DVD Top 20". Mahasz (in Hungarian). Retrieved 3 July 2011.
22. "Austrian album certifications – Queen – On Fire – Live at the Bowl" (in German). IFPI Austria.
23. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Queen; 'Queen on Fire – Live at the Bowl')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
24. "British album certifications – Queen – On Fire – Live at the Bowl". British Phonographic Industry.
25. "Argentinian video certifications – Queen – Queen on Fire – Live at the Bowl". Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers.
26. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2006 DVDs" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
27. "Austrian video certifications – Queen – Queen on Fire" (in German). IFPI Austria.
28. "French video certifications – Queen – Queen on Fire (Live at the Bowl)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
29. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Queen; 'Queen on Fire – Live at the Bowl')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
30. "Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Type Queen in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and Queen on Fire – Live at the Bowl in the box under the TÍTULO column heading.
31. (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Archived from the original on 20 November 2010. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
32. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('On Fire: Live at the Bowl')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
33. "British video certifications – Queen – Live at the Bowl". British Phonographic Industry.
34. "American video certifications – Queen – On Fire: Live at the Bowl". Recording Industry Association of America.

External links

• Official YouTube videos: "Guitar Solo" (Live at the Bowl), Queen + Paul Rodgers – "Guitar Solo"
• Queen official website: Discography: On Fire Live At The Bowl (includes no lyrics)
• Queen on Fire: Live at the Bowl at IMDb  
• Queen on Fire – Live at the Bowl at AllMovie