Live Magic

Summary

Live Magic is the second live album by British rock band Queen. It was recorded at various live shows during The Magic Tour and was released on 1 December 1986. However, it was not released in the United States until August 1996. It received strong criticism from fans, due to the heavy editing of many songs. For example, the opera section was removed from "Bohemian Rhapsody", the second verse and chorus were removed from "Tie Your Mother Down", and "Is This the World We Created...?", "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions" were reduced to one verse and chorus.

Live Magic
Live album by
Released1 December 1986 (1986-12-01)[1]
Recorded11–12 July 1986 Wembley Stadium, London, England
27 July 1986 Népstadion, Budapest, Hungary
9 August 1986 Knebworth Park, Stevenage, England
GenreRock
Length47:10 (LP)
49:22 (CD)
LabelEMI (UK), Hollywood (US)
Producer
  • Queen
  • Trip Khalaf
Queen chronology
A Kind of Magic
(1986)
Live Magic
(1986)
The Miracle
(1989)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Kerrang![3]
Record Mirror[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[5]

Most of the performances were recorded at Knebworth Park on 9 August 1986, which marks the band's final ever concert with its classic line-up.

Track listing edit

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."One Vision" (Knebworth Park, Stevenage, England; 9 August 1986)Queen5:09
2."Tie Your Mother Down" (Knebworth Park, Stevenage, England; 9 August 1986)Brian May2:59
3."Seven Seas of Rhye" (Knebworth Park, Stevenage, England; 9 August; 1986)Freddie Mercury1:21
4."A Kind of Magic" (Népstadion, Budapest, Hungary; 27 July; 1986)Roger Taylor5:29
5."Under Pressure" (Népstadion, Budapest, Hungary; 27 July; 1986)Queen, David Bowie3:49
6."Another One Bites the Dust" (Knebworth Park, Stevenage, England; 9 August; 1986)John Deacon5:51
7."I Want to Break Free" (Knebworth Park, Stevenage, England; 9 August; 1986)Deacon2:40
8."Is This the World We Created...?" (Wembley Stadium, London, England; 11 July; 1986)Mercury, May1:30
9."Bohemian Rhapsody" (Knebworth Park, Stevenage, England; 9 August; 1986)Mercury4:42
10."Hammer to Fall" (Wembley Stadium, London, England; 12 July; 1986)May5:20
11."Radio Ga Ga" (Knebworth Park, Stevenage, England; 9 August; 1986)Taylor4:27
12."We Will Rock You" (Knebworth Park, Stevenage, England; 9 August; 1986)May1:33
13."Friends Will Be Friends" (Knebworth Park, Stevenage, England; 9 August; 1986)Mercury, Deacon1:09
14."We Are the Champions" (Knebworth Park, Stevenage, England; 9 August; 1986)Mercury2:01
15."God Save the Queen" (Knebworth Park, Stevenage, England; 9 August; 1986)Trad. arr. May1:19
Total length:49:19

Release history edit

Country Release Date
Worldwide 1 December 1986 (1986-12-01)
United States August 1996 (1996-08)

Charts edit

Chart (1986–87) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[6] 51
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[7] 13
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[8] 24
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[9] 15
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[10] 36
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[11] 50
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[12] 26
UK Albums (OCC)[13] 3
Chart (2007) Peak
position
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[14] 87

Certifications edit

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Argentina (CAPIF)[15] Gold 30,000^
Germany (BVMI)[16] Gold 250,000^
Poland (ZPAV)[17]
2009 Agora SA album reissue
Platinum 20,000*
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[18] Gold 50,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[19] Platinum 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[20] Platinum 300,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Personnel edit

References edit

  1. ^ Strickland, Andy (29 November 1986). "Index: Long Live Queen". Record Mirror. p. 5. ISSN 0144-5804.
  2. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Queen Live Magic review". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
  3. ^ Wall, Mick (11 December 1986). "Queen 'Live Magic'". Kerrang!. Vol. 135. London, UK: United Magazines ltd. p. 18.
  4. ^ Smith, Robin (6 December 1986). "Albums". Record Mirror. p. 18. ISSN 0144-5804.
  5. ^ "Queen: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  6. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 243. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  7. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Queen – Live Magic" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  8. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Queen – Live Magic" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  9. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Queen – Live Magic" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  10. ^ "Charts.nz – Queen – Live Magic". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  11. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Queen – Live Magic". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  12. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Queen – Live Magic". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  13. ^ "Queen | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  14. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Queen – Live Magic". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  15. ^ "Discos de oro y platino" (in Spanish). Cámara Argentina de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  16. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Queen; 'Live Magic')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  17. ^ "Wyróżnienia – Platynowe płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 2009 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. 8 July 2009. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  18. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  19. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Live Magic')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  20. ^ "British album certifications – Queen – Live Magic". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 27 September 2019.

External links edit

  • Queen official website: Discography: Live Magic: includes lyrics of "Under Pressure", "Another One Bites the Dust", "I Want to Break Free", "Is This the World We Created...?", "Radio Ga Ga", "We Are the Champions".