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Queen - Hungarian Rhapsody: Live in Budapest

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There are a few significant things about this show filmed in Budapest, Hungary in 1986. The Berlin Wall had not yet fallen and Hungary was still behind the so-called Iron Curtain and this was the first stadium show by a Western rock act to ever take place in the country. Then because Hungary was still an enclave of Communism the band was not allowed to profit from the show.

The '86 Magic Tour that included this Budapest stop was also the last Queen tour to feature Freddie Mercury. But mostly the show is notable because it is terrific; over the course of the 20-song set the band plays old favorites like "Tie Your Mother Down," "We Will Rock You," "Under Pressure," "Seven Seas of Rhye," "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and of course "Bohemian Rhapsody" along with at the time newer numbers like "A Kind of Magic," "Who Wants to Live Forever" and apropos to where the concert was taking place, show opener "One Vision."

As is typical of Queen the set is very high energy; even the mid-show acoustic break featuring just Freddie and guitarist Brian May performing "Love of My Life," a Hungarian folk song and "Is This the World We Created?" bristles with electricity.

Some off-stage footage is interspersed with the performance shots, showing things like Freddie shopping for art, the band cruising the Danube on a hydrofoil and, without Freddie, having a go-kart race.

One incredible bit of footage shows Mercury standing on the stadium stage singing the scat vocal part of "Under Pressure" to a completely empty arena; a quick edit segues into the singing of the same parts to the 80,000-strong audience later that night.

The show ends with "We Are the Champions" and a rendition of "God Save the Queen" where Mercury, wearing a royal robe and a crown, wields his microphone as if it were a scepter. The Blu-ray package also includes the short documentary A Magic Year and an audio version of the show presented on two CDs.


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