This edition features rare footage from the band's 1977 US tour, where the UK group introduced their new grand finale of “We Are The Champions” - complete with clouds of dry ice and the famous Crown lighting rig.
Written by Freddie Mercury, the song was inspired by a May 1977 concert at Bingley Hall, Stafford, where the crowd's chants of football anthem "You'll Never Walk Alone" convinced the band to write a song that invited mass singalongs.
"We wanted to get the crowds waving and singing," Brian May has said. "'We Are The Champions' is very unifying and positive. People love it because it's so uplifting. Although much of our music was created using multi-layered arrangements and vocal harmonies - which work especially well in the recording studio - we were into making our concerts musical events."
Featured on 1977's “News Of The World”, "We Are The Champions" was introduced into the band's live set in November 1977 on their end of year North American tour.
On the Queen tours that followed, the song, along with "We Will Rock You," would become the ultimate concert finale and the band's non-negotiable closing number (albeit followed by a blast of "God Save The Queen").
"'We Are The Champions" is very triumphal," Brian has said. "It fits the occasion, whatever the occasion might be. We always end our show with it because it's the best last song we know."
Pick up your copy of Queen’s “Greatest Hits” here.
See also:
Queen tie your mother down with 1982 performance on The Greatest
Queen and Adam Lambert announce North American tour
Queen go under the lights on The Greatest
Queen guitarist Brian May knighted by King Charles III
Search Queen at hennemusic
