"Queen Budapest," a concert film from the rock band, opens in cinemas worldwide on October 7, restored in 4K by Peter Jackson's team from the original 35mm footage with audio remixed from the original multitrack recordings, Argentine outlet Indie Hoy reported. The film captures what became the band's last full concert recorded live.
The show was recorded July 27, 1986, at Budapest's Népstadion during Queen's Magic Tour, and made the band the first Western rock act to play a stadium show behind the Iron Curtain, during a period of major cultural and political upheaval in the region. It sold 80,000 tickets, with an estimated 45,000 more people listening from outside the venue.
The setlist ran through the band's biggest songs, including "We Will Rock You," "We Are the Champions," "A Kind of Magic," "Crazy Little Thing Called Love," "Under Pressure," "Who Wants to Live Forever," "Hammer to Fall," "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Radio Ga Ga," plus an acoustic arrangement of the traditional Hungarian folk song "Tavaszi Szél Vizet Áraszt."
Guitarist Brian May reflected on what the night meant to fans who had grown up hearing Queen only through smuggled cassettes. "It was forbidden to listen to rock bands like ours, so seeing us play live would have been unthinkable," he said, calling the folk-song moment especially memorable: "Perhaps the most memorable of all was performing that beautiful Hungarian folk song, which Freddie and I had learned for the occasion."
Drummer Roger Taylor described the band's underlying philosophy that night: "We loved to think that music could transcend politics, political barriers, and that was part of our philosophy." Peter Jackson, whose team handled the restoration, called it "a rare privilege to breathe new life into such an iconic moment in music history."
Tickets go on sale soon, with fans able to register for updates on the official Queen Budapest website. Distributor Sony says a remixed soundtrack, drawn from the original multitrack recordings by Queen's own studio team, follows on October 30 alongside Blu-ray, DVD, CD and digital releases, plus the concert's first-ever release as a 3-LP vinyl set.
The facts
- Queen Budapest opens in cinemas worldwide on October 7
- The concert was recorded July 27, 1986 at Budapest's Nepstadion
- Peter Jackson's team restored the film in 4K
- It was the first Western stadium rock show behind the Iron Curtain
- The show sold 80,000 tickets, with roughly 45,000 more listening outside
- A remixed soundtrack and a 3 LP vinyl release follow October 30
- The concert included an acoustic arrangement of the Hungarian folk song "Tavaszi Szel Vizet Araszt"
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