All the details of Queen’s first performance in Argentina, exactly 43 years ago

What does it has to do with it? opened a market. It was Columbus and his caravels that reached the end of the world. The band, without a doubt, took a risk. In other words, Taylor Swift owes everything to Freddie Mercury and his boys.

Today we are a must-see for any artist on the loose. Phil Collins even arrived in a wheelchair. Or Prince, who played for a while, but also left his mark in Argentina. Nirvana held the worst concert of their life in our pampa. He didn’t even sing Smells like Teen Spirit. This happened in Vélez, the same stage that hosted Queen in 1981.

The posters at the entrance to the José Amalfitani de Liniers announced something unexpected: “Carnival 1981: Queen”. All half absurd. The first supergroup to visit us played in Argentina on February 28, 1981. 43 years have passed. He had arrived on the crest of the wave in the years of the dictatorship and would become an absolute pioneer of stadium rock.

The time of the visit

That summer, Queen opened their fabulous run of five Argentine shows on a packed football pitch. What was said: It was the first time that an international rock band arrived in the country at the height of its popularity..

Questioned years later about the visit at the height of the dictatorship, Queen drummer Roger Taylor confessed what he had experienced in a sinister postcard: “There were guys in big Jeeps waving their weapons so that the cars coming in front would run away. The movements were terrifying: “When we saw what was happening, our hair stood on end.”

In those days, Mercury, himself a baritone, had changed his look to two-tone tights. It was the 80s and the leader took off the nail polish, cut his hair and left the cosmetics to his friend Boy George. That was the Mercury that arrived with Queen in Argentina. A biker you might mistake for a member of the Village People.

They came with The game, the best thing that happened in Queen’s popular life. An unexpected change of helm, almost as if the industry had told them that symphonic rock wasn’t enough. Not even the Harlequin looks like it. Queen have radically changed their aesthetic. Mercury grew a moustache, even though Brian May would never negotiate his curls.

The game It was Queen’s only hit album in the United States. Let’s face it: it was also the last one that was worth it. History indicates that the great Bollyer credit of that album is not due to Mercury but to the bassist. John the Deaconwho managed to win over the pretentious musicians of Bohemian Rhapsody They will play at Studio 54 in New York. The shot Another bites the dust It became an international and immediate event. And it’s a Deacon theme.

Press conference

The agenda of the visit was very crazy: they came for the Vélez carnivals, where one day the Polish Goyeneche sang and another day Queen played. The local media were unsure how to deal with the phenomenon. Unaccustomed to rock, they chose to use the suffix “madness” or “obsession” and spoke – logically – of Queenmania.

It was written that Brian May “was the kindest,” always “stopping to say hello and speak a little Spanish” to people. That “Roger Taylor (drummer)” always arrived “rather drunk” and that Freddie seemed “shy” and surrounded by bodyguards.

The group held a press conference at the Liniers club. This was before his performances. Bebe Contepomi did not yet exist in the mainstream media and the meeting with the press had bizarre tones. Who interviewed Mercury? Ellipsis, China Zorrilla. Believe or burst.

Perhaps confused with Astaire, a Channel 11 mobile operator said “Fred”. John Deacon was called “Joyce”. Like the writer. “Come closer, Joyce.”

In the middle of the conference it was heard: “It’s Fred Mercury’s turn, who is the eldest of the group and the leader.” All this until suddenly the headphones appear and China with his hilarious style and his fluent English. “I’m amazed to talk to you. There’s a kind of revolution in Argentina because of your presence. I have friends and people from Uruguay, across the river, who take planes and ships just to come and see you. .”

Queen was an unknown revolution. Until then they had only come Santana (1973), Joe Cocker in ’77 e Police in December 1980, although it was not yet the group that would later dominate. “Queen were at the height of their glory”, contextualized the specialized journalist Alfredo Rosso.

The concerts were broadcast on Canale 9 and Radio Rivadavia. The Buenos Aires trip checked in the Queen at Italpark and the Los Años Locos restaurant. They also posed with a young man Diego Maradonarecently transferred from Argentinos Juniors to Boca.

The opening act wasn’t Charly, it wasn’t Spinetta, it wasn’t León Gieco. History indicates this Miguel Mateos, leader of the Zas, had sent a demo as if someone threw a bottle into the sea. “We won a new band competition and that’s why we supported Queen,” commented the musician.

When they chose him, incredibly, Zas hadn’t released a single album. People seemed to say: and who are these torturers? That February day, general indifference marked the debut of Queen’s opening act.