Music photographer Neal Preston, who was one of the official photographers at Bob Geldof's historic Live Aid charity concert at Wembley Stadium in London in 1985, has revealed what it was like to be onstage with Queen as they played their historic set.
Speaking with Shot Talk, a YouTube channel managed by the Rock and Roll Gallery, Preston reveals that he didn't know he was going to be onstage until seconds before Queen began their set.
"I was one of the two official American photographers at the British Live Aid. So I'm there shooting live. The day before we did shots of Geldoff on the field, and we weren't really allowed to go on the stage – even me! – because of all the TV cameras. You know, a billion people were watching. But right before Queen went up the steps to do the show, Stickells [Jerry Stickells, Queen's tour manager] is there and says to me, 'get your fucking ass up there on stage.'"
"I said OK because these are my people. This was family. I mean, the Queen crew are as much family as my blood relatives. So I zip up there and I'm the only photographer that was on the stage that day. And I'm up there with Queen, and now it felt like a rock show as opposed to a TV show. And you can see me trying to go back and forth to hide between Brian's amps and some other things. I shot 99 rolls of film that day.
"That was Live Aid, and I didn't know it was going to be the most famous 25-minute gig in history. I just thought it was a good Queen gig. I was more interested in The Who, anyway. Which were a little flat, but I'm a Pete Townshend guy. But Live Aid was quite the day."
Elsewhere in the video, Preston talks about shooting Led Zeppelin from their early days to their final UK shows at Knebworth in 1979, and about working with Jeff Beck Group, Janis Joplin, The Doors, the Allman Brothers Band and more.
