Blu-ray and 4K UHD versions will be available

Mercury Studios is set to release Queen Rock Montreal in physical form on May 10th. Recorded in 1981 and recently released as a record-breaking digitally restored IMAX concert film, this landmark moment in the band’s history is now being released as both double Blu-ray and double 4K Ultra HD packages, plus double CD and triple vinyl packages.

Queen Rock Montreal presents Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon at their most exciting. As Brian May puts it, this is Queen “live and dangerous.”

Queen was on an all-conquering form when they returned to Montreal, Canada for the fourth time in November 1981 to play two huge concerts at the 18,000-seat Forum.

This pair of Montreal concerts marked a historic moment for Queen. After their massive success in the 1970s, the band entered the 80s bigger than ever, with the hugely successful The Game album producing their two biggest ever US singles “Another One Bites The Dust” and “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” both Billboard No.1’s, followed by the UK No. 1 single “Under Pressure.”

Queen’s return to Montreal came after almost two years of touring, including their very first tours of South and Central America, which saw the band playing two nights at Sao Paulo’s Morumbi Stadium to more than 150,000 devoted fans. As a result, when the band arrived in Canada in November 1981 they were in electrifying form.

“Montreal is one of our favorite cities, it’s a great audience there, very full of energy,” says May. “We’d played this particular venue, The Forum, several times before, and it was always full of really enthusiastic people giving us a lot of energy back.”

The original concerts, which took place on November 24 and 25, 1981, were truly ground-breaking. They were arranged specifically to be filmed for a full-length concert film to document their live show. Director Saul Swimmer planned to shoot them using state-of-the-art Double Anamorphic 35 mm footage, which allowed it to be projected on a gigantic, five-story high screen. Backstage tensions between the members of Queen and Swimmer could have caused problems, but instead, they propelled the band to new heights.

“We were very, very hyped up, some of the tempos are really fast, there’s a lot of really incisive, angry playing,” says May.

Queen Rock Montreal features a rawer version of the band who had released “Bohemian Rhapsody” half a decade earlier, showcasing their unparalleled musicianship, soaring vocal power and unstoppable live energy.

“It’s fascinating to now realize how free we were on stage in 1981,” Taylor adds. “It’s a four-piece, just the four of us in Queen, and to see Freddie. It’s like being on stage with the band because the cameras are very high quality for the time. I’ve never seen anything that makes you feel quite so involved with the performance.”

From Freddie Mercury’s opening cry of “Hello Montreal… long time no see. You wanna get crazy?” through to the thrilling climactic one-two of “We Will Rock You” and “We Are The Champions,” the energy rarely lets up – and even then only for the signature ballad “Love Of My Life.”

The powerful vocal acrobatics of Mercury, May’s dazzling six-string pyrotechnics, Deacon’s rock solid heartbeat bass, Taylor’s unstoppable rhythmic display, and not to mention the unique combination of all four voices – Queen Rock Montreal shows the total cohesion and individual strengths of four musicians who were, as Brian May says, “at the top of our game.”

May and Taylor serve as executive producers of the release. The music mix was produced by Justin Shirley-Smith, Kris Fredriksson and Joshua J. Macrae.

The album’s 28-track setlist shows the breadth and brilliance of Queen’s songwriting. It mixes 70s classics and recent hits with fan-favorite deep cuts and album tracks, as well as two songs, “Flash” and “The Hero,” which are exclusive to the audio-only formats. The audio comes as 2 CD/3 LP black vinyl and a special 3 LP colored transparent blue vinyl only available in the Queen online store.

As never before seen, the double Blu-ray/4K UHD packages present this historic performance for the first time in 4K with Dolby Atmos sound to experience rock & roll royalty with Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon as they take to the stage in this historic and exhilarating live concert from 1981. The 35 mm original negative has been scanned to ensure the highest possible resolution, which was then examined frame by frame to remove any dirt, damage or splices to enhance the sharpness and quality of the picture.

For the first time, the concert will be presented in both full-frame and widescreen formats. The full-screen aspect ratio echoes more closely the way the film was originally shot, and the widescreen is a carefully cropped alternative presentation to fill the 16:9 ratio. In addition, the 4K Ultra High Definition release also has SDR/HDR dynamic range options.

In addition to Montreal, this package includes the most famous 21 minutes in rock & roll history – Queen’s electric performance at Live Aid, upscaled to high definition for the first time and with new stereo, 5.1 and Dolby Atmos sound mixes, along with Freddie Mercury & Brian May performing “Is This The World We Created…?” later that evening.

Queen Rock Montreal:

1. Intro
2. We Will Rock You (fast)
3. Let Me Entertain You
4. Play The Game
5. Somebody To Love
6. Killer Queen
7. I’m In Love With My Car
8. Get Down Make Love
9. Save Me
10. Now I’m Here
11. Dragon Attack
12. Now I’m Here (reprise)
13. Love Of My Life
14. Under Pressure
15. Keep Yourself Alive
16. Drum & Timpani Solo
17. Guitar Solo
18. Crazy Little Thing Called Love
19. Jailhouse Rock
20. Bohemian Rhapsody
21. Tie Your Mother Down
22. Another One Bites The Dust
23. Sheer Heart Attack
24. We Will Rock You
25. We Are The Champions
26. God Save The Queen

Live Aid:

1. Bohemian Rhapsody
2. Radio Ga Ga
3. Hammer To Fall
4. Crazy Little Thing Called Love
5. We Will Rock You
6. We Are The Champions
7. Is This The World We Created…?