The next day we travelled to Munich via Verona. Queen and Paul Rodgers were going to play in Verona instead of Milan but they changed the venue. We decided Verona looked amazing and the venue was worth seeing so we got the train from Milan and 7.55am and arrived in Verona at 9.14am.
We walked into the city and sat outside having breakfast in a café next to the venue in the sunshine. The venue was stunning and it’s such a shame they didn’t play there.
Juliet’s balcony:
We went for a walk around Verona then headed back to the train station and off we went to Munich! The train arrived in Munich at 6.30pm.
We met Charlie that evening for dinner and then went for a quick drink in Munich but we didn’t have too much as it was Oktoberfest day the next day!!
The venue was a long way from the hotel and we weren’t really sure how to get there but we had to go to a tube station called Famogosa then get a bus. Gavin and I left the hotel after lunch and found the Japanese fans at Famogosa and we all got on the 320 bus. By the time we arrived at 3pm, the queue was chaos (just like Rome). We had priority entrance through the Italian fan club again and we found the queue at the VIP and gold seating entrance. Whilst in the queue, I got chatting to a guy called Andrea who knew me from my website and a girl called Melissa who also knew me from my website. Someone else recognised me from Return of the Champions! I love the Italian fans! We also got chatting to the guys from Queenzone.com.
Terry arrived at 6 to join the VIP queue. The doors opened 15 minutes before we were expecting at 6.15 and we had to run up an escalator to get into the venue. This time, we stood at the lefthand side of the catwalk where we would get a good view of the cat walk. It was chaos again when the main doors opened and it was so much fun watching everyone run into the venue in a panic (just like I would do…). We were standing next to the JDFK and near the Queenzone guys.
During the gig, Brian fell off his stool in ’39. We did lots of dancing with the German guys and one of the Italians get shouting things at Brian – my favourite quote from the tour – Brian, I want to f*ck with you (I’m not gay though)!!! There was lots of shouting and screaming from our side when Roger came down the catwalk and Roger looked over and said ‘I can’t hear!’. Brian stood behind Roger during ‘I’m In Love With My Car’ and he looked down at us and smiled! Paul sang to me during the second verse of ‘All Right Now’ and reached down to me during ‘God Save The Queen’, I could only just touch his finger tips. ‘A Kind of Magic’ had done and they only did a short version of ‘Radio Ga Ga’ again so what we thought was a mistake the night before obviously wasn’t.
The set list was
Surfs Up… School’s Out
Tie Your Mother Down
Fat Bottomed Girls
Another One Bites The Dust
I Want It All
I Want To Break Free
C-lebrity
Seagull
Love Of My Life
39
Electric Bass Solo
Drum Solo
I’m In Love With My Car
Say It’s Not True
Bad Company
Feel Like Making Love
Guitar Solo
Bijou
Last Horizon
Radio Ga Ga
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
The Show Must Go On
Bohemian Rhapsody
Cosmos Rockin’
All Right Now
We Will Rock You
We Are The Champions
God Save The Queen
After the show, we got the free bus back to the tube station and we got chatting to 2 guys from Holland, one had seen the ‘real’ Queen 9 times!!
We had a bit of a lie in then walked from the hotel to the train station to get the train to Milan! The train left at 11.30 and arrived at 16.00 so we were on the train for ages! We sat in a compartment with 2 very religious people who seemed slightly strange. Luckily I went to sleep and left them talking to Gavin and Terry for most of the journey!.
We arrived in Milan and got a text from Ray from the JDFK giving us details of where they were going for dinner. It was a pizza/fish restaurant in Porta Genova! I think they were surprised by the amount of wine we could drink!
Alessia had to work but Gavin and I met her for lunch in a restaurant called Acqua which was near the venue on the edge of a lovely park. Terry stayed in bed! It was a gorgeous sunny day even though it was late September. Gavin and I walked to the venue and found ourselves walking along the edge of a very steep hill.
We arrived around 3pm to find a very long, tightly packed queue! I don’t know how they stood there all day in the sunshine! We had arranged priority entrance with the Italian fan club as we are members of the Official International Queen fan club (link to website). We met Charlie who had been there since around 7am and was starting to look a bit sun burnt! There were about 50 people already there for the priority queue but nobody was sure where we had to stand so we were all spread out along the fence. There were loads of fake merchandise stands around selling fake t-shirts and I almost bought a nice purple one but decide it would probably fall to bits! There was also a van parked in the car park with a big Queen and Paul Rodgers advert on the back – the atmosphere was electric!! Martin (who we first met in Riga) was there and was getting the crowd to sing! It was great to see the true dedication and excitement of the Italian fans as they all sang along to Mustapha and Somebody to Love! Martin also tried to get them to sing Cosmos Rockin’ (which they didn’t know) and Small (which a few of them knew).
Davide who runs the Italian Queen fan club arrived around 4.30pm and moved us to the disabled entrance which the venue were also going to use to let us in before everybody else! Our queue was totally squashed by around 6pm and there was lots of pushing and shoving. Terry arrived about 6 and joined our queue but was not worried about getting to the front. We were finally let in around 6.45pm and it was chaos but I did end up at the front of the cat walk next to Alessia and Andrea so it was worth it! Terry stood round to the side of the cat walk with Martin. When the main doors opened at 7pm, it was total chaos again with Italians running everywhere. We ended up totally squashed at the front and it only got worse when the concert started at 9pm! Before it started, a guy about 4 rows back tapped me on the shoulder and said ‘You- you are in Return of the Champions’ and then a girl recognised me from my website!
The concert started and my ribs were squashed against the barrier but the atmosphere was so amazing! The band were totally loving it and the audience sang along to every song including Say It’s Not True. Roger looked down at the crowd and said ‘Good’! Brian looked down at us during ’39, looked along to front row and smiled at us all! Paul laughed at ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’ dance and Brian laughed at our ‘Feel Like Makin’ Love’ dance! They didn’t play the second verse of Radio Ga Ga or the last chorus of Cosmos Rockin’ but they did sing ‘We’ve got Roma rocking….’. A Kind Of Magic was back!! Brian dropped a six pence on the floor near the barrier at one point and about 50 Italian men were trying to get it by clambering over me, they kept shouting ‘Brian, give me the penny’!!
Alessia was lucky to have meet and greet tickets so she met the band back stage! We had to get to Milan the next day so headed back to a café near the hotel were we had a pizza then went to bed!
The set list was:
Surfs Up… School’s Out
Tie Your Mother Down
Fat Bottomed Girls
Another One Bites The Dust
I Want It All
I Want To Break Free
C-lebrity
Seagull
Love Of My Life
39
Electric Bass Solo
Drum Solo
I’m In Love With My Car
Say It’s Not True
Bad Company
Feel Like Making Love
Guitar Solo
Bijou
Last Horizon
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
A Kind Of Magic
The Show Must Go On
Radio Ga Ga
Bohemian Rhapsody
Cosmos Rockin’
All Right Now
We Will Rock You
We Are The Champions
God Save The Queen
We had a very early flight from Paris to Rome so got a taxi to the airport. We were very tired and hungover so the flight was not very much fun and I had a panic attack on the flight! Once we arrived in Rome, we got a taxi to the hotel – which took forever to get there as I think we flew in to the airport which was miles away from the city. Terry had to sort out some work so we sat in a café having a drink while Terry was on the phone then headed back to the hotel for some sleep. Gavin decided to go and look around Rome but having seen it before, Terry and I didn’t bother as sleep was more important! In the evening, we met the lovely Alessia who we met on the 2005 tour. She is from Italy but had moved over to London and is now in Rome. We had a lovely evening having dinner and wine sitting outside in the nice warm weather!
Got the train at 8.30 to Paris so actually had a bit of a lie in as the hotel was next to the station! The train only took a couple of hours then it was about half an hour on the metro to the hotel!
Gavin went on ahead to the queue while I waited for Jen and Trina who had flown to Paris that morning. They arrived at about 12.30, checked in and off we went to the venue leaving Terry to sleep! The venue was only 4 stops away so we got there quite quickly. Charlie had been trying to save us a space at the front with her and Andrea but the queue already had barriers and was very organised so we couldn’t get in. The 3 of us went to the back and were quickly joined by Andy, who had been delayed by the Eurostar problems. We were about 50 people back in the queue! It was a lovely sunny day, which we spent most of sat on the lovely concrete chatting and trying to translate the French newspaper article about Queen and Paul Rogders… Queen something something Roger something something etc! Trina and I went for a wander and found an advert for a ‘Freddy’ cocktail! Brigitte and Sandra arrived about 5.30 when we were on our last toilet trip so went over to say hello!
During the afternoon, the queue kept moving up then suddenly this random guy pushed his way through and stood in front of us, got a newspaper out and was pretending to talk on his mobile. We had a word with him but he wouldn’t move back so when we all stood up to go in, we pushed back in front of him! The cheek of it!!
Getting in seemed very organised and they only let a few people in at a time! I had a space saved for me at the front of the catwalk, Jen and Trina were just round the corner on the lefthand side, next to where they build Roger’s drum kit on the B stage! This is what is known as the Roger spot!
The set list was:
SURFS UP…SCHOOLS OUT
TIE YOUR MOTHER DOWN – Full Version
FAT BOTTOM GIRLS
ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST
I WANT IT ALL
BREAK FREE
C-LEBRITY
SEAGULL
LOVE OF MY LIFE
39
DRUM SOLO
I’M IN LOVE WITH MY CAR
SAY ITS NOT TRUE
BAD COMPANY
FEEL LIKE MAKING LOVE
BRIAN SOLO
BIJOU
LAST HORIZON
CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE
SHOW MUST GO ON
RADIO GAGA
BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY
COSMOS ROCKS
ALL RIGHT NOW
WWRY
WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS
The show was very similar to Antwerp but Time to Shine was dropped and Feel Like Makin’ Love was back (boo!). The end of Cosmos Rocks was a mess but the show generally was great! Paul saw us in Say It’s Not True and said ‘You again!’ Brian looked down and smiled at us during 39!
Terry and I went for a drink after the show with Andy, Brigitte and Sandra. It was great to see them again and catch up! We left them heading off into the centre of Paris and apparently, they went to bed very late!!
I got the metro to the venue, after getting a sandwich and lots of water for the queue and didn’t arrive until 1.30pm. There were actually quite a few people there, probably about 20 – 30 people but the queue was quite spread out over a few different entrances blocked off by bins!! There wasn’t much around the venue and you had to pay 50 euro cents to use the loo at the pizza place opposite! Met lots of people– Caroline, Jens, the JDFK and Tiger Taylor! Japanese Freddie sang for the local press!
It was chaos when the ‘doors’ opened as they didn’t take all the bins away at the same time but we still managed to get in ok and stood at the front of the catwalk, on the lefthand side, next to the JDFK, the Japanese guys and Jens.
The set list was:
SURFS UP…SCHOOLS OUT
TIE YOUR MOTHER DOWN – Full Version
FAT BOTTOM GIRLS
ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST
I WANT IT ALL
BREAK FREE
C-LEBRITY
SEAGULL
LOVE OF MY LIFE
39
DRUM SOLO
I’M IN LOVE WITH MY CAR
SAY ITS NOT TRUE
BAD COMPANY
TIME TO SHINE
BRIAN SOLO
BIJOU
LAST HORIZON
CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE
SHOW MUST GO ON
RADIO GAGA
BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY
COSMOS ROCKS
ALL RIGHT NOW
WWRY
WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS
Paul reached down to me and said hello during ‘Say It’s Not True’! Pete was doing bunny ear actions at Jamie during the guitar solo! Brian introduced C-lebrity as a song from the new album… which only 3 of you have bought! It seemed like there was a long pause with the first note to We Will Rock You at the start of All Right Now. Everyone looked a bit confused so I think it was a mistake!
I started the tour ill and woke up this morning feeling really bad! The day got worse as the flight from Berlin to Antwerp was delayed by a couple of hours. Once we got to Brussels at around 8pm, we got the train from Brussels to Brussels which luckily didn’t take too long.
By the time we got to the hotel in Antwerp, it was almost 10pm and I needed my bed! Went out and got a takeaway pizza and went back to the hotel while Terry and Gavin went out! They finally got in at 2.30am, very drunk and had met the crew (again) in a bar! It turns out that the man who designed the video screen graphics also did the cover of Dark Side of the Moon.
I travelled on the metro to the venue and got to the queue at 10.30 to find Jens, Vern, Julie, Jim, Charlie, Andrea and the Japanese guys! A very odd venue as it was next to a swimming pool and not really near anything else. A few of us went for a walk to burger king in the morning for some not very nice breakfast (but still better than McDonalds!). We also saw Viekko, the head of security wandering around during the morning!
At 1.30, the security came out and started putting barriers up a few 100 metres away from where we were queuing and there was chaos as everyone ran over there. We ended up standing in a crush next to the barriers for at least half an hour while the security set up the barriers and confirmed what we needed to do. After that, we managed to get everyone to space out a bit and sit down!
During the afternoon, we had lemon meringue pie kindly donated by Vern and Julie!
The doors opened at 6.30pm and it was the longest run of any of the venues. The venue itself was actually a velodrome and we ran the full length round it, down some steps then UP some steps and across the floor to get to the front! I almost had an asthma attack and people were running past me left, right and centre but I still managed to get to the front of the catwalk!
The set list was:
SURFS UP…SCHOOLS OUT
TIE YOUR MOTHER DOWN – Full Version
FAT BOTTOM GIRLS
ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST
I WANT IT ALL
BREAK FREE
C-LEBRITY
SEAGULL
LOVE OF MY LIFE
39
DRUM SOLO
I’M IN LOVE WITH MY CAR
SAY ITS NOT TRUE
BAD COMPANY
WAR BOYS
FEEL LIKE MAKIN’ LOVE
BRIAN SOLO
BIJOU
LAST HORIZON
IT’S A KIND OF MAGIC
CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE
SHOW MUST GO ON
RADIO GAGA
BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY
COSMOS ROCKS
ALL RIGHT NOW
WWRY
WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS
The gig was better than Riga and the band looked more relaxed! They played part of Surfs Up, Schools Out at after the intro – it rocked and I went mental! Paul spotted me at the front during Fat Bottomed Girls and reached down to me but the gap between the stage and the barrier was too wide for him to reach me! I did our usual dance during Crazy Little Thing Called Love and Paul copied it!
We went out afterwards with Matt from Birmingham and Hendric from the Netherlands who Terry had met at the concert. Had some lovely cheese and bacon pancakes!! Yum!
We travelled to the airport for our flight which was at lunchtime! Met Andy at the airport and went to TGI Fridays so Andy could get some food. We were served by a rather mad waitress who gave us pens to write on the wall. I think I wrote something about Queen and Paul Rodgers! Simon turned up looking rather white and hungover just before we boarded the flight!
Arrived in Berlin and we all got the train together into the centre and all went to check in to various hotels! We arranged to meet up at 8pm at the Brandenburg Gate, including Charlie who had arrived from the UK. Simon didn’t turn up but the rest of us went to have dinner in a Bavarian restaurant not far from the gate.
I had a lovely Schnitzel, my favourite German food, and some steins of beer!! Terry had the scary pork knuckle! Pete Malandrone and some of the crew were also in the restaurant, we decided they must have been following us!
After dinner, we went to the Irish bar next door. The band playing in the bar played ‘Runaway’ and the singer looked a bit like Paul Rodgers!! And we spotted ‘Julie’, Spike’s technician in the bar!
I'm Sarah, I'm 31 and I'm from the West Country. I have liked Queen since 1991. I saw Roger 14 times on the Electric Fire tour and I've been to 43 shows on the Queen & Paul Rodgers tours!
