Queen - Champions Of The World [VHS] [1995]

There have been many attempts to give an insight into this band both in print and on film. Most notable of these was the "Magic Years" set-of-three, which like this video, was produced by the Torpedo Twins, Dolezal and Rossacher. Fans will recognise many excerpts from that compilation in this show. However, none, (that are available to buy), were as up-to-date as this, which chronicles the journey of Britain's other Fab Four, up to the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in 1992.

It's difficult to cover everything from the massive canon of work that this band produced over thirty years. But this covers all the main points over a 120 minute length, in segments. There are features on the most important aspects of Queen's work - their contribution to video art, the story of Bohemian Rhapsody, live concerts, music for film, their crowning performance at Live Aid and so on. Each of the members has a segment to themselves - "John talks", "Roger talks", well, you get the idea. One section deals with their world-wide TV appearances and you should watch for the hilarious TV interview between Freddie and the young Brazilian presenter.

The viewer is rollercoastered along for ninety minutes on a plethora of fast cuts and choppy edits, so unmistakably the trademark of the Torpedo Twins, accompanied by some of the best pop music produced over the band's career. Even in the last thirty minutes, which deals primarily with Mercury's death and the period immediately after, the producers have lifted the atmosphere by including footage of the excellent Tribute Concert, the sterling work of the Mercury Phoenix Trust and the rather frightening activities of the Queen Fan Club Convention.

So what does this video lack? Well, it lacks real insight from normally unheard-from people who were there - parents, friends and family, roadies, for example. Buyers of this video will have seen most of the celebrity interviews from the Magic Years compilation and a variety of TV specials. There's an incredible amount of trivial nonsense that frankly, is unnecessary and often cringe worthy, most notably the antics of the aforementioned Fan Club.

It also lacks new concert footage and fresh band interviews that British fans might not have seen. Don't get me wrong. It *does* have some previously unseen concert and interview footage - just not enough of it. While there will be many new fans buying this video, let's face it, the majority will be those hungry for new product. And that is where "Champions of the World" desperately falls down.

But it's not often that a music video raises a lump in the throat. And in the final section of the video which deals with the recording of the final "Made in Heaven" album, it does just that, chronicling how the band worked until Mercury's failing health no longer allowed it, his final recordings in a beautifully-photographed Montreux, and ending with some poignant words from the final recorded interview with Freddie in 1991.

A mixed bag then, with plenty to please the casual viewer or the new fan. Those, who like myself, have followed the band for longer than we'd care to remember, will buy this just to complete the collection. We'll just have to wait until the next boxset for something fresh....