Queen’s Amazing After-Show Party At Kensington Roof Gardens (1986)

On July the 11th and 12th 1986, Queen performed at London’s Wembley Stadium. The Magic Tour took in 26 dates around Europe’s stadiums, in support of their then latest album A Kind of Magic. For the London shows, Queen were supported by, in order, INXS, The Alarm and Status Quo. I was one of the lucky ones who saw what would be the band’s last tour with their original line up. Freddie Mercury died on 24 November 1991.

Where I wasn’t, alas, was at Queen’s after-show party at London’s Kensington Roof Gardens. Billed as Dicky Hart And The Pacemakers, Queen were joined by the likes of Cliff Richard, Samantha Fox, the now disgraced singer Gary Glitter, Sigue Sigue Sputnik and Spandau Ballet.

 

 

“I sang with Freddie Mercury at a party once and that was fantastic. I couldn’t believe it when he pulled me up. It was their private party in Kensington. As soon as you got into the lift there were naked women painted green, like a forest. They had midgets with little trays of drinks. You just knew it was going to be a brilliant party. Queen took the stage and they jammed for about an hour [the party itself went until about 9am]. It was amazing. And Gary Glitter got up, too! He pulled me up and asked me what songs I knew. And you know when you can’t think? I asked if he knew Touch Me and he laughed and said, ‘What about Go Johnny Go?’ We ended up singing that together. It was amazing to do a duet with Freddie.”
– Samantha Fox

 

 

 

The TV news covered the event: