In the early days, Queen experimented with their encore songs, often picking covers of classics like Big Spender and Elvis Presley’s Jailhouse Rock.
Yet after bringing the curtain down on their 1977 News Of The World tour with a combination of We Will Rock You and We Are The Champions, the band knew they were onto something special.
To this day that’s how Queen and Adam Lambert close their shows, but occasionally they’ve played around with this crowd-pleasing staple.
During the band’s 1986 Magic Tour, there was a time when We Will Rock You was bridged to We Are The Champions by a third song.
The track in question was Freddie Mercury and John Deacon’s ode to comradeship, Friends Will Be Friends.
Friends Will Be Friends was released as a single on June 9, 1986 and joined the band’s set list just two days later.
Fans can check out this special three-song encore captured at Wembley Stadium on the 1986 Magic Tour in this week’s episode of Queen The Greatest Live.
Deacon himself said of his songwriting: “If I’d just been a bass player all my life with the band, I wouldn’t be as satisfied as I am because I only consider that as part of what I do. The songwriting and being involved in the decision-making means I’ve been able to have a part in the band’s destiny.”
Next week’s episode of Queen The Greatest Live focuses in on We Will Rock You.
