Looking for anyone who has any Queen 35mm slides or contact sheets you’d be willing to let me borrow to get scanned by a new friend of mine who scans concert slides for fun. He would send them back once they’re scanned

Found it on a second hand shop with its seal unopened. I feel lucky...

I've just attended the talk. Guests were Wendy De Smet, and Denis O'Regan (standing in for Diana Moseley). No big revelations but it was an interesting discussion.

Wendy said she met Freddie in 1968. She was making clothes for Nostalgia (Kensington Market), Freddie liked what she did and asked her to make clothes for his and Roger's stall. And her boyfriend was friends with Brian and Tim Staffell.

She described the atmosphere (and smells) in the market, which was like a little family. She remembers Freddie wearing women's clothes from Biba as well as cheap vintage clothes from the market.

They showed a portrait of Freddie from the Kensington flat photoshoot and said him and Mary made some of those cushions themselves.

Denis first saw the band when they supported Mott the Hoople, then at the 1975 Xmas show. He went to Rocket Records with his photos but they weren't interested, so he ended up selling them to Jackie Magazine!

The white outfit with wings: in Sept 75 Freddie approached Wendy with ideas. She went to Freddie and Mary's flat, he said he wanted to look like a winged mercurial figure but also showed her the Richard Dadd painting, and also said he wanted a black queen and a white queen. The black suit with the spine was meant to be an evil creature. She made it plain, and Freddie added the jewels on.

Denis mentioned that the many many lights at Queen concerts were a problem for him, as well as how much Freddie was moving!

Shame Diana wasn't there, because she was going to talk about the outfit from the Made In Heaven video.

Q&A:

Q: Can you share more about Freddie's designing process?

W: He knew exactly what he wanted. He had a clear vision, but totally trusted her. He was amazing to work with.

Q: Those were really tight clothes. How much accomodation did you have to make for Freddie's "5th member".

W: We did 4 fittings, I kept taking a little off each time as he wanted it to be absolutely skin-tight. After the Odeon show he had one of the suits drycleaned and it shrank, so he asked her to make another one. This 2d waistcoat is the one on display, with different stitching. But Freddie was very careful about how he kept his clothes.

Q: How did the costumes last through the tour with all the heat and sweat?

W: I made 3 white suits and 2 black ones (with and without the spine)

Q: Did freddie have a preference in terms of photography, did he like black and white, candid shots...?

Denis: Doesn't know.

Q: Which of Freddie's looks best catches his personality?

Denis: the crown and cape

Q: When was the last time you saw Freddie? When you met him did you imagine he would become a huge star?

Wendy: No, but Freddie always knew. He would be strutting through the market in his extravagant clothes, people would say "you look like a star" and he'd reply, "oh, but I am!"

Denis: last time I saw him was probably before Knebworth. I have never really thought about it. Everything became a bit weird after that, Freddie became ill, everyone got divorced, something changed.

As in: “What album cut made you go ‘woah’ like Neo in The Matrix?”
For me, it was Flick of the Wrist.

In July 2026, high-quality versions of the music videos for "We Are The Champions" and "We Will Rock You" were released on YouTube; coincidentally, the original singles were also made available on streaming services. Weeks later, the same happened with "Another One Bites The Dust," followed by "Don't Stop Me Now," and—for now—"Crazy Little Thing Called Love" (they even included its B-side, featuring the original mix of the single).

Some might see this as a pointless move—just another way for Sony Music to monetize the Queen catalog. But to me, it captures the experience of being a fan back in the day (You know, a new Queen single is announced, you head to the store, buy it, hold it in your hands, and play it, only now, it’s all happening in the digital, streaming era).

Interestingly, the cover art for these singles is almost identical to what appeared in "The Singles Collection" box sets. It’s worth noting, however, that singles covers for "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and "Another One Bites The Dust" differ from those in the second volume of that collection (the 1st comes from the Spanish edition, while the 2nd is from the Mexican release).

This suggests that Sony Music might be reissuing that collection, but on a single-by-single basis. Could this mean we’ll see the single version of "Tie Your Mother Down" on streaming platforms? Will tracks like "Queen Talks," "A Dozen Red Roses For My Darling," or "Blurred Vision" finally become available? Will they reissue all the singles—especially those from the 1984–1999 period—much like Depeche Mode or Oasis have done with their own catalogs? Only time will tell.

Although I have no affiliation with Sony Music or Queen Productions, something tells me they will re-release the original single "You're My Best Friend" on streaming platforms, as a video short posted by the official Queen channel features an excerpt from the restored video.

Back in the late '70s, Charly García planted the idea in a music manager's head:

Queen should play South America. The band eventually took the bait, and in 1981 they landed in Argentina and Brazil, packing stadiums like Vélez Sarsfield in Buenos Aires with tens of thousands of fans. We know the rest. And today, October 23, happens to be Charly's birthday. Happy birthday, maestro!