Freddie Mercury’s death in November, 1991, from complications of AIDS isn’t viewed with shock today, but 24 years ago, this news had the music business and fans of his band, Queen, reeling. In the aftermath, his bandmates Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon conceived the tribute that would become known as “A Concert for Life: The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness.”

In February, 1992, May and Taylor announced that the concert would be held Easter Monday, April 20, at Wembley Stadium in London. Other than Queen, no other performers were announced. The 72,000 tickets sold out in less than 3 hours -- and, this was before the Internet.

Wembley Stadium - April 20, 1992

Those lucky enough to attend were treated to a 2-part extravaganza worthy of Queen’s flamboyant frontman. The first half featured performances by Metallica, Extreme, Def Leppard, Bob Geldof, Spinal Tap, U2 (via satellite from California), Guns N’ Roses, and Mango Groove (via satellite from Australia). After intermission, Queen performed with an array of guest vocalists and soloists including Slash, Roger Daltrey, Tommy Iommi, James Hetfield, Zucchero, Robert Plant, Seal, Paul Young, Lisa Stansfield, David Bowie, Annie Lenox, Mick Ronson, Ian Hunter, George Michael, Gary Cherone, Joe Elliot, Axl Rose, Elton John and Liza Minnelli.

The rest of the world was not forgotten. The concert was televised live on BBC2 and broadcast live on Radio 1. The worldwide audience totaled 1 billion people in 70 countries. The concert has been released 3 times over the years, in VHS, DVD and Blu-ray.

All told, the concert raised 12 million pounds for AIDS research and awareness, and launched The Mercury Phoenix Trust AIDS charity organization.

“Good evening Wembley and the world. We are here tonight to celebrate the life, and work, and dreams, of one Freddie Mercury. We’re gonna give him the biggest send off in history.” – Brian May

Bowie, Mick Ronson, Ian Hunter and Queen performing “Heroes.” Bowie and Ronson had not performed together since 1973.

Queen, Joe Elliot and Slash perform “Tie Your Mother Down” to start the second half of the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert.