Produced by: Jim Beach
Recorded by: Trip Khalaf
Recorded live at: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 12 and 19 January 1985
UK Picture Music International VHS: 13 May 1985 MVP 99 1079 2
Japan Picture Music International Laserdisc: 1985 L078-1025

VHS 1. Tie Your Mother Down (May) 2. Seven Seas Of Rhye (Mercury) 3. Keep Yourself Alive (May) 4. Liar (Mercury) 5. It's A Hard Life (Mercury) 6. Now I'm Here (May) 7. Is This The World We Created...? (Mercury/May) 8. Love Of My Life (Mercury)

9. Brighton Rock (May) 10. Hammer To Fall (May) 11. Bohemian Rhapsody (Mercury) 12. Radio Ga Ga (Taylor) 13. I Want To Break Free (Deacon) 14. We Will Rock You (May) 15. We Are The Champions (Mercury) 16. God Save The Queen (Trad. Arr. by May)

Related Songs
Rock In Rio Blues (Queen)

The original Rock In Rio festival, the largest music festival of its kind at the time, was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil over ten nights between January 11 and January 20, 1985. Queen, Rod Stewart, and AC/DC were the main headliners, each topping the bill on two nights. Queen were billed on January 11 and 19, but went on after midnight, technically making their performance the next day. The band played in front of the biggest paying audiences of their career, an estimated quarter million each night.

A short four months after the festival, Queen released Rock In Rio, an hour long compilation of 16 songs culled from the two nights. The video was released worldwide on VHS, Betamax, VHD, and Laserdisc formats, depending on the territory. Re-releases were common including a US Laserdisc in 1991, a UK VHS in 1993, and additional UK and Japan re-issues in 1997 and 1998. In 2013, Rock In Rio made its DVD debut, unfortunatey still edited, as part of a Queen live DVD box set from Eagle Vision.

Audio recordings from the Rock In Rio concerts appeared sporadically as bonus tracks over the years. A 12" one-sided promo vinyl was released by PMI in 1985 to promote the UK VHS release. Love Of My Life appeared as the B-side to a US Hollywood Records Queen + George Michael Somebody To Love cassette. Rock In Rio Blues, an impromptu jam as part of the set, was included as a bonus track on CD single releases of A Winter's Tale in the UK and Too Much Love Will Kill You in the US. Rio tracks further appeared on The Works and Made In Heaven 2011 deluxe CD remasters.

Tie Your Mother Down
Appears on: UK Live In Rio VHS (1985), Japan Live In Rio VHS (1985), Japan Live In Rio Laserdisc (1985), US Live In Rio Laserdisc (1991), UK Live In Rio VHS (1993 reissue), UK Live In Rio VHS (1997 reissue), Japan Live In Rio Laserdisc (1998 reissue), UK Live In Rio VHS (1998 reissue), US Live at Wembley/Rock Montreal/Live in Rio/On Fire DVD box set

Tie Your Mother Down (Live from Rock In Rio, 1985) - Absolute Greatest Streaming Video Version 3:45
Appears on: UK 2009 Absolute Greatest Streaming Video
A great live version from Queen's 1985 Rock In Rio concert.

It's A Hard Life
Appears on: UK Live In Rio VHS (1985), Japan Live In Rio VHS (1985), Japan Live In Rio Laserdisc (1985), US Live In Rio Laserdisc (1991), UK Live In Rio VHS (1993 reissue), UK Live In Rio VHS (1997 reissue), Japan Live In Rio Laserdisc (1998 reissue), UK Live In Rio VHS (1998 reissue), US Live at Wembley/Rock Montreal/Live in Rio/On Fire DVD box set

It's A Hard Live (Live in Rio, January 1985) 4:27
Appears on: UK 2011 The Works Deluxe CD
It's A Hard Life has never been officially released on CD as a live track until it was included on the 2011 Deluxe re-release of The Works. This is certainly a nice surprise for a bonus track and it's a great performance as well.

Is This The World We Created...?
Appears on: UK Live In Rio VHS (1985), Japan Live In Rio VHS (1985), Japan Live In Rio Laserdisc (1985), US Live In Rio Laserdisc (1991), UK Live In Rio VHS (1993 reissue), UK Live In Rio VHS (1997 reissue), Japan Live In Rio Laserdisc (1998 reissue), UK Live In Rio VHS (1998 reissue), US Live at Wembley/Rock Montreal/Live in Rio/On Fire DVD box set

Is This The World We Created...? (Live in Rio, January 1985) 3:02
Appears on: UK 2011 The Works Deluxe CD
A very nice live version from 1985's Rock In Rio festival. This live version features a longer acoustic guitar intro. This version is preferred to the 1986 Wembley performance.

Love Of My Life
Appears on: UK Live In Rio VHS (1985), Japan Live In Rio VHS (1985), Japan Live In Rio Laserdisc (1985), US Live In Rio Laserdisc (1991), UK Live In Rio VHS (1993 reissue), UK Live In Rio VHS (1997 reissue), Japan Live In Rio Laserdisc (1998 reissue), UK Live In Rio VHS (1998 reissue), US Live at Wembley/Rock Montreal/Live in Rio/On Fire DVD box set

Love Of My Life (Live at Rock In Rio Festival, 1985) 5:25
Appears on: US George Michael + Queen Somebody To Love cassette single
A very nice live version from the January 18, 1985 Rock In Rio Festival. The track starts with some audience banter from Brian. Freddie and the crowd do a nice job of switching back and forth between verses.

Love Of My Life (Live at Rock In Rio Festival, 1985 - Soundtrack Version) 4:28
Appears on: Bohemian Rhapsody - The Original Soundtrack
The Bohemian Rhapsody soundtrack features a new mix of the January 18, 1985 performance of Love Of My Life at Rock In Rio. For the soundtrack, all of Brian's interactions with the audience have been removed. The outro on the cassette version goes on a bit longer well, with more banter from Freddie.

Love Of My Life (Live from Rock In Rio, 1985) - Absolute Greatest Streaming Video Version 4:52
Appears on: UK 2009 Absolute Greatest Streaming Video
This version cuts off a good portion of Brian introducing the song to the crowd and cuts off much of the crowd noise at the end. The version that appears on the US George Michael + Queen cassette is preferred.

Hammer To Fall
Appears on: UK Live In Rio VHS (1985), Japan Live In Rio VHS (1985), Japan Live In Rio Laserdisc (1985), US Live In Rio Laserdisc (1991), UK Live In Rio VHS (1993 reissue), UK Live In Rio VHS (1997 reissue), Japan Live In Rio Laserdisc (1998 reissue), UK Live In Rio VHS (1998 reissue), US Live at Wembley/Rock Montreal/Live in Rio/On Fire DVD box set

Hammer To Fall (Live at Rock In Rio) 4:55
Appears on: UK Hammer To Fall 12" vinyl promo
This live performance from 1985's Rock In Rio concert is found exclusively a UK 12" vinyl promo from PMI.

I Want To Break Free
Appears on: UK Live In Rio VHS (1985), Japan Live In Rio VHS (1985), Japan Live In Rio Laserdisc (1985), US Live In Rio Laserdisc (1991), UK Live In Rio VHS (1993 reissue), UK Live In Rio VHS (1997 reissue), Japan Live In Rio Laserdisc (1998 reissue), UK Live In Rio VHS (1998 reissue), US Live at Wembley/Rock Montreal/Live in Rio/On Fire DVD box set

I Want to Break Free (Live in Rio, January 1985 - iTunes Video Version) 3:27
Appears on: UK 2011 The Works Deluxe iTunes Download
From the legendary Rock n' Rio concert, this is a decent live version of I Want To Break Free. While not as good as the Wembley performance, this version is worth a listen.

God Save The Queen
Appears on: UK Live In Rio VHS (1985), Japan Live In Rio VHS (1985), Japan Live In Rio Laserdisc (1985), US Live In Rio Laserdisc (1991), UK Live In Rio VHS (1993 reissue), UK Live In Rio VHS (1997 reissue), Japan Live In Rio Laserdisc (1998 reissue), UK Live In Rio VHS (1998 reissue), US Live at Wembley/Rock Montreal/Live in Rio/On Fire DVD box set

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Rock In Rio Blues