TURN BACK THE TIME, BABE. BOOK 4. SUNNY SKIES BREAK THROUGH BEHIND THE CLOUDS

HEY, IT'S A SELLOUT II

This was not only the last show of the european tour but also the last one of News of the World tour. The crown of lights soon would be demolished forever and the band ELO would use its fragments to their spaceship shaped ring of light.

The first and last show in a tour had their own parallels. The first as the premier of new set list and the new stage, involved a lot of nerves. Positive and constructive nerves, not the nerves of a student having to give a speech in public. The nerves are the adornment to the staging of music. The uncertainty about the audience's response, if all the technical aspects work in synch as it should be. The first day it's obviously a catalog of mixed feelings.

The last show, on the other hand, keep a lot of ingredients of the first one but the tour had had its own life. There had been trial and error, the thousand vicissitudes that happen before, during and after a show. But when they played that set list for the last time it was like saying goodbye your child when he goes out to the college. You know he's still there, but you let him fly free and something of him will stop being yours.

I had learned so much about the live act after watching them so many times that I could write a thesis about life on the road.

That night they were having a great time. As it was the last night White Queen appeared again, they didn't played it since such a long time and it would be the last time live. Freddie told the audience they didn't rehearse much, but it was one of his lies. Queen used to rehearse till they dropped and this time wasn't different. They worked together, really fit, as most of the times, but my eyes were fixed on Roger. He didn't get on stage in really good shape and I took the blame for his little inner chaos. He did several mistakes in the instrumental part, but they made their mistakes almost unnoticeable. They knew each other enough well with their long experience playing together, the failures could be masked quickly.

Somebody to love appeared early on, as usual and was amazing although slightly frantic and even a little bit heavy. Someone yelled, "Keep yourself alive!" Freddie looked up from the piano searching that voice in vain, naturally and replied: "Are you kidding? You know we're going to do that song, ok? Wait a minute". I attacked him so much in the beginning by his way to turn to the audience. Some years ago despite Freddie on stage became a wild beast, when he turned to the audience he still wasn't able to take away that sort of weird shyness. That's why sometimes I wrote in my reviews that despite the evident and increasing adoration of the people for him, he still seemed not believe it and his voice when he spoke to them was insecure. Deeply in contrast with his provocative and emphatic movements.

Now everything had changed. The experience on the road had turned Freddie into an orchestra director and his musicians (the audience) used to obey him. His tone was self-confident, experienced, quiet, mature.

Putting up with the negative critics was a different kettle of fish. In the past he used to get mad and threw some scary tantrums. You couldn't say he acted the same way, but the wound still was bleeding. That's why on this show he took the opportunity to attack the press at the least chance. "Death on two legs" is dedicated to the british musical press that had attacked us our two previous shows here. They are such fucking assholes". Press and Queen would never get on well. They were the example of a good selling group who was beloved by the audience but it had nothing to do with the good critics.

- This is a beautiful little song we've been starting to play recently, though we've done it such a while ago. There it goes Mr. Mercury's silky voice -Brian announced turning to him with a wince.

Freddie was drinking his water on the piano and frowned while came over Brian swaggering.

- I don't know anything about silks, but ok -he joked hurling the foot of mike as he used to and smiling almost shyly.