The day of the show, I woke up earlier than usual. I turned on the TV and started making coffee. Wow. It wasn’t even 7 yet and bands were already playing. I guessed it was afternoon or something in England. I went back to making coffee and then something caught my ear. Did they announce Black Sabbath already? My eyes were glued to the screen as Ozzy and the band walked onstage. It was killer to see the original line up as they opened with “Children of the Grave”. Tony Iommi looked cool playing his left handed Gibson SG. His fretboard inlays were crosses which looked really cool. Next they played “Iron Man” and then “Paranoid”. That was it. Their show was over already. Only 3 songs? Ok, I guess there’s a lot of bands that have to play. They only had so much time.

Next was another cool group that I didn’t even expect. It was Run-DMC playing an even shorter set. But they played “King Of Rock” and that got me pumped.
When I got to Tim’s house, I saw the party had already started.
“Just in time,” said Tim. “You’re going to want to see this.”

I went inside to the family room and Judas Priest were about to hit the stage. They opened their set with “Living After Midnight”. They were so bad ass. No one could deny it. Then they played “The Green Manalishi” and ended their set with “You've Got Another Thing Comin'”. It was over way too fast. I wished they would play a few more songs.

Other bands played throughout the morning. They included Bryan Adams, U2, The Beach Boys, Dire Straits, and George Thorogood.

Then finally, it was time for Queen, one of the main bands I had been waiting for. They took the stage and Freddie Mercury waved to the crowd of thousands of people. He sat down at the piano and started playing Bohemian Rhapsody. I was filled with emotion at this point. What a killer song. And then when Brian May came in with the guitar solo, it moved me beyond words.

Later we watched David Bowie, The Pretenders, The Who, Santana, Elton John and Madonna. I looked at the clock and it was almost 2pm. Paul McCartney came out and sang just one song, “Let It Be”. That was one I really connected with somehow. Just one guy and a piano and it sounded so good. Then came Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Kenny Loggins, The Cars, Neil Young, Eric Clapton and Phil Collins.

It was around 5 when Led Zeppelin hit the stage. This would be another highlight. It was awesome to see them play “Rock & Roll”, “Whole Lotta Love”, and “Stairway To Heaven”. Later came Mick Jagger going on around 7. His show got a lot better when Tina Turner joined him onstage for the last 2 songs. She looked so hot and had an amazing voice. What a great way to end the night.

This has been an excerpt from the book:
In Search Of The Perfect Buzz: An 80s Metal Memoir
Please see the following links to read more.










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