Having shot Queen from the early 70s, Denis O’Regan was embedded in the band’s inner circle by the time of the Magic Tour. As the British photographer releases a career-spanning new book, Queen : Forever, he takes us back behind the Iron Curtain.
What do you remember about the build-up to the Budapest show?
We rode from Vienna on Mikhail Gorbachev’s hydrofoil. We arrived at the dock and there were crowds yelling and shrieking. You felt that excitement everywhere you went. We had six days there, so Roger and I went to the Hungaroring, where Hungary’s first Formula 1 race was being held that year. The country was still behind the Iron Curtain, but that was opening it up to the West too.
How was the dynamic between the band members by that point?
The humour and the banter was still there. When we all walked into Freddie’s hotel room, Roger said, “This is a nice suite, Fred!” And Freddie said, “Well, Roger, in the Hungarian People’s Republic, all rooms are equal.” Everyone chuckled, and then Roger goes: “Well, it’s a fuck’s sight more equal than mine!” Such a great comeback. That’s what they’re like.
What’s your strongest memory of the concert?
Freddie singing the folk song [Tavaszi Szél Vizet Áraszt] meant so much to the audience. I spent time on the hotel terrace overlooking the Danube, with Freddie and Roger rehearsing it. When I speak to people in Budapest now, they still say it was such a moment in their cultural history, like Bowie’s show beside the Berlin Wall. I also loved the end, when Freddie comes on in the crown and gown. I was on Roger’s drum riser, shooting with a totally circular fisheye lens.
How did the Hungarian state react to you?
We didn’t feel any security presence, and definitely nothing scary. But it was still Communist, so they had a certain approach to things. And I was recently told that everyone was followed by the secret service, perhaps to see if we were sowing the seeds of capitalism [laughs]. But we knew nothing about it.
Had the band’s backstage debauchery peaked by the Magic Tour?
There was still debauchery, but never before a show. The debauchery was always a little later. And Queen were more debauched than most. But of course, Freddie would go one way and we would go the other, as Brian puts it.
Did you get any sense that the band knew this would be their final tour?
No – people were talking about where they would and wouldn’t tour next. Freddie didn’t want to start at the bottom again in America. So this was being discussed during that tour.
Freddie told the press in Budapest that he’d return “if I’m still alive”. Was that just a flippant comment or do you think he had an inkling?
I don’t know. He might have. I think there might have been an inkling, but I don’t know. He was always making comments like that. He might have just meant: “If we’re still around.”
Do you remember the last photo you took of Freddie-era Queen?
It would have been at Knebworth. I know that everything became a bit strange after the tour. I remember John [Deacon] throwing his bass. They all left but I stayed on – because it was the last show – and watched the mud wrestling [laughs]. I think Queen felt they had to do some of these things because they had a reputation for being off the wall.
In the book, you see the lift attendants at the Kensington Roof Gardens after the Wembley shows. They were all resplendent in their gold braid uniforms, until you realise they’re actually naked and the uniforms were body paint. A lot of that became de rigueur for a Queen party.
What emotions did you feel going through the Budapest shots for Queen: Forever?
Happiness. I look on it as being a special moment, on a special tour, with a special band. I was photographing one of my favourite bands and one of the great frontmen. It was a busman’s holiday, I suppose, tramping around the world with rock stars. You can’t go far wrong with that.
Queen Forever is published by Headline. Queen Budapest is available on Blu-ray, DVD, vinyl, CD & digital now via Sony Legacy.
