Uploaded July 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago

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Queen - Live at the Sports Arena, San Diego, CA, USA (05/07/1980)
*2025 REMASTER*

What better day for this to drop than on the gig's 45th anniversary 😀 A beloved show for so many reasons! I could seriously go on all day (it's one of my all-time favourite Queen shows)! Will refrain from blabbering about the actual show. Got lots to talk about regarding the remastering process, which was rather complex compared to most...

What can I say about this recording? Taped very well and graciously shared 4 years ago by Mr. John Purlia. The quality is tremendous! The only glaring drawback was completely out of his control. I'm referring to the notoriously boomy acoustics of the San Diego Sports Arena.

Now, not to burst anyone's bubble, but a remaster can't magically get rid of the boominess. All we can really do is navigate around it the best we can, which is what I've attempted to do here. Conventional tactics didn't necessarily apply here. Extra care was required. Too bright, and the cymbals become overbearing. So it was about finding that happy medium.

I do think the result offers a very immersive experience! Obviously, if I could strip away the amount of reverb, I would. But with the sub-bass frequencies freed-up, it plays a little more nicely. With headphones on and your eyes closed, it feels as though you're inside the arena 🤯

Another characteristic with this tape, it gets gradually brighter as it goes on. Applying one level of EQ across the whole lot wasn't working. If I adjusted something to suit the beginning of the show, the cymbals were way too overbearing by the end. And vice versa. Shifting the EQ it to suit the end of the show made the beginning really muddy.

I combated this by basically EQing this show two different times (to suit each end of the tape) and making one big crossfade between the two (if that makes sense). This allows for a nice flow and balance which maintains itself throughout the whole show 👍

1. Intro - 0:00
2. Jailhouse Rock - 2:18
3. We Will Rock You (Fast) - 3:59
4. Let Me Entertain You - 6:48
5. Play The Game - 9:52
6. Mustapha - 14:30
7. Death On Two Legs - 16:53
8. Killer Queen - 20:17
9. I'm In Love With My Car - 22:22
10. Get Down, Make Love - 24:24
11. Ming's Theme - 30:27
12. You're My Best Friend - 30:53
13. Save Me - 34:07
14. Now I'm Here - 38:23
15. Need Your Loving Tonight - 46:29
16. Rock It (Prime Jive) - 50:08
17. Love Of My Life - 55:45
18. Keep Yourself Alive - 59:29
19. Drum / Guitar Solos - 1:02:42
20. Brighton Rock (Reprise) - 1:11:36
21. Crazy Little Thing Called Love - 1:14:20
22. Bohemian Rhapsody - 1:18:50
23. Tie Your Mother Down - 1:24:10
24. Sheer Heart Attack - 1:30:11
25. We Will Rock You - 1:35:09
26. We Are The Champions - 1:37:31
27. God Save The Queen - 1:40:58

DISCLAIMER:
Regarding this and the other remasters yet to be featured, I've made a concerted effort to keep a reasonable balance between the time/effort being spent and the actual payoff. Using this show as an example, I could've potentially spent so many more hours/days/weeks finding and obsessing over any other miniscule artifact which could be present, but at a cost too significant to be deemed worthwhile. Time that could (and has) been spent focusing on a wide range of different shows to share with you over the remainder of 2025 instead 😃

In more simple terms, I'll never claim these live remasters are 100% perfect. But if I can reach 90%+ within a reasonable timeframe and is a noticeable improvement, I absolutely feel it's a worthwhile addition to the community. And hey! If any of you feel strongly enough about a certain show and have the urge to add your own final touches, you're more than welcome (with credit of course) 👍

DOWNLOAD:
Link can be found in the comments section (I'm unable to share links on YouTube directly at the moment)...