July 13, 1985: "It's twelve noon in London, seven AM in Philadelphia, and around the world it's time for Live Aid." Those were the words of Richard Skinner that opened the biggest international satellite in history at the time.

Now, 32 years on, it has been recreated in a field in Buckinghamshire, England, as you can see below, ahead of a new biopic film about the life and work of Freddie Mercury, the frontman of the iconic band, Queen, who stole the show at Live Aid.

The new film, to be released in 2018, will see Rami Malek (Twilight Saga, Need For Speed, Night At The Museum: Secret Of The Tomb) play legendary frontman Mercury.

Brian May (played by Gwilym Lee), Queen's famous long-curled hair guitarist, was on set and is acting as a producer on the movie.

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Ben Hardy (X-Men: Apocalypse) will play drummer Roger Taylor and Joseph Mazzello (Jurassic Park) will feature as bass guitarist John Deacon.

Thirty-six-year-old Malek was rumoured to have beaten Johnny Depp, Ben Whishaw (Q from the James Bond movies), and Sacha Baron Cohen (Ali G) to the role.

Credit: PA



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He told People: "When you're able to open your eyes and see a different person staring back at you in the mirror, it's a very affirming moment."

He added that the resemblance 'only adds to the level of confidence that one would need to play Freddie Mercury'.

The film will celebrate Queen's music rather than focusing on the personal life of Freddie Mercury - who died from AIDS in 1991, although this will be 'honoured' during the film.

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Credit: FameFlynet



Queen had six number one albums before Mercury's death in 1991, but only scored four number one singles in the same period.

Their biggest number one was, arguably, Bohemian Rhapsody, which topped the charts for nine weeks, a decade before the Live Aid concert, and went to top spot in the charts in the UK, Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, and New Zealand.

In 1985, at Wembley Stadium, Queen performed some of their biggest hits in front of approximately 72,000 people.

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Live Aid was beamed across the world to 150 countries and achieved an estimated global audience of 1.9 billion.

Its sole purpose was to raise funds for the ongoing Ethiopian famine and was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure.

Queen sang six songs, including Crazy Little Thing Called Love, We Will Rock You and We Are The Champions.

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