Queen: The Complete Works (103 page)

A NIGHT AT THE OPERA JAPANESE TOUR

22 MARCH TO 4 APRIL 1976

Musicians:
John Deacon
(bass guitar, triangle on ‘Killer Queen’)
, Brian May
(guitar, vocals, banjo on ‘Bring Back That Leroy Brown’)
, Freddie Mercury
(vocals, piano, tambourine)
, Roger Taylor
(drums, vocals)

Repertoire:
‘Bohemian Rhapsody’
(taped intro)
, ‘Ogre Battle’, ‘Sweet Lady’, ‘White Queen (As It Began)’, ‘Flick Of The Wrist’, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ / ‘Killer Queen’ / ‘The March Of The Black Queen’ / ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’
(reprise)
/ ‘Bring Back That Leroy Brown’, ‘Son And Daughter’, ‘The Prophets Song, ‘Stone Cold Crazy’, ‘Doing All Right’, ‘Keep Yourself Alive’, ‘Seven Seas Of Rhye’, ‘Liar’, ‘In The Lap Of The Gods... Revisited’, ‘Now I’m Here’, ‘Big Spender’, ‘Jailhouse Rock’, ‘God Save The Queen’, ‘Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon’, ‘Modern Times Rock ‘n’ Roll’, ‘See What A Fool I’ve
Been’, ‘Hangman’, ‘Father To Son’, ‘Shake, Rattle & Roll’, ‘Stupid Cupid’, ‘Be Bop A Lula’, ‘Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting’, ‘Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On’

Itinerary:

March 22: Budokan Hall, Tokyo

March 23: Aichi Ken Gymnasium, Nagoya

March 24: Kosei Kaikan, Himeji City

March 26: Kyuden Gymnasium, Fukuoka (
afternoon and evening shows
)

March 29: Kosei Nenkin Kaikan, Osaka (
afternoon and evening shows
)

March 31/April 1: Budokan Hall, Tokyo

April 2: Miyagi-Ken Sports Centre, Sendai

April 4: Nichidai Kodo, Tokyo

Considering the overwhelming response Queen received in Japan the previous year, it was no surprise that they agreed to return, with ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and
A Night At The Opera
making waves worldwide. This time, the Japanese tour was more adventurous, taking in more cities and featuring, on two occasions, both afternoon and evening shows, though this would wreak havoc on Freddie, and most of the shows from this leg found his voice in rough shape. The shows went over extremely well, with the audience often whipping themselves into a frenzy, and it was this reception that influenced Brian to write ‘Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)’, recorded and released later in the year on
A Day At The Races
.

A NIGHT AT THE OPERA AUSTRALIAN TOUR

11 TO 22 APRIL 1976

Musicians:
John Deacon
(bass guitar, triangle on ‘Killer Queen’)
, Brian May
(guitar, vocals, banjo on ‘Bring Back That Leroy Brown’)
, Freddie Mercury
(vocals, piano, tambourine)
, Roger Taylor
(drums, vocals)

Repertoire:
‘Bohemian Rhapsody’
(taped intro)
, ‘Ogre Battle’, ‘Sweet Lady’, ‘White Queen (As It Began)’, ‘Flick Of The Wrist’, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ / ‘Killer Queen’ / ‘The March Of The Black Queen’ / ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’
(reprise)
/ ‘Bring Back That Leroy Brown’, ‘Son And Daughter’, ‘The Prophets Song’, ‘Stone Cold Crazy’, ‘Doing All Right’, ‘Keep Yourself Alive’, ‘Seven Seas Of Rhye’, ‘Liar’, ‘In The Lap Of The Gods... Revisited’, ‘Now I’m Here’, ‘Big Spender’, ‘Jailhouse Rock’, ‘God Save The Queen’, ‘Modern Times Rock ‘n’ Roll’, ‘See What A Fool I’ve Been’, ‘Hangman’, ‘Shake, Rattle & Roll’, ‘Stupid Cupid’, ‘Be Bop A Lula’, ‘Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting’, ‘Father To Son’

Itinerary:

April 11: Entertainment Centre, Perth

April 14/15: Apollo Stadium, Adelaide

April 17/18: Horden Pavilion, Sydney

April 19/20: Festival Hall, Melbourne

April 22: Festival Hall, Brisbane

Upon leaving the stage at the Sunbury Festival in February 1974, Freddie reportedly sneered at the audience, “The next time we visit Australia, we’ll be one of the biggest bands in the world.” With ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and
A Night At The Opera
both in the upper reaches of the charts at the time, Freddie’s seemingly arrogant outburst proved to be correct when they returned to Australia two years later. As with the other legs of the
A Night At The Opera
tour, the set list remained unchanged, though there were occasional recitals of ‘Hangman’, ‘Father To Son’, ‘Modern Times Rock ‘n’ Roll’ and ‘See What A Fool I’ve Been’. The tour was completely sold out and Australian audiences were more receptive to Queen this time around, which pleased the band immensely; as it happened, however, they wouldn’t return for nearly a decade.

SUMMER UK TOUR

1 TO 18 SEPTEMBER 1976

Musicians:
John Deacon
(bass guitar, triangle on ‘Killer Queen’)
, Brian May
(guitar, vocals, banjo on ‘Bring Back That Leroy Brown’, acoustic guitar on ‘’39’)
, Freddie Mercury
(vocals, piano, tambourine)
, Roger Taylor
(drums, vocals, bass drum and tambourine on ‘’39’)

Repertoire:
‘Bohemian Rhapsody’
(taped intro)
, ‘Ogre Battle’, ‘Sweet Lady’, ‘White Queen (As It Began)’, ‘Flick Of The Wrist’, ‘You’re My Best Friend’ / ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ / ‘Killer Queen’ / ‘The March Of The Black Queen’ / ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’
(reprise)
/ ‘Bring Back That Leroy Brown’, ‘Brighton Rock’, ‘Son And Daughter’
(reprise)
, ‘’39’, ‘You Take My Breath Away’, ‘The Prophets Song’, ‘Stone Cold Crazy’, ‘Doing All Right’, ‘Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon’, ‘Tie Your Mother Down’, ‘Keep Yourself Alive’, ‘Liar’, ‘In The Lap Of The Gods... Revisited’, ‘Now I’m Here’, ‘Big Spender’, ‘Jailhouse Rock’, ‘God Save The Queen’

Itinerary:

September 1/2: Playhouse Theatre, Edinburgh

September 10: Cardiff Castle, Cardiff

September 18: Hyde Park, London

After Queen returned home from their lengthy
A Night At The Opera
world tour, they deliberately allowed themselves a rest from both live and studio work. In July, they started work on
A Day At The Races
but quickly realized that work was taking longer than anticipated, meaning that an extensive tour during the remainder of the year would be impossible.

Four shows in September were offered as a reasonable substitute: the first two dates, on 1 and 2 September (originally planned for 20 and 21 August, according to
Melody Maker
), were held in Edinburgh as part of the Scottish Festival of Popular Music, and Queen appeared on the bill alongside Elton John, John Miles, Rainbow and comedian Billy Connolly. The third date at Cardiff Castle was also a multi-billed festival, with Queen headlining and Manfred Mann, Andy Fairweather-Low and Frankie Miller’s Full House appearing as support. The fourth and final date, eight days after the Cardiff appearance (which, in turn, had been eight days after the Scottish dates), was a free concert in Hyde Park held on the sixth anniversary of Jimi Hendrix’s death. This was designed as a homecoming for Queen, as well as a token of appreciation (hence no admission charge) to their British fans for their support. Queen’s support comprised Steve Hillage, Kiki Dee and Supercharge.

What was most surprising about these concerts was that Queen still hadn’t finished
A Day At The Races
, with the four dates falling right in the middle of recording sessions. Towards the end of August, the band halted sessions and commenced rehearsals, though the set still mirrored the repertoire they had performed on the
A Night At The Opera
tour. There were a few new additions: ‘Tie Your Mother Down’ and ‘You Take My Breath Away’ were added, with the latter appearing during an acoustic segment that also included the previously unperformed ‘’39’ and ‘You’re My Best Friend’. These concerts would be among the few occasions when Queen introduced new, unreleased material into a live show.

During the Hyde Park concert a set list shake-up occurred: due to time constraints, ‘Doing All Right’, ‘Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon’, ‘Tie Your Mother Down’ and all songs including ‘Now I’m Here’ and beyond were not performed. The band had been allowed an hour to perform by the local police and, when their set over-ran by twenty minutes, the band were threatened with jail if they attempted to return to the stage. Freddie in particular had little desire to be hauled away in a white leotard, so duly complied. Bob Harris, who compered the event, had the unenviable task of informing the crowd of 150,000 to 200,000 people that, despite their cries of “We want Queen!”, the band’s set was over.

Record Mirror
wrote of Queen’s Edinburgh gigs, “After four months rehearsing new material, [they] bounced back into concert with an explosive one-and-a-half hour set at the Playhouse, which earned them a standing ovation. They oozed class, and seemed to be having a ball on stage after their lay-off. They were visually stunning, the lighting effects synchronizing with the sounds, and their musicianship was impressive.”
NME
, meanwhile, ripped the band to shreds: “Basically, it’s rubbish, a theatrical synthesis of the grossest lumps of regimented noise the sometime power trio can contrive. As they thunder away, Mercury emerges from the wings once more, looking like a frog in a balletic white skintight catsuit, and magesterially conjures up giant flashes that erupt deafeningly out of the stage. The audience do likewise from their serried seats.”
Record Mirror
was more (reluctantly) positive of their Hyde Park gig, drawing attention to the synchronicity of the band’s deliberate performance on the sixth anniversary of Jimi Hendrix’s death (even calling Brian a “silver winged angel”): “Queen aren’t Hendrix, they’re Queen. Or, to put it another way, they’re Freddie Mercury. He’s an overt poser, a slick precision-like and ultimately professional entertainer who has found his way into that small gang of people we call stars. His performance before 50,000 people in Hyde Park on Saturday was proof that he could stand beside Jagger, Bowie and a handful of Americans.”

The show had an effect on both Queen’s fans and the band themselves, with Brian later recalling, “I think that Hyde Park was one of the most significant gigs in our career. There was a great affection because we’d kind of made it in a lot of countries by that time, but England was still, you know, we weren’t really sure if we were really acceptable here. So it was a wonderful feeling to come back and see that crowd and get that response.”

1977

QUEEN LIZZY NORTH AMERICAN TOUR:

13 JANUARY TO 18 MARCH 1977

Musicians:
John Deacon
(bass guitar, triangle on ‘Killer Queen’)
, Brian May
(guitar, vocals, banjo on ‘Bring Back That Leroy Brown’, acoustic guitar on ‘’39’)
, Freddie Mercury
(vocals, piano, tambourine)
, Roger Taylor
(drums, vocals, bass drum and tambourine on ‘’39’) Repertoire:
‘Intro’, ‘Tie Your Mother Down’, ‘Ogre Battle’, ‘White Queen (As It Began)’, ‘Somebody To Love’, ‘Killer Queen’ / ‘The Millionaire Waltz’ / ‘You’re My Best Friend’ / ‘Bring Back That Leroy Brown’, ‘Sweet Lady’, ‘Brighton Rock’, ‘’39’, ‘You Take My Breath Away’, ‘White Man’, ‘The Prophets Song’, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, ‘Stone Cold Crazy’, ‘Keep Yourself Alive’, ‘Liar’, ‘In The Lap Of The Gods... Revisited’, ‘Now I’m Here’, ‘Big Spender’, ‘Jailhouse Rock’, ‘God Save The Queen’, ‘Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting’, ‘Stupid Cupid’, ‘Be Bop A Lula’

Itinerary:

January 13: Auditorium, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

January 14: Dane County Coliseum, Madison, Wisconsin

January 15: Gardens, Columbus, Ohio

January 16: Convention Center, Indianapolis, Indiana

January 18: Cobo Hall, Detroit, Michigan

January 20: Civic Center, Saginaw, Michigan

January 21: Elliot Hall of Music, Louisville, Kentucky

January 22: Wings Stadium, Kalamazoo, Michigan

January 23: Richfield Coliseum, Cleveland, Ohio

January 25: Central Canadian Exhibition Center, Ottawa, Ontario

January 26: The Forum, Montreal, Quebec

January 28: Stadium, Chicago, Illinois

January 30: St John’s Arena, Toledo, Ohio

February 1: Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario

February 3: Civic Center, Springfield, Illinois

February 4: University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland

February 5: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York

February 6: Nassau Coliseum, Long Island, New York

February 8: War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse, New York

February 9: Boston Gardens, Boston, Massachusetts

February 10: Civic Center, Providence, Rhode Island

February 11: Civic Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

February 19: Sportatorium, Miami, Florida

February 20: Civic Center, Lakeland, Florida

February 21: Fox Theater, Atlanta, Georgia

February 22: Auditorium, Birmingham, Alabama

February 24: Keil Auditorium, St Louis, Missouri

February 25: Lloyd Noble Center, Norman, Oklahoma

February 26: Moody Coliseum, Dallas, Texas

February 27: Sam Houston Arena, Houston, Texas

March 1: Coliseum, Phoenix, Arizona

March 3/4: The Forum, Los Angeles, California

March 5: Sports Arena, San Diego, California

March 6: Winterland, San Francisco, California

March 11: PNE Coliseum, Vancouver, British Columbia

March 12: Paramount, Portland, Oregon

March 13: Arena, Seattle, Washington

March 16/17: Jubilee Auditorium, Calgary, Alberta

March 18: Northlands Arena, Edmonton, Alberta

When
A Day At The Races
was finally completed in November 1976, the band made the radical decision to not tour the album right away. Even so, 1977 would prove one of their busiest years.

The band flew to Boston in the first week of January to commence ten days of rehearsals for a major American tour. The set list was significantly restructured to accommodate new material. ‘The March Of The Black Queen’ was dropped, as was the ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ taped intro; in its stead was the guitar intro of
A Day At The Races
, while the now-departed opener would be performed in its entirety later in the set. In addition, ‘Somebody To Love’, ‘The Millionaire Waltz’ and ‘White Man’ were all added to the set. The mid-set medley also saw a shake-up, with ‘Killer Queen’ becoming the opening number, followed by ‘The Millionaire Waltz’, ‘You’re My Best Friend’ and ‘Bring Back That Leroy Brown’. Less frequent performances of ‘Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting’, ‘Stupid Cupid’ and ‘Be Bop A Lula’ occasionally peppered the sets, depending on the band’s collective mood and the audience reception.