A Day at the Races Tour
Tour by Queen | |
Associated album | A Day at the Races |
---|---|
Start date | 13 January 1977 |
End date | 7 June 1977 |
Legs | 2 |
No. of shows | 40 in North America 19 in Europe 59 total |
Queen concert chronology |
The A Day at the Races Tour (also known as the World Tour '77, Summer Tour 1977 and the Jubilee Tour) was a concert tour by the British rock band Queen, supporting their late 1976 album A Day at the Races.
Background[]
This tour was the first in which the band played "Somebody to Love" and many others. "Brighton Rock" and "Bohemian Rhapsody" were performed full-length for the first time. Also, singer Freddie Mercury performed a vocal canon between "White Man" and "The Prophet's Song".
"When people started singing along, we found it kind of annoying…" recalled Brian May. "Then there was an enormous realisation, at Bingley Hall in the Midlands. They sang every note of every song. Freddie and I looked at each other and went, 'Something's happening here. We've been fighting it, and we should be embracing it.' That's where 'We Will Rock You' and 'We Are the Champions' came from. It was an epoch-making moment."[1]
The opening act for most of the North American concerts was Thin Lizzy. In New York City, the concert at Madison Square Garden sold out within moments of tickets going on sale.[2]
The final two shows at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre were recorded, with the band using an expensive lighting rig in the shape of a crown for the first time.[3] Both shows were also professionally recorded on video and the first can be found on many bootlegs.[citation needed] Of one such release – Top Fax, Pix And Info[4] – photographer Ross Halfin said: "It was a Silver Jubilee show. This had excellent soundboard quality. I actually shot this show as a much younger man."[5]
Tour band[]
- Freddie Mercury: Lead vocals, piano, tambourine.
- Brian May: Guitar, backing vocals, banjo ("Bring Back That Leroy Brown").
- Roger Taylor: Drums, backing vocals.
- John Deacon: Bass guitar, additional vocals, triangle.
Opening acts[]
- Thin Lizzy (North America, select dates)
- Cheap Trick (Milwaukee, Madison)
- Head East (Columbus, Indianapolis)
- The Outlaws (Columbus)
Setlists[]
Average setlist[]
This set list is representative of the performance on 23 January 1977 in Richfield, United States. It does not represent all the setlists for the duration of the tour.
- "A Day At The Races Overture"
- "Tie Your Mother Down"
- "Ogre Battle"
- "White Queen"
- "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 Prophet's Song"
- "Bohemian Rhapsody"
- "Stone Cold Crazy"
- "Keep Yourself Alive"
- "Liar"
- "In The Lap Of The Gods... Revisited"
Encore - "Now I'm Here"
Encore - "Big Spender"
- "Jailhouse Rock"
- "God Save The Queen"
Selected setlists[]
Tour dates[]
Box office score data[]
Date (1977) |
City | Venue | Attendance | Gross | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
18 January | Detroit, United States | Cobo Arena | 11,041 / 11,041 | $79,281 | [6] |
20 January | Saginaw, United States | Saginaw Civic Center | 7,200 / 7,200 | $42,637 | [6] |
28 January | Chicago, United States | Chicago Stadium | 13,000 / 13,000 | $101,465 | [7] |
5 February | New York City, United States | Madison Square Garden | 19,600 / 19,600 | $145,000 | [8] |
23 February | St. Louis, United States | Kiel Auditorium | 8,152 | $52,754 | [9] |
5 March | San Diego, United States | San Diego Sports Arena | 9,518 | $66,206 | [10] |
Cancellations and rescheduled shows[]
29 January 1977 | Trotwood, Ohio | Hara Arena | Cancelled |
5 March 1977 | San Francisco, California | Winterland Ballroom | Rescheduled to 6 March 1977 |
8 March 1977 | Sacramento, California | Sacramento Memorial Auditorium | Cancelled |
9 March 1977 | Fresno, California | Selland Arena | Cancelled |
14 May 1977 | Frankfurt, West Germany | Jahrhunderthalle | Moved to the Festhalle |
5 June 1977 | London, England | Earls Court Exhibition Centre | Rescheduled to 6 June 1977 |
External links[]
References[]
- ^ "Queen: Living Legends 2015", Classic Rock #217, December 2015, p15
- ^ Tiven, Jon (1977). "Queen's Live Act Stuns City". Circus. Archived from the original on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2009.
- ^ Hilburn, Robert (20 December 1978). "Pop Music Review: Putting Queen in Audio Seat Queen for a Night". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ discogs.com/Queen-Top-Fax-Pix-And-Info/master/688139
- ^ Halfin, Ross (May 2015). "Who's Who". Classic Rock #209. p. 69.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Top Box Office" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 89 no. 5. 5 February 1977. p. 38. ISSN 0006-2510.
- ^ "Top Box Office" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 89 no. 6. 12 February 1977. p. 41. ISSN 0006-2510.
- ^ "Top Box Office" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 89 no. 7. 19 February 1977. p. 35. ISSN 0006-2510.
- ^ "Top Box Office" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 89 no. 10. 12 March 1977. p. 88. ISSN 0006-2510.
- ^ "Top Box Office" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 89 no. 11. 19 March 1977. p. 40. ISSN 0006-2510.
- 1977 concert tours
- Queen (band) concert tours