Queen: The Complete Works (101 page)

Consequently, the band wouldn’t return to Europe until May 1977, instead focusing on conquering America after an embarrassing false start.

1975

SHEER HEART ATTACK

NORTH AMERICAN TOUR

5 FEBRUARY TO 6 APRIL 1975

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:
‘Procession’, ‘Now I’m Here’, ‘Ogre Battle’, ‘Father To Son’, ‘White Queen (As It Began)’, ‘Flick Of The Wrist’, ‘In The Lap Of The Gods’ / ‘Killer Queen’ / ‘The March Of The Black Queen’ / ‘Bring Back That Leroy Brown’, ‘Son And Daughter’, ‘Keep Yourself Alive’, ‘Seven Seas Of Rhye’, ‘Stone Cold Crazy’, ‘Liar’, ‘In The Lap Of The Gods... Revisited’, ‘Big Spender’, ‘Modern Times Rock ‘n’ Roll’, ‘Jailhouse Rock’, ‘God Save The Queen’

Itinerary:

February 5: Agora, Columbus, Ohio

February 7: Palace Theater, Dayton, Ohio

February 8: Music Hall, Cleveland, Ohio (
afternoon and evening shows
)

February 9: Morris Civic Auditorium, South Bend, Indiana

February 10: Ford Auditorium, Detroit, Michigan

February 11: Student Union Auditorium, Toledo, Ohio

February 14: Palace Theater, Waterbury, Connecticut

February 15: Orpheum Theater, Boston, Massachusetts (
afternoon and evening shows
)

February 16: Avery Fisher Hall, New York, New York (
afternoon and evening shows
)

February 17: War Memorial, Trenton, New Jersey

February 19: Armory, Lewiston, New York

February 21: Capitol Theater, Passaic, New Jersey

February 22: Farm Arena, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

February 23: Erlinger Theater, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (
afternoon and evening shows
)

February 24: Kennedy Center, Washington DC

March 5: Mary E Sawyer Auditorium, La Crosse, Wisconsin

March 6: Dane County Coliseum, Madison, Wisconsin

March 7: Uptown Theater, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

March 8: Aragon Ballroom, Chicago, Illinois

March 9: Keil Auditorium, St Louis, Missouri

March 10: Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Indiana

March 12: Municipal Auditorium, Atlanta, Georgia

March 13: Civic Auditorium, Charleston, South Carolina

March 14: Marina, Miami, Florida

March 18: St Bernard Civic Auditorium, New Orleans, Louisiana

March 20: Municipal Hall, San Antonio, Texas

March 23: McFarlin Auditorium, Dallas, Texas

March 25: Municipal Theater, Tulsa, Oklahoma

March 29: Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California (
afternoon and evening shows
)

March 30: Winterland, San Francisco, California

April 2: Kindmens Fieldhouse, Edmonton, Alberta

April 3: Corral, Calgary, Alberta

April 6: venue unknown, Seattle, Washington

With their sights set on conquering America on their own, Queen flew to the Beacon Theater in New York City on 31 January 1975 to tighten their set list for the upcoming tour. They had been given a six-week break, which was used to their advantage: US tours are generally longer than most tours, since there’s more ground to cover, and Queen’s two-month tour would involve thirty-eight shows at thirty different venues. To provide further promotion, the band would give at least two radio interviews in each city, which became a source of irritation among the band, especially Roger, who later commented that he was often hungover during the interviews, and his threshold for answering the same tedious questions was considerably lower than usual.

Queen’s main support band for this tour was Kansas – the same band that had replaced them on the Mott The Hoople tour the previous year – though Mahogany Rush and Styx would occasionally fill in instead. Kansas lead singer Steve Walsh recalled years later in an interview with
classicbands.com
that Queen “were fantastic. Real nice people, except Freddie ... He was an asshole. But everybody else was great ... He was a prima donna. Diva, if you will. That word was not meant to be a compliment, although a lot of people consider it to be. That’s bullshit. That’s having an ego bigger than you are talented, bigger than you deserved. That’s what being a diva is. That’s what a prima donna is and that’s what Freddie was.”

Unfortunately for Queen, the tour was marred by further health problems. Because of the demanding itinerary, Freddie’s voice gave out completely after the second show in Philadelphia. A throat specialist from the Philadelphia University Hospital was called, diagnosing two suspected throat nodules and recommending the vocalist refrain from singing, and even speaking, for three months. Not wanting to disappoint the band or the fans, Freddie decided to test out his voice on one more show (Washington DC), which didn’t see any drastic change for the better. The others hadn’t been informed of Freddie’s condition until before the Washington show, when they were told that it would be their last for at least three months. Freddie sought a second opinion, with a local specialist again called in; the vocalist was informed he had severe swelling but that nodules weren’t the cause and only one or two weeks’ rest was necessary. Relieved, Queen cancelled six concerts, recommencing the tour in Wisconsin on 5 March.

The tour continued largely without incident, though Freddie still had problems with his voice; consequently, some dates were postponed to give him more time to relax, with the final show in Portland on 7 April being cancelled altogether. Not all problems were related to health: during the evening concert in Los Angeles, John split his trousers early in the show, which caused Freddie to exclaim, “Bass guitarist John Deacon, oh he’s there. He’s split his trousers! Have a look! A little nice bit of fun.” The embarrassed bassist was able to slink off and change during Brian’s guitar solo. On a more significant note, Brian and Roger
witnessed Led Zeppelin’s epic 27 March concert at the Los Angeles Forum, and Brian later commented that his dream was to appear with them with Queen. “We thought if we played the Rainbow in London we’d made it,” Brian recalled. “Then we saw Zeppelin at the Forum and thought, ‘Jesus Christ, if we ever make this kind of thing’ ... Our manager was there and he said, ‘Couple of years’ time, you’ll be doing this’.” They would do so less than two years later.

While the audience reception to the tour was wild, critical notices were decidedly mixed.
The Boston Globe
wrote that Queen’s nemeses, Lynyrd Skynyrd, were once again the opening act at the afternoon show at the Orpheum, but they declined to appear for the evening show. “Credit Mr May for Queen’s distinctively sophisticated electronic sound which explores new musical frontiers without resorting to the use of synthesizers. His carefully controlled echo effects provide a perfect background for the exaggerated histrionics of lead singer Freddie Mercury. Bedecked in a skin-tight white satin suit, fingernails painted black and flashing the toothiest grin you’ve ever seen, Mercury is very much the center of attention in Queen’s stage show. Prancing back and forth with both grace and a hint of naughtiness, he is in total command of his audience. And this audience loved every minute of it.” Another review was more constructive: “One of the group’s strong points – the dynamic interplay between and within songs and the juxtaposition of heavy, bashing numbers with lighter, relatively frail pop tunes – is, in its absence, one of the major complaints that can be leveled against Queen’s live show. Perhaps it was because their concert a week ago last Saturday at the Orpheum was their first appearance in Boston ... but one of the unsettling undercurrents which kept an immensely enjoyable concert from being categorized as great was a feeling that Queen was simply trying too hard ... Nevertheless, such complaining is virtual quibbling when considering just how far above the current standard of rock music Queen stands.”

Lisa Robinson’s review of the New York show was more sarcastic in its tone: “Smoke is coming out at the audience and I turn to Lee Childers to ask what the name of this song is. ‘What’s the name of this? Are you kidding? “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes”, darling.’ Oh. It actually sounds like ‘Flick Of The Wrist’ or ‘Tenement Funster’ – one of those from
Sheer Heart Attack
that remind me of Bowie – but I could be wrong. Anyway, the sound is good – the entire stage production looked dramatically effective ... and Freddie Mercury’s stage presence is simply overwhelming ... All of a sudden it is apparent that the dry ice/smoke machine is not working properly. A mixture of smoke and dry ice comes rolling over the stage and nearly asphyxiates the front three rows, the rows I might add, in which all journalists have been placed. I think it is a riot. A boy in front of me puts up an umbrella. I also notice that a boy on the aisle to my left is totally nodded out; head slumped over the arm of the chair.”

The New York Times
was especially vicious of Queen’s popularity and headlining stature: “Its last time here, six months ago, it was at the bottom of the bill in a Broadway rock season. And yet it’s difficult to see why Queen deserves this fervor. The music, falling into the heavy metal variety, full of ponderous chord and dramatic pause, is scarcely superoriginal, and its instrumental technique has been heard before – Brian May, guitarist, is heavily into feedback, occasionally to the point of regurgitation. Even the singing and stage mannerisms of Freddie Mercury glitter in the reflections of others.” Chris Charlesworth wasn’t impressed either, and indicated the critical disconnect from fan appreciation: “Queen’s music, to me, was tedious, and their on-stage presence (an essential quality if you choose to run the heavy-rock-with-glitter-overtones race) was an almost laughably bizarre mish-mash of every other more successful band of their genre ... It is only fair to point out that my view of the concert appeared to be that of the minority and the majority went home satisfied.”

SHEER HEART ATTACK JAPANESE TOUR

19 APRIL TO 1 MAY 1975

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:
‘Procession’, ‘Now I’m Here’, ‘Ogre Battle’, Father To Son’, ‘White Queen (As It Began)’, ‘Flick Of The Wrist’, ‘Hangman’, ‘Great King Rat’, ‘In The Lap Of The Gods’ / ‘Killer Queen’ / ‘The March Of The Black Queen’ / ‘Bring Back That Leroy Brown’, ‘Son And Daughter’, ‘Doing All Right’, ‘Keep Yourself Alive’, Seven Seas Of Rhye’, ‘Stone Cold Crazy’, ‘Liar’, ‘In The Lap Of The Gods... Revisited’, ‘Big Spender’, ‘Modern Times Rock ‘n’ Roll’, ‘Jailhouse Rock’, ‘See What A Fool I’ve Been’, ‘God Save The Queen’

Itinerary:

April 19: Budokan Hall, Tokyo

April 22: Aichi Taiikukan, Nagoya

April 23: Nokusai Taikan, Kobe

April 25: Kyuden Taiikukan, Fukuoka

April 28: Taiikukan, Okayama

April 29: Yamaha Tsumagoi Hall, Shizuoka

April 30: Bunkan Taiikukan, Yokohama

May 1: Budokan Hall, Tokyo

Following Queen’s successful North American tour, the band flew to Kawai in Hawaii for a short break before venturing to Japan. Arriving at Haneda Airport on 17 April, they were surprised to discover over 3000 screaming fans greeting them as they walked off the plane. They were then whisked off to a press reception and presented with awards for high record sales for
Sheer Heart Attack
and ‘Killer Queen’. Their reception was equated to the Beatlemania of a decade before, and would be reprised every time Queen visited the country. Roger later recalled with amusement that when he entered a store, the owner recognized him and repeated “Ah, you Queen!” while he took pictures of the bemused drummer for 10 minutes.

The tour started on 19 April at the Budokan Arena, which was immediately sold out. The excitement of the 10,000-strong crowd was so great that, when the band appeared, a pack of fans rushed the stage and Freddie stopped the show to retain order. Luckily for the band, local promoters had employed sumo wrestlers as a means of security. The reception throughout the tour only intensified, and the band played off this energy by delivering not only a high octane set every night, but also delivering a few rarities: both ‘Great King Rat’ and ‘See What A Fool I’ve Been’ were rotated in periodically, while ‘Hangman’ was performed on the final night. Its appearance in the set was a raritiy these days, and Queen would return to it only once more: the following year, once again at the Budokan Arena.

John later commented that when the audiences were screaming during the band’s set, it seemed as if the arena walls were shaking, making for a scary yet exhilarating experience. Queen were touched at the warmth the locals exuded: Freddie, especially, fell in love with the country, and would make special trips there for shopping excursions or to just enjoy the culture and the people. Brian’s friend Chris Smith visited the guitarist after the tour, and found a dejected guitarist: “He said, ‘I was just in The Beatles. We got this amazing reception, even at the airport. Now I’ve gone from that to this,’” as he gestured at his bathroom wall covered in fungus. The band made a collective decision: Trident had to go, and a proposed return to North America in September was canceled, as was a US-only single release of a re-recorded ‘Keep Yourself Alive’. They would spend the better part of the summer and autumn battling their management while recording their fourth album.

A NIGHT AT THE OPERA UK TOUR

14 NOVEMBER TO 24 DECEMBER 1975

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’