Queen: The Complete Works (99 page)

The itinerary was a rigorous one: 25 shows in five weeks, with few nights off between shows. The set was restricted to a minimum of a dozen songs, with ‘Procession’ serving as a taped introduction (as it would for every show until May 1975) and ‘See What A Fool I’ve Been’ occasionally performed in lieu of ‘Hangman’. The set generally ended with ‘Big Spender’ and ‘Modern Times Rock ‘n’ Roll’ (the latter Roger’s first composition written for the band but with Freddie on lead vocals), the shows lasting between forty and forty-five minutes. Though press reaction was mixed (when it appeared: Queen were reportedly bemused that they weren’t receiving as much press as they felt they should have), fans who had come to see Mott were impressed with Queen, and the word-of-mouth exposure helped build Queen’s fan-base.

On 1 December, during Mott’s customary encore of ‘All The Young Dudes’, the band were invited on stage to assist with backing vocals. Brian, Roger and Freddie excitedly complied (John, not being a singer, watched from the wings), though no audio recording of this performance has surfaced. The final gig of the tour took place at the revered Hammersmith Odeon, with both bands performing an afternoon and evening show; Brian’s parents showed up to see their son in full flight for the first time within Queen. A humbled Harold May even signed an autograph for a rabid Queen fan who had discovered his identity.

The tour ended on 14 December, but the band still had further miscellaneous dates to fulfil that weren’t part of the Mott the Hoople excursion. The latter had been lengthy, but it was an enjoyable experience and the band were now ready for their own headlining campaign.

15 TO 28 DECEMBER 1973

Musicians:
John Deacon
(bass guitar)
, Brian May
(guitar, vocals)
, Freddie Mercury
(vocals)
, Roger Taylor
(drums, vocals)

Repertoire:
‘Procession’, ‘Father To Son’, ‘Son And Daughter’, ‘Ogre Battle’, ‘Hangman’, ‘Great King Rat’, ‘Jailhouse Rock’ / ‘Shake, Rattle & Roll’ / ‘Stupid Cupid’ / ‘Jailhouse Rock’
(reprise)
, ‘Keep Yourself Alive’, ‘Liar’, ‘Big Spender’, ‘Bama Lama Bama Loo’

Itinerary:

December 15: Leicester University, Leicester

December 21: County Hall, Taunton

December 22: Town Hall, Peterborough

December 28: Top Rank, Liverpool

Four additional shows were performed following the Mott the Hoople tour, with the gig at the Top Rank Suite in Liverpool reuniting the band with two old friends: second support group Great Day featured Mike Bersin, former Ibex guitarist and collaborator with Freddie, and Ken Testi, former Queen roadie and early band manager. Queen was second on the bill to 10cc at this gig, which would become their final supporting gig in the UK; they would support Mott the Hoople again in the spring of 1974, this time in North America.

1974

SUNBURY MUSIC FESTIVAL

2 FEBRUARY 1974

Musicians:
John Deacon
(bass guitar)
, Brian May
(guitar, vocals)
, Freddie Mercury
(vocals, tambourine)
, Roger Taylor
(drums, vocals)

Repertoire:
‘Procession’, ‘Father To Son’, ‘Son And Daughter’, ‘Ogre Battle’, ‘Hangman’, ‘Great King Rat’, ‘Jailhouse Rock’ / ‘Shake, Rattle And Roll’ / ‘Stupid Cupid’ / ‘Jailhouse Rock’
(reprise)
, ‘Keep Yourself Alive’, ‘Liar’, ‘Big Spender’, ‘Modern Times Rock ‘n’ Roll’

The Sunbury Music Festival was a three-day outdoor rock festival, held near Melbourne at the peak of an unbearable Australian summer. The band had been asked to headline there and, eager to expand their fan-base beyond European borders, agreed. Inoculations were given, later leading to Brian’s gangrene scare as described in Part Two, and the band flew to Melbourne on 28 January for a few days of rehearsals to ensure peak performance.

Unfortunately, alcohol consumption resulted in a belligerent crowd on the day. After local favourites Daddy Cool, playing their very last show, left the stage, there was a significant delay before Queen finally appeared. By this time, the crowd had worked themselves into a pessimistic frenzy, with their minds made up about the band before a single note had been played.

Part of the sour mood originated when the band, determined to make an impression, hired white limousines to whisk them from their hotel to the venue, which the locals saw as arrogant. The audience couldn’t fathom how an English group had taken precedence over all the established Australian bands on the bill, and held this against Queen. When the band reached the venue, another problem had arisen: their lighting rig had caused anger among the local crews, for the rig also came with Queen’s personal crew to operate it. The locals, outraged that they were losing both money and work as a result, went out of their way to be uncooperative and disruptive.

According to Brian May, the compere ambled out onto the stage to introduce Queen, though his speech did little to inspire confidence: “Well, we’ve got another load of limey bastards here tonight,” he recalled the DJ as saying. “They’re probably going to be useless, but let’s give ’em something to think about.” The man then exposed his bare backside to the audience, to much applause, and called Queen a bunch of “stuck-up pommies.” The band bounded out to perform the previous tour’s standard set list, and, contrary to the rancorous pre-show mood, the audience became receptive, and even cheered and whistled after songs. After their set, the same compere came back and effectively manipulated the audience out of calling Queen back for an encore. “Do you want more Queen?” he asked, mostly receiving replies in the affirmative. “Do you want more of those pommy bastards? How about Madden Lake?” he offered instead, which was met with a wilder and more positive reception.

The band were distressed by the circumstances and opted out of their performance the following day; additionally, Brian’s arm was causing him considerable pain, and Freddie had also developed an ear infection. Following such a negative experience, a weary Queen flew back to England for a well-deserved rest. Upon entering Heathrow airport, they were nonplussed to discover droves of photographers and reporters who had been mistakenly informed that Her Majesty the Queen would be there. An appropriate end to a trying experience.

QUEEN II UK TOUR

1 MARCH TO 2 APRIL 1974

Musicians:
John Deacon
(bass guitar)
, Brian May
(guitar, vocals)
, Freddie Mercury
(vocals, piano, tambourine)
, Roger Taylor
(drums, vocals)

Repertoire:
‘Procession’, ‘Father To Son’, ‘Ogre Battle’, ‘White Queen (As It Began)’, ‘Great King Rat’, ‘Hangman’, ‘Son And Daughter’, ‘Keep Yourself Alive’, ‘Liar’, ‘Jailhouse Rock’ / ‘Shake, Rattle And Roll’ / ‘Stupid Cupid’ / ‘Be Bop A Lula’ / ‘Jailhouse Rock’
(reprise)
, ‘Big Spender’, ‘Modern Times Rock ‘n’ Roll’

Itinerary:

March 1: Winter Gardens, Blackpool

March 2: Friars, Aylesbury

March 3: Guildhall, Plymouth

March 4: Festival Hall, Paignton

March 8: Locarno, Sunderland

March 9: Corn Exchange, Cambridge

March 10: Greyhound, Croydon

March 12: Roundhouse, Dagenham

March 14: Town Hall, Cheltenham

March 15: University, Glasgow

March 16: University, Stirling

March 19: Winter Gardens, Cleethorpes

March 20: University, Manchester

March 22: Civic Centre, Canvey Island

March 23: Links Pavilion, Cromer

March 24: Woods Leisure Centre, Colchester

March 26: Palace Lido, Douglas, Isle of Man

March 28: University, Aberystwyth

March 29: The Gardens, Penzance

March 30: Century Ballroom, Taunton

March 31: Rainbow Theatre, London

April 2: Barbarella’s, Birmingham
(postponed from 17 March)

Queen’s second major tour of the UK was already planned by the time ‘Seven Seas Of Rhye’ was released as their second single, but the track’s unexpected success helped make this tour their first sell-out. However, the first night in Blackpool got off to an inauspicious start when the van carrying their lighting rig was delayed, resulting in a late start.

The tour saw little change from the previous set list, though ‘White Queen (As It Began)’ and ‘Doing All Right’ were added, with Freddie perched at the piano for the first time. The Rock ‘n’ Roll Medley now appeared as an encore, with ‘Big Spender’ and ‘Modern Times Rock ‘n’ Roll’ becoming the second and final encore; ‘Liar’ concluded the regular set. Nutz supported the band on this tour, and were well liked by Queen; when it became clear that Nutz’s management hadn’t booked proper hotels, instead having them stay in dingy bungalows, Freddie exchanged words with their manager and offered to let the band stay with Queen when space permitted.

It’s rare that a flash of inspiration can be pinpointed to a specific time or place, but while the band were tuning up before their show in Plymouth, they overheard the audience singing ‘God Save The Queen’. Appreciating the gesture, the band would later record a version of the national anthem during sessions for
Sheer Heart Attack
, a track used to conclude almost every subsequent live performance.

The tour had been well received up to this point, though press coverage was minimal. Unfortunately, the press was present for the show in Stirling, reporting that “When Queen failed to return to the stage after three encores, fights started. Two members of Queen’s road crew were injured and taken to hospital. Sunday night’s gig at Barbarella’s, Birmingham, had to be cancelled for Queen were without sufficient crew and also had to answer police inquiries at Stirling.” That show was rescheduled to become the final night of the tour on 2 April. In light of the stress and aggravation, and the tedium of assembling and disassembling the lighting rig night after night, the lighting crew announced that they no longer wished to service the band any more. Trident duly arranged a replacement – James Dann – who would work for the band for many years.

Further aggravation came in Manchester when the band’s van was broken into while Queen were on stage; thieves stole John Deacon’s suitcase, which contained many personal items, including photos taken in Australia. Perhaps in an attempt to relieve pent-up frustration, the band started living the rock star lifestyle by having post-show parties back in the hotel which would carry on until all hours of the morning. Following their show on the Isle of Man, the band received word that
Queen II
had reached No. 7 in the UK, with their debut album finally reaching the charts as well, entering at No. 47. The band’s elation resulted in the demolition of a hotel room, which would subsequently become a further part of their tradition.

The band were convinced they’d be unable to sell out the prestigious Rainbow Theatre in Finsbury Park; promoter Mel Bush assured them otherwise, confident in Queen’s drawing power. He turned out to be correct when tickets for the show sold out within a week. The show wasn’t without incident, however: during ‘Liar’, Brian broke a string and had to jump to his back-up guitar, a Fender Stratocaster. The tour ended on 2 April with the rescheduled Birmingham concert, but not without incident: Roger had bet Dave Lloyd (the lead singer of Nutz) a bottle of champagne that he wouldn’t strip naked and streak across the stage. Lloyd and members of the road crew surprised the band during ‘Modern Times Rock ‘n’ Roll’ by accepting Roger’s challenge.

MOTT THE HOOPLE US TOUR

16 APRIL TO 12 MAY 1974

Musicians:
John Deacon
(bass guitar)
, Brian May
(guitar, vocals)
, Freddie Mercury
(vocals, piano, tambourine)
, Roger Taylor
(drums, vocals)

Repertoire:
‘Procession’, ‘Father To Son’, ‘Ogre Battle’, ‘White Queen (As It Began)’, ‘Doing All Right’, ‘Son And Daughter’, ‘Keep Yourself Alive’, ‘Seven Seas Of Rhye’, ‘Liar’, ‘Jailhouse Rock’ / ‘Shake, Rattle And Roll’ / ‘Stupid Cupid’ / ‘Be Bop A Lula’ / ‘Jailhouse Rock’
(reprise)
, ‘Big Spender’, ‘Modern Times Rock ‘n’ Roll’, ‘Great King Rat’, ‘Hangman’, ‘See What A Fool I’ve Been’

Itinerary:

April 16: Regis College, Denver, Colorado

April 17: Memorial Hall, Kansas City, Missouri

April 18: Keil Auditorium, St Louis, Missouri

April 19: Fairgrounds Appliance Building, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

April 20: Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee

April 21: St Bernard Civic Auditorium, New Orleans, Louisiana

April 26: Orpheum Theater, Boston, Massachusetts (
rescheduled from 27 April
)

April 27: Palace Theater, Providence, Rhode Island

April 28: Exposition Hall, Portland, Maine

May 1: Farm Arena, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

May 2: Agricultural Hall, Allentown, Pennsylvania

May 3: King’s College, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

May 4: Palace Theater, Waterbury, Connecticut

May 7-12: Uris Theater, New York, New York

After the 1973 tour in support of Mott the Hoople, Queen were asked back for a North American tour in the spring of 1974. Realizing the potential of a breakthrough there, the band promptly agreed – it was too good an opportunity to pass up. An eight-week tour was booked throughout mid-April and early June, covering most of the larger markets of the country (especially New England, where ‘Keep Yourself Alive’ had received considerable promotion). As befits the dynamic between opening act and the main draw, Mott the Hoople received most of the press, and any reports that Queen got were mostly negative. John Rockwell wrote of the first night at Uris Theater, “Queen, another British band, opened the bill. This was its first New York performance, and the group made a mixed impression. It was enjoyable enough to listen to, particularly Brian May’s virtuostic guitar playing. But Freddie Mercury, the lead singer, is addicted to the toothy, unconvincing posturings, and the other three members just stand about limply, unable to provide much visual relief.”

Still, the tour gave the band not only their first glimpse of America, but showed them the ropes of being a touring band. Brian would recall to
contactmusic.com
in 2011, “That was when we learned how to be rock stars. Just as you thought the day was over, one of Mott would burst into your room, loaded with bottles and whatever else, and off you’d go again. It was very, very full-on and very, very exciting.” Roger concurred: “Mott were perfect for us. They had an open-minded, very rock ‘n’ roll, insane audience. They were liberated, colourful – not the normal rock crowd... The shows got bigger, but it was rough. [Freddie] wouldn’t get out of the van some nights. He and Brian had black and white fingernails and literally wore dresses, but the tough audiences in Liverpool and Glasgow and Newcastle loved us.”