A Day at the Races Tour
The A Day at the Races Tour (also known as the World Tour '77, Summer Tour 1977 and the Jubilee Tour) was the fourth headlining concert tour by the British rock band Queen, supporting their late 1976 album A Day at the Races.
World 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 |
|
Queen concert chronology |
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. Of one such release – Top Fax, Pix And Info – 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."[4]
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)
Set list
This set list is representative of the 23 January 1977 performance in Richfield, Ohio. It does not represent all the set lists 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"
- "Now I'm Here"
- Encore
- A cover of Elton John's "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting" was performed on select dates.
- "Sweet Lady" was not performed in Seattle and Stockholm.
- "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy" and "Death On Two Legs" were performed in Europe.
- "In The Lap Of The Gods... Revisited" was not performed in Stockholm.
- "Doing All Right" was added to the set list June 3.
- During the second Liverpool show, Bo Diddley's "I'm a Man" was covered during the encore.
- Starting on 6 June, "Procession" opened the concert and the band covered Little Richard's "Lucille" was performed during the encore.
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 | [5] |
20 January | Saginaw, United States | Saginaw Civic Center | 7,200 / 7,200 | $42,637 | [5] |
28 January | Chicago, United States | Chicago Stadium | 13,000 / 13,000 | $101,465 | [6] |
5 February | New York City, United States | Madison Square Garden | 19,600 / 19,600 | $145,000 | [7] |
23 February | St. Louis, United States | Kiel Auditorium | 8,152 | $52,754 | [8] |
5 March | San Diego, United States | San Diego Sports Arena | 9,518 | $66,206 | [9] |
Cancelled shows
Date | City | Venue | Reason |
---|---|---|---|
29 January 1977 | Trotwood, Ohio | Hara Arena | — |
8 March 1977 | Sacramento, California | Sacramento Memorial Auditorium | |
9 March 1977 | Fresno, California | Selland Arena |
External links
Notes
- Originally scheduled on 5 March 1977.
- Originally scheduled at Jahrhunderthalle.
- Originally scheduled on 5 June 1977.
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. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
- Halfin, Ross (May 2015). "Who's Who". Classic Rock #209. p. 69.
- "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.