by Georg Purvis
The tour progressed through Cornwall and was well received, though, at Driftwood Spars on 9 August, the band ran into an issue that was poorly handled. The owner of the pub ran onto the stage when the band started their set and demanded that they turn their amplifiers down, but the band refused. After the show, heated words were exchanged between band and owner, who threatened not to pay them, but the situation was ultimately smoothed over and the band were given their money. On the way back to their rented house, Roger’s knowledge of the back roads of his home town helped the band avoid disaster: a group of local teenagers gave chase after the band’s van, but they were able to escape their tormentors.
The final night was at Carnon Downs Festival in Tregye, where the band performed their first outdoor gig and were second from bottom on the bill, behind headliners Arthur Brown’s Kingdom Come followed by Hawkwind, The Duster Bennett Band, Tea And Symphony, Brewer’s Droop, Indian Summer and Graphite. Barracuda was the only band to appear beneath Queen. Advertisements for the festival depicted a nude girl with a floppy summer hat playing a flute, with “Food, freaks, licensed bar and lovely things” promised for those who attended.
Roadie Ken Testi had been taking classes in St Helen’s while the band were out on the road and, when the Cornish tour ended, he secured time at De Lane Lea Studios for Queen to record a demo tape. While these recordings took place between September and December, all four band members continued their studies so they would have something to fall back on in case Queen didn’t work out. Roger had signed up for a course at the North London Polytechnic with a focus on a biology degree back in July, though he had only done so because he was in need of extra cash and the course he chose earned him eligibility for a grant. Brian took up a teaching position at Stockwell Manor School, John continued studying for his degree in electronics, and Freddie continued to run his Kensington Market stall with Roger, though he would leave late in 1971.
With a demo tape in his hand, Ken Testi shopped the band around to record companies and attracted the attention of Paul Conroy, an employee of Charisma Records, who got Ken a meeting with the owner, Tony Stratton-Smith. The band were offered an advance of £20,000, which was tempting, but the offer was turned down and used as leverage for future offers from other record labels. Ken continued to work hard for Queen while the band themselves finished up the year with two shows: the first at the Swimming Baths in Epsom on 9 December, the second a New Year’s Eve bash at the Twickenham Rugby Club.
1972
28 JANUARY TO 20 DECEMBER
Musicians: John Deacon (bass guitar), Brian May (guitar, vocals), Freddie Mercury (vocals, tambourine), Roger Taylor (drums, vocals)
Repertoire included: ‘Son And Daughter’, ‘Great King Rat’, ‘Jesus’, ‘The Night Comes Down’, ‘Liar’, ‘Keep Yourself Alive’, ‘See What A Fool I’ve Been’, ‘Stone Cold Crazy’, ‘Hangman’, ‘Jailhouse Rock’, ‘Bama Lama Bama Loo’, ‘Doing All Right’, ‘Jailhouse Rock’, ‘Be Bop A Lula’, ‘Shake, Rattle & Roll’, ‘Stupid Cupid’, ‘Big Spender’
Itinerary:
January 28: Bedford College, London
March 10: Kings College Hospital Medical School, London
March 24: Forest Hill Hospital, London
November 6: Pheasantry Club, London
December 20: Marquee Club, London
The band performed only five known dates in 1972. Brian, Roger and John were still involved with their studies, which took precedence for much of the year. Nevertheless, the five gigs the band performed were memorable.
The first, on 28 January at Bedford College, was arranged by John and saw only six people show up; he later cited this as one of the most embarrassing experiences of his career. The second was organized by Ken Testi’s two flatmates, Paul Conroy and Lyndsay Brown, who had been hassled by Ken for gigs relentlessly. Queen were given the support spot at King’s College Hospital, and it was from this show that the earliest known set list of a Queen show has surfaced: ‘Son And Daughter’, ‘Great King Rat’, ‘Jesus’, ‘The Night Comes Down’, ‘Liar’, ‘Keep Yourself Alive’, ‘See What A Fool I’ve Been’, ‘Stone Cold Crazy’, ‘Hangman’, ‘Jailhouse Rock’ and ‘Bama Lama Bama Loo’ were all played that night.
After months of deliberation and negotiation, the band were signed to Trident in November 1972, though recording sessions for their first album had started over the summer. In September, Roger graduated from North London Polytechnic with a degree in biology while John received a degree in electronics from London University. Brian was still holding on to his teaching job, and his thesis had been drafted but not typed when he decided that music was to become his life. His professors balked at the idea and tried to convince him otherwise (one teacher asked him to consider the “prospects, security and pension” of a doctorate) but Brian wouldn’t budge; Queen was his passion.
The band played only two more gigs during the year: one at the Pheasantry Club in London and another at the Marquee Club on 20 December, where the set was recorded and is now owned by Queen Productions; ‘Great King Rat’, ‘Son And Daughter’, ‘Jesus’, ‘Doing All Right’, ‘Ogre Battle’, ‘Keep Yourself Alive’, ‘Liar’, ‘Jailhouse Rock’ and ‘Bama Lama Bama Loo’ made up the set list. These two shows were designed as showcases to drum up interest in a record deal (Trident wasn’t a record company, but a management organization), though none was forthcoming.
1973
9 APRIL TO 2 NOVEMBER
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’, ‘Stone Cold Crazy’, ‘Keep Yourself Alive’, ‘Liar’, ‘See What A Fool I’ve Been’, ‘Jailhouse Rock’ / ‘Stupid Cupid’ / ‘Big Spender’ / ‘Bama Lama Bama Loo’ / ‘Jailhouse Rock’ (reprise)
Itinerary:
April 9: Marquee Club, London
July 13: Queen Mary College, Basingstroke
September 13: Golders Green Hippodrome, London
October 13: Underground, Bonn-Bad Godesburg, Germany
October 14: Le Blow Up, Luxembourg, Luxembourg
October 20: Paris Theatre, London
October 26: Imperial College, London
November 2: Imperial College, London
Most of 1973 was spent putting finishing touches to Queen’s debut album, and the band would perform only eight live shows between April and the beginning of November. Their first show of the year was at the Marquee Club for a third showcase gig, this time for Jac Holtzman at Elektra; he was so enamoured with the band that he signed them directly after the show. EMI had signed the band for the UK the previous month and, after two years of slogging away on their debut album, the band finally had representation in the two dominant music industries.
Their next performance came on the same day the debut album was released, though the set list by this time started to represent music that would be incorporated onto their second and third albums: ‘Father To Son’ and ‘Ogre Battle’ would later surface on Queen II, while ‘Stone Cold Crazy’ was featured on Sheer Heart Attack, yet all three were concert favourites during this time.
The band were offered a live radio broadcast from the BBC’s Golders Green Hippodrome in September, having just recorded their second album, but the BBC radio session would be their only gig for a month. Their 13 October performance in Bonn was their first show in a country other than England, and the next night they travelled to Luxembourg for a show to be broadcast on Radio Luxembourg’s In Concert; the equipment reportedly failed, however, and nothing was recorded. Another Radio One In Concert gig was to take place on 20 October, but it appears that, once again, the equipment failed and nothing was transmitted. The last two shows before their first major tour were at Imperial College: their first appearance, on 26 October, was attended by Paul Watts, an EMI representative who had signed the band back in March; their second appearance o
n 2 November was a last-minute rehearsal for the upcoming tour.
Set lists for these eight concerts are, like earlier repertoires, unknown, but a good selection of new and old songs was performed. The set started to take a more structured form, with the Queen II instrumental, ‘Procession’, used as introductory music played over the PA before the band entered for ‘Father To Son’, which had become the new set opener. ‘Jesus’ and ‘The Night Comes Down’ were omitted, while ‘Hangman’ and ‘See What A Fool I’ve Been’ were retained and would be performed intermittently through 1975 and 1976 respectively.
The band weren’t receiving much press in the early days, apart from a few interviews (the group held one in Melody Maker in July, while Brian got his own in Guitar magazine the following month), and whatever press did come through was mostly non-committal praise. Rosemary Horide was an early champion of the band, and praised their November Imperial College concert in Disc: “Six months ago [at the Marquee in April], when I saw the band, they showed promise but weren’t very together. This time they were very good ... The group were musically very good, their stage presence was excellent and when you consider that the material was all their own, it was a remarkable performance for a new group. The material was far above average, and it was obvious how hard the band worked at entertaining by the tremendous rapport that was established ... On the whole it was a very good night, and a highly creditable performance. If Queen are this good on the tour with Mott The Hoople (which they start next week) Mott had better watch out. Queen could turn out to be a bit more than just a support band.”
MOTT THE HOOPLE UK TOUR:
12 NOVEMBER TO 14 DECEMBER 1973
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 & Roll’, ‘Keep Yourself Alive’, ‘Liar’, ‘Big Spender’, ‘Modern Times Rock ‘n’ Roll’, ‘See What A Fool I’ve Been’
Itinerary:
November 12: Town Hall, Leeds
November 13: St Georges, Blackburn
November 15: Gaumont, Worcester
November 16: Lancaster University, Lancaster
November 17: Liverpool Stadium, Liverpool
November 18: Victoria Hall, Hanley
November 19: Civic Hall, Wolverhampton
November 20: New Theatre, Oxford
November 21: Guildhall, Preston
November 22: City Hall, Newcastle
November 23: Apollo Theatre, Glasgow
November 25: Caley Cinema, Edinburgh
November 26: Opera House, Manchester
November 27: Town Hall, Birmingham
November 28: Brangwyn Hall, Swansea
November 29: Colston Hall, Bristol
November 30: Winter Gardens, Bournemouth
December 1: Kursaal, Southend
December 2: Central Hall, Chatham
December 6: Cheltenham College, Cheltenham
December 7: Shaftesbury Hall, London
December 8: Liverpool University, Liverpool
December 14: Hammersmith Odeon, London (afternoon and evening shows)
In September 1973, Queen’s manager in America, Jack Nelson, contacted Bob Hirschmann, manager of Mott the Hoople, and asked if they would be interested in having Queen on board for their upcoming UK tour. Hirschmann, an acquaintance of Jack’s, was hesitant at first until £3000 was offered to allow Queen to tour with Mott. An agreement was drawn up and the band were well on their way to beginning a structured tour, their first ever.
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.
