by Georg Purvis
The set list for this tour changed little from the previous one, though ‘Somebody To Love’ had been rightly reinstated: only occasional performances of ‘Rock It (Prime Jive)’ and ‘Jailhouse Rock’ peppered the set list, while ‘Need Your Loving Tonight’ was common to all seven shows. The show on 1 March was broadcast live on national television, bringing in 35 million viewers in both Argentina and Brazil; the show on 8 March was also transmitted live.
In common with shows booked for Cordoba on 4 March and Rio de Janeiro on the 27th, a concert scheduled for Porto Alegre on the 13th was cancelled, giving the band nearly two weeks of rest. They were invited to meet General Viola, President Designate of Argentina, an offer accepted by everyone except Roger. “I didn’t want to meet him because that would have been playing into their hands,” he explained. “We were playing for the people. We didn’t go there with the wool pulled over our eyes. We know fully what the [political] situation is like in some of those countries. But for a time we made thousands of people happy. Surely that must count for something?”
While the band performed for several thousands of ecstatic fans, it was the two dates in Brazil that saw them playing to their largest audiences there, with a capacity of 130,000 fans each night. All shows on this tour were either recorded for radio or filmed for television (or both), broadcast to fans who couldn’t make it to the shows – including a canceled gig in Rio on 19 March. A video and audio document of this tour is long overdue.
Having achieved a collective goal that was both exhausting and rewarding, the band went their separate ways in April: Roger and John flew back to London while Freddie travelled to New Orleans; only Brian stayed in Rio. During the lull, sessions for the follow-up to The Game commenced, while further shows in September and October, taking in Venezuela and Mexico, were finalized, and a Pacific Rim tour, to encompass Australia and New Zealand, was planned but ultimately scrapped.
GLUTTONS FOR PUNISHMENT TOUR
25 SEPTEMBER TO 18 OCTOBER 1981
Musicians: John Deacon (bass guitar), Brian May (guitar, vocals, acoustic guitar on ‘Love Of My Life’ and ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’, piano on ‘Save Me’), Freddie Mercury (vocals, piano, acoustic guitar on ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’), Roger Taylor (drums, vocals, lead vocals on ‘I’m In Love With My Car’, timpani)
Repertoire: ‘We Will Rock You’ (fast), ‘Let Me Entertain You’, ‘Play The Game’, ‘Somebody To Love’, ‘Killer Queen’ / ‘I’m In Love With My Car’ / ‘Get Down, Make Love’, ‘Save Me’, ‘Now I’m Here’ / ‘Dragon Attack’ / ‘Now I’m Here’ (reprise), ‘Fat Bottomed Girls’, ‘Love Of My Life’, ‘Keep Yourself Alive’, ‘Instrumental Inferno’, ‘Flash’ / ‘The Hero’, ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, ‘Tie Your Mother Down’, ‘Another One Bites The Dust’, ‘Sheer Heart Attack’, ‘We Will Rock You’, ‘We Are The Champions’, ‘God Save The Queen’, ‘Need Your Loving Tonight’, ‘Jailhouse Rock’, ‘Battle Theme’
Itinerary:
September 25-27: Poliedro de Caracas, Caracas, Venezuela
October 9: Estadio Universitaro de Monterrey, Monterrey, Mexico
October 17/18: Estadio Olimpico de beisbol Ignacio Zaragoza, Puebla, Mexico
In the summer of 1981, Queen went to their recently acquired studios in Montreux to lay down tracks for a follow-up to The Game. When it became apparent that sessions would take longer than expected, the band halted recording in order to honour a brief six-date tour of Venezuela and Mexico. Technically an extension of the South America Bites The Dust tour, the itinerary would be officially designated the Gluttons For Punishment tour.
The set list remained similar to the first leg, though ‘Battle Theme’ was performed occasionally, along with ‘Need Your Loving Tonight’ and ‘Jailhouse Rock’. Incidentally, portions of ‘Under Pressure’ and ‘I Go Crazy’ were inserted into Freddie’s vocal and Brian’s guitar showcases respectively, long before either song’s actual release date. Only ‘Death On Two Legs (Dedicated to.....’ would be dropped from the set.
The band flew to New Orleans on 15 September to start rehearsals before departing for Venezuela six days later. The tour was supposed to be far longer than it actually was in the end, with five of the original eleven dates cancelled for various reasons. On 28 September, Brian, Roger and John appeared on Venezuela’s televised equivalent of Top Of The Pops. Recorded live, the atmosphere was especially chaotic, with no translator and an unexpected announcement of the death of Venezuela’s president, Romulo Ethancourt. With a two-minute silence called for, the band couldn’t understand what was going on, and were none the wiser when a counter-announcement was made to the effect that Ethancourt hadn’t died after all.
The next two concerts (two further appearances in Caracas) were cancelled when Ethancourt eventually did pass away; Venezuela essentially shut down in a state of mourning, including the airports. Nobody was sure what would happen next: most assumed a revolution would occur, but all were relieved when the period of mourning came to an end on 30 September. That day, the band flew back to New Orleans to undertake a further week of rehearsals before flying to Monterrey on 8 October. The band’s first show in Mexico took place on 9 October, with three further shows – one at the Estadio Universitaro de Monterrey, and two at an unknown venue in Guadalajara – cancelled for unknown reasons.
The final two shows at the Estadio Zaragoza in Puebla showed a less palatable side of the local audiences: the crowd started to throw rubbish – shoes, bottles, batteries etc – at the band during their performance. Brian was nailed with dirt during his guitar solo, and Freddie concluded the performance with an aggravated “Adios amigos, you motherfuckers!” and “Take your shoes back!” Roger was even more irritated, trashing a few cymbals and stands when it came time for the final bow. Unfortunately for personal manager Paul Prenter, a fan scored a direct hit with a battery on his head, knocking the roadie on his back and bringing about a loud cheer from the other crew members.
At the end of the tour, John summed up the year in words that mirrored the feelings of his bandmates: “It’s always very exciting to play in a country for the first time, and 1981 has really been our year for discovering new audiences we didn’t even know existed.”
WE WILL ROCK YOU VIDEO SHOOT
24 & 25 NOVEMBER 1981
Musicians: John Deacon (bass guitar), Brian May (guitar, vocals, acoustic guitar on ‘Love Of My Life’ and ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’, piano on ‘Save Me’), Freddie Mercury (vocals, piano, acoustic guitar on ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’), Roger Taylor (drums, vocals, lead vocals on ‘I’m In Love With My Car’, timpani)
Repertoire: ‘We Will Rock You’ (fast), ‘Let Me Entertain You’, ‘Play The Game’, ‘Somebody To Love’, ‘Killer Queen’ / ‘I’m In Love With My Car’ / ‘Get Down, Make Love’, ‘Save Me’, ‘Now I’m Here’ / ‘Dragon Attack’ / ‘Now I’m Here’ (reprise), ‘Love Of My Life’, ‘Under Pressure’, ‘Keep Yourself Alive’, Drum Solo, Guitar Solo, ‘Instrumental Inferno’, ‘Flash’ / ‘The Hero’, ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, ‘Tie Your Mother Down’, ‘Another One Bites The Dust’, ‘Sheer Heart Attack’, ‘Jailhouse Rock’, ‘We Will Rock You’, ‘We Are The Champions’, ‘God Save The Queen’
These Canadian shows (both at The Forum in Montreal) were specially filmed for use as Queen’s first concert video. Though distinct from the band’s recent tours, the set list remained virtually unchanged; ‘Under Pressure’ was incorporated for the first time, and ‘Need Your Loving Tonight’ was omitted. While there remained some confusion about Queen’s set, with reports ultimately erroneously reporting that the latter was performed, the release of Queen Rock Montreal in 2007 – and the unearthing of several bootlegs – confirmed the set. Brian threw in references to ‘Back Chat’ during the instrumental inferno, and Freddie also sang lyrics from an unreleased – possibly unrecorded – song called ‘Sex Show’.
The intent of the
filming was to take the film on the road, with Mobilevision’s original goal to be a travelling theatre. Fans in every city would then “be” at the concert, hence why the original release featured the audience mixed so low, initiating the false pretense that the Quebecoise audience was muted and unresponsive. Quite the opposite, in fact; bootlegs and the Queen Rock Montreal DVD confirm that the audience was just as wild as it had been in the past, and that the band’s foul mood stemmed from the presence of director Saul Swimmer and his film crew. Brian later spoke about the band’s mood that night at the DVD’s London premiere on 16 October 2007: “What you will see in this film is a very edgy, angry band, carving out a performance in a rather uncomfortable situation. But it does mean it’s very high energy, real and raw. In addition, although the actual quality of the film was great, you will see camera work from camera men who did not remotely know the show, directed by a director who didn’t know the show either. The subsequent editing was consequently chaotic. They cobbled together bits of both shows visually, choosing the bits where the cameras had found the right person at the right time. They then matched up the sound as best they could, but there were many bits where you were hearing sound from one night, but watching the visuals from the other. Still, the film went out, and was seen by a lot of people in a ‘live’ situation.”
Freddie was especially miffed when Swimmer insisted that he perform the same moves and wear the same outfits both nights. Brian continued his explanation of the show: “For a start, we were not on tour, so all the sound and lights and production and crew had to be reassembled just for this occasion, and we had to rehearse ourselves up to speed. Plus, we didn’t get on with Mr. Saul Swimmer at all. Freddie in particular took an instant dislike to the man, and this turned to something like hatred, when we discovered on the first night that Swimmer had put up his own lights on the audience, changed the colours in our lights, and had cameras all over the stage. Obviously we were not going to be able to treat it like a normal gig. It got worse on the second night, when Saul Swimmer demanded that Freddie wear the same clothes as the first night, and make the same moves. This guy had no idea that the show wasn’t choreographed. We basically did what we liked, so tempers flared – and it shows.”
1982
HOT SPACE EUROPEAN & UK TOUR:
9 APRIL TO 5 JUNE 1982
Musicians: John Deacon (bass guitar, rhythm guitar on ‘Staying Power’), Brian May (guitars, vocals, piano on ‘Save Me’, acoustic guitar on ‘Love Of My Life’ and ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’), Freddie Mercury (vocals, piano, acoustic rhythm guitar on ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’), Roger Taylor (drums, vocals, Syndrums, co-lead vocals on ‘Action This Day’), Morgan Fisher (piano, keyboards, synthesizer)
Repertoire: ‘Flash’ (taped intro) / ‘The Hero’, ‘Tie Your Mother Down’, ‘Action This Day’, ‘Play The Game’, ‘Staying Power’, ‘Somebody To Love’, ‘Get Down, Make Love’, ‘Instrumental Inferno’, ‘Under Pressure’, ‘Love Of My Life’, ‘Save Me’, ‘Fat Bottomed Girls’, ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, ‘Now I’m Here’, ‘Dragon Attack’, ‘Now I’m Here’ (reprise), ‘Another One Bites The Dust’, ‘Sheer Heart Attack’, ‘We Will Rock You’, ‘We Are The Champions’, ‘God Save The Queen’, ‘We Will Rock You’ (fast), ‘Back Chat’, ‘Body Language’, ‘Liar’
Itinerary:
April 9: Scandinavium, Gothenburg, Sweden
April 10: Ice Stadium, Stockholm, Sweden
April 12: Drammenshallen, Oslo, Norway
April 16/17: Hallenstadion, Zurich, Switzerland
April 19/20: Palis de Sport, Paris, France
April 22/23: Forêt Nationale, Brussels, Belgium
April 24/25: Groenoordhalle, Leiden, Holland
April 28: Festhalle, Frankfurt, Germany
May 1: Westfallenhalle, Dortmund, Germany
May 3: Palais de Sport, Paris, France
May 5: Eilenriedehalle, Hannover, Germany
May 6/7: Sportshalle, Cologne, Germany
May 9: Carl-Diem Halle, Würzburg, Germany
May 10: Sporthalle Boeblingen, Stuttgart, Germany
May 12/13: Stadhalle, Vienna, Austria
May 15: Waldbuehne, Berlin, Germany
May 16: Ernst Merck Halle, Hamburg, Germany
May 18: Eisspdorthalle, Kassel, Germany
May 21: Olympiahalle, Munich, Germany
May 29: Elland Road Football Stadium, Leeds
June 1/2: Ingliston Showground, Edinburgh
June 5: Milton Keynes Bowl, Buckinghamshire
Following the completion of their Hot Space album in March 1982, Queen reconvened later that month to commence rehearsals for their upcoming European tour. The band took the opportunity to refurbish their set list, which had remained constant since 1979; gone was the medley consisting of ‘Killer Queen’, ‘I’m In Love With My Car’ and ‘Get Down, Make Love’, as well as the fast version of ‘We Will Rock You’. Instead, the band opened with an atmospheric taped introduction (‘Flash’) which segued into a raucous rendition of ‘The Hero’.
From there, the set reached extraordinary new heights. The band introduced several tracks from the new album; in the process, they eliminated several older songs. Of the new items, ‘Action This Day’ and ‘Staying Power’ were regulars in the set, with the latter featuring John on electric rhythm guitar; keyboardist Morgan Fisher provided the bassline on synthesizer.
Fisher was a new addition to the line-up, marking the first – but certainly not the last – time that an outside musician would join the band. In 1970, the keyboardist formed Morgan with Bob Sapsed on bass, Maurice Bacon on drums and none other than Tim Staffell on vocals and acoustic guitar. They released an album, Nova Solis, in 1972, though critical success eluded them and they broke up shortly thereafter. Fisher would later work with Mott The Hoople and continue to release solo albums. The addition of a keyboardist was a last-minute decision, and the band spent a few days rehearsing with Morgan just before travelling to Gothenburg on 8 April.
Apart from ‘Action This Day’, ‘Staying Power’ and ‘Under Pressure’ (which had been introduced during the Canadian shows in 1981), the band would also occasionally perform ‘Back Chat’ and ‘Body Language’, with ‘Liar’ as the most surprising addition for the early dates of the tour. The first actual number, apart from ‘The Hero’ which served merely as an introduction, would generally be ‘Tie Your Mother Down’, though – as with previous tours – the band would switch the set list around at times, bringing back the fast version of ‘We Will Rock You’ or introducing ‘Sheer Heart Attack’ as the first actual song performed. ‘Las Palabras De Amor (The Words Of Love)’ was rehearsed for the Leeds show on 29 May but went unperformed. References to ‘Spread Your Wings’, ‘I Go Crazy’ and, surprisingly, ‘My Fairy King’ were also made throughout the tour, and showed the relative spontaneity that the band were exhibiting this year. By the middle of the tour, the set would become more static, and all of the shuffling around would return to a set similar to the previous year’s.
The band hadn’t toured Europe since December 1980, so it’s no surprise that the four were nervous about embarking on this tour. They needn’t have worried – they were received rapturously at every show, though most of the new Hot Space material wasn’t. During the introduction of ‘Staying Power’ in Frankfurt, a section of the audience started to boo, causing Freddie to snap, “If you don’t wanna hear it, fuckin’ go home!” Otherwise, he would maintain his cool, memorably stating during the Milton Keynes concert that “People get so excited about these things. It’s only a bloody record!”
It wasn’t just the Hot Space material that irked the audience. Queen had chosen new wave group Bow Wow Wow as their support act, but the crowds made it quite clear how they felt about the band by pelting them with bottles. Bow Wow Wow pulled out of the tour, with their final date performed on 25 April. Teenage vocalist Annabella Lwin said, “The fans were extremely hostile. We decided to come hom
e before one of us got badly hurt. There was no point in carrying on, really.” Brian added: “We liked [Bow Wow Wow] very much. There was a certain section in the audience that found them very modern. Our audience, it’s a sad comment, is perhaps a little narrow-minded in that way. It’s only a small percentage. Most people gave them a very good hearing, but there were a few people who went so far as to throw things at them, which to be honest I was pretty disgusted at. Unfortunately, Bow Wow Wow decided to throw them back, as a matter of policy. On a couple of nights in particular it just snowballed into a big fight, which became very silly.” After The Fire were hastily brought in as Bow Wow Wow’s replacement on 28 April.
The tour wound its way through most of Europe (with two concerts at Frankfurt’s Festhalle on 28 and 29 April reduced to just one on the 28th), ending on 21 May in Munich, the day Hot Space was released. Eight days later, Queen started a short, four-date UK tour, though the band had apparently intended it to be longer: applications were made for shows at both Manchester United (Old Trafford) and Arsenal (Highbury) football grounds, but turned down for the sole reason that Pope John Paul II was on his own ‘tour’ round England and all the portable toilets had been booked for his appearances. The two dates were replaced with those in Leeds and Milton Keynes, though the tour was supposed to end with a performance at the Albert Hall; Queen’s proposal was denied because officials feared the band’s massive lighting rig created safety risks.
Instead, the tour ended at Milton Keynes Bowl in Buckinghamshire on 5 June, which became one of Queen’s most well-known performances. It was filmed by Gavin Taylor and broadcast on 4 January 1983 on The Tube, receiving its American premiere on the fledgling MTV network on 20 August. The performance was finally released on both DVD and CD in October 2004 as Queen On Fire: Live At The Bowl.
