Queen II Tour
The Queen II Tour (also known as the Spring 1974 Tour) was a concert tour by British rock group Queen to promote their 1974 album Queen II. It was the second major tour by the group and started only a month and a half after the end of the Queen I Tour. The band visited major cities in the UK. They would tour the United States as the opening act for Mott the Hoople. The band had to cancel all other concerts after 12 May 1974 as guitarist Brian May contracted hepatitis.[1]
Tour by Queen | |
Poster for the concert at the Rainbow Theatre | |
Associated album | Queen II |
---|---|
Start date | 1 March 1974 |
End date | 11 May 1974 |
Legs | 2 |
No. of shows | 22 in Europe 19 in North America 41 in total |
Queen concert chronology |
Background
In March the band commenced a UK tour to promote their new album 'Queen II', and then embarked on their first trip to the USA. Once again they played support band to Mott The Hoople on a four-week tour beginning in April. The band paid more attention to their look on stage and employed the services of Zandra Rhodes to design some of their costumes. Queen's appearances came to an abrupt halt when Brian May collapsed from hepatitis after the New York show on 11 May, and the band flew home for Brian to recover.[2]
Mercury played the piano for the first time on stage on the songs "White Queen", "Seven Seas Of Rhye" and "The Fairy Feller's Masterstroke".
Broadcasts and recordings
The band released a live album in September 2014. The album features three performances live at the Rainbow Theatre. The one CD features the November while the other CD features the show from this tour.
The show was performed at the Rainbow Theatre on 31 March 1974 and the show was recorded by music producer Roy Thomas Baker. The CD features most of the songs on the setlist, however excluding "Hangman" and "Big Spender" but including "Seven Seas of Rhye", "See What a Fool I've Been" and "The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke". The album features the only known live recording of "The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke", which is considered to be the highlight of the album for some fans.
Also, from the show is video footage of "Son & Daughter" and "Modern Times Rock 'n' Roll" making this the earliest known footage of the band performing live.
The album peaked at #11 in UK Charts.
Tour band
- Freddie Mercury: Lead vocals, piano, tambourine.
- Brian May: Guitar, backing vocals.
- Roger Taylor: Drums, backing vocals.
- John Deacon: Bass guitar, additional vocals.
Setlist
- "Procession"
- "Father to Son"
- "Ogre Battle"
- "Son and Daughter"
- "White Queen (As It Began)"
- "Great King Rat"
- "Keep Yourself Alive"
- "Liar"
- "Modern Times Rock 'n' Roll"
- Encore
- "Jailhouse Rock" / "Stupid Cupid" / "Be-Bop-A-Lula"
- "Big Spender"
- Notes
The track listing varied from each show, with different songs becoming the encore. "Doing All Right" from the first album was not performed on this tour, but on Queen's live set on tours after. Other tracks occasionally performed on this tour were:
- "Seven Seas of Rhye" (Played on 15 and 31 March and 2 April)
- "See What a Fool I've Been" (Played on 16 and 31 March)
- "Bama Lama Bama Loo" (Played on 31 March)
- "The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke" (Played on 1, 8, and 31 March)
"The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke" was thought to have never been played live, but there is an official recording of Queen playing the song live released on the live album, which features their performance at the Rainbow Theatre on 31 March 1974. The song is also thought to have played live at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool and at the Locarno Ballroom in Sunderland, but it is unknown.
Tour dates
Date | City | Country | Venue | Opening Act |
---|---|---|---|---|
Europe | ||||
1 March 1974 | Blackpool | England | Empress Ballroom | Nutz |
2 March 1974 | Aylesbury | Friars Aylesbury | ||
3 March 1974 | Plymouth | Plymouth Guildhall | ||
4 March 1974 | Paignton | Paignton Festival Hall | ||
8 March 1974 | Sunderland | Locarno Ballroom | ||
9 March 1974 | Cambridge | Cambridge Corn Exchange | ||
10 March 1974 | Croydon | The Greyhound | ||
12 March 1974 | London | Dagenham Roundhouse | ||
14 March 1974 | Cheltenham | Cheltenham Town Hall | ||
15 March 1974 | Glasgow | Scotland | Queen Margaret Union | |
16 March 1974 | Stirling | Pathfoot Refectory | ||
19 March 1974 | Cleethorpes | England | Winter Gardens | |
20 March 1974 | Manchester | Main Debating Hall | ||
22 March 1974 | Canvey Island | The Paddocks | ||
23 March 1974 | Cromer | Royal Links Pavilion | ||
24 March 1974 | Colchester | Woods Leisure Centre | ||
26 March 1974 | Douglas | Isle of Man | Palace Lido | |
28 March 1974 | Aberystwyth | Wales | The Great Hall | |
29 March 1974 | Penzance | England | Penzance Gardens | |
30 March 1974 | Taunton | County Ballroom | ||
31 March 1974 | London | Rainbow Theatre | ||
2 April 1974 | Birmingham | Barbarella's | ||
North America | ||||
16 April 1974 | Denver | United States | Regis College Fieldhouse | Opened for: Mott the Hoople |
17 April 1974 | Kansas City | Memorial Hall | ||
18 April 1974 | St Louis | Kiel Auditorium | ||
19 April 1974 | Oklahoma City | State Fair Arena | ||
20 April 1974 | Memphis | Mid-South Coliseum | ||
21 April 1974 | Chalmete | St. Bernard Civic Auditorium | ||
26 April 1974 | Boston | Orpheum Theatre | ||
27 April 1974 | Providence | Palace Concert Theatre | ||
28 April 1974 | Portland | Exposition Hall | ||
1 May 1974 | Harrisburg | State Farm Show Arena | ||
2 May 1974 | Allentown | Agricultural Hall | ||
3 May 1974 | Wilkes-Barre | King's College | ||
4 May 1974 | Waterbury | Palace Theatre | ||
7 May 1974 | New York City | Uris Theatre | ||
8 May 1974 | ||||
9 May 1974 | ||||
10 May 1974[lower-alpha 1] | ||||
11 May 1974 | ||||
References
Notes
- The band performed two sets on this date.
References
- "Queen live on tour: Queen II". QueenConcerts. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
- "Live 1974". QueenOnline. Retrieved 6 April 2012.