Queen II Tour
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| Tour by Queen | |
| Associated album | Queen II |
|---|---|
| Start date | 1 March 1974 |
| End date | 11 May 1974 |
| Legs | 2 |
| Number of shows | 41 |
| Queen concert chronology | |
The Queen II 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 and also went on to tour the United States, supporting Mott the Hoople. The band had to cancel all other concerts after 11 May 1974 as guitarist Brian May contracted hepatitis.[1]
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 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".
Tour dates
| Date | City | Country | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Europe | |||
| 1 March 1974 | Blackpool | England | Blackpool Winter Gardens |
| 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 | Croydon Greyhound | |
| 12 March 1974 | London | Dagenham Roundhouse | |
| 14 March 1974 | Cheltenham | Misto Hall | |
| 15 March 1974 | Glasgow | Scotland | University of Glasgow |
| 16 March 1974 | Stirling | University of Stirling | |
| 19 March 1974 | Cleethorpes | England | Winter Gardens |
| 20 March 1974 | Manchester | Manchester University | |
| 22 March 1974 | Canvey Island | The Paddocks | |
| 23 March 1974 | Cromer | Royal Links Pavilion | |
| 24 March 1974 | Colchester | Woods Leisure Centre | |
| 26 March 1974 | Isle of Man | Palace Lido | |
| 28 March 1974 | Aberystwyth | Wales | Aberystwyth University |
| 29 March 1974 | Penzance | England | The Gardens |
| 30 March 1974 | Taunton | Century Ballroom | |
| 31 March 1974 | London | Rainbow Theatre | |
| 2 April 1974 | Birmingham | Barbarella's | |
| North America | |||
| 16 April 1974 | Denver | United States | Regis College |
| 17 April 1974 | Kansas City | Memorial Hall | |
| 18 April 1974 | St. Louis | Kiel Auditorium | |
| 19 April 1974 | Oklahoma City | Fairgrounds Appliance Building | |
| 20 April 1974 | Memphis | Mid-South Coliseum | |
| 21 April 1974 | New Orleans | St. Bernard Civic Auditorium | |
| 26 April 1974 | Boston | Orpheum Theatre | |
| 27 April 1974 | Providence | Palace Theatre | |
| 28 April 1974 | Portland | Exposition Hall | |
| 1 May 1974 | Harrisburg | Farm Arena | |
| 2 May 1974 | Allentown | Agricultural Hall | |
| 3 May 1974 | Wilkes-Barre | Kings College | |
| 4 May 1974 | Waterbury | Palace Theatre | |
| 7 May 1974 | New York City | Uris Theatre | |
| 8 May 1974 | |||
| 9 May 1974 | |||
| 10 May 19741st gig | |||
| 10 May 19742nd gig | |||
| 11 May 1974 | |||
Setlist
- "Procession"
- "Father to Son"
- "Ogre Battle"
- "Son and Daughter"
- "White Queen (As It Began)"
- "Great King Rat"
- "Hangman"
- "Keep Yourself Alive"
- "Modern Times Rock 'n' Roll"
- "Jailhouse Rock"/"Stupid Cupid"/"Be Bop a Lula"
- "Big Spender"
- "Liar"
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"
- "Bama Lama Bama Loo"
- "See What a Fool I've Been"
- "The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke"
"The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke" was thought Queen never played it live but there is an official recording of the song live released on Live at the Rainbow '74 and album featuring Queen's 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 in Sunderland, but it is unknown.
Live at the Rainbow '74
Live at the Rainbow '74 is a live album released by Queen 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 the highlight of the album for 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 British 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.
