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.
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.""Queen: Living Legends 2015", Classic Rock #217, December 2015, p15
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.
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. 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."
Personnel Freddie Mercury: lead vocals, piano, tambourine Brian May: guitars, backing vocals, banjolele ("Bring Back That Leroy Brown") Roger Taylor: drums, percussion, backing vocals John Deacon: bass guitar, additional backing vocals, triangle ("Killer Queen")
Opening acts Thin Lizzy Cheap Trick Head East The Outlaws
Tour dates + List of 1977 concertsDateCityCountryVenue13 January 1977MilwaukeeUnited StatesMilwaukee Auditorium14 January 1977MadisonDane County Memorial Coliseum15 January 1977ColumbusSt. John Arena16 January 1977IndianapolisIndiana Convention Exposition Center18 January 1977DetroitCobo Arena20 January 1977SaginawSaginaw Civic Center21 January 1977LouisvilleLouisville Gardens22 January 1977KalamazooWings Stadium23 January 1977RichfieldThe Coliseum at Richfield 25 January 1977OttawaCanadaOttawa Civic Centre26 January 1977MontrealMontreal Forum28 January 1977ChicagoUnited StatesChicago Stadium30 January 1977ToledoToledo Sports Arena1 February 1977TorontoCanadaMaple Leaf Gardens3 February 1977SpringfieldUnited StatesSpringfield Civic Center4 February 1977College ParkCole Field House5 February 1977New York CityMadison Square Garden6 February 1977UniondaleNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum8 February 1977SyracuseOnondaga County War Memorial Auditorium9 February 1977BostonBoston Garden10 February 1977ProvidenceProvidence Civic Center11 February 1977PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia Civic Center19 February 1977Pembroke PinesHollywood Sportatorium20 February 1977LakelandLakeland Civic Center21 February 1977AtlantaOmni Coliseum22 February 1977BirminghamBoutwell Memorial Auditorium23 February 1977St. LouisKiel Auditorium25 February 1977DallasMoody Coliseum26 February 1977HoustonSam Houston Coliseum1 March 1977PhoenixArizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum2 March 1977InglewoodThe Forum3 March 19775 March 1977San DiegoSan Diego Sports Arena6 March 1977San FranciscoWinterland Ballroom11 March 1977VancouverCanadaPacific Coliseum12 March 1977PortlandUnited StatesParamount Theatre13 March 1977SeattleSeattle Center Arena16 March 1977CalgaryCanadaSouthern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium17 March 197718 March 1977EdmontonNorthlands Coliseum8 May 1977StockholmSwedenJohanneshovs Isstadion10 May 1977GothenburgScandinavium12 May 1977BrøndbyDenmarkBrøndbyhallen13 May 1977HamburgWest GermanyCCH Saal 114 May 1977FrankfurtFesthalle16 May 1977DüsseldorfPhilipshalle17 May 1977RotterdamNetherlandsRotterdam Ahoy Sportpaleis19 May 1977MünchensteinSwitzerlandSt. Jakobshalle23 May 1977BristolEnglandBristol Hippodrome24 May 197726 May 1977SouthamptonGaumont Theatre27 May 197729 May 1977StaffordBingley Hall30 May 1977GlasgowScotlandThe Apollo31 May 19772 June 1977LiverpoolEnglandLiverpool Empire Theatre3 June 19776 June 1977LondonEarls Court Exhibition Centre7 June 1977
Box office score data +List of box office score data with date, city, venue, attendance, gross, referencesDate(1977)CityVenueAttendanceGross18 JanuaryDetroit, United StatesCobo Arena11,041 / 11,041$79,28120 JanuarySaginaw, United StatesSaginaw Civic Center7,200 / 7,200$42,63728 JanuaryChicago, United StatesChicago Stadium13,000 / 13,000$101,4655 FebruaryNew York City, United StatesMadison Square Garden19,600 / 19,600$145,00023 FebruarySt. Louis, United StatesKiel Auditorium8,152$52,7545 MarchSan Diego, United StatesSan Diego Sports Arena9,518$66,206
Notes
External links North American Dates European Dates
References