Queen: The Complete Works (131 page)

Note:
Bubblegum pop band McFly performed ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ earlier.

PLANNED FINAL PERFORMANCE,

DOMINION THEATRE, LONDON

7 October 2006

Repertoire:
‘Bohemian Rhapsody’

Note:
This was the planned final performance at the Dominion Theatre, but the show was extended through 2007. Brian appeared and played guitar during both matinee and evening shows. Roger was in the audience but did not perform.

FIFTH ANNIVERSARY, DOMINION THEATRE,

LONDON

14 May 2007

Repertoire:
‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, ‘The Show Must Go On’

Note:
Both Brian and Roger appeared, playing guitar and drums, respectively.

PREMIERE, CANON THEATRE,

TORONTO, ONTARIO

1 August 2007

Repertoire:
‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, ‘The Show Must Go On’

Note:
The Top 7 finalists from
Canadian Idol
provided backing vocals on ‘The Show Must Go On’.

CAST CHANGE,

DOMINION THEATRE, LONDON

29 September 2007

Repertoire:
‘Bohemian Rhapsody’

DOMINION THEATRE, LONDON

29 December 2007

Repertoire:
‘Bohemian Rhapsody’

Note:
With nothing better to do and finding himself in London’s West End, Brian strolled on stage and performed the ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ solo.

PREMIERE, RAIMUND THEATRE,

VIENNA, AUSTRIA

24 January 2008

Repertoire:
‘Bohemian Rhapsody’

SIXTH ANNIVERSARY,

DOMINION THEATRE, LONDON

21 May 2008

Repertoire:
‘Don’t Stop Me Now’, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, ‘The Show Must Go On’

Note:
Brian appeared for the sixth-anniversary show. In a true Spinal Tap moment, Brian’s entrance during the ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ solo was delayed when the trap door he was supposed to emerge from didn’t open – because the crew member couldn’t find the switch in the dark. He was able to make his way to the stage in time for the head-banging part.

DOMINION THEATRE, LONDON

10 January 2009

Repertoire:
‘Bohemian Rhapsody’

PREMIERE, PALACE THEATRE,

MANCHESTER

25 March 2009

Repertoire:
‘Bohemian Rhapsody’

SEVENTH ANNIVERSARY,

DOMINION THEATRE, LONDON

18 May 2009

Repertoire:
‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, ‘The Show Must Go On’

Note:
Ben Elton joined Brian emerging through the trap door during the ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ solo.

PREMIERE, EMPIRE THEATRE,

SUNDERLAND

11 June 2009

Repertoire:
‘Bohemian Rhapsody’

Note:
Brian was in attendance at the actual premiere the prior night, but opted to perform ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ this night instead.

PREMIERE, HIPPODROME, BIRMINGHAM

2 July 2009

Repertoire:
‘Bohemian Rhapsody’

Note:
Poor Brian. Roger’s drum kit, on a platform and sliding its way toward the front, snagged Brian’s leg and caused the guitarist to topple into the kit, dislodging a few drums, a cymbal, and a microphone. The two laughed it off, with Brian, in considerable pain, joking, “It took us ages to rehearse that fall. I’m not sure Roger’s kit will ever be the same again.” Ben Elton was then introduced, who also made light of the fall and Roger’s rock-star image: “That’s what happens when you wear your sunglasses indoors!”

CAST CHANGE,

DOMINION THEATRE, LONDON

12 September 2009

Repertoire:
‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, ‘The Show Must Go On’

HIPPODROME, BRISTOL

17 September 2009

Repertoire:
‘Bohemian Rhapsody’

Note:
Roger’s son Rufus played drums, joining Brian on stage mid-song.

PRESS NIGHT, PLAYHOUSE THEATRE,

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND

9 November 2009

Repertoire:
‘Bohemian Rhapsody’

FIRST ANNIVERSARY, APOLLO THEATRE,

STUTTGART, GERMANY

12 November 2009 Apollo Theater, Stuttgart, Germany Repertoire:
‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, ‘The Show Must Go On’
Note:
This notable occasion also raised funds for the Ein Herz für Kinder (A Heart For Children) foundation.

PREMIERE, ALLIANZ TEATRO, MILAN, ITALY

4 December 2009

Repertoire:
‘Bohemian Rhapsody’

O2 DUBLIN, DUBLIN, IRELAND

31 January 2010 O2 Dublin,

Dublin, Ireland

Repertoire:
‘Bohemian Rhapsody’

Note:
On this final date of the Irish leg, Brian and Roger both gave speeches, and Brian played on ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’.

EIGHTH ANNIVERSARY,

DOMINION THEATRE, LONDON

10 May 2010

Repertoire:
‘Bohemian Rhapsody’

PREMIERE, BEATRIX THEATRE,

UTRECHT, HOLLAND

3 September 2010

Repertoire:
‘Bohemian Rhapsody’

CAST CHANGE,

DOMINION THEATRE, LONDON

4 September 2010 Dominion Theatre, London, UK

Repertoire:
‘Bohemian Rhapsody’

PREMIERE, THEATRE DES WESTENS,

BERLIN, GERMANY

21 October 2010

Repertoire:
‘Bohemian Rhapsody’

This section covers live performances by John Deacon, Brian May, Freddie Mercury and Roger Taylor as solo artists, both during their tenure with Queen and following the dissolution of Queen. Also included in this section are the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert from April 1992 and the successful Queen + Paul Rodgers venture, which began in December 2004. At the conclusion of this section is a list of guest performances in which various members of Queen took part over the years.

FREDDIE MERCURY

Despite Freddie’s high-profile standing as a rock vocalist, he never considered his solo career to be more important than Queen, and it was because of his commitment to the band that he never undertook a solo tour. However, he did perform a handful of shows on his own: one with the Royal Ballet, one in the musical
Time
and two with Montserrat Caballé.

ROYAL BALLET PERFORMANCE

7 OCTOBER 1979

Repertoire:
‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’

Before Queen started their
Crazy
tour in November 1979, the Royal Ballet asked Freddie if he would be interested in dancing a special piece for a charity performance in aid of the City of Westminster Society for Mentally Handicapped Children. Freddie’s love of ballet was no secret; he had long been an admirer of The Royal Ballet and had attended many performances, befriending one of the principal dancers, Wayne Eagling.

Despite never having danced (except for his onstage antics, which were hardly practised steps), Freddie jumped at the opportunity and started rehearsals in late September 1979. (It’s likely that Freddie’s love of ballet inspired some of the choreography in ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’, filmed on 22 September.) Working closely with Wayne and another dancer, Derek Dane, the three arranged steps to accompany ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and the as-yet unreleased single ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’, which were to be played by the orchestra with Freddie providing live vocals.

On 7 October, two days after ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’ was released as a single, Freddie made his live debut as a dancer at the London Coliseum and, though he was initially nervous, he performed with skill and grace. Roger, who showed up for moral support, said of Freddie’s first ballet performance, “I was more nervous than he was. I mean, I wouldn’t do it. That’s just not my scene. I’d like to see anyone else have the courage to do that, and carry it off as well as he did. He had a lot of balls to go on that stage. He loves all that stuff.”

IBIZA 92 FESTIVAL

(WITH MONTSERRAT CABALLÉ)

29 MAY 1987

Repertoire:
‘Barcelona’

When, in 1987, the island of Ibiza staged a massive festival at the Ku Klub to celebrate Spain’s projected staging of the 1992 Olympics, Freddie was asked to be the guest of honour. What better way to celebrate than by performing his newly completed track, the aptly titled ‘Barcelona’? Despite it being months away from release, Freddie and Montserrat mimed to the song in a performance that no doubt assisted the single into the Top Ten upon its release in October.

TIME
(THE MUSICAL)

14 APRIL 1988

Repertoire:
‘Born To Rock ‘N’ Roll’, ‘In My Defence’, ‘It’s In Every One Of Us’, ‘Time’

The
Time
musical album featured vocal contributions from Freddie on both ‘In My Defence’ and the title track, though he had personally vowed not to appear onstage in a musical. Nevertheless, when he was asked to appear at a special charity show for AIDS awareness, he agreed and duly performed a rousing four-song set, with one item – ‘It’s In Every One Of Us’ – a duet with Cliff Richard. He was in fine voice and, while rumours have circulated over the years about a soundboard recording, it was recently confirmed that both Cliff Richard and Dave Clark own the master tapes of the performance, and that Queen Productions hopes to release them on a definitive Freddie compilation.

LA NIT FESTIVAL

(WITH MONTSERRAT CABALLÉ)

8 OCTOBER 1988

Repertoire:
‘Barcelona’, ‘The Golden Boy’, ‘How Can I Go On’

Freddie’s final live performance was anything but. Miming to three of the standout
Barcelona
tracks with Montserrat Caballé, Freddie’s appearance at the La Nit festival was nevertheless a visual and aural treat. Celebrating the start of the four-year Cultural Olympiad, the beginning of which signalled the arrival of the Olympic torch and flag in Barcelona, the festival was a great opportunity for Freddie to go to extremes; each chorus of ‘Barcelona’ was accompanied by water rockets and, at its conclusion, a massive fireworks display went off. It was also a chance to expose the Spanish audience to his
Barcelona
album, which was released two days later.

However, Freddie became agitated almost immediately when he realized that the tape was running fractionally slower than intended, though it was hardly noticeable to anyone else. Despite this, Freddie’s final performance in front of an audience (with all proceeds going to the International Red Cross Association) was magical and spectacular; it was subsequently released in 2000 on
The Freddie Mercury Video Collection
.

THE CROSS

Formed by Roger in 1987 as a vehicle to perform live, The Cross performed three major tours in the UK and Europe between 1988 and 1991. No one who saw them imagined that The Cross were intended as the next Queen; instead, they were a hard-rocking club band without all the extravagance of a Queen show. Unfortunately, the band weren’t able to hold onto a record contract and, once a potential fourth album was scrapped following Freddie’s death in 1991, Roger disbanded The Cross (apart from a few one-offs following the
Blue Rock
tour) and instead focused on his solo career.

SHOVE IT UK AND GERMAN TOUR

19 FEBRUARY TO 24 APRIL 1988

Musicians:
Roger Taylor
(vocals, rhythm guitar, drums, percussion)
, Spike Edney
(keyboards, vocals)
, Joshua J Macrae
(drums, vocals)
, Clayton Moss
(guitars, vocals)
, Peter Noone
(bass guitar, vocals)

Repertoire:
‘Love Lies Bleeding (She Was A Wicked, Wily Waitress)’, ‘Cowboys And Indians’, ‘Love On A Tightrope’, ‘Man On Fire’, ‘Heaven For Everyone’, ‘Feel The Force’, ‘I’m In Love With My Car’, ‘Laugh Or Cry’, ‘Manipulator’, ‘Let’s Get Drunk’, ‘It’s An Illusion’, ‘Contact’, ‘Shove It’, ‘Strange Frontier’, ‘Let’s Get Crazy’, ‘Stand Up For Love’, ‘Rip It Up’

Itinerary:

February 19: University, Leeds

February 20: University, Glasgow

February 21: Polytechnic, Leicester

February 23: Polytechnic, Sheffield

February 24: Rock City, Nottingham

February 26: University, Manchester

February 27: University, Bradford

February 28: The Mayfair, Newcastle

March 1: Mayfair Suite, Southampton

March 2: University, Cardiff

March 4: UEA, Norwich

March 5: The Hummingbird, Birmingham

March 6: Polytechnic, Leeds

March 7: Bristol Studio, Bristol

March 9: Civic Hall, Guildford

March 10: Town & Country Club, London

April 10: Subway, Osnabrück, Germany

April 11: Modernes, Bremen, Germany

April 12: Markthalle, Hamburg, Germany

April 13: Metropol, Berlin, Germany

April 14: Theaterfabrik, Munich, Germany

April 16: E-Werk, Erlangen, Germany

April 17: Music Hall, Frankfurt, Germany

April 18: Capitol, Hannover, Germany

April 19: Club Music & Action, Esslingen, Germany

April 21: Tor 3, Düsseldorf, Germany

April 22: Capitol, Mannheim, Germany

April 23: Westfallenhalle II, Dortmund, Germany

April 24: Biskuithalle, Bonn, Germany

After the release of The Cross’
Shove It
and the resulting publicity push in the last few months of 1987, the band’s first tour of the UK was planned for February 1988. With unknown band Ya Ya supporting them, The Cross started their tour on the 19th in Leeds, after considerable rehearsals during the first part of the month. The set list drew heavily from
Shove It
(only ‘Rough Justice’ wasn’t performed live, though ‘Feel The Force’, released only on the US version of the album, was finally aired in the UK) with a new composition, ‘Manipulator’, also performed.