Queen: The Complete Works (98 page)

The band’s hopes of finding a decent bass guitarist who wanted to become professional was quickly fading. In early 1971, John Deacon, with his friends Peter Stoddart and Christine Farnell, was introduced to two of Christine’s friends, Brian May and Roger Taylor, while at a disco in Chelsea. Once the pleasantries were out of the way, Christine explained to John that Brian and Roger had been through many bass guitarists but had little success in holding on to one. John offered his services and, days later, turned up in a lecture hall at Imperial College to audition for Queen. He had a small bass amp (later dubbed the ‘Deaky amp’) that was initially a source of derision among the others but quickly became admired for the warm tones it produced. The band ran through ‘Son And Daughter’ a few times and the long-suffering band members had finally found the vital addition that would complete the Queen line-up for over twenty years.

At the same time, Chris Dummett, who had previously worked with Freddie in Sour Milk Sea, also auditioned that day to become a second guitarist for Queen but had the misfortune of having to play on Brian’s homemade guitar. The instrument was tailor-made for Brian’s hands and was therefore difficult to play for anyone unaccustomed to it, and Chris later recalled that his fingers “slid all over it” and that little of what he played was in time or tune. Figuring that Queen could produce enough sound with just one guitar, Freddie and Chris parted ways for good.

The band’s first concert with John Deacon was on 2 July in Surrey, though it got off to an inauspicious start when there was a disagreement between Freddie and John: the bassist had shown up to the gig wearing one of his favourite T-shirts, but Freddie was displeased with the outfit and insisted on lending John one of his own. On 17 July the band embarked upon their first proper tour, organized by Roger and based around his home county of Cornwall. The band were less than amused when some of the fliers advertised the band as ‘Roger Taylor and Queen’ or, in some cases, ‘Legendary Cornish drummer Roger Taylor’ in large letters with ‘and his band Queen’ beneath it in smaller letters.

Before the tour started, the band and their entourage – consisting of roadies Ken Testi and John Harris, various girlfriends, friends and hangers-on – set up base at Roger’s mother’s house, but when she expressed displeasure at having her home taken over, the group packed up their bags and rented a small three-bedroom cottage on the outskirts of Truro.

The tour progressed through Cornwall and was well received, though, at Driftwood Spars on 9 August, the band ran into an issue that was poorly handled. The owner of the pub ran onto the stage when the band started their set and demanded that they turn their amplifiers down, but the band refused. After the show, heated words were exchanged between band and owner, who threatened not to pay them, but the situation was ultimately smoothed over and the band were given their money. On the way back to their rented house, Roger’s knowledge of the back roads of his home town helped the band avoid disaster: a group of local teenagers gave chase after the band’s van, but they were able to escape their tormentors.

The final night was at Carnon Downs Festival in Tregye, where the band performed their first outdoor gig and were second from bottom on the bill, behind headliners Arthur Brown’s Kingdom Come followed by Hawkwind, The Duster Bennett Band, Tea And Symphony, Brewer’s Droop, Indian Summer and Graphite. Barracuda was the only band to appear beneath Queen. Advertisements for the festival depicted a nude girl with a floppy summer hat playing a flute, with “Food, freaks, licensed bar and lovely things” promised for those who attended.

Roadie Ken Testi had been taking classes in St Helen’s while the band were out on the road and, when the Cornish tour ended, he secured time at De Lane Lea Studios for Queen to record a demo tape. While these recordings took place between September and December, all four band members continued their studies so they would have something to fall back on in case Queen didn’t work out. Roger had signed up for a course at the North London Polytechnic with a focus on a biology degree back in July, though he had only done so because he was in need of extra cash and the course he chose earned him eligibility for a grant. Brian took up a teaching position at Stockwell Manor School, John continued studying for his degree in electronics, and Freddie continued to run his Kensington Market stall with Roger, though he would leave late in 1971.

With a demo tape in his hand, Ken Testi shopped the band around to record companies and attracted the attention of Paul Conroy, an employee of Charisma Records, who got Ken a meeting with the owner, Tony Stratton-Smith. The band were offered an advance of £20,000, which was tempting, but the offer was turned down and used as leverage for future offers from other record labels. Ken continued to work hard for Queen while the band themselves finished up the year with two shows: the first at the Swimming Baths in Epsom on 9 December, the second a New Year’s Eve bash at the Twickenham Rugby Club.

1972

28 JANUARY TO 20 DECEMBER

Musicians:
John Deacon
(bass guitar)
, Brian May
(guitar, vocals)
, Freddie Mercury
(vocals, tambourine)
, Roger Taylor
(drums, vocals)

Repertoire included: ‘Son And Daughter’, ‘Great King Rat’, ‘Jesus’, ‘The Night Comes Down’, ‘Liar’, ‘Keep Yourself Alive’, ‘See What A Fool I’ve Been’, ‘Stone Cold Crazy’, ‘Hangman’, ‘Jailhouse Rock’, ‘Bama Lama Bama Loo’, ‘Doing All Right’, ‘Jailhouse Rock’, ‘Be Bop A Lula’, ‘Shake, Rattle & Roll’, ‘Stupid Cupid’, ‘Big Spender’

Itinerary:

January 28: Bedford College, London

March 10: Kings College Hospital Medical School, London

March 24: Forest Hill Hospital, London

November 6: Pheasantry Club, London

December 20: Marquee Club, London

The band performed only five known dates in 1972. Brian, Roger and John were still involved with their studies, which took precedence for much of the year. Nevertheless, the five gigs the band performed were memorable.

The first, on 28 January at Bedford College, was arranged by John and saw only six people show up; he later cited this as one of the most embarrassing experiences of his career. The second was organized by Ken Testi’s two flatmates, Paul Conroy and Lyndsay Brown, who had been hassled by Ken for gigs relentlessly. Queen were given the support spot at King’s College Hospital, and it was from this show that the earliest known set list of a Queen show has surfaced: ‘Son And Daughter’, ‘Great King Rat’, ‘Jesus’, ‘The Night Comes Down’, ‘Liar’, ‘Keep Yourself Alive’, ‘See What A Fool I’ve Been’, ‘Stone Cold Crazy’, ‘Hangman’, ‘Jailhouse Rock’ and ‘Bama Lama Bama Loo’ were all played that night.

After months of deliberation and negotiation, the band were signed to Trident in November 1972, though recording sessions for their first album had started over the summer. In September, Roger graduated from North London Polytechnic with a degree in biology while John received a degree in electronics from London University. Brian was still holding on to his teaching job, and his thesis had been drafted but not typed when he decided that music was to become his life. His professors balked at the idea and tried to convince him otherwise (one teacher asked him to consider the “prospects, security and pension” of a doctorate) but Brian wouldn’t budge; Queen was his passion.

The band played only two more gigs during the year: one at the Pheasantry Club in London and another at the Marquee Club on 20 December, where the set was recorded and is now owned by Queen Productions; ‘Great King Rat’, ‘Son And Daughter’, ‘Jesus’, ‘Doing All Right’, ‘Ogre Battle’, ‘Keep Yourself Alive’, ‘Liar’, ‘Jailhouse Rock’ and ‘Bama Lama Bama Loo’ made up the set list. These two shows were designed as showcases to drum up interest in a record deal (Trident wasn’t a record company, but a management organization), though none was forthcoming.

1973

9 APRIL TO 2 NOVEMBER

Musicians:
John Deacon
(bass guitar)
, Brian May
(guitar, vocals)
, Freddie Mercury
(vocals, tambourine)
, Roger Taylor
(drums, vocals)

Repertoire:
‘Procession’, ‘Father To Son’, ‘Son And Daughter’, ‘Ogre Battle’, ‘Hangman’, ‘Stone Cold Crazy’, ‘Keep Yourself Alive’, ‘Liar’, ‘See What A Fool I’ve Been’, ‘Jailhouse Rock’ / ‘Stupid Cupid’ / ‘Big Spender’ / ‘Bama Lama Bama Loo’ / ‘Jailhouse Rock’
(reprise)

Itinerary:

April 9: Marquee Club, London

July 13: Queen Mary College, Basingstroke

September 13: Golders Green Hippodrome, London

October 13: Underground, Bonn-Bad Godesburg, Germany

October 14: Le Blow Up, Luxembourg, Luxembourg

October 20: Paris Theatre, London

October 26: Imperial College, London

November 2: Imperial College, London

Most of 1973 was spent putting finishing touches to Queen’s debut album, and the band would perform only eight live shows between April and the beginning of November. Their first show of the year was at the Marquee Club for a third showcase gig, this time for Jac Holtzman at Elektra; he was so enamoured with the band that he signed them directly after the show. EMI had signed the band for the UK the previous month and, after two years of slogging away on their debut album, the band finally had representation in the two dominant music industries.

Their next performance came on the same day the debut album was released, though the set list by this time started to represent music that would be incorporated onto their second and third albums: ‘Father To Son’ and ‘Ogre Battle’ would later surface on
Queen II
, while ‘Stone Cold Crazy’ was featured on
Sheer Heart Attack
, yet all three were concert favourites during this time.

The band were offered a live radio broadcast from the BBC’s Golders Green Hippodrome in September, having just recorded their second album, but the BBC radio session would be their only gig for a month. Their 13 October performance in Bonn was their first show in a country other than England, and the next night they travelled to Luxembourg for a show to be broadcast on Radio Luxembourg’s
In Concert
; the equipment reportedly failed, however, and nothing was recorded. Another Radio One
In Concert
gig was to take place on 20 October, but it appears that, once again, the equipment failed and nothing was transmitted. The last two shows before their first major tour were at Imperial College: their first appearance, on 26 October, was attended by Paul Watts, an EMI representative who had signed the band back in March; their second appearance on 2 November was a last-minute rehearsal for the upcoming tour.

Set lists for these eight concerts are, like earlier repertoires, unknown, but a good selection of new and old songs was performed. The set started to take a more structured form, with the
Queen II
instrumental, ‘Procession’, used as introductory music played over the PA before the band entered for ‘Father To Son’, which had become the new set opener. ‘Jesus’ and ‘The Night Comes Down’ were omitted, while ‘Hangman’ and ‘See What A Fool I’ve Been’ were retained and would be performed intermittently through 1975 and 1976 respectively.

The band weren’t receiving much press in the early days, apart from a few interviews (the group held one in
Melody Maker
in July, while Brian got his own in
Guitar
magazine the following month), and whatever press did come through was mostly non-committal praise. Rosemary Horide was an early champion of the band, and praised their November Imperial College concert in
Disc
: “Six months ago [at the Marquee in April], when I saw the band, they showed promise but weren’t very together. This time they were very good ... The group were musically very good, their stage presence was excellent and when you consider that the material was all their own, it was a remarkable performance for a new group. The material was far above average, and it was obvious how hard the band worked at entertaining by the tremendous rapport that was established ... On the whole it was a very good night, and a highly creditable performance. If Queen are this good on the tour with Mott The Hoople (which they start next week) Mott had better watch out. Queen could turn out to be a bit more than just a support band.”

MOTT THE HOOPLE UK TOUR:

12 NOVEMBER TO 14 DECEMBER 1973

Musicians:
John Deacon
(bass guitar)
, Brian May
(guitar, vocals)
, Freddie Mercury
(vocals, tambourine)
, Roger Taylor
(drums, vocals)

Repertoire:
‘Procession’, ‘Father To Son’, ‘Son And Daughter’, ‘Ogre Battle’, ‘Hangman’, ‘Great King Rat’, ‘Jailhouse Rock’ / ‘Shake, Rattle & Roll’, ‘Keep Yourself Alive’, ‘Liar’, ‘Big Spender’, ‘Modern Times Rock ‘n’ Roll’, ‘See What A Fool I’ve Been’

Itinerary:

November 12: Town Hall, Leeds

November 13: St Georges, Blackburn

November 15: Gaumont, Worcester

November 16: Lancaster University, Lancaster

November 17: Liverpool Stadium, Liverpool

November 18: Victoria Hall, Hanley

November 19: Civic Hall, Wolverhampton

November 20: New Theatre, Oxford

November 21: Guildhall, Preston

November 22: City Hall, Newcastle

November 23: Apollo Theatre, Glasgow

November 25: Caley Cinema, Edinburgh

November 26: Opera House, Manchester

November 27: Town Hall, Birmingham

November 28: Brangwyn Hall, Swansea

November 29: Colston Hall, Bristol

November 30: Winter Gardens, Bournemouth

December 1: Kursaal, Southend

December 2: Central Hall, Chatham

December 6: Cheltenham College, Cheltenham

December 7: Shaftesbury Hall, London

December 8: Liverpool University, Liverpool

December 14: Hammersmith Odeon, London
(afternoon and evening shows)

In September 1973, Queen’s manager in America, Jack Nelson, contacted Bob Hirschmann, manager of Mott the Hoople, and asked if they would be interested in having Queen on board for their upcoming UK tour. Hirschmann, an acquaintance of Jack’s, was hesitant at first until £3000 was offered to allow Queen to tour with Mott. An agreement was drawn up and the band were well on their way to beginning a structured tour, their first ever.