A Night at the Odeon – Hammersmith 1975 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Live album by | ||||
Released | 20 November 2015 | |||
Recorded | 24 December 1975 | |||
Venue | Hammersmith Odeon, London, UK | |||
Genre | Heavy metal, progressive rock | |||
Length | 73:21 (CD Edition) | |||
Label | ||||
Producer | Justin Shirley-Smith Kris Fredriksson Josh Macrae | |||
Queen chronology | ||||
|
A Night at the Odeon is a live album by the British rock band Queen. The album is the first official release of the band's Christmas Eve performance at the Hammersmith Odeon in 1975, filmed by the BBC. The show was broadcast on BBC2 and BBC Radio 1, and included one of the first live performances of "Bohemian Rhapsody". It is the band's most popular bootleg.
The 24 December 1975 gig at the Hammersmith Odeon was the final date of Queen's UK tour in support of the album A Night At The Opera , which had been released a few weeks previously, and had already gone gold. [1] The single "Bohemian Rhapsody" was in the middle of its 9-week run at number one in the UK charts at the time of the gig, which was one of the first times the song was played live. [2] Queen had already played four shows at the Odeon earlier during the tour and received positive reviews in the press, with Sounds Magazine saying "everything about them says that they are more important than any other band you've heard". [3]
The gig was advertised in Melody Maker as "Britain's most regal band awaits your presence ..." and all 5,000 tickets sold out. [3] [4] Guitarist Brian May later recalled: "This concert was very special because it was the first time we ever played a whole show completely live on TV". [2] Lead singer Freddie Mercury played a white Bechstein grand piano imported especially for the gig, and wore white and black catsuits, changing costume halfway through the show. [3]
Though A Night at the Opera was in the charts at the time of show, the band's setlist mainly drew from earlier songs that worked well on stage, including May's solo guitar spot in the middle of the show, and a medley of old rock'n'roll songs towards the end. The band only played the ballad section of "Bohemian Rhapsody" as part of a medley with older material, and the only other Opera track was "God Save The Queen" played on tape at the very end of the show. [4]
The show was broadcast on BBC2 as part of the music programme The Old Grey Whistle Test with the audio later broadcast on BBC Radio 1. Queen had appeared on the show several times previously when studio tracks were played alongside custom music videos. [5] Whistle Test presenter Bob Harris introduced the band onstage and later recalled that Queen "were in party mood at the Hammersmith Odeon that night". [6] Unfortunately, the cameras were packed away before the group's second encore, so only the audio of "Seven Seas of Rhye" and "See What a Fool I've Been" were recorded. [7]
Because of the high-quality recording and filming, and nationwide television and radio broadcast, the gig has become the most popular bootleg recording of Queen. [7] Many of the songs in the band's Hammersmith set were dropped on later tours, and did not appear on official live albums such as Live Killers and Live At Wembley '86 . [4]
The original multi-track tapes of the show were believed to be lost, before being recovered in 2009 and restored by Queen sound engineers Justin Shirley-Smith, Kris Fredriksson, and Josh Macrae. A 50-minute performance of the show was broadcast that year, again on BBC2. [8] In 2011, a few of the tracks from this gig were officially released elsewhere as bonus tracks on reissues of Queen's studio albums: "White Queen" on Universal Records' reissue of Queen II and "Now I'm Here" on Sheer Heart Attack . "Ogre Battle" was also released as video only on the iTunes deluxe versions of the latter. [9]
The remastered and restored show was shown at a special screening on 8 October 2015 at Olympic Studios Cinema, Barnes, where some of A Night at the Opera had been recorded. [10]
The album was released on 20 November in CD, DVD, SD Blu-ray and double vinyl formats, as well as a deluxe box set including a hardback book, reproductions of period-specific tour memorabilia, and an audio recording of the band's soundcheck for the show. The DVD/Blu-ray release also features bonus material from Queen's first tour of Japan in 1975 at the Nippon Budokan, and a 22-minute documentary featuring interviews from May, Roger Taylor and Harris entitled Looking Back at the Odeon. [3]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Now I'm Here" | Brian May | 4:43 |
2. | "Ogre Battle" | Freddie Mercury | 5:19 |
3. | "White Queen (As It Began)" | May | 5:31 |
4. | "Bohemian Rhapsody" | Mercury | 2:28 |
5. | "Killer Queen" | Mercury | 2:08 |
6. | "The March of the Black Queen" | Mercury | 1:30 |
7. | "Bohemian Rhapsody" (Reprise) | Mercury | 1:02 |
8. | "Bring Back That Leroy Brown" | Mercury | 1:32 |
9. | "Brighton Rock" | May | 2:24 |
10. | "Guitar solo" | May | 6:37 |
11. | "Son and Daughter" | May | 1:44 |
12. | "Keep Yourself Alive" | May | 4:33 |
13. | "Liar" | Mercury | 8:45 |
14. | "In the Lap of the Gods... Revisited" | Mercury | 5:24 |
15. | "Big Spender" | Cy Coleman, Dorothy Fields | 1:24 |
16. | "Jailhouse Rock / Stupid Cupid / Be-Bop-A-Lula / Jailhouse Rock" (Reprise) | Various Artist | 9:21 |
17. | "Seven Seas of Rhye" | Mercury | 3:11 |
18. | "See What a Fool I've Been" | May | 4:22 |
19. | "God Save the Queen" | Traditional, arr. by May | 1:23 |
Total length: | 1:13:09 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Now I'm Here" | May | 4:38 |
2. | "Ogre Battle" | Mercury | 5:22 |
3. | "White Queen (As It Began)" | May | 5:31 |
4. | "Bohemian Rhapsody" | Mercury | 2:28 |
5. | "Killer Queen" | Mercury | 2:08 |
6. | "The March of the Black Queen" | Mercury | 1:29 |
7. | "Bohemian Rhapsody" (Reprise) | Mercury | 1:02 |
8. | "Bring Back That Leroy Brown" | Mercury | 1:27 |
9. | "Brighton Rock" | May | 2:27 |
10. | "Guitar Solo" | May | 6:37 |
11. | "Son and Daughter" | May | 1:42 |
12. | "Keep Yourself Alive" | May | 4:28 |
13. | "Liar" | Mercury | 8:50 |
14. | "In the Lap of the Gods... Revisited" | Mercury | 5:20 |
15. | "Big Spender" | Coleman, Fields | 1:25 |
16. | "Jailhouse Rock / Stupid Cupid / Be-Bop-A-Lula / Jailhouse Rock" (Reprise) | Various Artist | 6:14 |
17. | "God Save the Queen" | Traditional, Arrangement by May | 1:25 |
Total length: | 1:02:33 |
Live in Japan '75
Looking Back at the Odeon
A previously unreleased 22 minute documentary featuring interviews from Brian May, Roger Taylor and Bob Harris.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Now I'm Here" | May | 4:43 |
2. | "Ogre Battle" | Mercury | 5:19 |
3. | "White Queen (As It Began)" | May | 5:31 |
Total length: | 15:33 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Bohemian Rhapsody" | Mercury | 2:28 |
2. | "Killer Queen" | Mercury | 2:08 |
3. | "The March of the Black Queen" | Mercury | 1:30 |
4. | "Bohemian Rhapsody" (Reprise) | Mercury | 1:02 |
5. | "Bring Back That Leroy Brown" | Mercury | 1:32 |
6. | "Brighton Rock" | May | 2:24 |
7. | "Guitar Solo" | May | 6:37 |
8. | "Son and Daughter" | May | 1:44 |
Total length: | 19:25 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Keep Yourself Alive" | May | 4:33 |
2. | "Liar" | Mercury | 8:45 |
3. | "In the Lap of the Gods... Revisited" | Mercury | 5:24 |
Total length: | 18:42 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Big Spender" | Coleman, Fields | 1:24 |
2. | "Jailhouse Rock / Stupid Cupid / Be-Bop-A-Lula / Jailhouse Rock" (Reprise) | Various Artist | 9:21 |
3. | "Seven Seas of Rhye" | Mercury | 3:11 |
4. | "See What a Fool I've Been" | May | 4:22 |
5. | "God Save the Queen" | Trad., arr. by May | 1:23 |
Total length: | 19:41 |
Chart (2015) | Peak position |
---|---|
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [11] | 57 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [12] | 60 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [13] | 42 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [14] | 28 |
French Albums (SNEP) [15] | 118 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [16] | 34 |
Italian Albums (FIMI) [17] | 55 |
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) [18] | 41 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [19] | 31 |
UK Albums (OCC) [20] | 40 |
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) [21] | 46 |
"Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock band Queen, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, A Night at the Opera (1975). Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, the song is a six-minute suite, notable for its lack of a refraining chorus and consisting of several sections: an intro, a ballad segment, an operatic passage, a hard rock part and a reflective coda. It is one of the few progressive rock songs of the 1970s to have proved accessible to a mainstream audience.
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1970 by Freddie Mercury, Brian May, and Roger Taylor, later joined by John Deacon (bass). Their earliest works were influenced by progressive rock, hard rock and heavy metal, but the band gradually ventured into more conventional and radio-friendly works by incorporating further styles, such as arena rock and pop rock.
Bad News are a fictional English heavy metal band created for the Channel 4 television series The Comic Strip Presents.... Its members were Vim Fuego on vocals and lead guitar; Den Dennis on rhythm guitar; Colin Grigson on bass; and Spider "Eight-Legs" Webb on drums. The band continued outside the context of the TV series, with the actors eventually playing a number of live gigs as Bad News, and recording an album and a single that made the UK charts.
A Night at the Opera is the fourth studio album by the British rock band Queen, released on 28 November 1975, by EMI Records in the United Kingdom and Elektra Records in the United States. Produced by Roy Thomas Baker and Queen, it was reportedly the most expensive album ever recorded at the time of its release.
Live and Dangerous is a live double album by the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy, released in June 1978. It was recorded in London in 1976, and Philadelphia and Toronto in 1977, with further production in Paris. It was also the last Thin Lizzy album to feature guitarist Brian Robertson, who left the band shortly after its release.
The Hammersmith Apollo, currently called the Eventim Apollo for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the Hammersmith Odeon, is a live entertainment performance venue, originally built as a cinema called the Gaumont Palace. Located in Hammersmith, London, it is an art deco Grade II* listed building.
Live Killers is a double live album by the British rock band Queen, released on 22 June 1979. The album was recorded live during the European leg of Queen's Jazz Tour, between 26 January and 1 March 1979.
Live Magic is the second live album by British rock band Queen. It was recorded at various live shows during The Magic Tour and was released on 1 December 1986. However, it was not released in the United States until August 1996. It received strong criticism from fans, due to the heavy editing of many songs. For example, the opera section was removed from "Bohemian Rhapsody", the second verse and chorus were removed from "Tie Your Mother Down", and "Is This the World We Created...?", "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions" were reduced to one verse and chorus.
No Sleep 'til Hammersmith is the first live album by English rock band Motörhead, released in June 1981 by Bronze Records. It peaked at number one on the UK Albums Chart. It was followed by the release of the single "Motorhead" on 3 July, which peaked on the UK Singles Chart at number 6.
Return of the Champions is a double live album by English rock band Queen + Paul Rodgers. It was recorded in May 2005 during the Queen + Paul Rodgers Tour at the Hallam FM Arena in Sheffield, England and released on 19 September 2005. A companion DVD was released in October, directed by David Mallet.
Queen + Paul Rodgers was a collaboration between Queen and Paul Rodgers, formerly of Bad Company, Free, The Firm and The Law. Guitarist May had previously performed with Rodgers on several occasions, including a performance at the Royal Albert Hall.
"Liar" is a song by the British rock band Queen, written by the lead singer Freddie Mercury in 1970. The song featured on the band's 1973 debut album Queen. A heavily truncated version of "Liar" was released as a single – backed with "Doing All Right" – in the United States and New Zealand by Elektra Records in February 1974.
Hammersmith Odeon, London '75 is a concert video and the fourth live album by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, released in 2006. It is a full-length recording of their performance on November 18, 1975, at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, during their Born to Run tours. It was first released as a DVD on November 14, 2005, as part of the Born to Run 30th Anniversary Edition package, and then several months later on February 28, 2006, released as an audio CD. The album was reissued on vinyl for the first time for Record Store Day on April 22, 2017.
British rock band Queen have released 15 studio albums, 10 live albums, 16 compilation albums, 2 soundtrack albums, 2 extended plays, 73 singles, and 7 promotional singles. Queen was formed in London by Freddie Mercury, Brian May (guitar), and Roger Taylor (drums), and in 1971, John Deacon (bassist) became a member.
"Now I'm Here" is a song by English rock band Queen, released on their third studio album, Sheer Heart Attack (1974). Written by guitarist Brian May, the song is noted for its gritty guitar riffs and vocal harmonies. In the UK, the song reached #11 on the charts when released as a single in 1975. The song was a live favourite, performed at virtually every concert from late 1974 to 1986.
Queen Rock Montreal is a live album by the British rock band Queen. It was released on 29 October 2007 as a double CD, Blu-ray, DVD, and triple vinyl in the UK and the following day in the US.
The Game Tour was the eighth headlining concert tour by the British rock band Queen to support their successful 1980 album The Game. This tour featured the first performances in South America by the group. This tour marked the last time Queen played without a fifth player, as all tours from 1982 onwards would feature an extra man playing on keyboard.
Queen – Live In Budapest was retitled later as Hungarian Rhapsody: Queen Live in Budapest is a concert film of the British rock band Queen's performance at the Népstadion in Budapest on 27 July 1986. It was part of the band's final tour with original lead singer Freddie Mercury, The Magic Tour. Queen were one of the few bands from Western Europe to perform in the Eastern Bloc during the Cold War. The film had a limited theatrical release in Eastern Bloc countries in 1987/1988 with the concert physically released on VHS and Laserdisc in the UK and Japan on 16 February 1987 under the original title Queen Live In Budapest, and on CD, DVD and Blu-ray for the first time on 5 November 2012 worldwide, except in the United States where it was released a day later.
Bohemian Rhapsody: The Original Soundtrack is the soundtrack album to the Queen biographical film of the same name. The soundtrack features many of the band's songs and unreleased recordings including tracks from their legendary concert at Live Aid in 1985. The soundtrack was released by Hollywood Records and Virgin EMI Records on 19 October 2018, on CD, cassette and digital formats. The soundtrack was later released on 8 February 2019, as a vinyl double album specially cut at Abbey Road Studios. A limited and much sought after double picture disc edition of the album, as well as a 7" coloured single featuring the original "Bohemian Rhapsody"/"I'm in Love with My Car" pairing, was also released on Record Store Day, 13 April 2019. The disc artwork takes its inspiration from the photography of Denis O'Regan. In November 2019, the soundtrack received an American Music Award for Top Soundtrack.