List of Queen concert tours

Last updated

Queen live at Tokyo, 24 April 1979 79-04-24 Tokyo 04.jpg
Queen live at Tokyo, 24 April 1979

The British rock band Queen was well known for its diverse music style in contemporary rock. Their large sound systems, lighting rigs, innovative pyrotechnics and extravagant costumes often gave shows a theatrical nature. Artists such as Bob Geldof, George Michael, David Bowie, Michael Jackson and Robbie Williams have expressed admiration for lead singer Freddie Mercury's stage presence.

Contents

Queen wrote certain songs, such as "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions", with the goal of audience participation. "Radio Ga Ga" came to inspire synchronized hand-clapping (this routine, originating from the song's video, was the invention of the video's director, David Mallet). This influenced Queen's appearance at Live Aid, where the 72,000-person crowd at Wembley Stadium would sing loudly and clap their hands in unison. Queen's performance at Live Aid was later voted the greatest live show of all time by a group of over 60 musicians, critics, and executives in a poll conducted by Channel 4. [1]

Headlining tours

TitleDatesAlbumContinentsShowsBand
Sheer Heart Attack Tour30 October 1974 - 1 May 1975 Sheer Heart Attack Europe

North America Asia

76 Queen
A Night At The Opera Tour14 November 1975 - 23 April 1976 A Night at the Opera Europe

North America Asia Oceania

78
Summer Tour 19761 September - 18 September 1976N/AEurope4
A Day at the Races Tour 13 January - 7 June 1977 A Day at the Races North America

Europe

59
News of the World Tour 11 November 1977 - 13 May 1978 News of the World North America

Europe

46
Jazz Tour 28 October 1978 - 6 May 1979 Jazz North America

Europe Asia

78
Crazy Tour 22 November - 26 December 1979N/AEurope20
The Game Tour 30 June 1980 - 18 October 1981 The Game North America

Europe Asia South America

80
Hot Space Tour 9 April - 3 November 1982 Hot Space Europe

North America Asia

69
The Works Tour 24 August 1984 - 15 May 1985 The Works Europe

Africa South America Oceania Asia

48
The Magic Tour 7 June - 9 August 1986 A Kind of Magic Europe26
Queen + Paul Rodgers Tour 28 March 2005 - 13 April 2006N/AEurope

North America Asia

64 Queen + Paul Rodgers
Rock the Cosmos Tour 12 September - 29 November 2008 The Cosmos Rocks Europe

Middle East South America

40
Queen + Adam Lambert Tour 2012 30 June - 14 July 2012N/AEurope6 Queen + Adam Lambert
Queen + Adam Lambert Tour 2014–2015 19 June 2014 - 30 September 2015N/ANorth America

Asia Oceania Europe South America

67
Queen + Adam Lambert 2016 Summer Festival Tour 19 June - 30 September 2016N/AEurope

Asia

24
Queen + Adam Lambert Tour 2017–2018 23 June 2017 - 22 September 2018N/ANorth America

Europe Oceania

88
The Rhapsody Tour 10 July 2019 - 14 February 2024N/ANorth America

Asia Oceania Europe

109

Music festivals

DateEventCityCountryPerformed SongsBand
18 August 1979Saarbrücken Open Air Saarbrücken Flag of Germany.svg Germany 1. We Will Rock You (Fast)

2. Let Me Entertain You 3. If You Can't Beat Them 4. Mustapha 5. Death On Two Legs 6. Killer Queen 7. I'm In Love With My Car 8. Get Down, Make Love 9. You're My Best Friend 10. Now I'm Here 11. Somebody to Love 12. Spread Your Wings 13. Love of My Life 14. Keep Yourself Alive 15. Bohemian Rhapsody 16. Tie Your Mother Down 17. Sheer Heart Attack 18. Jailhouse Rock 19. We Will Rock You 20. We Are the Champions

Queen
12 May 1984Golden Rose Festival Montreux Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland 1. Radio Ga Ga

2. Tear It Up 3. It's a Hard Life 4. Hammer to Fall

11 May 19861. One Vision

2. A Kind of Magic 3. Friends Will Be Friends 4. Hammer To Fall

19 March 2005 46664 Cape Town Flag of South Africa.svg South Africa 1. Tie Your Mother Down

2. Can't Get Enough 3. I Want to Break Free 4. Fat Bottomed Girls 5. Say It's Not True 6. Too Much Love Will Kill You 7. Hammer To Fall 8. A Kind Of Magic 9. Feel Like Makin' Love 10. Radio Ga Ga 11. Crazy Little Thing Called Love 12. The Show Must Go On 13. All Right Now 14. We Will Rock You 15. We Are The Champions

Queen + Paul Rodgers
27 June 2008 London Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 1. One Vision

2. Tie Your Mother Down 3. The Show Must Go On 4. We Will Rock You 5. We Are The Champions 6. All Right Now

20 September 2013 IHeartRadio Music Festival Las Vegas Flag of the United States.svg United States 1. Bohemian Rhapsody

2. Another One Bites The Dust 3. Crazy Little Thing Called Love 4. Who Wants To Live Forever 5. Somebody To Love (With Fun) 6. Fat Bottomed Girls (With Fun) 7. Dragon Attack 8. Bohemian Rhapsody (Reprise) 9. We Will Rock You 10. We Are The Champions

Queen + Adam Lambert
28 September 2019 Global Citizen Festival New York City 1. Now I'm Here

2. Don't Stop Me Now 3. Somebody To Love 4. Another One Bites The Dust 5. I Want It All 6. Love Of My Life 7. Crazy Little Thing Called Love 8. Under Pressure 9. Who Wants To Live Forever 10. Radio Ga Ga 11. Bohemian Rhapsody 12. We Will Rock You 13. We Are The Champions

Award shows

DateEventCityCountrySongs performedBand
19 March 2001 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony New York CityFlag of the United States.svg United States 1. We Will Rock You (With Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins)

2. Tie Your Mother Down (With Dave Grohl & Taylor Hawkins)

Brian & Roger
12 June 2003 Songwriters Hall of Fame 1. Crazy Little Thing Called Love (With Wynonna Judd)

2. We Will Rock You

16 October 2004 MTV Russia Music Awards Moscow Flag of Russia.svg Russia 1. We Will Rock You (With We Will Rock You Cast)

2. We Are The Champions (With We Will Rock You Cast)

11 November 2004UK Hall Of Fame InductionLondonFlag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 1. We Will Rock You

2. We Are The Champions 3. All Right Now

Queen + Paul Rodgers
6 November 2011 2011 MTV Europe Music Awards Belfast 1. The Show Must Go On

2. Under Pressure (Intro) 3. We Will Rock You 4. We Are The Champions)

Queen + Adam Lambert
24 February 2019 91st Academy Awards Los Angeles Flag of the United States.svg United States 1. We Will Rock You

2. We Are The Champions

Television shows and specials

DateShowCityCountrySongs PerformedBand
25 September 1982 Saturday Night Live New York CityFlag of the United States.svg United States 1. Crazy Little Thing Called Love

2. Under Pressure

Queen
3 February 1984 Sanremo Music Festival Sanremo Flag of Italy.svg Italy 1. Radio Ga Ga
4 February 1984
18 May 2002 Parkinson LondonFlag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 1. Somebody To Love (With Hannah Jane Fox)

2. Hammer To Fall 3. We Will Rock You (With Tony Vincent)

4. We Are The Champions (With Tony Vincent)

Brian & Roger
3 June 2002 Party at the Palace 1. God Save The Queen Brian May
1. Radio Ga Ga

2. We Will Rock You 3. We Are The Champions (With Will Young)

4. Bohemian Rhapsody (With We Will Rock You Cast) 5. All You Need Is Love (All Star Finale)

6. Hey Jude (All Star Finale) 7. I Saw Her Standing There (All Star Finale)

Brian & Roger
16 November 2002 Children in Need 1. We Will Rock You (With We Will Rock You Cast)

2. We Are The Champions (With We Will Rock You Cast) 3. We Are The Champions (With We Will Rock You Cast)

8 August 2004TV Special Sydney Flag of Australia (converted).svg Australia 1. Bohemian Rhapsody (With We Will Rock You Cast)
12 November 2004 Wetten, dass..? Nuremberg Flag of Germany.svg Germany 1. We Will Rock You (With We Will Rock You Cast)

2. We Are The Champions (With We Will Rock You Cast)

25 May 2006 VH1 Rock Honors Las VegasFlag of the United States.svg United States 1. Tie Your Mother Down (With Foo Fighters)

2. Under Pressure 3. The Show Must Go On 4. We Will Rock You (With Dave Grohl & Taylor Hawkins) 5. We Are The Champions (With Foo Fighters)

Queen + Paul Rodgers
10 March 2007 Al Murray's Happy Hour LondonFlag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 1. We Will Rock You (With We Will Rock You Cast)Brian & Roger
4 April 20081. C-lebrity

2. Bohemian Rhapsody (Final chords only) 3. All Right Now 4. We Will Rock You

Queen + Paul Rodgers
20 May 2009 American Idol Los AngelesFlag of the United States.svg United States 1. We Are The Champions (With Kris Allen & Adam Lambert)Brian & Roger
15 November 2009 The X Factor LondonFlag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 1. Bohemian Rhapsody (With finalists)
10 January 2010 The Late Late Show Dublin Flag of Ireland.svg Ireland 1. We Will Rock You (With We Will Rock You Cast)

2. We Are The Champions (With We Will Rock You Cast)

25 April 2012 American Idol Los AngelesFlag of the United States.svg United States 1. Fat Bottomed Girls (With Finalists)

2. Another One Bites The Dust (With Finalists) 3. We Will Rock You (With Finalists) 4. We Are The Champions (With Finalists)

26 April 20121. Somebody To Love (With Queen Extravaganza)
30 November 2014 The X Factor LondonFlag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 1. Somebody To Love (With Finalists)Queen + Adam Lambert
31 December 2014New Years Eve Special1. Don't Stop Me Now

2. I Want To Break Free 3. Somebody To Love 4. Another One Bites The Dust 5. Under Pressure 6. Fat Bottomed Girls 7. Radio Ga Ga 8. I Want It All 9. Crazy Little Thing Called Love 10. The Show Must Go On 11. Bohemian Rhapsody 12. Killer Queen 13. Bohemian Rhapsody (Reprise) 14. We Will Rock You 15. We Are The Champions

1 February 2017 The Late Late Show with James Corden Los AngelesFlag of the United States.svg United States 1. We Will Rock You

2. Don't Stop Me Now (With James Corden) 3. Crazy Little Thing Called Love (With James Corden) 4. Another One Bites The Dust 5. Somebody To Love (With James Corden)

22 June 2017 Jimmy Kimmel Live! 1. I Want It All

2. Don't Stop Me Now 3. Two Fux 4. Crazy Little Thing Called Love

4 June 2022 Platinum Party at the Palace LondonFlag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 1. We Will Rock You

2. Don't Stop Me Now 3. We Are The Champions

Benefit concerts

DateEventCityCountrySongs PerformedBand
26 December 1979 Concerts for the People of Kampuchea LondonFlag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 1. Jailhouse Rock

2. We Will Rock You (Fast) 3. Let Me Entertain You 4. Somebody To Love 5. It You Can't Beat Them 6. Mustapha 7. Death On Two Legs 8. Killer Queen 9. I'm In Love With My Car 10. Get Down, Make Love 11. You're My Best Friend 12. Save Me 13. Now I'm Here 14. Don't Stop Me Now 15. Spread Your Wings 16. Love Of My Life 17. '39 18. Keep Yourself Alive 19. Crazy Little Thing Called Love 20. Bohemian Rhapsody 21. Tie Your Mother Down 22. Sheer Heart Attack 23. We Will Rock You 24. We Are The Champions

Queen
13 July 1985 Live Aid 1. Bohemian Rhapsody

2. Radio Ga Ga 3. Hammer To Fall 4. Crazy Little Thing Called Love 5. We Will Rock You 6. We Are The Champions

1. Is This the World We Created...? Brian & Freddie
20 April 1992 The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert 1. Tie Your Mother Down (With Joe Elliot & Slash)

2. I Want It All (With Roger Daltrey & Tony Iommi) 3. Las Palabras de Amor (With Zucchero)

4. Hammer To Fall (With Gary Cherone) 5. Stone Cold Crazy (With James Hetfield)

6. Innuendo (With Robert Plant) 7. Crazy Little Thing Called Love (With Robert Plant) 8. Radio Ga Ga (With Paul Young) 9. Who Wants To Love Forever (With Seal)

10. I Want To Break Free (With Lisa Stansfield) 11. Under Pressure (With David Bowie & Annie Lennox)

12. All The Young Dudes (With David Bowie, Ian Hunter, Mick Ronson, Joe Elliot & Phil Collen) 13. Heroes (With David Bowie & Mick Ronson)

14. '39 (With George Michael) 15. These Are The Days Of Our Lives (With George Michael & Lisa Stansfield)

16. Somebody To Love (With George Michael) 17. Bohemian Rhapsody (With Elton John & Axl Rose)

18. The Show Must Go On (With Elton John & Tony Iommi) 19. We Will Rock You (With Axl Rose) 20. We Are The Champions (With Liza Minnelli)

Queen
14 May 2003ARK Charity1. I Want To Break Free

2. A Kind Of Magic 3. Radio Ga Ga 4. The Kids Are Alright (With Bob Geldof) 5. We Will Rock You 6. Tie Your Mother Down 7. Rock And Roll

Brian & Roger
29 November 200346664 Cape Town Flag of South Africa.svg South Africa 1. Say It's Not True

2. Invincible Hope 3. 46664 4. The Show Must Go On (With Chris Thompson) 5. Toss The Feathers (With The Corrs)

6. Is This The World We Created? (With Andrea Corr) 7. Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime (With Zucchero)

8. Amandla (With Anastacia, Beyoncé, Dave Stewart etc.) 9. Bohemian Rhapsody 10. I Want It All (With Zucchero) 11. I Want To Break Free (With Tandy) 12. Radio Ga Ga 13. We Will Rock You (With Anastacia) 14. We Are The Champions (With Anastacia)

17 November 2010 Princes Trust Rock GalaLondonFlag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 1. These Are The Days Of Our Lives

2. Last Horizon 3. It's A Hard Life (With Tom Chaplin)

4. Seven Seas Of Rhye (With Midge Ure) 5. We Will Rock You

16 February 2020 Fire Fight Australia SydneyFlag of Australia (converted).svg Australia 1. Bohemian Rhapsody

2. Radio Ga Ga 3. Hammer To Fall 4. Crazy Little Thing Called Love 5. We Will Rock You 6. We Are The Champions

Queen + Adam Lambert

Other performances

DateEventCityCountrySongs PerformedBand
6 October 1977We Are The Champions Music Video ShootLondonFlag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 1. We Are The Champions

2. We Are The Champions 3. We Are The Champions 4. We Are The Champions 5. Tie Your Mother Down 6. Keep Yourself Alive 7. Somebody To Love 8. White Man 9. The Prophet's Song 10. Liar 11. Bohemian Rhapsody (Intro) 12. Now I'm Here 13. Jailhouse Rock 14. See What A Fool I've Been

Queen
24 November 1981One-off Concerts Montreal Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada N/A
25 November 1981
17 January 1997 Béjart Ballet Paris Flag of France.svg France 1. The Show Must Go On (With Elton John
30 April 2002 Koningsdag Amsterdam Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands 1. Radio Ga Ga

2. Tie Your Mother Down 3. Another One Bites The Dust (With Patti Russo)

4. Under Pressure (With Patti Russo) 5. Hammer To Fall 6. The Show Must Go On (With Patti Russo) 7. No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young) 8. We Will Rock You 9. We Are The Champions (With Trijntje Oosterhuis)

Brian & Roger
14 May 2002We Will Rock You AfterpartyLondonFlag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 1. Tie Your Mother Down (With Kerry Ellis)

2. Guitar Men (With Ben Elton) 3. Hammer To Fall 4. Tutti Frutti (With Gary Brooker) 5. A Whiter Shade of Pale (With Gary Booker)

6. Rock and Roll 7. With A Little Help From My Friends 8. All The Way

18 October 2002 Hollywood Walk of Fame AfterpartyLos AngelesFlag of the United States.svg United States 1. Tie Your Mother Down

2. Under Pressure (With Patti Russo) 3. Another One Bites The Dust (With Patti Russo) 4. Sleeping On The Sidewalk 5. I'm In Love With My Car 6. Stone Cold Crazy (With Jeff Scott Soto) 7. Crazy Little Thing Called Love 8. Hammer To Fall 9. We Will Rock You 10. We Are The Champions 11. Rock and Roll (With Steve Vai and Carmine Appice)

7 August 2003 We Will Rock You Afterparty Melbourne Flag of Australia (converted).svg Australia 1. Tie Your Mother Down (With Amanda Harrison)

2. Whole Lotta Love 3. Rock and Roll

8 September 2004Las VegasFlag of the United States.svg United States 1. Tie Your Mother Down (With Jason Wooten and Kacie Sheik)

2. The Show Must Go On (With Kacie Sheik) 3. Don't Stop Me Now (With Jason Wooten) 4. Stone Cold Crazy (With Glenn Hughes) 5. Rock and Roll 6. Johnny B. Goode (With Meat Loaf) 7. With a Little Help from My Friends (With Jason Wooten)

9 October 2004SydneyFlag of Australia (converted).svg Australia 1. Tie Your Mother Down (With Amanda Harrison)

2. I'm In Love With My Car 3. Rock and Roll 4. Little Wing 5. Johnny B. Goode (With Andrew Swann) 6. With A Little Help From My Friends (With Kate Hoolihan)

17 October 2004MoscowFlag of Russia.svg Russia 1. Tie Your Mother Down (With Olga Belaya)

2. I'm In Love With My Car 3. The Show Must Go On (With Zemfira)

4. Sleeping On The Sidewalk 5. We Will Rock You (With We Will Rock You Cast) 6. Rock And Roll 7. Johnny B. Goode (With Evgeiny Drier and Anthon Bizeev 8. With A Little Help From My Friends (With We Will Rock You Cast)

12 December 2004 Cologne Flag of Germany.svg Germany 1. Tie Your Mother Down (With Brigitte Oelke)

2. I'm In Love With My Car 3. The Show Must Go On (With Alex Melcher) 4. Little Wing 5. Don't Stop Me Now (With Michaela Kovarikova) 6. Sleeping On The Sidewalk 7. Rock and Roll 8. With A Little Help From My Friends (With We Will Rock You Cast)

5 September 2011 Freddie Mercury 65th Birthday PartyLondonFlag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 1. Love Of My Life (With Kerry Ellis)

2. These Are The Days Of Our Lives 3. Under Pressure (With Patti Russo) 4. Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy (With Matt Lucas) 5. Don't Stop Me Now (With David Armand)

6. Crazy Little Thing Called Love (With Ty Taylor and Mike Rutherford) 7. Say It's Not True (With Jeff Beck)

8. Little Wing (With Jeff Beck) 9. It's A Hard Life (With Tom Chaplin) 10. Tie Your Mother Down (With Jeff Beck and Kerry Ellis) 11. The Show Must Go On (With Tom Chaplin) 12. We Will Rock You (With We Will Rock You Cast)

12 August 2012 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony 1. Brighton Rock (Only Brian)

2. We Will Rock You (With Jessie J)

16 June 2014iHeart Radio Music Theatre (Promo Gig)Los AngelesFlag of the United States.svg United States 1. We Will Rock You

2. Another One Bites The Dust 3. Crazy Little Thing Called Love 4. Love Kills 5. Fat Bottomed Girls 6. Under Pressure 7. We Are The Champions 8. Don't Stop Me Now

Queen + Adam Lambert
21 September 2019Kym Rapier's Birthday Party Florence Flag of Italy.svg Italy 1. Now I'm Here

2. Somebody To Love 3. Don't Stop Me Now 4. Another One Bites The Dust 5. I Want It All 6. Love Of My Life 7. Happy Birthday To You 8. Crazy Little Thing Called Love 9. Under Pressure 10. Who Wants To Live Forever 11. Fat Bottomed Girls 12. Radio Ga Ga 13. Bohemian Rhapsody 14. We Will Rock You 15. We Are The Champions

23 May 2022Warm-Up Show Bristol Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 1. Tie Your Mother Down

2. The Show Must Go On 3. Radio Ga Ga 4. Bohemian Rhapsody 5. We Will Rock You 6. We Are The Champions

3 September 2022 Taylor Hawkins Tribute ConcertLondon1. We Will Rock You (With Luke Spiller & Foo Fighters)

2. I'm In Love With My Car (With Foo Fighters) 3. Under Pressure (With Justin Hawkins & Foo Fighters)

4. Somebody To Love (With Sam Ryder & Foo Fighters) 5. Love Of My Life

Brian & Roger
29 September 2022Los AngelesFlag of the United States.svg United States 1. We Will Rock You (With Justin Hawkins & Foo Fighters)

2. I'm In Love With My Car (With Foo Fighters) 3. Under Pressure (With Justin Hawkins & Foo Fighters) 4. Somebody To Love (With Pink and Foo Fighters) 5. Love Of My Life

Guest appearances

DateEventCityCountrySongs PerformedBand
17 October 1979 The Royal Ballet LondonFlag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 1. Crazy Little Thing Called Love

2. Bohemian Rhapsody

Freddie Mercury
9 September 1987 Def Leppard 1. Now I'm HereBrian May
22 October 1991 Extreme 1. Tie Your Mother Down

2. Song For Love

20 April 1992Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert1. Now I'm Here (With Def Leppard)
13 June 1992 Guns N' Roses 1. Tie Your Mother Down

2. We Will Rock You (Fast)

19 November 1992 DoRo Party Vienna Flag of Austria.svg Austria 1. Money

2. Twist and Shout (With Campino and Nina Hagen) 3. Lucille (With Nina Hagen) 4. Long Tall Sally (With Klaus Meine)

Brian & Roger
23 December 1992ExtremeLondonFlag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 1. I Want To Break Free

2. Tie Your Mother Down

Brian May
18 September 1993Midhurst Festival Midhurst 1. A Kind Of Magic

2. I Want To Break Free 3. We Will Rock You 4. Another One Bites The Dust (With Paul Young) 5. These Are The Days Of Our Lives 6. Radio Ga Ga

Roger & John
5 December 1994 Meat Loaf London1. We Will Rock You

2. Roll Over Beethoven

Brian May
17 December 1994SAS Band1. Only Make Believe

2. Tie Your Mother Down (Country Version)

7 February 1998DoRo Party Purkersdorf Flag of Austria.svg Austria N/ABrian & Roger
25 November 1999 Foo Fighters LondonFlag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 1. We Will Rock You (Only Brian)

2. Now I'm Here

9 July 2000 Party in the Park 1. We Will Rock You (With Five)

2. Tie Your Mother Down (With Five)

27 September 2000Five1. We Will Rock You
24 November 2001SAS Band1. Radio Ga Ga

2. Since You've Been Gone 3. Under Pressure (With Treana Morris) 4. Strange Frontier 5. Tie Your Mother Down 6. No-One But You

16 March 2002 Liza Minnelli's WeddingNew York CityFlag of the United States.svg United States 1. We Are The Champions

2. Tie Your Mother Down

Brian May
3 June 2002 Party at the Palace LondonFlag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 1. You Can't Hurry Love (With Phil Collins)Roger Taylor
1. Move It (With Cliff Richard and S Club 7)

2. With A Little Help From My Friends (With Joe Cocker)

Brian May
27 May 2003 Pavarotti & Friends Modena Flag of Italy.svg Italy 1. We Will Rock You

2. Radio Ga Ga 3. Too Much Love Will Kill You (With Luciano Pavarotti)

4. We Are The Champions (With Zucchero)

Brian & Roger
20 September 2003 We Will Rock You (Martinee performance)LondonFlag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 1. Bohemian RhapsodyBrian May
We Will Rock You (Evening Performance)
27 September 2003We Will Rock You Musical
20 October 2003
27 October 2003
29 October 2003
30 October 2003
31 October 2003 Def Leppard 1. Tie Your Mother Down
2 January 2004We Will Rock You Musical Madrid Flag of Spain.svg Spain 1. Bohemian Rhapsody
27 January 20041. Bohemian Rhapsody

2. Tie Your Mother Down

31 January 2004We Will Rock You (Matinee Performance)LondonFlag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 1. Bohemian Rhapsody
We Will Rock You (Evening Performance)1. Bohemian Rhapsody

2. We Are The Champions

17 April 2004We Will Rock You (Matinee Performance)
We Will Rock You (Evening Performance)
3 May 2004We Will Rock You MusicalMadridFlag of Spain.svg Spain 1. Bohemian Rhapsody
11 May 2004LondonFlag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 1. Bohemian Rhapsody

2. We Are The Champions

30 May 2004MadridFlag of Spain.svg Spain 1. Bohemian Rhapsody

2. The Show Must Go On

18 November 2004SAS Band Copenhagen Flag of Denmark.svg Denmark 1. Radio Ga Ga

2. Under Pressure (With Chris Thompson) 3. Rock and Roll 4. Boys Are Back In Town (With Midge Ure) 5. We Will Rock You 6. We Are The Champions

Roger Taylor
6 December 2004LondonFlag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 1. Radio Ga Ga

2. Under Pressure (With Chris Thompson) 3. Rock and Roll 4. We Will Rock You 5. We Are The Champions

18 December 2004We Will Rock You (Matinee Performance)Las VegasFlag of the United States.svg United States 1. Bohemian Rhapsody

2. The Show Must Go On

Brian May
We Will Rock You (Evening Performance)
12 January 2005We Will Rock You MusicalLondonFlag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 1. Bohemian Rhapsody

2. Tie Your Mother Down 3. The Show Must Go On

Brian & Roger
14 October 2005Foo Fighters East Rutherford Flag of the United States.svg United States 1. Tie Your Mother DownRoger Taylor
11 May 2006We Will Rock You MusicalLondonFlag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 1. Bohemian Rhapsody

2. The Show Must Go On

Brian May
17 June 2006Foo Fighters1. We Will Rock You

2. Tie Your Mother Down

Brian & Roger
5 September 2006We Will Rock You Musical1. Bohemian Rhapsody

2. Love Of My Life 3. Say It's Not True 4. The Show Must Go On

22 September 2006 McFly 1. Don't Stop Me Now

2. 5 Colours in Her Hair

Brian May
7 October 2006We Will Rock You (Matinee Performance)1. Bohemian Rhapsody
We Will Rock You (Evening Performance)
14 May 2007We Will Rock You Musical1. Bohemian Rhapsody

2. The Show Must Go On

Brian & Roger
1 August 2007 Toronto Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada 1. Bohemian Rhapsody

2. The Show Must Go On (With Canadian Idol Finalists)

29 September 2007We Will Rock You (Matinee Performance)LondonFlag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 1. Bohemian RhapsodyBrian May
We Will Rock You (Evening Performance)
17 November 2007Foo Fighters1. '39Brian & Roger
29 December 2007We Will Rock You (Matinee Performance)1. Bohemian RhapsodyBrian May
We Will Rock You (Evening Performance)
24 January 2008We Will Rock You MusicalViennaFlag of Austria.svg Austria
21 May 2008LondonFlag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 1. Don't Stop Me Now

2. Bohemian Rhapsody 3. The Show Must Go On

27 June 2008 46664 1. Is This The World We Created? (With Andrea Corr)
10 January 2009We Will Rock You (Matinee Performance)1. Bohemian Rhapsody
We Will Rock You (Evening Performance)
25 March 2009We Will Rock You Musical Manchester Brian & Roger
18 May 2009London1. Bohemian Rhapsody

2. The Show Must Go On

Brian May
11 June 2009 Sunderland 1. Bohemian Rhapsody
2 July 2009 Birmingham Brian & Roger
12 September 2009We Will Rock You (Matinee Performance)LondonBrian May
We Will Rock You (Evening Performance)1. Bohemian Rhapsody

2. The Show Must Go On

17 September 2009We Will Rock You Musical Bristol 1. Bohemian Rhapsody
9 November 2009 Edinburgh Brian & Roger
12 November 2009 Stuttgart Flag of Germany.svg Germany 1. Bohemian Rhapsody

2. The Show Must Go On

Brian May
4 December 2009 Milan Flag of Italy.svg Italy 1. Bohemian Rhapsody
31 January 2010We Will Rock You (Matinee Performance) Dublin Flag of Ireland.svg Ireland
We Will Rock You (Evening Performance)
10 May 2010We Will Rock You MusicalLondonFlag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom Brian & Roger
11 May 2010 Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders 1. In Your Shoes

2. I'm In Love With Your Car 3. Sleeping On The Sidewalk 4. Long Away 5. Tenement Funster 6. Way Down

3 September 2010We Will Rock You Musical Utrecht Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands 1. Bohemian RhapsodyBrian May
4 September 2010We Will Rock You (Matinee Performance)LondonFlag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom
We Will Rock You (Evening Performance)
21 October 2010We Will Rock You Musical Berlin Flag of Germany.svg Germany
20 January 2011 Glasgow Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom
27 January 2011 Oslo Flag of Norway.svg Norway
23 February 2011CopenhagenFlag of Denmark.svg Denmark Roger Taylor
22 March 2011 Cardiff Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom Brian May
31 May 2011London1. Bohemian Rhapsody

2. The Show Must Go On

8 June 2011 Aberdeen 1. Bohemian Rhapsody
7 July 2011Birmingham
11 July 2011Foo FightersLondon1. Tie Your Mother DownBrian & Roger
20 August 2011We Will Rock You Musical1. Bohemian RhapsodyBrian May
26 August 2011 Reading Festival Reading 1. We Will Rock You (With My Chemical Romance)

2. Welcome to the Black Parade (With My Chemical Romance)

13 September 2011We Will Rock You MusicalLondon1. We Will Rock You (With Melanie C)

2. We Are The Champions (With Melanie C)

13 October 2011Bristol1. Bohemian Rhapsody
1 December 2011Edinburgh1. Bohemian Rhapsody
9 December 2011 Melanie C London1. One Vision
15 April 2012 Laurence Olivier Awards 1. Bohemian Rhapsody (With We Will Rock You Cast)
14 May 2012We Will Rock You Musical1. Bohemian Rhapsody (Only Brian)

2. The Show Must Go On

Brian & Roger
27 March 2013 Nottingham 1. Bohemian RhapsodyBrian May
5 October 2013London
15 October 2013 Baltimore Flag of the United States.svg United States
12 December 2014Helene Fischer ShowBerlinFlag of Germany.svg Germany 1. Who Wants To Live Forever (With Helene Fischer)

2. I Want It All

Queen + Adam Lambert
16 March 2015We Will Rock You Musical Hamburg 1. Bohemian RhapsodyBrian May
5 September 2015Foo FightersMilton KeynesFlag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 1. Under Pressure (With Foo Fighters and John Paul Jones)Roger Taylor
26 August 2018Cal Jam FestivalLos AngelesFlag of the United States.svg United States 1. Under Pressure (With Chevy Metal & Foo Fighters)
2 February 2019Super Saturday Night Atlanta 1. Under Pressure (With Foo Fighters)
5 June 2023We Will Rock You MusicalLondonFlag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 1. Bohemian RhapsodyBrian May
7 June 2023
27 August 2023
11 April 2025 Coachella 2025 Indio Flag of the United States.svg United States 1. Bohemian Rhapsody (With Benson Boone)

2. Beautiful Things (With Benson Boone)

22 May 2025amfAR Gala Cannes Flag of France.svg France 1. Another One Bites The Dust (With Adam Lambert)

2. Crazy Little Thing Called Love (With Adam Lambert) 3. Under Pressure (With Adam Lambert)

Roger Taylor

1970s

Queen played approximately 700 live performances during their career with roughly two-thirds during the 1970s. Their early performances were generally hard rock, but the band developed a noticeably more pop-oriented sound in later years. Many of their future trademarks first appeared in these early shows, although some could be traced back to the members' previous bands and artistic outlets (e.g., Smile, Ibex later renamed as Wreckage, and Sour Milk Sea).

Freddie Mercury often dressed in a flamboyant manner and acted with camp, while dry ice and multi-coloured lights were used. During the concerts, it was typical for both Brian May and Roger Taylor to have impromptu, instrumental interludes and for Mercury to engage in a crowd 'shout-along' whereas it was traditional for Taylor to sing one song. Brian May and John Deacon sang backup vocals[ citation needed ]. Other distinguishable trademarks were Mercury's microphone, which featured only the upper part of the stand with no base (which allegedly came about while Mercury was with "Wreckage" during which the bottom of his stand accidentally broke off), a grand piano, and May's hand-built electric guitar, the Red Special. The lengthy guitar solo by May showcased his use of a multiple-delay effect, helping create a layered atmosphere. Rarely, Queen would host a non-member on stage with them, the most notable being keyboardist Spike Edney who performed with the band during the 1980s. A semi-informal medley of 1950s rock 'n' roll songs (especially "Big Spender" and "Jailhouse Rock") was also a staple and usually formed the backbone of an encore. The band's logo, designed by Mercury shortly before the release of the first album, is made up of the band's star signs and was usually displayed on the front of Taylor's bass drum during their early tours. Some stage costumes worn by Mercury and May on their earliest tours and a few subsequent tours were created by fashion designer Zandra Rhodes.

The concert duration and set-list for each Queen show progressed significantly during its career, eventually leading to shows exceeding two hours. Queen performed most of the songs released on their studio albums during concerts. So far, two shows have been officially released as concert videos from this era, which are the November 1974 show at the Rainbow and the Christmas Eve 1975 show at the Hammersmith Odeon.

Lisa Marie Presley stated that the first rock concert she attended was by Queen in Los Angeles in the late 70s. After the show, she gave Mercury a scarf that belonged to her late father. [2]

Queen – Queen II Tours

With the release of their first two albums Queen & Queen II, the band began live performing in earnest, essentially following the traditional 'album-tour' cycle throughout the 70s. The embryonic Queen played numerous gigs in and around London in the early seventies, but evidence suggests that its first performance was on 27 June 1970 at Truro in England. [3] The band's first major step toward becoming a recognized live act came when Queen was a support act to Mott the Hoople on its UK tour. Queen's performances consistently received an enthusiastic reception from audiences. This led to Mott the Hoople inviting Queen to be its support act for Hoople's US tour. Here, the band was able to hone its on-stage presentations in front of large crowds, try out different songs and arrangements, and gain experience with state-of-the-art light and sound systems. The Queen song "Now I'm Here" was written by Brian May as a tribute to Mott The Hoople.

The year 1974 had started with their first trip outside of Europe and an appearance at the Sunbury Music Festival in Australia. Although the band headlined the event on 2 February, their appearance the next day was canceled. In March, the band commenced on their first headlining tour of the United Kingdom to promote their new album Queen II , and then embark on their first trip to the USA. Once again, they supported 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, such as Freddie Mercury and Brian May's white and black wingsuits. Queen's supporting stint came to an abrupt halt, however, when May collapsed from hepatitis after the New York show on 11 May, and they all had to fly home so that he could recover.

Sheer Heart Attack Tour

The Sheer Heart Attack Tour was the second headlining concert tour, and first world tour by the band in support of their 1974 album Sheer Heart Attack .

Background

The band were soon back on the road and commenced their second tour as the headlining act, with nineteen concerts at eighteen different venues around the UK. The band rotated supporting acts, and the setlist contained much of the material from the new album Sheer Heart Attack. With more money to invest in a new stage show, the band wore new costumes for this tour and added an additional lighting rig, complete with state of the art stage effects. To conclude Queen's touring for the year, they extended the leg with mainland European shows, consisting of ten shows in six countries, performing over a two-and-a-half-week period. The year 1975 started with the American leg of the tour, before transferring to Japan. The tour would have been longer, but an accident involving the truck that transported their equipment meant it was not able to reach the remaining scheduled venues, which would have been a second American leg for the tour. [4] In late February, on the North American tour, a handful of shows were cancelled due to Freddie Mercury's voice failing on him. After several doctor's visits, he was diagnosed with vocal fold nodules, which would impact him for the rest of his life. With this, several more shows were cancelled to allow for a more lenient touring schedule for his voice.

There were slight differences between the European, North American and Japanese sets. The Japanese shows were a bit longer; the band added Doing All Right to the set, extended Killer Queen to include the second verse, and added See What A Fool I've Been to the end of some shows as well as reviving Hangman on the final night of the tour, almost certainly due to the warm welcome they received from the Japanese fans. [5] Additionally, for the North American leg, Seven Seas of Rhye was dropped from the setlist due to it picking up little attention from listeners.

The band planned to return to the United States in late 1975 to play arena shows, however these were all cancelled, most likely due to Queen wanting to distance themselves from Trident and switching managers to John Reid. The shows most likely wouldn't have been profitable, seeing as Queen didn't tour arenas in the United States until 1977.

A Night at the Opera Tour

The A Night at the Opera Tour was the third headlining concert tour by Queen to promote A Night at the Opera. It spanned 1975 and 1976, and covered the UK, the US, Japan, and Australia. It marked the debut of "Bohemian Rhapsody", which would be played at virtually every Queen gig thereafter.

The DVD A Night at the Odeon is taken from the Christmas Eve concert at the Hammersmith Odeon. "It's quite something to watch", said Brian May. "We were just a four-piece, but we made a lot of noise. I'm quite shocked at how good it was. We were incredibly tight and, at the same time – because we knew each other so well – very loose in terms of improvisation." [6]

Summer Gigs 1976

Queen played four shows during a short UK tour in September 1976. They began with two nights at Edinburgh Playhouse on 1st and 2nd September. On 10th September, they played in Cardiff, which was their second and final show in the city, having played there on their previous tour in 1975.

The final Queen show of the year was in Hyde Park, London, on 18th September, after the hot summer of 1976. The Hyde Park gig was in fact a free concert which drew in a crowd of about 180,000. The free concert was organised by entrepreneur Richard Branson.

Several audio recordings exist of the Hyde Park concert, including a soundboard source. The only other concert on the tour with available audio is the second Edinburgh gig, which has an audience recording in circulation.

This tour featured the debut performances of "You Take My Breath Away", "'39" and "Tie Your Mother Down" (Tie Your Mother Down was not played at Hyde Park due to limited time), about 3 months before A Day At The Races was released.

A Day at the Races Tour

News of the World

Jazz

Saarbrücken Open Air Festival 1979

After the Jazz tour had ended, Queen played a show at the Saarbrücken Open Air festival in West Germany, at Ludwigsparkstadion on 18 August 1979.

Crazy Tour

1980s

The Game Tour

Montreal 1981

In 1980, director Saul Swimmer approached Queen with the idea of producing a concert film. Initially proposed to be shot at the Madison Square Garden, the band moved shooting to the Montreal Forum in Canada due to the audience being louder than the monitors there. Two one-off gigs were played on 24 and 25 November 1981. [7] When filming was occurring, Saul Swimmer wanted the band to choreograph their act and wear the same outfits on both nights, so he could switch between the footage at will. Out of spite, Jailhouse Rock was performed on the first night, with Mercury still in his trousers, which he wore during the encores. During the second night, not only was the Elvis cover not performed, but Freddie had also switched to shorts for the encores, to deliberately mess with the continuity of the footage.

Later on, Swimmer acquired the rights to the footage. The footage was given a dry mix and released in 1982 as "We Will Rock You" by Mobilevision. Despite being performed during the second encore of the first night, "Jailhouse Rock" was placed after "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" on official releases.

The film was released many times, including in 1984, 1997 and 2001, [8] before the rights to the film were bought back by Queen Productions in early 2007. As all the footage that had not been included in the final cut had been discarded, the band could not re-edit the film, and could only remaster the video and remix the audio. Nonetheless, the footage was re-released properly in 2007 as "Queen Rock Montreal", and has received much critical acclaim since. [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18]

These two gigs marked the last time Queen played live without a fifth player, as all tours and live performances from 1982 onwards would feature an extra man playing on keyboard.

Hot Space Tour

The Works Tour

Live Aid

The performance at Live Aid at Wembley Stadium in 1985 is often regarded [19] as Queen's greatest single live performance. Their set lasted 21 minutes and consisted of a version of "Bohemian Rhapsody" (ballad section and guitar solo) slightly sped up in lyrics, "Radio Ga Ga", a crowd singalong, "Hammer to Fall", "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", "We Will Rock You" (1st verse), and "We Are the Champions". Mercury and May returned later on to perform a version of "Is This the World We Created?" The band were unenthusiastic about performing when they were first approached by Bob Geldof, but the acclaim they received after their performance led to them writing, collectively, the song "One Vision" which was then released as a single.

The Magic Tour

1990s

Queen did not perform any concerts in their original line-up in the 1990s. After Freddie Mercury's death in November 1991, Queen organised The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert and took place in April 1992 at Wembley Stadium. The three remaining members (in one of the few concerts they played together after Mercury's death) and a host of special guests staged a lengthy and emotional show billed as the Concert For AIDS Awareness (as well as Concert for Life) that was televised worldwide. Queen appeared only sporadically following the concert. Not all appearances featured all three surviving members. The final occasion where all remaining members of Queen performed on stage was in January 1997 at Paris in France for the world premiere of Bejart Ballet For Life. Joining the surviving trio were Spike Edney on keyboards/backing-vocals and Elton John who sang lead vocals. They only performed one song, namely "The Show Must Go On" which was one of the two songs they had performed together at The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, and this was the last reported appearance of John Deacon on stage.

Date [20] CityCountryVenueNotes
20 April 1992LondonEnglandWembley Stadium The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert
18 September 1993MidhurstCowdray ParkFestival appearance, featured only Taylor and Deacon
17 January 1997ParisFranceTheatre National de ChaillotQueen + Elton John, last appearance of John Deacon
25 November 1999LondonEnglandBrixton AcademyMay and Taylor appearance at a Foo Fighters concert

2000s

Following Freddie Mercury's death and John Deacon's retirement, May and Taylor continued to make sporadic live appearances in addition to their long-term collaboration with Paul Rodgers.

One-off performances

Date [20] CityCountryVenueNotes
9 July 2000LondonEnglandHyde ParkQueen + Five
27 September 2000Millennium DomeQueen + Five
19 March 2001New YorkUnited StatesWaldorf Astoria Hotel Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction
24 November 2001LondonEnglandOcean ClubFan Club concert for 10th anniversary of Mercury's death
30 April 2002AmsterdamThe NetherlandsMuseum SquareBirthday party for Dutch Queen
14 May 2002LondonEnglandAstoria TheaterWith the cast of We Will Rock You
3 June 2002Buckingham PalaceQueen's Jubilee
18 October 2002Los AngelesUnited StatesClub 1650
16 November 2002LondonEnglandChildren in NeedWith the cast of We Will Rock You
14 May 2003Billingsgate Market
27 May 2003ModenaItalyParco Novi SadWith Luciano Pavarotti and Zucchero Fornaciari
12 June 2003New YorkUnited StatesMarriott Marquis HotelSongwriter's Hall of Fame Induction
7 August 2003MelbourneAustraliaRegent TheatreWith the cast of We Will Rock You
29 November 2003Cape TownSouth AfricaGreen Point Stadium46664 charity concert
8 September 2004Las VegasUnited StatesParis HotelWith the cast of We Will Rock You
9 October 2004SydneyAustraliaLyric TheatreWith the cast of We Will Rock You
16 October 2004MoscowRussiaState Kremlin PalaceRussian Music Awards, with the cast of We Will Rock You
11 November 2004LondonEnglandHackney EmpireHall of Fame Induction
12 December 2004CologneGermanyFloraWith the cast of We Will Rock You
12 January 2005LondonEnglandDominion TheatreWith the cast of We Will Rock You
17 June 2006Hyde ParkAppearance at a Foo Fighters concert
3 September 2006Dominion TheatreFreddie Mercury 60th birthday celebration, with the cast of We Will Rock You

Queen + Paul Rodgers Tour

Rock the Cosmos Tour

2010s

Queen + Adam Lambert Tour 2012

Queen + Adam Lambert Tour 2014–2015

Queen + Adam Lambert 2016 Summer Festival Tour

Queen + Adam Lambert Tour 2017–2018

The Rhapsody Tour

Queen's line-up (live)

Queen
(1970–1971)
Queen
(1971–1981)
Queen
(1982–1986)

With

Queen +
(1992–1997)

With

Queen +
(1997–present)

With

Queen + Paul Rodgers
(2005–2009)

With

Queen + Adam Lambert
(2011–2017)

With

Queen + Adam Lambert
(2017–present)

With

See also

References

  1. BBC (9 November 2005). "Queen win greatest live gig poll". BBC News. Retrieved 12 July 2006.
  2. Archived 21 July 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Chapman, Phil (1 October 2017). The Dead Straight Guide to Queen. This Day In Music Books. ISBN   978-1-78759-050-2.
  4. "Live 1974". Queen Official Website. February 2016. Archived from the original on 21 February 2016. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  5. "Queen live on tour: Sheer Heart Attack". Queen Concerts. January 2005. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  6. "Queen: Living Legends 2015", Classic Rock #217, December 2015, p15
  7. "Brian's draft speech for the launch of Rock Montreal". brianmay.com. Archived from the original on 19 October 2007. Retrieved 3 February 2025. It seemed like a nice idea, but we were no longer on tour. So two special one-off concerts were booked in Montreal Forum, a well-known great audience for Queen, on the 24th and 25th of November 1981.
  8. "Queen – We Will Rock You". Discogs. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  9. "Queen – Rock Montreal (Album)" (ASP). Austrian Charts (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  10. "Queen – Rock Montreal (Album)" (ASP). Ultratop (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  11. "Queen – Rock Montreal (Album)" (ASP). Ultratop (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  12. "Queen – Rock Montreal (Album)" (ASP). Les Charts (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  13. "Chartverfolgung / Queen / Longplay". Music Line (in German). Media Control Charts. Archived from the original on 17 October 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  14. "Queen – Rock Montreal (Album)" (ASP). Dutch Charts (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  15. "Queen – Rock Montreal (Album)" (ASP). Portuguese Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  16. "Queen – Rock Montreal (Album)" (ASP). Spanish Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  17. "Queen – Rock Montreal (Album)" (ASP). Swiss Charts . Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  18. "Queen – Rock Montreal (Album)". Mexican Charts. Hung Medien. Archived from the original (ASP) on 19 October 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  19. "Queen: their finest moment at Live Aid". Telegraph.co.uk. 24 September 2011. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  20. 1 2 "Queen live concertography: Brian + Roger + ?". Queen Concerts. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  21. "Queen News October 2008". Brianmay.com. Retrieved 19 May 2014.

Further reading