The Works Tour

Last updated

The Works Tour
Tour by Queen
Queen 1984 011.jpg
Queen performing at the Festhalle Frankfurt on 26 September 1984
Associated album The Works
Start date24 August 1984
End date15 May 1985
Legs5
No. of shows48
Queen concert chronology

The Works Tour was the tenth headlining concert tour by the British rock band Queen to promote their successful 1984 album The Works . During the tour, Queen participated in the Rock in Rio festival in 1985; the concert was released on VHS. The band released a DVD from a concert in Tokyo titled We Are the Champions: Final Live in Japan , but the name of the concert was incorrect as the band performed 2 further concerts after Tokyo in Nagoya and Osaka.

Contents

Stage design

The stage design was based on a scene from Fritz Lang's Metropolis with huge rotating cog-wheels at the rear of the stage and a brightly lit cityscape. [1] Due to a prior ligament damage in his knee, it was somewhat of a challenge for Mercury to navigate the complex set of multiple levels and stairs. Eventually, in Hanover, Mercury fell down the stairs during the performance of "Hammer to Fall". [2] He was only able to play "Bohemian Rhapsody", "We Will Rock You", and "We Are the Champions" afterwards, shortening the concert somewhat. Due to Mercury's injury, May played the first bars of "We Will Rock You" out of anxiety to get Mercury to the hospital.

Breaking apartheid embargo

Queen scheduled 12 performances in Bophuthatswana, South Africa, at the Sun City Super Bowl in October 1984. [3] Due to the apartheid policy of South Africa, the United Nations requested entertainers to boycott the country and Britain's Musicians’ Union banned any of its members from performing in Sun City. [3] Queen played anyway, despite the controversy, though several shows were cancelled after Mercury's voice gave out after three days live performances. The show was extended to a third weekend. [3]

Personnel

Queen

Additional musicians

Setlist

This setlist is representative of the performance on 8 September 1984 in London. It does not represent all the setlists for the duration of the tour.

  1. "Machines (Or 'Back to Humans)" [Intro]
  2. "Tear It Up"
  3. "Tie Your Mother Down"
  4. "Under Pressure"
  5. "Somebody to Love"
  6. "Killer Queen"
  7. "Seven Seas of Rhye"
  8. "Keep Yourself Alive"
  9. "Liar"
  10. "It's a Hard Life"
  11. "Staying Power"
  12. "Dragon Attack"
  13. "Now I'm Here"
  14. "Is This the World We Created...?"
  15. "Love of My Life"
  16. "Stone Cold Crazy"
  17. "Great King Rat"
  18. "Keyboard Solo"/"Guitar Solo"/"Brighton Rock"
  19. "Another One Bites the Dust"
  20. "Hammer to Fall"
  21. "Crazy Little Thing Called Love"
  22. "Bohemian Rhapsody"
  23. "Radio Ga Ga"
Encore
  1. "I Want to Break Free"
  2. "Jailhouse Rock"
  3. "We Will Rock You"
  4. "We Are the Champions"
  5. "God Save the Queen" [Outro]
Songs performed

Tour dates

DateCityCountryVenueOpening ActAttandance
Europe
24 August 1984 Brussels Belgium Forest National -9.000/9.000
28 August 1984 Dublin Ireland RDS Arena General Public25.000/25.000
29 August 1984
31 August 1984 Birmingham England NEC Arena 43.500/43.500
1 September 1984
2 September 1984
4 September 1984 London Wembley Arena 44.000/44.000
5 September 1984
7 September 1984
8 September 1984
11 September 1984 [lower-alpha 1] Dortmund West Germany Westfalenhallen Lancelot16.424/16.424
14 September 1984 [lower-alpha 2] Milan Italy Palasport di San Siro -18.000/20.000
15 September 1984
16 September 1984 Munich West Germany Olympiahalle 12.000/12.000
18 September 1984 Paris France Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy Airrace17.000/17.000
20 September 1984 Leiden Netherlands Groenoordhallen 11.000/11.000
21 September 1984BrusselsBelgiumForest National9.000/9.000
22 September 1984 Hanover West Germany Europahalle 9.000/9.000
24 September 1984 West Berlin Deutschlandhalle 11.000/11.000
26 September 1984 Frankfurt Festhalle Frankfurt 14.000/14.000
27 September 1984 Stuttgart Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle 13.000/13.000
29 September 1984 Vienna Austria Wiener Stadthalle 28.200/28.200
30 September 1984
Africa
5 October 1984 Bophuthatswana South Africa Sun City Superbowl-54.000/54.000
6 October 1984
7 October 1984 [lower-alpha 3]
10 October 1984
13 October 1984
14 October 1984
18 October 1984
19 October 1984
20 October 1984
South America
11 January 1985 [lower-alpha 4] Rio de Janeiro Brazil City of Rock -150.000
18 January 1985 [lower-alpha 4] 250.000
Oceania
13 April 1985 [lower-alpha 5] Auckland New Zealand Mount Smart Stadium The Narcs 35.000/35.000
16 April 1985 Melbourne Australia Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Centre Sport of Kings52.000/52.000
17 April 1985
19 April 1985
20 April 1985
25 April 1985 Sydney Sydney Entertainment Centre -62.000/62.000
26 April 1985
28 April 1985
29 April 1985
Asia
8 May 1985 Tokyo Japan Nippon Budokan --
9 May 1985
11 May 1985 Yoyogi National Gymnasium
13 May 1985 Nagoya Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium
15 May 1985 Osaka Osaka-jō Hall

Cancelled shows

DateCityCountryVenue
12 September 1984 Verona Italy Verona Arena
19 September 1984LeidenNetherlandsGroenoordhallen
9 October 1984BophuthatswanaSouth AfricaSun City Super Bowl
24 January 1985SantiagoChileEstadio Nacional
25 January 1985
11 April 1985 Napier New Zealand McLean Park
14 April 1985 Christchurch Queen Elizabeth II Park

Notes

  1. The 11 September 1984 concert in Dortmund was originally scheduled for 10 September 1984.
  2. The 14 September 1984 concert in Milan was originally scheduled to take place at Palazzo dello Sport in Rome.
  3. The 7 October 1984 concert in Bophuthatswana was cancelled after three songs.
  4. 1 2 The 11 and 18 January 1985 concerts in Rio de Janeiro were part of Rock in Rio.
  5. The 13 April 1985 concert in Auckland was originally scheduled to take place at Western Springs Stadium.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen (band)</span> British rock band

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert</span> Benefit concert dedicated to Freddie Mercury

The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness was a benefit concert held on Easter Monday, 20 April 1992, at Wembley Stadium in London, England, for an audience of 72,000. The concert was produced for television by Ray Burdis, directed by David Mallet and broadcast live on television and radio to 76 countries around the world, with an audience of up to one billion. The concert was a tribute to Queen's lead vocalist, Freddie Mercury, who died of AIDS on 24 November 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spike Edney</span> English keyboard player

Philip "Spike" Edney is an English musician who, since the 1960s, has performed with a number of bands, most notably with Queen in their live concerts, where his participation started in 1984 during Queen's The Works tour. During the mid-1970s, he recorded and toured with The Tymes and Ben E. King. He is primarily known for playing keyboards but also plays bass, guitar, trombone and contributes backing vocals. Subsequently, in the late 1970s, he was musical director for Edwin Starr and, during the early 1980s, worked with Duran Duran, The Boomtown Rats, Dexys Midnight Runners, Bucks Fizz, Haircut One Hundred and The Rolling Stones. He also appeared with Peter Green on his comeback tour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hammer to Fall</span> 1984 single by Queen

"Hammer to Fall" is a 1984 song by the British rock band Queen. Written by guitarist Brian May, the song is the eighth track on their 1984 album The Works. It was the fourth and final single to be released from that album, although the single version was edited down by thirty seconds from the version on the album. Different sleeves were used to package this single and the live picture sleeve is now a collector's item. The song harks back to the old roots of the band, being built around a hard angular and muscular riff.

<i>We Are the Champions: Final Live in Japan</i> 1992 film

We Are the Champions: Final Live in Japan is a live concert video of English rock band Queen's performance at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo on 11 May 1985 as part of the Japanese leg of The Works Tour.

The Magic Tour was a European concert tour by the British rock band Queen in 1986. The tour was in support of their latest album, A Kind of Magic, and featured 26 shows across Western Europe. In addition, the band performed one show behind the Iron Curtain in Hungary.

The Queen + Paul Rodgers Tour was the first world concert tour by Queen guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor, joined by singer Paul Rodgers under the moniker of Queen + Paul Rodgers. The tour was Queen's first since The Magic Tour in 1986, and the death of lead singer Freddie Mercury in November 1991. The band's drummer Roger Taylor commented; "We never thought we would tour again, Paul (Rodgers) came along by chance and we seemed to have a chemistry. Paul is just such a great singer. He's not trying to be Freddie." Bassist John Deacon also did not take part due to his retirement in 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hot Space Tour</span> 1982 concert tour by Queen

The Hot Space Tour was the ninth headlining concert tour by the British rock band Queen in support of their 1982 album Hot Space. The tour started on the 9th of April in Gothenburg, Sweden and ended, after sixty-nine concerts, in Tokorozawa, Japan on the 3rd of November.

The Jazz Tour was the sixth headlining concert tour by the British rock band Queen, supporting the album Jazz. The tour was memorable for the spectacle created by the band. As James Henke of Rolling Stone said about the band's Halloween 1978 concert in New Orleans: "...when they were launching a U.S. tour in support of their Jazz, album, Queen threw a bash in New Orleans that featured snake charmers, strippers, crossdressers and a naked fat lady who smoked cigarettes in her crotch." Part of the European leg was recorded for the band's first live album, Live Killers.

The News of the World Tour was the fifth headlining concert tour by the British rock band Queen, supporting their successful 1977 album News of the World. The tour spanned from 11 November 1977 to 13 May 1978 over three tour legs: North America, Europe, and the United Kingdom. Rehearsals for the tour took place at Shepperton Studios in October 1977.

The Rock the Cosmos Tour was the second and final concert tour by Queen + Paul Rodgers, promoting their only studio album The Cosmos Rocks. The opening date was recorded for a DVD release. which was released on 15 June 2009. The tour included one of the largest open-air concerts in Kharkiv, Ukraine which garnered 350,000 people. Over the course of the tour, they played to just short of one million viewers.

<i>Live in Ukraine</i> 2009 live album by Queen Paul Rodgers

Live in Ukraine is a double live album and video and also last release by British rock collaboration Queen + Paul Rodgers. It was recorded in September 2008 during the Rock the Cosmos Tour at Freedom Square in Kharkiv, Ukraine and was released on 15 June 2009. A companion DVD was also released.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Game Tour</span> 1980–1981 concert tour by Queen

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen Extravaganza Tour</span> 2012–16 concert tour by Queen Extravaganza

The Queen Extravaganza Tour was a concert tour by official Queen tribute band the Queen Extravaganza.

<i>Hungarian Rhapsody: Queen Live in Budapest</i> 2012 live album by Queen

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 and worldwide on 20 September 2012. The concert was released on VHS and Laserdisc in the UK and Japan on 16 February 1987 under the original title Queen Live In Budapest, and on 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. The concert title is a play on the Hungarian Rhapsodies by Franz Liszt and one of Queen's most celebrated hits, "Bohemian Rhapsody".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen + Adam Lambert Tour 2014–2015</span>

The Queen + Adam Lambert Tour 2014–2015 was a worldwide concert tour by British rock band Queen and American singer Adam Lambert during 2014 and 2015. Following on their 2012 tour and their appearance at the 2013 iHeart Radio Music Festival, the band announced a 2014 tour of North America. Following the overwhelming success of their North American tour, it was expanded to Australia, New Zealand and Asia in the autumn, then Europe in early 2015. A tour of South America took place in September 2015.

Queen + Adam Lambert Rock Big Ben Live was a concert on New Year's Eve 2014 and New Years Day 2015 performed by Queen + Adam Lambert to celebrate the New Year in the UK. It was performed in the shadow of Big Ben in Central Hall Westminster in Central London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen + Adam Lambert 2016 Summer Festival Tour</span> 2016 concert tour by Queen and Adam Lambert

The Queen + Adam Lambert 2016 Summer Festival Tour was a summer stadium/festival tour by British rock band Queen and American singer Adam Lambert. The tour began on 20 May 2016, in Lisbon, Portugal at the Bela Vista Park and continued throughout Europe before concluding on 25 June 2016, in Padua, Italy at the Villa Contarini. Afterwards, the band toured throughout Asia, starting in Tel Aviv, Israel at the Yarkon Park on 12 September 2016, and visited the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix on 17 September 2016 at the Marina Bay Street Circuit and concluded on 30 September 2016 in Bangkok, Thailand at the Impact Arena.

The Rhapsody Tour was a worldwide concert tour by Queen + Adam Lambert, the collaboration between British rock band Queen and American singer Adam Lambert. The tour was announced following the success of the biopic film Bohemian Rhapsody. The tour marks the group's third visits to North America and Oceania after performing there in 2014 as part of the Queen + Adam Lambert Tour 2014–2015 and in 2017 and 2018 as part of the Queen + Adam Lambert Tour 2017–2018. The North American dates of the tour sold out in April 2019. The North American leg began on 10 July 2019, in Vancouver, Canada at the Rogers Arena and continued throughout the continent until its last show in Charlotte. The tour went through Europe,Oceania and a second North American leg which ended in Los Angeles before concluding in Tokyo Dome on 14 February 2024.

References

  1. Bell, Mike (8 September 1984). "Body but no soul". The Times .
  2. Freestone, Peter; David Evans (2001). Freddie Mercury: An intimate memoir by the man who knew him best. Omnibus Press. pp. 65–66. ISBN   0-7119-8674-6.
  3. 1 2 3 "Queen’s Tragic Rhapsody". Gilmore, Mikal. Rolling Stone. 7 July 2014.