# A Day at the Races Tour

The A Day at the Races Tour (also known as the World Tour '77, Summer Tour 1977 and the Jubilee Tour) was the fourth headlining concert tour by the British rock band Queen, supporting their late 1976 album A Day at the Races.

## Background

This tour was the first in which the band played "Somebody to Love" and many others. "Brighton Rock" and "Bohemian Rhapsody" were performed full-length for the first time. Also, singer Freddie Mercury performed a vocal canon between "White Man" and "The Prophet's Song".
"When people started singing along, we found it kind of annoying…" recalled Brian May. "Then there was an enormous realisation, at Bingley Hall in the Midlands. They sang every note of every song. Freddie and I looked at each other and went, 'Something's happening here. We've been fighting it, and we should be embracing it.' That's where 'We Will Rock You' and 'We Are the Champions' came from. It was an epoch-making moment."
The opening act for most of the North American concerts was Thin Lizzy. In New York City, the concert at Madison Square Garden sold out within moments of tickets going on sale.
The final two shows at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre were recorded, with the band using an expensive lighting rig in the shape of a crown for the first time. Both shows were also professionally recorded on video and the first can be found on many bootlegs. Of one such release – Top Fax, Pix And Info – photographer Ross Halfin said: "It was a Silver Jubilee show. This had excellent soundboard quality. I actually shot this show as a much younger man."

## Personnel

* Freddie Mercury: lead vocals, piano, tambourine
* Brian May: guitars, backing vocals, banjo ("Bring Back That Leroy Brown")
* Roger Taylor: drums, percussion, backing vocals
* John Deacon: bass guitar, additional backing vocals, triangle

## Opening acts

* Thin Lizzy (North America, select dates)
* Cheap Trick (Milwaukee, Madison)
* Head East (Columbus, Indianapolis)
* The Outlaws (Columbus)

## Tour dates

List of 1977 concerts :
| Date | City | Country | Venue |
| 13 January 1977 | Milwaukee | United States | Milwaukee Auditorium |
| 14 January 1977 | Madison | United States | Dane County Memorial Coliseum |
| 15 January 1977 | Columbus | United States | St. John Arena |
| 16 January 1977 | Indianapolis | United States | Indiana Convention Exposition Center |
| 18 January 1977 | Detroit | United States | Cobo Arena |
| 20 January 1977 | Saginaw | United States | Saginaw Civic Center |
| 21 January 1977 | Louisville | United States | Louisville Gardens |
| 22 January 1977 | Kalamazoo | United States | Wings Stadium |
| 23 January 1977 | Richfield | United States | The Coliseum at Richfield |
| 25 January 1977 | Ottawa | Canada | Ottawa Civic Centre |
| 26 January 1977 | Montreal | Canada | Montreal Forum |
| 28 January 1977 | Chicago | United States | Chicago Stadium |
| 30 January 1977 | Toledo | United States | Toledo Sports Arena |
| 1 February 1977 | Toronto | Canada | Maple Leaf Gardens |
| 3 February 1977 | Springfield | United States | Springfield Civic Center |
| 4 February 1977 | College Park | United States | Cole Field House |
| 5 February 1977 | New York City | United States | Madison Square Garden |
| 6 February 1977 | Uniondale | United States | Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum |
| 8 February 1977 | Syracuse | United States | Onondaga County War Memorial Auditorium |
| 9 February 1977 | Boston | United States | Boston Garden |
| 10 February 1977 | Providence | United States | Providence Civic Center |
| 11 February 1977 | Philadelphia | United States | Philadelphia Civic Center |
| 19 February 1977 | Pembroke Pines | United States | Hollywood Sportatorium |
| 20 February 1977 | Lakeland | United States | Lakeland Civic Center |
| 21 February 1977 | Atlanta | United States | Omni Coliseum |
| 22 February 1977 | Birmingham | United States | Boutwell Memorial Auditorium |
| 23 February 1977 | St. Louis | United States | Kiel Auditorium |
| 25 February 1977 | Dallas | United States | Moody Coliseum |
| 26 February 1977 | Houston | United States | Sam Houston Coliseum |
| 1 March 1977 | Phoenix | United States | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum |
| 2 March 1977 | Inglewood | United States | The Forum |
| 3 March 1977 | Inglewood | United States | The Forum |
| 5 March 1977 | San Diego | United States | San Diego Sports Arena |
| 6 March 1977 | San Francisco | United States | Winterland Ballroom |
| 11 March 1977 | Vancouver | Canada | Pacific Coliseum |
| 12 March 1977 | Portland | United States | Paramount Theatre |
| 13 March 1977 | Seattle | United States | Seattle Center Arena |
| 16 March 1977 | Calgary | Canada | Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium |
| 17 March 1977 | Calgary | Canada | Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium |
| 18 March 1977 | Edmonton | Canada | Northlands Coliseum |
| 8 May 1977 | Stockholm | Sweden | Johanneshovs Isstadion |
| 10 May 1977 | Gothenburg | Sweden | Scandinavium |
| 12 May 1977 | Brøndby | Denmark | Brøndbyhallen |
| 13 May 1977 | Hamburg | West Germany | CCH Saal 1 |
| 14 May 1977 | Frankfurt | West Germany | Festhalle |
| 16 May 1977 | Düsseldorf | West Germany | Philipshalle |
| 17 May 1977 | Rotterdam | Netherlands | Rotterdam Ahoy Sportpaleis |
| 19 May 1977 | Münchenstein | Switzerland | St. Jakobshalle |
| 23 May 1977 | Bristol | England | Bristol Hippodrome |
| 24 May 1977 | Bristol | England | Bristol Hippodrome |
| 26 May 1977 | Southampton | England | Gaumont Theatre |
| 27 May 1977 | Southampton | England | Gaumont Theatre |
| 29 May 1977 | Stafford | England | Bingley Hall |
| 30 May 1977 | Glasgow | Scotland | The Apollo |
| 31 May 1977 | Glasgow | Scotland | The Apollo |
| 2 June 1977 | Liverpool | England | Liverpool Empire Theatre |
| 3 June 1977 | Liverpool | England | Liverpool Empire Theatre |
| 6 June 1977 | London | England | Earls Court Exhibition Centre |
| 7 June 1977 | London | England | Earls Court Exhibition Centre |

## Box office score data

List of box office score data with date, city, venue, attendance, gross, references :
| Date (1977) | City | Venue | Attendance | Gross |
| 18 January | Detroit, United States | Cobo Arena | 11,041 / 11,041 | $79,281 |
| 20 January | Saginaw, United States | Saginaw Civic Center | 7,200 / 7,200 | $42,637 |
| 28 January | Chicago, United States | Chicago Stadium | 13,000 / 13,000 | $101,465 |
| 5 February | New York City, United States | Madison Square Garden | 19,600 / 19,600 | $145,000 |
| 23 February | St. Louis, United States | Kiel Auditorium | 8,152 | $52,754 |
| 5 March | San Diego, United States | San Diego Sports Arena | 9,518 | $66,206 |