A Day at the Races Tour

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The **A Day at the Races Tour** was a concert tour by the British rock band Queen, supporting their late 1976 album *A Day at the Races*.

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. "There 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 Earls Court 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 filmed on video and the first can be found on many bootlegs.[*citation needed*] 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."

## Setlist

First Leg - North America
1. Procession
2. Tie Your Mother Down
3. Ogre Battle
4. White Queen (As It Began)
5. Somebody to Love
6. Killer Queen
7. The Millionaire Waltz
8. You're My Best Friend
9. Bring Back that Leroy Brown
10. Sweet Lady
11. Brighton Rock
12. '39
13. You Take My Breath Away
14. White Man
15. Freddie Mercury Vocal Cannon
16. The Prophet's Song
17. Bohemian Rhapsody
18. Stone Cold Crazy
19. Keep Yourself Alive
20. Liar
21. In the Lap of the Gods... Revisited
 **Encore**
22. Now I'm Here
23. Big Spender
24. Jailhouse Rock
25. God Save The Queen (tape)

**Songs played scarcely:**

* Stupid Cupid (Portland, OR) (played before Jailhouse Rock)
* Be Bop A Lula (Portland, OR) (played after Big Spender)
* Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting (Seattle)

Second Leg - Europe
1. A Day At The Races (album intro)
2. "Tie Your Mother Down"
3. "Ogre Battle"
4. "White Queen (As It Began)"
5. "Somebody to Love"
6. "Killer Queen"
7. "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy"
8. "The Millionaire Waltz"
9. "You're My Best Friend"
10. "Bring Back That Leroy Brown"
11. "Death On Two Legs (Dedicated to...)"
12. "Sweet Lady"
13. "Brighton Rock"
14. Guitar Solo
15. "Brighton Rock" (reprise)
16. "'39"
17. "You Take My Breath Away"
18. "White Man"
19. "The Prophet's Song"
20. "Bohemian Rhapsody"
21. "Keep Yourself Alive"
22. "Stone Cold Crazy"
23. "In the Lap of the Gods... Revisited"
**Encore**
24. "Now I'm Here"
25. "Liar"
26. "Big Spender" (Replaced by "I'm A Man" on 13 May 1977)
27. "Jailhouse Rock"
28. "God Save The Queen"

**Song played scarcely:**

* "Doing All Right"
* "Mannish Boy" (possibly)
* "Lucille" (Replaced "I'm A Man" in Earls Court)
* "Stupid Cupid"
* "Be Bop A Lula"
* "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting"
* "Procession" opened the two shows at Earls Court as well as the "A Day at the Races (intro)"

## Notes

1. ↑ Originally scheduled to take place on 5 March.
2. ↑ Originally scheduled to take place at Jahrhunderthalle.
3. ↑ Originally scheduled to take place on 5 June.

## Tour band

* Freddie Mercury: Lead vocals, piano, tambourine.
* Brian May: Guitar, backing vocals, banjo ("Bring Back That Leroy Brown").
* Roger Taylor: Drums, backing vocals.
* John Deacon: Bass guitar, additional vocals, triangle.

## References

1. ↑ "Queen: Living Legends 2015", *Classic Rock* #217, December 2015, p15
2. ↑ Tiven, Jon (1977). "Queen's Live Act Stuns City". *Circus*.
3. ↑ Hilburn, Robert (20 December 1978). "Pop Music Review: Putting Queen in Audio Seat Queen for a Night". *Los Angeles Times*.
4. ↑ discogs.com/Queen-Top-Fax-Pix-And-Info/master/688139
5. ↑ Halfin, Ross (May 2015). "Who's Who". *Classic Rock #209*. p. 69.

## External links

* Queen Concerts (North America)
* Queen Concerts (Europe)

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