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Tracklisting & More Information
When people think of Queen's live perfomances, no doubt the first image that springs to mind is that of Freddie Mercury strutting around a stage in front of a sea of people on a huge stage in some arena or stadium. But that's not how it always was. Even Queen had their humble beginnings.
In interviews when asked about the early days they all admit to arrogance and the belief that they would one day make it as stars and couldn't comprehend that they would fail in their bid to conquer the world.
Every band has a beginning and although Queen officially formed in 1970 or 1971 depending on your source, 1973 was probably the year that Queen started to raise their profile, with a 23 night UK tour in support of Mott The Hoople, a band at the pinnacle of their career.
The tour began on November 12th in Leeds, taking in Scotland and the north of England, then Wales and Bristol, before arriving in the south of the country at the end of the month, finishing in London at the infamous Hammersmith Odeon where Mott The Hoople recorded their brilliant Live album.
1973 was also the year that Queen's debut album was released in the UK (on July 13th) but work had already begun on their follow up album 'Queen II' so the setlist for their support slot with Hoople was made up from the debut album, plus tracks from the upcoming 2nd album and a couple of rock n roll standards as the audience would be unfamiliar with the group or their material.
The debut album did not chart when first released and that their first single 'Keep Yourself Alive' recieved no radio airplay as it was rejected five times by the playing panel at BBC Radio 1!
During the tour Queen played a track called Hangman which remains sought after by fans as it was never included on an album and only ever played live from 1970-73 and occasionally in '75. There is an 'official bootleg' of the show at Colston Hall, Bristol from November 29th 1973 available for download from the official Queen website.
The Tour was promoted by Mel Bush, who was so happy with the success of the show he commissioned a brass metal plaque to commemorate the event. The plaque design was a reproduction of a newsprint advert used to promote the Hammersmith concert.
Mel presented each member of Mott The Hoople and Queen with a plaque and kept an additional one for himself as a souvenir. This was a habit that Mel continued with all the acts he promoted, acts that included David Bowie, Slade and Led Zeppelin to name but a few.
We are proud to be selling Mel Bush's personal archive copy of this plaque along with a letter from him stating its origin and confirming its authenticity.
The plaque itself measures 13" x 7" including the black frame. The plaque is made of brass with black printing.
A visually impressive display item and for Queen fans one of the most important and historical pieces from the band's early days.
And Finally for trivia fans here's a full list of 1973 tour dates and setlist from 35 years ago!
SETLIST
1.Procession
2. Father To Son
3. Son And Daughter
4. Ogre Battle
5. Hangman
6. Keep Yourself Alive
7. Liar
8. MEDLEY - Jailhouse Rock / Shake Rattle & Roll / Stupid Cupid / Be Bop A Lula / Jailhouse Rock
9. Bama Lama Loo
DATES
Nov 12: Leeds Town Hall
Nov 13: Blackburn, St.Georges
Nov 15: Worcester Gaumont
Nov 16: Lancaster University
Nov 17: Liverpool Stadium
Nov 18: Hanley Victoria Hall
Nov 19: Wolverhampton Civic
Nov 20: Oxford New Theatre
Nov 21: Preston Guildhall
Nov 22: Newcastle City Hall
Nov 23: Glasgow Apollo Centre
Nov 25: Edinburgh Caley Cinema
Nov 26: Manchester Opera House
Nov 27: Birmingham Town Hall
Nov 28: Swansea Brangwyn Hall
Nov 29: Bristol Colston
Nov 30: Bournemouth Winter Gardens
Dec 1: Southend Kursaal
Dec 2: Chatham Central
Dec 6: Cheltenham College
Dec 7: Shaftesbury Hall, London
Dec 8: Liverpool University
Dec 14: Hammersmith Odeon - 2 shows
MEMORABILIA
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