The Jazz Tour was the sixth headlining concert tour by the British
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
, supporting the album ''
Jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
''. The tour was memorable for the spectacle created by the band. As James Henke of ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' said about the band's
Halloween
Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...
1978 concert in
: "...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
''Live Killers'' is a double live album by the British rock band Queen, released on 22 June 1979.[Live Kil ...](_blank)
''.
Background
Due to the tour starting within weeks of the final recording sessions for ''Jazz'', Freddie Mercury's voice is worn out from the start, and while he does have moments of excellence, his performances are generally below-average when compared to the previous tour. While holding up fine for the American and European shows, he loses his voice in Japan, leading to some of his worst performances. In contrast, the band's musicianship is creative and very inspired. When "
We Will Rock You
"We Will Rock You" is a song written by Brian May and recorded by British rock band Queen for their 1977 album ''News of the World''. ''Rolling Stone'' ranked it number 330 of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2004, and it placed at numbe ...
" was performed, there would be a person dressed in a Superman costume holding up Mercury on their shoulders while he sings.
Setlists
Average setlist
This setlist is representative of the performance on 16 December 1978 in
Oakland
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...
, United States. It does not represent all the setlists for the duration of the tour.
#"We Will Rock You (Fast)"
#"Let Me Entertain You"
#"Somebody To Love"
#"If You Can't Beat Them"
#"Death on Two Legs"
#"Killer Queen"
#"Bicycle Race"
#"I'm In Love With My Car"
#"Get Down, Make Love"
#"You're My Best Friend"
#"Now I'm Here"
#"Spread Your Wings"
#"Dreamer's Ball"
#"Love Of My Life"
#"'39"
#"It's Late"
#"Brighton Rock"
#"Fat Bottomed Girls"
#"Keep Yourself Alive"
#"Bohemian Rhapsody"
#"Tie Your Mother Down"
Encore
#"Sheer Heart Attack"
Encore
#"We Will Rock You"
#"We Are The Champions"
#"God Save The Queen"
Selected setlists
Tour dates
Box office score data
Tour band
*
Freddie Mercury
Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. Regarded as one of the greatest singers in the ...
: Lead vocals, piano, tambourine.
*
Brian May
Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and astrophysicist, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen (band), Queen. May was a co-founder of Queen with lead singer Fredd ...
: Guitar, backing vocals, piano ("Teo Torriatte")
*
Roger Taylor Roger Taylor may refer to:
*Roger Taylor (Queen drummer) (born 1949), drummer for Queen
*Roger Taylor (Duran Duran drummer) (born 1960), drummer for Duran Duran
*Roger Taylor (author), author of epic fantasy Hawklan series
*Roger Taylor (college pr ...
: Drums, timpani, lead vocals ("I'm in Love With My Car"), backing vocals.
*
John Deacon
John Richard Deacon (born 19 August 1951) is an English retired musician, best known for being the bass guitarist for the rock band Queen. He wrote several songs for the group, including Top 10 hits " You're My Best Friend", " Another One Bit ...
: Bass guitar, additional backing vocals, triangle
References
External links
Queen Concerts
{{Authority control
Queen (band) concert tours
1978 concert tours