The Works Tour was the tenth headlining concert tour by the

British rock British rock describes a wide variety of forms of music made in the United Kingdom. Since around 1964, with the "British Invasion" of the United States spearheaded by the Beatles, British rock music has had a considerable impact on the develop ...

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 ...

to promote their successful 1984 album '' The Works''. During the tour, Queen participated in the

Rock in Rio ''Rock in Rio'' is a recurring music festival originating in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It later branched into other locations such as Lisbon, Madrid and Las Vegas. Nine incarnations of the festival have been held in Rio de Janeiro, in 1985, 1991, ...

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.

Stage design

The stage design was based on a scene from

Fritz Lang Friedrich Christian Anton Lang (; December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976), known as Fritz Lang, was an Austrian film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Germany and later the United States.Obituary ''Variety'', August 4, 1976, p. 6 ...

's ''

Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big c ...

'' with huge rotating

cog-wheel A gear is a rotating circular machine part having cut teeth or, in the case of a cogwheel or gearwheel, inserted teeth (called ''cogs''), which mesh with another (compatible) toothed part to transmit (convert) torque and speed. The basic pr ...

s at the rear of the stage and a brightly lit cityscape. 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 Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

, Mercury fell down the stairs during the performance of "Hammer to Fall". 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 Bophuthatswana (, meaning "gathering of the Tswana people"), officially the Republic of Bophuthatswana ( tn, Riphaboliki ya Bophuthatswana; af, Republiek van Bophuthatswana), was a Bantustan (also known as "Homeland"; an area set aside for mem ...

, South Africa, at the Sun City Super Bowl in October 1984."Queen’s Tragic Rhapsody"
Gilmore, Mikal. ''Rolling Stone''. 7 July 2014. Due to the

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

policy of South Africa the United Nations requested entertainers to boycott the country and the Britain's Musicians’ Union banned any of its members from performing in Sun City. 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.

Personnel

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, rhythm guitar (on "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" ) *

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 ...

– electric and acoustic guitars, backing vocals *

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, 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 Bite ...

– bass guitar, rhythm guitar (on "Staying Power"), backing vocals Additional musicians: *

Spike Edney Philip "Spike" Edney (born 11 December 1951) 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 to ...

– keyboards, piano, backing vocals, rhythm guitar (on "Hammer to Fall")

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. #"Machines (Or 'Back to Humans)" ntro#"Tear It Up" #"

Tie Your Mother Down "Tie Your Mother Down" is a song by the British rock band Queen, written by lead guitarist Brian May. It is the opening track and the second single from their 1976 album '' A Day at the Races''. On its original release as a single in 1977 the ...

" #"

Under Pressure "Under Pressure" is a song by the British rock band Queen and singer David Bowie. Originally released as a single in October 1981, it was later included on Queen's 1982 album ''Hot Space''. The song reached number one on the UK Singles Chart, ...

" #" Somebody to Love" #"

Killer Queen "Killer Queen" is a song by the British rock band Queen. It was written by lead singer Freddie Mercury and recorded for their third album ''Sheer Heart Attack'' in 1974. It reached number two in the UK Singles Chart and became their first US ...

" #"

Seven Seas of Rhye "Seven Seas of Rhye" is a song by the British rock band Queen. It was primarily written by Freddie Mercury, with Brian May contributing the second middle-eight. The song is officially credited to Mercury only. A rudimentary instrumental versio ...

" #"

Keep Yourself Alive "Keep Yourself Alive" is the debut single by the British rock band Queen. Written by guitarist Brian May, it is the opening track on the band's eponymous debut album (1973). It was released as Queen's first single along with "Son and Daugh ...

" #" Liar" #"

It's a Hard Life "It's a Hard Life" is a song by the British rock band Queen, written by lead singer Freddie Mercury. It was featured on their 1984 album '' The Works'', and it was the third single from that album. In 1991 it was included in the band’s second ...

" #" Staying Power" #"Dragon Attack" #"

Now I'm Here "Now I'm Here" is a song by the British rock band Queen. Written by lead guitarist Brian May, it was the sixth song on their third album, ''Sheer Heart Attack'' (1974). The song is noted for its hard riff and vocal harmonies. In the UK, the so ...

" #" Is This the World We Created...?" #" Love of My Life" #"

Stone Cold Crazy "Stone Cold Crazy" is a song written and performed by British rock music, rock band Queen (band), Queen for their 1974 album ''Sheer Heart Attack''. The song is the eighth track on the album. Although the song was not released as a single at th ...

" #"Great King Rat" #"Keyboard Solo"/"Guitar Solo"/" Brighton Rock" #" Another One Bites the Dust" #"

Hammer to Fall "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''.

" #"

Crazy Little Thing Called Love "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" is a song by the British rock band Queen. Written by Freddie Mercury in 1979, the track is included on their 1980 album '' The Game'', and also appears on the band's compilation album ''Greatest Hits'' in 1981 ...

" #"

Bohemian Rhapsody "Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock band Queen, released as the lead single from their fourth album, '' A Night at the Opera'' (1975). Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, the song is a six-minute suite, notable for its lack ...

" #"

Radio Ga Ga "Radio Ga Ga" is a 1984 song performed and recorded by the British rock band Queen, written by their drummer Roger Taylor. It was released as a single with " I Go Crazy" by Brian May as the B-side. It was included on the album '' The Works'' ...

" ;Encore #

I Want to Break Free "I Want to Break Free" is a song by the British rock band Queen, written by their bassist John Deacon. It appears on the album '' The Works'' (1984), and was released in three versions: album, single and extended. The track became a staple of ...

" #" Jailhouse Rock" #"

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 ...

" #"

We Are the Champions "We Are the Champions" is a song by the British rock band Queen, released from the band's sixth album ''News of the World'' (1977). Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, it remains among rock's most recognisable anthems.

" #"

God Save the Queen "God Save the King" is the national and/or royal anthem of the United Kingdom, most of the Commonwealth realms, their territories, and the British Crown Dependencies. The author of the tune is unknown and it may originate in plainchant, bu ...

" utro

Tour dates

Cancelled shows

Notes

References

External links

Queen ConcertsQueenlive.ca
{{DEFAULTSORT:Works Tour Queen (band) concert tours 1984 concert tours 1985 concert tours