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The Game Tour was the eighth headlining concert tour by the British rock band Queen to support their successful 1980 album The Game. This tour featured the first performances in South America by the group. This tour marked the last time Queen played without a fifth player, as all tours from 1982 onwards would feature an extra man playing on keyboard.
World tour by Queen | |
Location |
|
---|---|
Associated album | The Game |
Start date | 30 June 1980 |
End date | 25 November 1981 |
Legs | 6 |
No. of shows |
|
Queen concert chronology |
Background
editThis tour marked the introduction of a new lighting rig for Queen; the "Fly Swatters", also referred to as the "Bic Razors". This is also the first tour where Freddie Mercury had his moustache grown out. He would often ask the audience what they thought, to a mixed reception, where he would often pledge to keep it.[1] Several songs from the new album were incorporated, such as "Play the Game", "Need Your Loving Tonight", and "Rock It". The latter two of which saw very few performances on this leg of the tour, with Rock It being dropped before the four Inglewood dates, and Need Your Loving Tonight being dropped in the middle of August. Both songs would return to the stage in one form or another. Notably, "Somebody to Love" was only performed rarely early in the tour, being practically absent in the first three legs, but would return as a staple to the set by early March in South America. Early in the North American tour, as suggested by bootleg recordings, Mercury's voice mostly retained his late 1970s vocal tone in July before changing it to a more "macho" and aggressive style in August to match his appearance.
1980
editAt one of the concerts in Inglewood, Michael Jackson recommended that the band release Another One Bites the Dust as a single, which they did. Believing it not to be single material, the song became a large success for the band, particularly in North America. The Hartford concert in August marks the first known time the song was played live. Dragon Attack was added to the set in Providence later that same month. "You're My Best Friend", a successful single for the band, was dropped from the medley after the last night of the North American leg, at the Madison Square Garden.
At the start of the European leg of the tour, the Battle Theme from the Flash Gordon soundtrack was incorporated into the set. "Need Your Loving Tonight" was also reincorporated into the set after a lengthy absence, now coming after "Get Down, Make Love". The concert in Essen featured the first performance of "The Hero" from the Flash Gordon soundtrack, with the second night in Birmingham being the debut of "Flash's Theme".
Due to the murder of John Lennon on the 8th of December, the members of Queen created an arrangement of Lennon's greatest hit, "Imagine", which was played on a handful of dates (in place of "Keep Yourself Alive"), including the night after Lennon's death, and on the final night of the leg. "Need Your Loving Tonight" and "Jailhouse Rock" were also dropped on the 9th.
1981
editOn the Japanese leg of the tour, Vultan's Theme was added to the setlist on February 13, staying as part of the set until the end of the leg.
Queen was encouraged to play in South America, after discovering that they were extremely popular. In Buenos Aires, Queen drew a crowd of 300,000—the largest single concert crowd in Argentine history as of 1982[update].[3] In São Paulo, Brazil, the attendance was 131,000 and 120,000 on two consecutive nights.[4] All three Buenos Aires shows were filmed and broadcast, however, only the second night has its footage completely available. A fragment of the first night's footage and a screenshot of the third night's are all that are known to exist. The first São Paulo show was also broadcast and is widely available, however, the second night only circulates via a low quality broadcast, and a poor-quality bootleg.
This was the only tour that Queen played in Venezuela, where they were due to play 5 shows in its capital city, Caracas. However, after their third performance on 27 September, the Venezuelan government declared an 8-day period of National Mourning due to the passing of one of Venezuela's former president. The remaining two concerts were cancelled and all tickets were refunded to more than 50,000 fans.[5] The third night was filmed and was eventually leaked.
Queen were due to play two nights in Monterrey and Guadalajara each, however, due to subpar treatment of the crew by locals during the first night in Monterrey, Queen cancelled the remaining three shows. Two nights in Puebla were quickly set up as replacements, where the band faced unruly crowds that often threw shoes at the band.
1981 Montreal Concerts
editIn 1980, director Saul Swimmer approached Queen with the idea of producing a concert film. Initially proposed to be shot at the Madison Square Garden, the band moved shooting to the Montreal Forum in Canada due to the audience being louder than the monitors there. When filming was occurring, Saul Swimmer wanted the band to choreograph their act and wear the same costumes on both nights, so he could switch between the footage at will. Out of spite, Jailhouse Rock was performed on the first night, with Mercury still in his trousers, which he wore during the first encore. During the second night, not only was the Elvis cover not performed, but Freddie had also switched to shorts for the first encore, to deliberately mess with the continuity of the footage.
Somehow, Swimmer acquired the rights to the footage. Many overdubs were made to the footage, such as most of Another One Bites the Dust, Sheer Heart Attack, Jailhouse Rock, the rock section of Bohemian Rhapsody, and the first verse of Let Me Entertain You.[6] The footage was given a dry mix and released in 1982 as "We Will Rock You" by Mobilevision. Despite being performed during the first encore of the first night, "Jailhouse Rock" was placed after "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" on official releases.
The film was released many times, including in 1984, 1997,[a] and 2001,[b][7] before the rights to the film were bought back by Queen Productions in early 2007. As all the footage that had not been included in the final cut had been discarded, the band could not re-edit the film, and could only remaster the video and remix the audio. Nonetheless, the intro sequence of Now I'm Here was recreated. Additionally, Love of My Life had an audience overdubbed onto it, and several fixes were made via pitch correction. Because of this, a good portion of the overdubs was removed.[6] The footage was re-released properly in 2007 as "Queen Rock Montreal", and has received much critical acclaim since.[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]
Tour dates
editDate | City | Country | Venue | Attendance | Gross | Ref(s) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
North America | |||||||
30 June 1980 | Vancouver | Canada | Pacific Coliseum | N/A | |||
1 July 1980 | Seattle | United States | Seattle Center Coliseum | ||||
2 July 1980 | Portland | Portland Memorial Coliseum | |||||
5 July 1980 | San Diego | San Diego Sports Arena | 11,500 / 11,500 | $110,000 | [18] | ||
6 July 1980 | Phoenix | Compton Terrace | 8,410 / 8,410 | $77,351 | [19] | ||
8 July 1980 | Inglewood | The Forum | 60,800 / 60,800 | $594,970 | [19] | ||
9 July 1980 | [19] | ||||||
11 July 1980 | [19] | ||||||
12 July 1980 | [19] | ||||||
13 July 1980 | Oakland | Oakland Coliseum Arena | 19,861 / 29,000 | $179,466 | [20] | ||
14 July 1980 | [20] | ||||||
5 August 1980 | Memphis | Mid-South Coliseum | 6,200 / 11,999 | $50,611 | [21] | ||
6 August 1980 | Baton Rouge | Riverside Centroplex Arena | N/A | ||||
8 August 1980 | Oklahoma City | Myriad Convention Center | |||||
9 August 1980 | Dallas | Reunion Arena | 10,313 / 18,500 | $90,925 | |||
10 August 1980 | Houston | The Summit | 10,222 / 17,048 | $98,642 | [21] | ||
12 August 1980 | Atlanta | Omni Coliseum | N/A | ||||
13 August 1980 | Charlotte | Charlotte Coliseum | |||||
14 August 1980 | Greensboro | Greensboro Coliseum | 5,200 / 8598 | $41,976 | |||
16 August 1980 | Charleston | Charleston Civic Center | 5,459 / 7,092 | $43,262 | |||
17 August 1980[c] | Indianapolis | Market Square Arena | |||||
20 August 1980[d] | Hartford | Hartford Civic Center | 9,930 /13,000 | $91,590 | [23] | ||
22 August 1980[e] | Philadelphia | The Spectrum | 14,117 / 18,454 | $121,764 | [23] | ||
23 August 1980[f] | Baltimore | Baltimore Civic Center | 8,695 / 12,007 | $73,827 | |||
24 August 1980[g] | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh Civic Arena | 7,319 / 17,500 | $64,260 | |||
26 August 1980 | Providence | Providence Civic Center | |||||
27 August 1980 | Portland | Cumberland County Civic Center | |||||
29 August 1980 | Montreal | Canada | Montreal Forum | 16,403 / 16,403 | $173,447 | [24] | |
30 August 1980 | Toronto | CNE Grandstand | 22,312 / 22,312 | $227,166 | [24] | ||
10 September 1980 | Milwaukee | United States | MECCA Arena | 6,705 | N/A | [25] | |
12 September 1980 | Kansas City | Kemper Arena | 10,825 / 12,000 | $100,529 | [26] | ||
13 September 1980 | Omaha | Omaha Civic Auditorium | N/A | ||||
14 September 1980 | Saint Paul | St. Paul Civic Center | 13,900 | $133,000 | [27] | ||
16 September 1980 | Ames | Hilton Coliseum | 9,215 / 10,372 | $84,143 | [27] | ||
17 September 1980 | St. Louis | Checkerdome | 6,667 / 10,000 | $61,295 | [27] | ||
19 September 1980 | Rosemont | Rosemont Horizon | N/A | ||||
20 September 1980 | Detroit | Joe Louis Arena | 15,559 / 15,559 | $152,955 | [27] | ||
21 September 1980 | Richfield | Richfield Coliseum | N/A | ||||
23 September 1980 | Glens Falls | Glens Falls Civic Center | 7,500 / 7,500 | $67,694 | [28] | ||
24 September 1980 | Syracuse | Onondaga County War Memorial | N/A | ||||
26 September 1980[h] | Boston | Boston Garden | 13,000 / 13,000 | $131,580 | [28] | ||
28 September 1980 | New York City | Madison Square Garden | 50,000 / 50,000 | $500,000 | [29] | ||
29 September 1980 | [29] | ||||||
30 September 1980 | [29] | ||||||
Europe | |||||||
23 November 1980 | Zürich | Switzerland | Hallenstadion | N/A | |||
25 November 1980 | Paris | France | La Rotonde du Bourget | ||||
26 November 1980 | Cologne | West Germany | Sporthalle | ||||
27 November 1980 | Leiden | Netherlands | Groenoordhallen | ||||
29 November 1980 | Essen | West Germany | Grugahalle | ||||
30 November 1980 | West Berlin | Deutschlandhalle | |||||
1 December 1980 | Bremen | Stadthalle Bremen | |||||
5 December 1980 | Birmingham | England | Birmingham International Arena | ||||
6 December 1980 | |||||||
8 December 1980 | London | Wembley Arena | |||||
9 December 1980 | |||||||
10 December 1980 | |||||||
12 December 1980 | Brussels | Belgium | Forest National | ||||
13 December 1980 | |||||||
14 December 1980 | Frankfurt | West Germany | Festhalle Frankfurt | ||||
16 December 1980 | Strasbourg | France | Hall Rhénus | ||||
18 December 1980 | Munich | West Germany | Olympiahalle | ||||
Asia | |||||||
12 February 1981 | Tokyo | Japan | Nippon Budokan | N/A | |||
13 February 1981 | |||||||
16 February 1981 | |||||||
17 February 1981 | |||||||
18 February 1981 | |||||||
South America Bites the Dust | |||||||
28 February 1981 | Buenos Aires | Argentina | José Amalfitani Stadium | 54,000 | N/A | ||
1 March 1981 | 52,000 | ||||||
4 March 1981[i] | Mar del Plata | Estadio José María Minella | 30,000 | ||||
6 March 1981 | Rosario | Estadio Gigante de Arroyito | 34,000 | ||||
8 March 1981 | Buenos Aires | José Amalfitani Stadium | 58,000 | ||||
20 March 1981 | São Paulo | Brazil | Estádio do Morumbi | 131,000 | N/A | ||
21 March 1981 | 120,000 | ||||||
Gluttons for Punishment | |||||||
25 September 1981 | Caracas | Venezuela | Poliedro de Caracas | N/A | |||
26 September 1981 | |||||||
27 September 1981 | |||||||
9 October 1981 | Monterrey | Mexico | Estadio Universitario | ||||
17 October 1981 | Puebla | Estadio Ignacio Zaragoza | |||||
18 October 1981 | |||||||
We Will Rock You/Queen Rock Montreal | |||||||
24 November 1981 | Montreal | Canada | Montreal Forum | N/A | |||
25 November 1981 |
Cancelled concerts
edit16 August 1980 | New York City | Battery Park Open Air | Cancelled.[22] |
17 August 1980 | Cincinnati | Riverfront Coliseum | Cancelled.[22] |
2 September 1980 | New Haven | Veterans Memorial Coliseum | Cancelled.[22] |
5 September 1980 | Lexington | Rupp Arena | Cancelled.[22] |
9 September 1980 | Madison | Dane County Coliseum | Cancelled.[22] |
13 March 1981 | Porto Alegre | Estádio Olímpico Monumental | Cancelled.[22] |
27 March 1981 | Rio de Janeiro | Maracanã Stadium | Rescheduled to October 1981, then cancelled.[22] |
29 September 1981 | Caracas | Poliedro de Caracas | Cancelled due to Romulo Betancourt's national mourning period.[22] |
30 September 1981 | Caracas | Poliedro de Caracas | Cancelled due to Romulo Betancourt's national mourning period.[22] |
10 October 1981 | Monterrey | Estadio Universitario | Cancelled.[22] |
15 October 1981 | Guadalajara | Estadio Jalisco | Cancelled.[22] |
16 October 1981 | Guadalajara | Estadio Jalisco | Cancelled.[22] |
Personnel
edit- Freddie Mercury – lead vocals, piano, guitar ("Crazy Little Thing Called Love"), tambourine.
- Brian May – guitar, backing vocals, piano.
- Roger Taylor – drums, timpani, lead vocals ("I'm in Love With My Car"), backing vocals.
- John Deacon – bass guitar, additional vocals
Notes
edit- ^ The "Commemorative Release"
- ^ This was remastered in THX for enhanced audio and video quality, though cropped to 16:9.
- ^ The 17 August 1980 concert in Indianapolis originally part scheduled to take place on 7 September 1980.[22]
- ^ The 20 August 1980 concert in Hartford was originally scheduled to take place on 24 August 1980.[22]
- ^ The 22 August 1980 concert in Philadelphia was originally scheduled to take place on 27 August 1980.[22]
- ^ The 23 August 1980 concert in Baltimore was originally scheduled to take place on 26 August 1980.[22]
- ^ The 24 August 1980 concert in Pittsburgh was originally scheduled to take place on 31 August 1980.[22]
- ^ The 26 September 1980 concert in Boston was originally scheduled to take place on 3 September 1980.[22]
- ^ The 4 March 1981 concert in Mar del Plata was originally scheduled to take place at Estadio Olímpico in Monterrey.[22]
References
edit- ^ "THE DAY FREDDIE MERCURY'S MUSTACHE APPEARED". Ultimate Classic Rock. 30 May 2020. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
- ^ La historia detrás de la foto by Pablo Lisotto, La Nación, 30 Oct 2018
- ^ "Queen's Flashy Rock". The Washington Post. 27 July 1982.
- ^ Henke, James (11 June 1981). "Queen Holds Court in South America". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 9 September 2009.
- ^ "Archived copy". queenlive.ca. Archived from the original on 15 July 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ a b Chinwonder2 (11 June 2021). "Queen – Montreal 1981 – Live vs. Overdubs (Episode 5)". YouTube. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Queen – We Will Rock You". Discogs. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
- ^ "Queen – Rock Montreal (Album)" (ASP). Austrian Charts (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
- ^ "Queen – Rock Montreal (Album)" (ASP). Ultratop (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
- ^ "Queen – Rock Montreal (Album)" (ASP). Ultratop (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
- ^ "Queen – Rock Montreal (Album)" (ASP). Les Charts (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
- ^ "Chartverfolgung / Queen / Longplay". Music Line (in German). Media Control Charts. Archived from the original on 17 October 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
- ^ "Queen – Rock Montreal (Album)" (ASP). Dutch Charts (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
- ^ "Queen – Rock Montreal (Album)" (ASP). Portuguese Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
- ^ "Queen – Rock Montreal (Album)" (ASP). Spanish Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
- ^ "Queen – Rock Montreal (Album)" (ASP). Swiss Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
- ^ "Queen – Rock Montreal (Album)". Mexican Charts. Hung Medien. Archived from the original (ASP) on 19 October 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
- ^ "Top Box Office" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 92, no. 29. 19 July 1980. p. 32. ISSN 0006-2510.
- ^ a b c d e "Top Box Office" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 92, no. 30. 26 July 1980. p. 50. ISSN 0006-2510.
- ^ a b "Top Box Office" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 92, no. 31. 2 August 1980. p. 36. ISSN 0006-2510.
- ^ a b "Top Box Office" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 92, no. 34. 23 August 1980. p. 32. ISSN 0006-2510.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Unknown, Unknown. "Cancelled and rescheduled concerts". qliverecordings. Queen Live Recordings. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
- ^ a b "Top Box Office" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 92, no. 36. 6 September 1980. p. 51. ISSN 0006-2510.
- ^ a b "Top Box Office" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 92, no. 37. 13 September 1980. p. 35. ISSN 0006-2510.
- ^ Samuels, Lennox (11 September 1980). "Queen one of best to pass through city". The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on 13 August 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
- ^ "Top Box Office" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 92, no. 39. 27 September 1980. p. 37. ISSN 0006-2510.
- ^ a b c d "Top Box Office" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 92, no. 40. 4 October 1980. p. 37. ISSN 0006-2510.
- ^ a b "Top Box Office" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 92, no. 41. 11 October 1980. p. 41. ISSN 0006-2510.
- ^ a b c "Top Box Office" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 92, no. 42. 18 October 1980. p. 31. ISSN 0006-2510.