queen's first tour in america

Colorado News | Queen’s first U.S. performance was right here…

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Colorado news | queen’s first u.s. performance was right here in denver, on april 16, 1974, queen performed for the first time in the country at regis university.

On April 16, 1974, Queen performed its first show for an American audience at Regis University, a private, Roman Catholic and Jesuit university in Denver. The performance happened at the field house of what was then Regis College, with tickets available for $7.50 at the campus bookstore, according to an old advertisement Regis University shared in light of last week’s release of the Queen biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

The northwest Denver university created a video asking students and staff members to identify Queen songs followed by a quiz, asking whether they knew where Queen’s first U.S. performance happened.

Regis students and staff were shocked and delighted to learn Queen wasn’t too cool for their school back in the day.

The poster also announced that the 1974 show would feature special guest Mott the Hoople, another English rock band best known for the song “All the Young Dudes.”

Queen isn’t the only legendary band that kicked off its North American tour in the Mile High. A few years earlier on Dec.26, 1968, Led Zeppelin opened its first U.S. tour for band Vanilla Fudge at Denver Auditorium.

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In the band’s fast-moving 1974, their UK chart success on single and album was followed by a first step onto a US stage.

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It was full speed ahead for Queen  in the early spring of 1974. In the UK, they were enjoying their first hit, as “Seven Seas Of Rhye” reached its No. 10 peak. Meanwhile, the Top 5 success of the Queen II album was giving its predecessor (just called Queen , and released the previous summer) a belated chart debut.

It was not until literally years later, when Queen were basking in the afterglow of “Bohemian Rhapsody”  and the Sheer Heart Attack album, that their first LP finally peaked, at No. 24, in February 1976. That was more than two and a half years after its release. But back in 1974, on April 16, the band followed a 22-date UK tour (the one that produced the Live At The Rainbow ’74 album, released only in 2014) with their first-ever show in the United States.

‘First US tour, first performance’

This initial US tour had Queen supporting UK favorites of the day, Mott The Hoople. The city in question was Denver, and the venue was not one that regularly crops up in the annals of rock history: the university venue Regis College Fieldhouse. “First US tour, first performance,” announced the poster. “Tickets $7.50 at campus bookstore.”

This was the first of no fewer than 19 American dates, of which the final six were in New York, at Uris Theatre, now known as the Broadway theatre the Gershwin. Now paying more attention to their image, the quartet  employed Zandra Rhodes to design some of their stage costumes.

Freddie does Elvis…and Shirley Bassey

The set list that night in Denver started as the Queen II album did, with the instrumental “Procession.” It contained other new songs such as “Father To Son,” “White Queen (As It Began),” and “Ogre Battle.” The band also played that current UK hit, their first single “Keep Yourself Alive” and such covers as Elvis ’ “Jailhouse Rock” and “Big Spender,” the latter much associated with Shirley Bassey.

They had intended to play even more than 19 shows, but their US itinerary had to be cut short on 11 May. On the day of the final Uris Theatre performance, Brian May collapsed with hepatitis, and then developed a duodenal ulcer. But on the same chart date as that final US gig, Queen II entered the US chart at No. 134. It rose to No. 49 in a 13-week run.

Listen to the best of Queen on  Apple Music   and  Spotify .

13 Comments

April 16, 2016 at 6:52 pm

I saw them at the Agora in Columbus, Ohio. It was their first tour of the USA. On their way back from the west, they stopped again in Columbus, Ohio.

I know it was a long time ago but that is what I remember.

April 30, 2017 at 6:43 pm

One of my favorites I never saw live….

April 30, 2017 at 10:13 pm

Tom Pappas, you can still see them, or at least 50% of them! Personally, as much as I love them, Queen as a current band died with Freddie Mercury’s death all the way back in 1991.

May 1, 2017 at 2:26 pm

Fans in Detroit were distraught that they weren’t going to play. Kansas filled in. Ironically when Queen was the headliner the next year Kansas was their opening act.

Greg Osborne

May 1, 2017 at 3:10 pm

Happy to say that I was there that night!

May 2, 2017 at 4:01 am

“Regis College Fieldhouse”. Most of the concert history lists that I’ve seen rarely get that right, but that’s exactly how it was worded on the ticket. In the late Seventies thieves broke into a storage unit of mine and took a bunch of boxes with personal items, photos, etc.. My ticket stub was in one of those boxes.

Virginia Scarfo

April 16, 2019 at 12:17 pm

Just bought DVD Bohemian Rhapsody and watched it twice. One of the best bands ever! Great legendary songs – Freddie Mercury a born entertainer!

Stephen Poulos

April 16, 2019 at 4:57 pm

Saw them in Cleveland that tour my first concert, what away too start my life at live concerts. Went with my best friends at the time will never forget. To this day everybody and anybody in Rock plays the home of rock n roll CLEVELAND!

April 17, 2019 at 7:24 pm

They were scheduled to play with Styx and Kansas at Kutztown State nka KU aweek after Brian got sick…sucks!!

September 20, 2019 at 7:48 pm

I saw Mott at the Uris that year and was impressed by the opening act Queen I never got the second chance to see Queen again but I still tell the story of the show when the discussion comes to groups we’ve seen.

Mike McCormick

April 26, 2020 at 10:28 pm

I saw Queen on their Sheer Heart Attack tour of the UK in the Great Hall of Lancaster university 1974. I was aged 14.l had the Queen logo stenciled on my school haversack. I was the 512th member of their fan club. Queen were my band! Well, it felt like that at the time…

Robert M Fitzpatrick

May 2, 2022 at 4:09 am

One of the dates on that tour was at the Harrisburg, PA Farm Show Arena. It was Mott, Aerosmith and Queen. I believe this is where Brian May learned the sublties of Kentucky Bourbon from one Steve Perry. There was an argument early (I used to get to shows crazy early, but that’s another story. Freddie, Mr. Tyler, both manager and a stage manager came out and had a frenzied argument around the grand piano. I distinctly remember that. It was so early in their careers that we thought the “2nd” band was called Aerosmith Queen. The font was the same.

August 7, 2023 at 2:56 am

They opened for Mott in Portland,Me. On the strength of a Rolling Stone review I’d bought their first album and aside from Keep Yourself Alive I didn’t think much of it. Queen on stage grabbed the audience and never let up. Big Spender was the encore with a costume change for Freddie into a bejeweled Nudie jumpsuit. This played very well and Mott never got the audience back. Mott had played Portland a year earlier with All…Memphis. Mick Ralphs(he’d formed Bad Company) was replaced by Mick Ronson. This appearance Adrian Belew was on lead guitar. I make no apologies, I’m a dude man.

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When exactly did Queen play their first ever gig?

27 June 2024, 14:00

It's been over half a century since the legendary rock band first performed in front of an audience, but what was the exact date and what did they play?

By Martin O'Gorman

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There's no doubt that Queen are one of the most successful bands to ever come out of the UK. With classic songs like Bohemian Rhapsody, Another One Bites The Dust, I Want To Break Free and many, many more, Freddie Mercury, Brian May, John Deacon and Roger Taylor have earned their place in the music hall of fame.

Queen officially celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2020 - they first went out before the public under that name in the summer of 1970. But on which date in particular are we supposed to celebrate their official birth?

Google "When was Queen's first gig?" and you'll be shown the date 27th June 1970 . But, as with a lot of things on the internet, the actual truth is a bit more complicated than that.

Queen's roots lay in a band called Smile , which was formed by guitarist Brian May and voclaist and bassist Tim Staffell in London in 1968. They were soon joined by drummer Roger Taylor, while Staffell introduced the group to a singer he knew from Ealing Art College - Farrokh "Freddie" Bulsara .

When Staffell left Smile in 1970, Bulsara - now calling himself Freddie Mercury - was such a fan of the group that he put himself forward as a replacement. With Freddie now on board, Smile were booked to play th e City Hall in Truro, Cornwall on Saturday 27th June 1970 .

Cornwall may seem like a strange place to perform for a relatively new band that had formed in London, but Truro was where Roger Taylor had grown up. He told Cornwall Live : "That was actually arranged by my mother in aid of the Red Cross. We were paid £50, which was quite a lot of money back then. I’m not sure many people turned up though.”

ON 27 JUNE 1970... QUEEN PLAYED FIRST GIG AS "QUEEN" - though billed in Cornish Press advertising as "Smile" - Truro, UK (Mike Grose on bass) READ MORE: http://tinyurl.com/q32cyd5  Posted by Brian May on  Saturday, 27 June 2015

The drummer's mum had booked adverts in the local press, billing them - as usual - as Smile. However, when the band - Mercury, May, Taylor and bassist Mike Grose - arrived at the venue that Saturday, the singer announced that from henceforth, the group was to be known as Queen .

A friend of the band, Sue Johnstone , laughed at the audacity of the name . "We thought it was hilarious because he was always so camp," she told Cornwall Live. "And we just laughed and thought of the gay connotation immediately, but he tried to make it more acceptable by persuading us that it was ‘regal’.”

For 7 shillings and sixpence - about a fiver in today's money - you could have seen the newly-christened Queen perform with DJ Jeff Spence as "support". Sadly, nobody thought to take note of the whole setlist, but it's believed that the band played Son And Daughter, which would later appear on their debut album in 1973, and Stone Cold Crazy, which wouldn't be recorded until 1974's Sheer Heart Attack LP.

Queen - Son and Daughter (Official Lyric Video)

But here's where things get messy. In March 2013, Brian May and Roger Taylor appeared at a ceremony at London's Imperial College to unveil a blue plaque which was to commemorate... Queen's first ever gig. On Saturday 18th July, 1970.

This show - at the college where Brian May studied Mathematic and Physics during the formation of the band - was the their first pubic performance under the new name Queen.

Returning to the venue in 2013, May told the BBC : "It's very nostalgic. It hasn't been that long for me because I came back here to finish off my PhD in 2007, so it's a familiar place."

That night, Queen were Freddie Mercury on vocals, Brian May on guitar, Roger Taylor on drums and Mike Grose on bass. Grose would be replaced in August 1970 by Barry Mitchell , then bass duties were taken by Doug Bogie briefly in early 1971, before John Deacon came on board that March to make up the final, famous quartet.

While the earliest Queen setlists haven't been recorded for posterity, one possible running order for a support slot of this period is for January 1971:

Queen at Ewell Technical College setlist, 9 January 1971

Keep Yourself Alive Doin' Alright Liar Great King Rat Modern Times Rock 'n' Roll Son And Daughter Hangman Jailhouse Rock medley including Stupid Cupid, Be-Bop-A-Lula, Big Spender, Bama Lama Bama Loo

Freddie For A Day 2018 I Interview with Barry Mitchell in Paris

The setlist was recalled by bassist Barry Mitchell - and this was his final appearance with Queen, before John Deacon arrived. Mitchell recalled in 2018 that he had no idea how massive the band would become.

"The music wasn't my kind of music. I didn't see it progressing. Freddie at the time didn't have great command of his voice. His singing was a bit off and a bit squeaky sometimes.

"For me, I saw Freddie as their weak link then, but you couldn't have foreseen what happened. He developed his voice, he got his technique right, and we all know what his voice ended up as."

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40 Years Ago: Queen Reach Their U.S. Peak With ‘The Game’ Tour

Queen had every reason to feel positive when they opened the world tour in support of their eighth album,  The Game , on June 30, 1980.

A 49-date U.S. run was ahead of them, the LP was released the same day and would go on to become their only No. 1 and “Another One Bites the Dust” would become their second chart-topping single from the record after “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” from the previous year.

Backstage, however, it wasn’t so straightforward. The Game – the band's  first album to feature synthesizers , albeit in a minimal manner – was a difficult record to complete. “We struggled bitterly with each other,” guitarist Brian May told Mojo in 1999. “We were all frustrated with each other. I remember [bassist]  John [Deacon] saying I didn't play the kind of guitar he wanted on his songs. We all tried to leave the band more than once. But then we'd come back to the idea that the band was greater than any of us. It was more enduring than most of our marriages.”

A total of 81 dates were booked worldwide over 17 months, including a record-breaking visit to South America and culminating with two nights at the Rock Montreal festival. As always, Queen invested heavily in putting on a memorable show, with running costs reportedly £25,000 a day, which equals about $180,000 a day in modern terms.

Synths wouldn’t begin to make an appearance at Queen live shows until 1982, which left May, Deacon, singer  Freddie Mercury  and drummer Roger Taylor continuing to focus the energy of four individuals on the challenge of replicating the feel of their multi-layered studio work.

Watch Queen Perform ‘Play the Game’ at Rock Montreal in 1981

“The flashy thing, that if it looks good and is well presented, then it can’t really have a substance," May told Melody Maker during the tour. "A couple of years ago that was at its peak, that if you had a decent light show and a good PA, that was selling out to commercialism. I think people have got over that, the groups that were successful from that period have started to go down the road we’ve gone down. If people are paying to see them, it’s worth being able to be heard properly and seen properly. It’s worth doing a complete show that people are satisfied with.”

He noted that "touring is certainly the most immediately fulfilling part of what we do, and it’s not really a big strain – mentally or physically – because we’re well organized, we know how to do it. All you have to worry about is playing well on the night. For me, it’s by far the best part of being in the band. Suddenly, life becomes simple again!”

May didn’t discuss the tensions that surrounded the making of the album album, but he did say that "on the whole, I wouldn’t have it any other way. … I think you need the balance, you need the studio to develop ideas. … But there is always somewhere new to conquer, as it were.”

Even amid the peak of interest in the States, the guitarist insisted that it wasn’t the band’s main ambition. “It’s an aim that affects everybody, even if they won’t admit it, that you’re progressing,” he reflected. "You get to play Madison Square Garden for one night, then two, then three. You’re reaching more people each time, and it’s a recognition that the people who enjoyed themselves the first time had come back and brought their friends. … Often, if you sell more records, it doesn’t mean that the quality of the record is any better, sometimes quite the opposite. But it’s something you do, another little force that propels you along.”

In the same interview, May recalled his first visit to the U.S. "We sold out a couple of nights in a small place, and I went to see Led Zeppelin at the Forum," he explained. "And I thought then, ‘Jesus Christ, if we can ever play here, that would be the ultimate dream come true!’”

Ironically, Queen’s final U.S. concert would take place in that very same venue in September 1982. By that time,  The Game  had sold 4 million copies, powered by the success of the tour. But the combined forces of changing musical tastes, the flop of the sci-fi movie Flash Gordon featuring Queen’s soundtrack , further personal issues and mainstream disapproval of Mercury’s lifestyle meant many Americans lost interest in the band.

“I remember suddenly realizing that we weren't packing them in quite as much as we used to,” Taylor said of their final appearance at the L.A. Forum in 1982. Queen had much more to offer the world during the rest of the decade, but mainstream American fans sat most of it out.

“We always assumed that we would go back,” May said in 1999. “But events overtook us. I know Freddie was very keen for that last album [ Innuendo ] to be accepted in the States. But we never got there. … Even the impact of Freddie’s death wasn't anything like as big as the impact of Wayne’s World . It wasn’t the same as in Europe.”

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Queen + Adam Lambert North American Tour - On Sale Now!

QUEEN + ADAM LAMBERT RETURN FOR THE RHAPSODY TOUR ACROSS NORTH AMERICA

Tickets Onsale Starting TODAY Friday, March 31 at 10am Local on LiveNation.com

“Visions fine and sound supreme Essence of a fierly Queen Doyens of the Paradigm We Will Rock You one more time.” Brian May

QUEEN + ADAM LAMBERT THE RHAPSODY TOUR 2023 DATES: Wed Oct 04 – Baltimore, MD – CFG Bank Arena  Sun Oct 08 – Toronto, ON — Scotiabank Arena  Tue Oct 10 — Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena Thu Oct 12 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden Sun Oct 15 – Boston, MA – TD Garden Wed Oct 18 — Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center Mon Oct 23 — Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena Wed Oct 25 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena Fri Oct 27 – St. Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center Mon Oct 30 — Chicago, IL – United Center Thu Nov 02 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center Sun Nov 05 — Denver, CO – Ball Arena  Wed Nov 08 – San Francisco, CA – Chase Center Sat Nov 11 – Los Angeles, CA – BMO Stadium

Brian May says, “Our last tour featured our most ambitious production ever. So we decided to rip it apart and get even more ambitious. Watch out world.”   And Adam Lambert says: “I can’t wait to tour North America one more time with the Rhapsody tour alongside the two unbelievably talented legends that are Brian May and Roger Taylor.”   Queen + Adam Lambert’s 150-minute career-spanning set list celebrates the band’s extraordinary back catalogue, lining up wall-to-wall immortal anthems like “We Will Rock You”, “Don’t Stop Me Now”, “Radio Ga Ga”, and “Somebody To Love” alongside classic deep cuts and vintage fan favourites. Featuring a dazzling state-of-the-art stage design, incredible special effects and set pieces, this sense-swamping extravaganza has been blowing critics and fans away the world over.   As with last year's UK and European dates, the 2023 North American tour will see Queen + Adam Lambert supported on stage by their regular band members, long-serving Queen keyboard player and musical director Spike Edney, bass guitarist Neil Fairclough and percussionist Tyler Warren.   Having extensively toured over the last few years, the Rhapsody show is forever evolving. But it remains at heart a tribute to Freddie Mercury’s majestic legacy, a confirmation of Brian and Roger’s undimmed musical prowess, plus a magnificent showcase for Adam’s vocal skills and electrifying stage charisma, all of which adds up to a glorious full-blooded celebration of one of the greatest songbooks in rock history. Read more on the story of The Rhapsody Tour so far, including the special performance opening the Platinum Jubilee concert with the late Queen herself tea cup tapping to the beat of “We Will Rock You” here .  

MORE ON TICKETS : Queen + Adam Lambert appreciates that it is an enormous task to try and stop scalpers from taking advantage of fans wanting to purchase tickets for the tour. In an effort to help minimize resale and keep ticket prices at face value for fans, the band are collaborating with the venues’ ticketing partners to restrict the ability to transfer tickets for The Rhapsody Tour so that they may only be transferred between fans at the original price.   Fans will still have protection against unforeseen circumstances. Those who purchase tickets and are no longer able to attend their show will be able to sell their tickets at the price they paid using a face value ticket exchange, including the Ticketmaster Face Value Exchange - which is free to use for buyers and sellers. More information on how the Ticketmaster Exchange works is available here .   Unfortunately, the states of NY, IL, and CO have laws in place that protect ticket scalpers - these laws prohibit artists from being able to restrict the transfer of their tickets to face-value exchanges only. For shows in these states, Queen + Adam Lambert strongly encourages fans to only buy or sell tickets to one another on face-value exchanges. More information can be found here , with more details to follow in the coming weeks.

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Queen + Adam Lambert Unveil North American ‘Rhapsody’ Tour Dates: ‘These Are New Glory Days’

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“These are kind of new glory days for us,” said Queen guitarist and founding member Brian May, who was literally knighted by King Charles III earlier this month. “It’s nice to think that hopefully there will be the demand for that.” 

But the guitarist, along with founding drummer Roger Taylor and singer Adam Lambert , was on the other side of the Atlantic in Thursday, in New York to announce the group’s 14-show North American leg of its “Rhapsody” tour — its first since 2019 — which runs from Oct. 4 through Nov. 11.

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Shows on the overseas “Rhapsody” tour dates featured around 25 songs plus four encore numbers, and included the hits “Killer Queen,” “Fat Bottomed Girls, “Another One Bites the Dust, “We Will Rock You / We Are the Champions” and the song with more than 2 billion Spotify streams that lent its title to a film and this tour, “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

Queen promises some deeper cuts on this jaunt. Lambert says, “I’m not sure exactly what we’ll pull out for this one. Look, I would be happy just to show up and do what I was told if that was how it was. But I’ve been really fortunate to work with these two gentlemen who are very collaborative, and we get to all throw ideas in and work things out. I’m really grateful for that it makes me even more invested in it.

It’s been a decade since the group’s first live American concert, though the first time they performed was in 2009 when May and Taylor were guests on the eighth season of “Idol.” May remembers the first actual American concert in Las Vegas in 2013 for the iHeart Music Festival: “It felt so good both internally and from the [crowd] reaction that we thought, ‘My God, this is something we shouldn’t be letting go.’ I think we foresaw some kind of future, didn’t we? But not quite as big as it actually happened. It’s been colossal.” 

Lambert agreed, “I don’t think I would have imagined that it would have been the gift that keeps on giving.”

The current Rhapsody tour features Queen + Adam Lambert’s regular band members, longtime keyboard player and musical director Spike Edney, bass guitarist Neil Fairclough and percussionist Tyler Warren. Founding bassist John Deacon left the band and effectively retired from music following Freddie Mercury’s 1991 death, and chose not to be present at Queen’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.

Despite a 30-year-plus age difference between Lambert, 41, and May, 75 and Taylor, 73, the three have an easy camaraderie that’s evident both onstage and off. Lambert was only three when Queen’s iconic 1985 Live Aid performance rocked the world, but it was something he got to recreate at the Fire Fight fundraiser concert in Sydney, Australia in February 2020, a month before Covid shut down the world.

 As a fan growing up, Lambert was familiar with Queen’s Live Aid footage. “But when it came time to first join the band on stage, I was like, ‘I have to know my stuff’ so I watched as much as I could. Besides Live Aid, one of my favorite things was Montreal concert where Freddie was running around in a pair of itty bitty white shorts and no shoes,” Lambert says. “I just I remember seeing that and going ‘This guy’s amazing.’ He was so free and ridiculous and just full of joy and I’ve been so inspired by that spirit. I try to approach shows with that same humor…”

“And shorts?” Taylor quipped.

“Not the shorts for me — Freddie had much better legs,” Lambert concluded.

A general on sale date for the Queen + Adam Lambert  U.S. tour is March 31, and in light of exorbitant ticket prices and “dynamic pricing,” the band stated in a release that “In an effort to help minimize resale and keep ticket prices at face value for fans, the band are collaborating with the venues’ ticketing partners to restrict the ability to transfer tickets for the Rhapsody tour so that they may only be transferred between fans at the original price.”

QUEEN + ADAM LAMBERT THE RHAPSODY TOUR 2023 DATES:

Wed Oct 04 – Baltimore, MD – CFG Bank Arena

Sun Oct 08 – Toronto, ON — Scotiabank Arena

Tue Oct 10 — Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena

Thu Oct 12 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden

Wed Oct 18 — Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center

Mon Oct 23 — Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena

Wed Oct 25 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena

Fri Oct 27 – St. Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center

Mon Oct 30 — Chicago, IL – United Center

Thu Nov 02 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center

Sun Nov 05 — Denver, CO – Ball Arena

Wed Nov 08 – San Francisco, CA – Chase Center

Sat Nov 11 – Los Angeles, CA – BMO Stadium

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Hailed as “The World’s Most Passionate Queen Tribute,” Bohemian Queen is celebrating the 50 th Anniversary of Queen’s first tour of America. Get ready for an epic show highlighting Queen’s live performances through the years, beginning with that first tour then moving through the decades of mega hits we all know and love.

Providing a full-throttle rock ‘n roll concert experience, Bohemian Queen sells out shows wherever they perform by faithfully recreating the bombastic, operatic performances of Queen in incredible detail. Their theatrical style features multiple costume changes by famed front man Paulie Z to showcase Freddie Mercury’s iconic stage outfits throughout the years.

In addition to Paulie Z channeling the soaring vocal power of Freddie Mercury, guitarist Steve Zukowsky, Southpaw singing drummer Glenn Jost, Canadian-born bassist Aaron Samson, and keyboardist Victor Bender bring together their dynamic musicianship and stage presence to deliver a classic catalog of songs and melodies.

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Timeline : Queen

Queen guitarist (and astrophysicist) Brian May is born in Hampton, Middlesex, England.

Roger Taylor (drummer for Queen ) is born in Dersingham, Norfolk, England.

John Deacon (bassist for Queen ) is born in Oadby, Leicester, England.

Queen play the Marquee Theater in London, their first concert since signing with EMI Records.

In Leeds, England, Queen begin their first tour. They're the opening act for Mott the Hoople .

Queen launch their first headlining tour with a show at Winter Gardens in Blackpool. Tickets are £1 if purchased in advance.

Queen make their US live debut at Regis College in Denver, Colorado, supporting Mott the Hoople . Their trek ends early when Brian May develops hepatitis a month later.

Queen cut their first US tour short when guitarist Brian May comes down with hepatitis. They return to action November 30, touring behind their third album, Sheer Heart Attack .

Queen 's " Bohemian Rhapsody " hits #1 in the UK and stays for a record nine weeks. In America, it becomes the group's first Top 10 hit when it peaks at #9 on April 24, 1976.

Queen shoot the video for " Bohemian Rhapsody ," which according to director Bruce Gowers, takes about four hours. It airs repeatedly on the British show Top Of The Pops and helps the song become one of the most popular in UK history.

Queen release their fifth album, A Day At The Races , in the UK (US release is December 18). Like their previous album, A Night At The Opera , it's titled after a Marx Brothers movie.

Queen release their " We Are The Champions "/" We Will Rock You " single in the UK, providing stadium anthems for sporting events the world over.

Queen stage a bicycle race with 65 naked models at Wimbledon stadium in England to provide the video and cover art for their " Bicycle Race " single.

Replicating their infamous promo stunt for the single, Queen are joined onstage at Madison Square Garden by several dozen nude, rotund women during their performance of " Bicycle Race ." (Rotund because the single mentions " Fat Bottomed Girls ," the title of the other half of the A-side.)

The Concerts For The People Of Kampuchea benefit premieres at London's Hammersmith Odeon, featuring organizer Paul McCartney , The Who , Queen , and an all-star "Rockestra."

Queen's " Another One Bites The Dust " goes to #1 in America, where it holds the top spot for three weeks.

The movie Flash Gordon , with a theme song by Queen , opens in theaters.

The Queen / David Bowie collaboration " Under Pressure " goes to #1 in the UK, Queen's first chart-topper there since " Bohemian Rhapsody ."

At the Los Angeles Forum, Queen play their last American concert with Freddie Mercury, who dies nine years later. Michael Jackson joins the band backstage before the show. On Queen's subsequent tours with Mercury, they skip America.

At the Knebworth Park Festival in England, Queen play their last concert with Freddie Mercury, who dies five years later. An audience of 120,000 hears them close out with " We Will Rock You / We Are The Champions " and " God Save The Queen ."

Queen 's 13th album, The Miracle , hits #1 in the UK.

At the BRIT Awards in London, Queen collect the BPI award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music. It is Freddie Mercury 's last public appearance with the band, as he dies the following year.

Freddie Mercury 's funeral is held in London. Just a small group of friends and family, including Elton John and Mercury's Queen bandmates, are at the private service. At the singer's request, his longtime companion Mary Austin takes his ashes - she never discloses their location.

Freddie Mercury of Queen dies of AIDS-related bronchial pneumonia in Kensington, London, England, at age 45.

Queen frontman Freddie Mercury issues a statement confirming he has AIDS and calling for help in fighting the disease. "I felt it correct to keep this information private to date to protect the privacy of those around me," he writes. "However, the time has come now for my friends and fans around the world to know the truth and I hope that everyone will join with my doctors and all those worldwide in the fight against this terrible disease." Mercury dies the next day.

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Queen + Adam Lambert Return For The Rhapsody Tour Across North America

Tickets Onsale Starting Friday, March 31 at 10am Local on LiveNation.com

“visions fine and sound supreme   essence of a fiery queen   doyens of the paradigm   we will rock you one more time.”   brian may  .

Having first launched their universally acclaimed Rhapsody Tour with 25 epic shows across North America in 2019, Queen + Adam Lambert are bringing their highly acclaimed production, now expanded and updated, back to where it first began. After a 4-year long hiatus, Sir Brian May, Roger Taylor and their exceptional frontman Adam Lambert have announced they will set out on a spectacular North America run this fall. Produced by Live Nation, the tour kicks off on October 4 at Baltimore’s CFG Bank Arena making stops in Toronto, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Dallas, Denver and more before concluding at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. See full routing below. 

Brian May says, “Our last tour featured our most ambitious production ever. So we decided to rip it apart and get even more ambitious. Watch out world.”  

And Adam Lambert says: “I can’t wait to tour North America one more time with the Rhapsody tour alongside the two unbelievably talented legends that are Brian May and Roger Taylor.”  

WATCH THE TOUR TRAILER BELOW  

﷟HYPERLINK “https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lkG43askLccMkhPLdxnrCNa7mhSRGKbT/view?usp=sharing”  

Queen + Adam Lambert’s 150-minute career-spanning set list celebrates the band’s extraordinary back catalogue, lining up wall-to-wall immortal anthems like “We Will Rock You”, “Don’t Stop Me Now”, “Radio Ga Ga”, and “Somebody To Love” alongside classic deep cuts and vintage fan favourites. Featuring a dazzling state-of-the-art stage design, incredible special effects and set pieces, this sense-swamping extravaganza has been blowing critics and fans away the world over. 

As with last year’s UK and European dates, the 2023 North American tour will see Queen + Adam Lambert supported on stage by their regular band members, long-serving Queen keyboard player and musical director Spike Edney, bass guitarist Neil Fairclough and percussionist Tyler Warren.  

Having extensively toured over the last few years, the Rhapsody show is forever evolving. But it remains at heart a tribute to Freddie Mercury’s majestic legacy, a confirmation of Brian and Roger’s undimmed musical prowess, plus a magnificent showcase for Adam’s vocal skills and electrifying stage charisma, all of which adds up to a glorious full-blooded celebration of one of the greatest songbooks in rock history. Read more on the story of The Rhapsody Tour so far, including the special performance opening the Platinum Jubilee concert with the late Queen herself tea cup tapping to the beat of “We Will Rock You” HERE . 

TICKETS: Tickets will be available via a general onsale beginning Friday, March 31st at 10AM local time at LiveNation.com .  

MORE ON TICKETS:  

Queen + Adam Lambert appreciate that it is an enormous task to try and stop scalpers from taking advantage of fans wanting to purchase tickets for the tour. In an effort to help minimize resale and keep ticket prices at face value for fans, the band are collaborating with the venues’ ticketing partners to restrict the ability to transfer tickets for The Rhapsody Tour so that they may only be transferred between fans at the original price. 

Fans will still have protection against unforeseen circumstances. Those who purchase tickets and are no longer able to attend their show will be able to sell their tickets at the price they paid using a face value ticket exchange, including the Ticketmaster Face Value Exchange – which is free to use for buyers and sellers. More information on how the Ticketmaster Exchange works is available here . 

Unfortunately, the states of NY, IL, and CO have laws in place which protect ticket scalpers – these laws prohibit artists from being able to restrict the transfer of their tickets to face value exchanges only. For shows in these states, Queen + Adam Lambert strongly encourage fans to only buy or sell tickets to one another on face value exchanges. More information can be found here , with more details to follow in the coming weeks.  

QUEEN + ADAM LAMBERT THE RHAPSODY TOUR 2023 DATES:   

Wed Oct 04 – Baltimore, MD – CFG Bank Arena 

Sun Oct 08 – Toronto, ON — Scotiabank Arena 

Tue Oct 10 — Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena 

Thu Oct 12 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden 

Sun Oct 15 – Boston, MA – TD Garden 

Wed Oct 18 — Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center 

Mon Oct 23 — Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena 

Wed Oct 25 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena 

Fri Oct 27 – St. Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center 

Mon Oct 30 — Chicago, IL – United Center 

Thu Nov 02 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center 

Sun Nov 05 — Denver, CO – Ball Arena 

Wed Nov 08 – San Francisco, CA – Chase Center 

Sat Nov 11 – Los Angeles, CA – BMO Stadium 

About Live Nation Entertainment  

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE: LYV) is the world’s leading live entertainment company comprised of global market leaders: Ticketmaster, Live Nation Concerts, and Live Nation Sponsorship. For additional information, visit www.livenationentertainment.com . 

MEDIA CONTACTS:  

Rhapsody Tour  

Cara Hutchison | [email protected]  

Queen  

Phil Symes | [email protected]   

Sharrin Summers – Hollywood Records | [email protected]  

Adam Lambert  

Kristen Foster | [email protected]   

Avery Robinson | [email protected]   

Live Nation Concerts  

Monique Sowinski | [email protected]  

Valeska Thomas | [email protected]   

Maya Sarin | [email protected]   

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From a half-empty show in San Antonio to Formula 1 champions of rock: Queen's long road to Austin

On Saturday, iconic British band Queen will rock the Formula One Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas with Adam Lambert, who has been filling in for the group's late singer Freddie Mercury for the past decade. This will be the band's first appearance in Austin, but it's not the first time they've rocked Texas.

Here are some memorable Queen moments in the Lone Star State.

Freddie Mercury and Queen once played a half-full concert hall in San Antonio

Queen first landed Stateside in 1975 during their Sheer Heart Attack Tour. Concert photographer Tom Callins, then a 15-year-old young music lover, caught the show at the Municipal Auditorium in San Antonio, which had a capacity of roughly 6,500 .

"That show was maybe half sold-out," Callins told the Houston Chronicle in 2018.

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But the crowd was enthusiastic. According to setlist.fm , the band kicked off their set with "Procession" and closed the main set with "In The Lap Of The Gods ... Revisited." In two encores they covered Cy Coleman's "Big Spender," Elvis Presley's "Jailhouse Rock" and "Be Bop-A-Lula" by Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps.

During that tour, the band also played McFarlin Auditorium on the Southern Methodist University campus.

Queen played Houston and Dallas in 1977-1978

1977, the year of the Silver Jubilee for Queen Elizabeth II, was also a banner year for the band Queen, who sold out two nights at Madison Square Garden during the North American leg of their "A Day at the Races" tour.

By this time, the band had shaken up their sound, mixing everything from heavy metal to light opera as they folded "Bohemian Rhapsody" into every set.

That year the band played Houston several times. They played the Moody Coliseum on the SMU campus on Feb. 25 and the Sam Houston Coliseum on Feb. 26 as part of the "A Day At The Races Tour."

In December, they played the Summit in Houston and the Tarrant County Convention Center in Fort Worth as part of the "News Of The World Tour." There's a playlist of videos from the December show at the Summit available on YouTube. (H/T KLAQ 95.5 FM El Paso .)

On Oct. 28, 1978, the band opened their "Jazz" tour at the Dallas Convention Center. A couple days later, the band played New Orleans for Halloween. According to Wikipedia (citing Rolling Stone) , that show "featured snake charmers, strippers, crossdressers and a naked fat lady who smoked cigarettes in her crotch." We have not been able to dig up reports of similar shenanigans in Texas.

Audio for the full Dallas concert is available on YouTube.

In the '80s Freddie Mercury rocked a cowboy hat, rode on Darth Vader

Part of Freddie Mercury's stage schtick during "The Game" tour in 1980 was to return to the stage for an encore riding on the shoulders of someone dressed as Darth Vader, or occasionally Superman.

Texas photographer Callins caught an iconic photo of Mercury singing "We Will Rock You" piggy backing the "Star Wars" baddie at the band's 1980 show at the Summit. "Star Wars" was all the rage at the time, and when Mercury rode Vader into the arena it was "pandemonium," Callins told the AV Club in 2015 . "Everybody just thought it was so funny, so Freddie. It was so over-the-top. (Laughs.) Everybody got a chuckle out of it, but a cheer went up. It was a happening, you know? Everybody got into it."

The website Houston Rocks also has photos of the Darth ride, as well as shots of Mercury rocking a cowboy hat .

The Modern Rocks gallery in Austin sells prints of Callins' Darth Mercury photo starting at $600.

Side note: Apparently fans hated Freddie Mercury's mustache so much during this tour that they threw razors at him.

Second side note: The city of Houston sold the Summit, once home to the Houston Rockets, in 2005. It is now home to Joel Osteen's megachurch.

Queen with Freddie Mercury last played Texas in 1982

The final Queen tour to come to the United States was the "Hot Space," outing which hit Dallas and Houston in August 1982. The band was beginning to splinter, with several members, including guitarist Brian May and Freddie Mercury, working on solo or side projects. After they wrapped the tour, they returned to the U.S. in September to appear on "Saturday Night Live," where they performed "Under Pressure" and "Crazy Little Thing Called Love."

Mercury was struggling with nodes on his vocal chords and was allegedly hoarse following a screaming match with his boyfriend Bill Reid.

It would be the band's final U.S. performance with Freddie fronting the band. Mercury died of complications from HIV/AIDS in 1991.

Queen + Adam Lambert have played Houston and Dallas

Singer Adam Lambert first connected with Brian May and Roger Taylor from Queen as a contestant on the singing competition "American Idol" in 2009. The band began performing with Lambert playing Mercury's role in 2011.

The first Queen + Adam Lambert tour hit Dallas and Houston in 2014. Following tours came to Texas' two largest cities in 2017 and 2019.

The band's Formula One show will be their first appearance in Austin. Tickets to the show are included with race tickets. General admission wristbands for Formula One United States Grand Prix are $425 for two-day tickets and $475 for three-day.

What happened when Queen conquered South America

In 1981 Queen toured South America for the first time: cue military police escorts, scenes of enormous chaos, and Diego Maradona

Back in 1992, Official International  Queen  Fan Club president Jacky Smith and superfan Jim Jenkins published an authorised biography of the band, Queen As It Began. It's since become something of a collectors' item - original hardbacks can sell for hundreds of pounds – but a republished version is on the way.   

"We both decided that the time was right for an update on As It Began because we had so much new information and facts from the very early days, thanks in part to speaking to so many people who had come to light over the years and were part of that story." say Jacky and Jim. "We also felt we should document the years from losing Freddie to 1996 - before everyone started to forget. 

"The book is a factual document of the time with new insights from Brian and Roger, and additional information from the many people who surrounded them and were a large part of the 'Queen Machine'."

In the edited excerpt below, it's 1981. Queen are visiting South America for the first time, and not everything has gone to plan. Argentinian Promoter Jose Rota has booked the tour on his credit card, while even the band's VIP passes – which featured two women sharing a banana – had fallen foul of local pornography laws. 

Queen As It Began - Authorised and Revised Edition, by Jacky Smith and Jim Jenkins, is published on March 24 by Omnibus Press and is available to pre-order now .  

On 28 February 1981, it seemed all the problems had been ironed out: everything had gone to plan as Queen took to the stage in front of 54,000 fans at Vélez Sarsfield in Buenos Aires for their first concert in South America, and although bands had played indoor venues on the continent, none had aspired to the huge stadiums that Queen were filling.

The band were nervous and apprehensive. They were under the spotlight from all quarters, as the entire music industry waited to see if their ambitious plans would bear fruit or if they would fall flat on their faces.

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Queen needn’t have worried, the fans went crazy, every song they played was recognised and ecstatically received, and the crowd even sang along in English, though few spoke the language. When it came to Love Of My Life Freddie Mercury stopped singing and the audience took over, word perfect all the way through. It was, for Queen, a very moving experience, and Freddie wasn’t the only one to wipe a damp eye.

The following night the show was broadcast live on television to over 35 million people in Argentina and Brazil. After each show, the band were escorted out of the stadium by military police, in some thrilling manoeuvres that would have put movie car-chases to shame. The only reason for such measures was that the local people were concerned for the band’s safety among such joyously riotous crowds – but the band never felt in any danger. The vibes were all good.

The president of the Vélez Sarsfield stadium threw a party for Queen at his home where they were introduced to the footballer – and almost demigod to the Argentinians – Diego Maradona; Brian swapped his Union Jack T-shirt for Maradona’s football-team shirt. 

A post shared by Queen (@officialqueenmusic) A photo posted by on

They were also invited to meet General Viola, the president of Argentina, at his house. He had specifically requested a meeting with them as the shows they had given were thought of as a major cultural event in his country. Freddie, Brian May , and John Deacon accepted, but Roger Taylor did not agree with the president’s political views, and so declined the invitation on principle.

There was a short break between the concerts in Argentina and those set for Brazil, which was fortunate for two reasons. The band had wanted to play at the biggest stadium in the world, the famous Maracanã Stadium in Rio, but the promoter had been unable to book it; the governor of Rio had changed the law to specify that the stadium could only be used for football matches and cultural or religious events, and Queen didn’t qualify. The band offered to donate a substantial sum of money to the special charity run by the governor’s wife, but that offer fell on deaf ears, so they finally had to admit defeat.

Negotiations took place to play instead at the second biggest stadium in the world, Morumbi in São Paulo. Eventually, just ten days before the show was advertised to take place, the promoter managed to secure permission for them to perform there. The tickets went on sale immediately and sold out so quickly that a second night was organised, for which tickets sold out in the thirty-six hours prior to the show.

Local security was hired for the band members during their stay in São Paulo, and John’s ‘guard’ introduced himself by saying he had killed 212 people so therefore must be good at his job. 

Plans were going well, apart from a small matter. The concert organisers couldn’t have been more helpful – everything the band required they were provided with. However, tour manager Gerry Stickells spotted something odd: "I noticed the equipment they were providing us with had, in every case, always belonged to someone else," he observed. "We were using huge, Super Trouper spotlights, and they all had Earth, Wind and Fire stencilled on the side. Some other piece of equipment had another band’s name on too. It just dawned on me that they had obviously “confiscated” this gear during previous tours." 

This caused serious worries about whether Queen’s equipment would be seized at the end of their tour – and the band had with them virtually every piece of equipment they owned. They couldn’t take any chances and after the second Morumbi concert, they decided the gear would be removed with great speed. They chartered a Flying Tiger 747 cargo plane and arranged for it to be on the runway at São Paulo after the show.

Meanwhile, the concerts at Morumbi went ahead. The band walked out on stage on 20 March 1981 to deafening cheers and thunderous applause from 131,000 people, the largest paying audience for one band anywhere in the world to date. Before the show the following evening, while the band were in the dressing room, Gerry was trying to make a phone call. After the seventh telephone he tried failed to work, he grew angry, an unusual occurrence, ripped the telephone from the wall and threw it out of the window. 

The police were called and the band locked into the dressing room until the incident had been resolved – but the promoter had failed to realise that they were due onstage at any moment. The band were eventually released to take the stage in front of another 120,000 people. 

In total, Queen had played to a staggering 479,000 fans on the tour and had grossed over three and a half million dollars. During that tour every one of the band’s albums were in the Argentinian Top 10 and the single Love Of My Life spent a year in the singles charts – a feat never before accomplished by any band, British or otherwise. 

South America had been a triumph for the band and the crew. It had been evident right from that first gig in Buenos Aires, when the band had astounded the Argentinian organisers with not only their stage performance and the response of the audience, but with their organisation from beginning to end. Band and crew flew back to the UK, tired and elated, and knowing that, in a few short months, they would be doing it all again in Venezuela.

Jacky Smith has run the Official International Queen Fan Club for 40 years. Jim Jenkins is a go-to Queen expert and has been a Queen fan since the very beginning.

“It was very bittersweet and not an easy decision for us to arrive at”: Michael Stipe looks back on the day that R.E.M. split up

Perry Farrell's wife Etty gives her account of his onstage bust-up with Jane's Addiction bandmate Dave Navarro

“It has brightened my spirit to see how many have posted about Ric, praising his originality, flair, and brilliance”: Revisiting Billy Corgan’s tribute to late Cars leader Ric Ocasek

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Bohemian Queen

September 13, 2024 · bvc theater.

Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Queen’s first tour of America with Bohemian Queen, coming to Ottumwa’s Bridge View Center Theater Friday, September 13 at 7:30pm. Ticket prices start at $29.75 and available at the Bridge View Center Box Office or online at the ticketing link on this page.  

Bohemian Queen performs an epic show of “Queen Live Through the Years,” beginning with their early songs from that first tour, then moving through the decades of mega hits listeners all know and love!

Hailed as ‘The World’s Most Passionate Queen Tribute,’ selling out shows wherever they perform, Bohemian Queen leaves the crowds screaming for more, providing a full-throttle rock-n-roll QUEEN concert experience.  Faithfully recreating the bombastic, operatic performances of Queen in incredible detail, Bohemian Queen brings their high-energy, family-friendly stage show for this special one-night only event!

Bohemian Queen’s theatrical style show, in addition to featuring a wide range of songs from Queen’s extensive catalog, also includes multiple costume changes by famed frontman Paulie Z, to showcase Freddie Mercury’s iconic stage outfits throughout the years.  The band’s stellar performances, fueled by their talent and love for the music, is paired with a full multi-media show not to be missed!

For anyone looking to relive the grandiose style, music, and attitude of a time gilded in pure rock n’ roll gold, look no further than an evening with Bohemian Queen. THEY WILL ROCK YOU!

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Here’s how to get tickets to ‘American Ninja Warrior’ in Las Vegas

Find out how to get tickets to Season 17 tapings in Las Vegas.

“American Ninja Warrior” isn’t wasting any time.

Filming for its 17th season will begin Sept. 23, just two weeks after the current season finale aired on NBC. For the first time, the entire season, from the qualifiers to the finals, will take place in Las Vegas.

The hit summer competition series first built its Mount Midoriyama on the south end of Las Vegas Boulevard in 2012, back when NBC shared the show with the now-defunct cable channel G4. The finals have become a mainstay in Las Vegas ever since.

Moving the entire series to Las Vegas will give locals more opportunities to attend show tapings, which are scheduled for 6:30 and 11:55 p.m. Sept. 23-24, Sept. 26-27 and Sept. 29-30. Tapings also are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Oct. 3-5.

Tickets are available here.

The BET Hip Hop Awards show premiered in 2006 and has been held annually in Atlanta, aside from the 2020 show.

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Ryan Seacrest stepped into Pat Sajak’s shoes after his retirement from the gig he had for 41 years as host of the famed game show.

‘The Tailor of Sin City’ presents AJ Pratt’s wild claims of smuggling as well as ties to the mob and various celebrities — then casts doubt on many of them.

Whoopi Goldberg and her fellow co-hosts of “The View” are not cutting a rug over Anna Delvey joining the latest cast of “Dancing with the Stars.”

The Hallmark rom-com queen helms a new unscripted series planning parties to celebrate “real-life heroes.”

Convicted con artist Anna Sorokin is among the famous faces cast in the 33rd season of “Dancing with the Stars.”

Jerry Seinfeld marks his 100th performance at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace on Friday. But that show isn’t the finish line.

Walt Disney Co. on Sunday pulled ESPN and other channels from DirecTV, infuriating sports fans who found themselves in the middle of a contentious contract dispute.

ESPN has gone off the air on a major carrier for the second straight year during the U.S. Open tennis tournament and in the midst of the first full weekend of college football.

Watch Korn play deep cut ‘Hey Daddy’ for the first time in 25 years on North American tour

It's the first time they've played the track live since 1999

Korn played ‘Hey Daddy’ live on tour for the first time in 25 years last week – watch footage of the song below.

• READ MORE:  Korn: “On this record, we have grown emotionally. Music is healing to all of us”

The nu-metallers kicked off their autumn tour of North America on Thursday (September 12) and surprised fans by playing the track, a deep cut from their 1999 album ‘Issues’. In fact, according to Setlist.fm , they’d previously only played it once live.

The band began their show at MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre in Tampa, Florida, with their 2002 single ‘Here To Stay‘, before surprising with another seldom played track – ‘Dead Bodies Everywhere‘, from the 1998 album ‘Follow The Leader‘. It was the first time the song had been played since 2019.

Meanwhile, ‘Oildale (Leave Me Alone)’, a 2010 single from the album ‘Korn III: Remember Who You Are‘, was played for the first time since 2012. They all look to be mainstays for this tour, however, as the band played them all again on September 14 at their West Palm Beach show, the second of the tour.

It wasn’t all surprises, however, with plenty of Korn classics on the setlist. The band finished with their 1999 classic ‘Freak On A Leash‘, while they also played the likes of ‘Falling Away From Me‘, ‘Y’all Want A Single‘ and ‘Blind‘.

Korn are touring through the rest of September and October , taking in cities including Los Angeles, Toronto, and Phoenix. From December 6 to 8, they’re then headlining Good Things Festival in Australia, in Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane.

Korn’s setlist was:

Recommended.

‘Here To Stay’ ‘Dead Bodies Everywhere’ ‘Got The Life’ ‘Hey Daddy’ ‘A.D.I.D.A.S.’ ‘Start The Healing’ ‘Blind’ ‘Ball Tongue’ ‘Clown’ ‘Shoots And Ladders’ ‘Twist’ ‘Make Me Bad’ ‘Insane’ ‘Oildale (Leave Me Alone)’ ‘Y’all Want A Single’ ‘Falling Away From Me’ ‘Good God’ ‘Freak On A Leash’

In August, they played their biggest UK show in seven years at London’s Gunnersbury Park with an impressive supporting cast comprising Wargasm , Spiritbox , and Loathe.

Meanwhile, guitarist Brian ‘Head’ Welch said in 2023 that there would be new music coming this year . He shared [via Loudwire ], “Yeah, new music coming out next year. I don’t know, we’re just kind of in hiding right now, just doing our own thing.”

The band’s last studio album, ‘ Requiem ’, came out in February 2024, while last year they shared a deluxe edition of their 2007 album, which they released without a title.

In a four-star review of ‘Requiem’, NME said : “2019’s ‘ The Nothing ’ found frontman Jonathan Davis crushed by grief. The follow-up adds a tentative touch of hope to the band’s discography,” and added, “It would be a push to call this Korn’s first ‘happy’ album. More accurately, ‘Requiem’ has brought something new to a discography that, until now, has been an exploration of human suffering. It’s led to the band’s most nuanced record to date.”

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