QUEEN Discography- MONTREAL '81 in theaters near you

[TAC]

Spotify Numbers for Flash!

SIDE ONE
Flash's Theme....8.4m
In the Space Capsule (The Love Theme)....1.2m
Ming's Theme (In the Court of Ming the Merciless) ....810k
The Ring (Hypnotic Seduction of Dale) ....663k
Football Fight ....1.2m
In the Death Cell (Love Theme Reprise).....7.1k
Execution of Flash .....721k
The Kiss (Aura Resurrects Flash) ....670k

SIDE TWO
Arboria (Planet of the Tree Men)....584k
Escape from the Swamp ....587k
Flash to the Rescue....848k
Vultan's Theme (Attack of the Hawk Men)  .....829k
Battle Theme ....1.1m
The Wedding March ....876k
Marriage of Dale and Ming (And Flash Approaching)....591k
Crash Dive on Mingo City....636k
Flash's Theme Reprise....768k
The Hero...1.2m

[nobloodyname]

Flash is literally the only Queen album I own. And the only Queen album I like, too. But what a soundtrack!

And with that, I shall gracefully exit the thread

[TAC]

Listening now to Flash!
For some reason, I'm thinking of Music From The Elder. 


Flash was on the greatest hits album, so I knew this song, and tbh, I always kind of liked it.

Football Fight?  What kind of scene was this from?
Battle Theme 
The Hero...finally, another actual song. A cool one at that.


I like the early version of Football Fight on the 2nd disc. So much better.
And the live version of Hero is excellent!

[jammindude]

Listening now to Flash!
For some reason, I'm thinking of Music From The Elder. 


Flash was on the greatest hits album, so I knew this song, and tbh, I always kind of liked it.

Football Fight?  What kind of scene was this from?
Battle Theme 
The Hero...finally, another actual song. A cool one at that.


I like the early version of Football Fight on the 2nd disc. So much better.
And the live version of Hero is excellent!

If you love camp…please watch this film! It’s so wonderfully ridiculous. Timothy Dalton (he was James Bond, Tim.  ) overacting his role is worth the price of admission on his own. Not to mention the gloriously over the top performance from Brian Blessed as the leader of the Hawkmen.

[DragonAttack]

I'm not moving on yet from comments for 'The Game' and 'Flash', but it's time to include....

The GAME  European Tour Nov 23rd to Dec 18th
(or the ‘Flash Gordon’ tour, or simply the  ‘European Tour 1980’

Two months off after their three nights at Madison Square Garden, and then finishing up the 'Flash Gordon' soundtrack, the band returns to the stage for a rather short tour

Hallenstadion Zurich, Switzerland November 23rd    Attendance: 11,400   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLRzfy62q0I   Quality: A-
The opening night.

The set list remains the same as from the States, other than ‘Need Your Loving Tonight’ replacing ‘You’re My Best Friend’, and ‘Battle Theme’ being added.
On to Paris and other European cities, then...

...three nights at Wembley Arena in London.  As noted earlier, the ‘Flash Gordon’ soundtrack was released on December 8th in the UK. 

December 8th,  Attendance: 12,500    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqQSVfWxVks        Quality: A
Jailhouse Rock / We Will Rock You (fast) / Let Me Entertain You / Play The Game / Mustapha / Death On Two Legs / Killer Queen / I'm In Love With My Car / Get Down Make Love / Need Your Loving Tonight / Save Me / Now I'm Here / Dragon Attack / Now I'm Here (reprise) / Fat Bottomed Girls / Love Of My Life / Keep Yourself Alive / drum/guitar solos / Battle Theme / Flash / The Hero / Brighton Rock (ending) / Crazy Little Thing Called Love / Bohemian Rhapsody / We Will Rock You / We Are The Champions 

Encore 1:  Another One Bites The Dust / Sheer Heart Attack   Encore 2: Tie Your Mother Down / God Save The Queen

Note the changes in the setlist.  ‘We Will Rock You’ and ‘We Are The Champions’ end the concert proper, and ‘Tie Your Mother Down’ ends the concert.  My Pavlovian reactions do not agree with this.  Three songs from the ‘Flash Gordon’ soundtrack have been inserted into the guitar solo. 

No doubt the band celebrates the release of the album after a triumphant return show in London.

Hours later, millions of Americans are watching 'Monday Night Football' (my roommates and myself included) when Howard Cosell is handed a bulletin and reads the tragic news out of New York...



December 9th   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gec-T5ey5lI   Quality: B-
The band arrive hours earlier than normal to rehearse a song to be added for many evenings.  After ‘Love Of My Life’, their short rendition of ‘Imagine’ is performed.
*************
December 10th   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i43TzofO1hk   Quality: B+ / B- 
‘Imagine’ is performed once again, and the setlist returns to the familiar WWRY / WATC final encore.

Brian’s and Freddie’s parents attend one of the three shows together.

Pete Townshend and his wife Karen also attended. Pete later remarked, "I thought they were the maddest band I'd ever seen." He added that Queen were the only band in his eyes that took on the mantle of The Who by doing it their way with a brashness and Britishness that nobody else really had. (queenlive.ca)
***************
Forest National Brussels, Belgium December 13th  Attendance: 9,000      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efVqR7siwPU    Quality: A-
‘Tie Your Mother Down’ is once again the closing song.
*****************
Festhalle Frankfurt, West Germany December 14th,   Attendance: 14,000  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVXgFkkhkLI    Quality: B
Now I finally know about ‘the Frankfurt Guy’.  Someone very close to the taper sings throughout.  With his accent, it’s almost like Queen meets Rammstein 😉
Back to the ‘normal’ setlist, along with their best version of ‘Imagine’

On to Munich for their final show of the year.

Queen were already in town the night before their show, as this was one of their favourite cities (much of The Game had been recorded at Musicland Studios). Brian  and Roger attended the AC/DC show at the Olympiahalle, after which there was a party at a place called the Sugar Shack. All members of Queen and AC/DC would attend, as well as The Scorpions, Barbara Valentin and other German celebrities. In a June 1981 interview with the German music magazine Popcorn, Roger called the Sugar Shack "the hottest disco in the world," and said the band liked the place so much that they gave the owners some of their gold discs.

A two month break before a very brief tour of Japan, and then a record setting visit to South America.
 

[TAC]

December 8th,  Attendance: 12,500    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqQSVfWxVks        Quality: A
Jailhouse Rock / We Will Rock You (fast) / Let Me Entertain You / Play The Game / Mustapha / Death On Two Legs / Killer Queen / I'm In Love With My Car / Get Down Make Love / Need Your Loving Tonight / Save Me / Now I'm Here / Dragon Attack / Now I'm Here (reprise) / Fat Bottomed Girls / Love Of My Life / Keep Yourself Alive / drum/guitar solos / Battle Theme / Flash / The Hero / Brighton Rock (ending) / Crazy Little Thing Called Love / Bohemian Rhapsody / We Will Rock You / We Are The Champions 

Encore 1:  Another One Bites The Dust / Sheer Heart Attack   Encore 2: Tie Your Mother Down / God Save The Queen

So because there's nothing interesting today on New Music Fridays, I listened to this show, which is amazing, despite Mustapha almost singlehandedly sinking the show.

Nice setlist. Need Your Loving Tonight works well live.
I was really looking forward to the Flash material. The Hero is killer. This live version, it sounds like very early rocking Queen.
And I think AOBTD is cool as hell live. That bass/drum line seem to come out of nowhere and it's such a cool groove.

[DragonAttack]

the wife will be using my computer for the rest of the day, so, to get somewhat ahead of 'the game', best to post links for their next tour
(and make comments on prior posts tomorrow).  But I did write TAC to say that Billy Squier did open the NA '82 shows.....

Japan ’81 Tour

Typical setlists
Jailhouse Rock / We Will Rock You (fast) / Let Me Entertain You / Play The Game / Mustapha / Death On Two Legs / Killer Queen / I'm In Love With My Car / Get Down Make Love / Save Me / Now I'm Here / Dragon Attack / Now I'm Here (reprise) / Fat Bottomed Girls / Love Of My Life / Keep Yourself Alive / drum/guitar solos / Battle Theme / Flash / The Hero / Crazy Little Thing Called Love / Bohemian Rhapsody / Tie Your Mother Down
Encore 1: Another One Bites The Dust / Sheer Heart Attack Encore 2:  We Will Rock You / We Are The Champions / God Save The Queen


This is basically a warm up for what is to follow in South America.  Only five shows....all at the Budokan in Tokyo, with sold out crowds of 14,000. All five shows were recorded by ‘Mr. Peach’, so the quality of the recordings range from extremely good to excellent.

In an interview on Japanese TV, Brian says the reason they only played the Budokan was because of their lighting rig. Extra scaffolding needed to be installed into the hall to accomodate it, which he says wasn't possible at the other venues they had played in the past.

February 12th: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ywUCVtkw3M    Quality: A-

February 13th:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yF5AJYRpPhg   Quality:  A- 
One of four nights that ‘Vultan’s Theme’ is part of the ‘Flash’ medley.  ‘Need Your Loving Tonight’ replaces ‘Fat Bottomed Girls’.

February 16th:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4-YVRJLA0s    Quality A
‘Rock It (Prime Jive)’ is added for the first time since the States last year.

February 17th:      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxWX4tQMRRI    Quality:  A 
Freddie’s vocal problems are more pronounced than the prior night, but he compensates quite adequately. ‘Teo Torriate’ is added to the beginning of the second encore, with plenty of vocal assistance.  Quite special.

February 18th  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4aP16t1PC0  Quality: A (merged sources) 
One of the few times (and last) that a song is played after ‘We Are The Champions’ when it was an encore after ’78.  ‘Teo Toriatte’ concludes the show.  Again, it’s quite special, and the perfect way to bid sayonara to Japan for this tour.
**********
After the show, Freddie gets in some last-minute Japanese shopping to the point that he barely makes it to the airport on time - and then boarded the wrong plane! 

They would head home for a short rest, before heading to South America to play in front of the largest crowds ever (at the time) for a performing artist.

[TAC]

December 8th,  Attendance: 12,500    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqQSVfWxVks        Quality: A

December 9th   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gec-T5ey5lI   Quality: B-
The band arrive hours earlier than normal to rehearse a song to be added for many evenings.  After ‘Love Of My Life’, their short rendition of ‘Imagine’ is performed.
*************
December 10th   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i43TzofO1hk   Quality: B+ / B- 
‘Imagine’ is performed once again, and the setlist returns to the familiar WWRY / WATC final encore.

I hadn't checked the 12/9 or 12/10 shows, but for some reason, the 12/9 show was in my Youtube feed.

Imagine on 12/9 was really cool. Also the crowd singing Love Of My Life is spectacular. I mean, they do on the 8th as well, but while the 8th sounds great to listen to, the 9th really picks up the raucus crowd. It's cool to have both experiences.

I didn't see Imagine on the 12/10 setlist. Seems Keep Yourself Alive returned. I even dropped the needle to make sure it wasn't a mistake.
@Joe, do you know where in the set is was played? I wanted to listen to it.

Also, on the 9th, I was surprised they didn't dedicate it. They just broke into the track unannounced.


And pointing out that for another year, we have a string of December London dates!

[TAC]

February 16th:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4-YVRJLA0s    Quality A
‘Rock It (Prime Jive)’ is added for the first time since the States last year.

Holy shit, this sounds spectacular. I'm going to go through this over the next day or so.

[DragonAttack]

I duplicated (goofed) as to ‘Imagine’ being played both Dec 9 and 10….oops

And Mr. Peach certainly was……😉👍

[DragonAttack]

yea, I have my computer back....

SOUTH AMERICA Tour ’81 (and their world record attended show)

After their brief ‘tune up’ in Japan, Queen travel to South America.  They were the first rock band to play the big football stadiums there. At the time, 9 of the top 10 albums in the Argentinian album chart were Queen albums,and the 45 live version of ‘Love Of My Life’ b/w ‘Now I’m Here’ reached #1 in Argentina and Brazil.
Similar to their first visit to Japan, they were being treated like The Beatles in America in 1964. Radio and TV stations would interrupt regularly scheduled programs with special Queen news bulletins.
 

 


Same basic setlist
We Will Rock You (fast) / Let Me Entertain You / Play The Game / Mustapha / Death On Two Legs / Killer Queen / I'm In Love With My Car / Get Down Make Love / Need Your Loving Tonight / Rock It / Save Me / Now I'm Here / Dragon Attack / Now I'm Here (reprise) / Love Of My Life / Keep Yourself Alive / drum/guitar solos / Flash / The Hero / Crazy Little Thing Called Love / Bohemian Rhapsody / Tie Your Mother Down
Encore 1:  Another One Bites The Dust / Sheer Heart Attack  Encore 2: We Will Rock You / We Are The Champions / God Save The Queen

Live at Estadio José Amalfitani (Vélez Sársfield) Buenos Aires, Argentina February 28th, Attendance: 63,000   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGwF4m1BL3w       Quality: A
The first of three nights in Buenos Aires.  A soundboard recording merged with another source for a complete show.  Interesting to listen to so many in a Spanish speaking country audience sing along to ‘Love Of My Life’ and ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’.  This is the largest crowd Queen had played to up to this point, far surpassing the Saarbruken, Germany August '79 outdoor concert by almost 30,000.

Rolling Stone writes an unflattering review, much of it of their soundcheck at the 3500 seat stadium(?)  https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/queen-holds-court-in-south-america-2-114440/   Roger replied in kind   https://www.queenlive.ca/queen/misc/81_Roger.jpg

 
**************
March 1st second night in Buenos Aires,  Attendance 63.000   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7l0xyvFR4w&t=4353s  Quality:  A-
  ‘Somebody To Love’ makes its long overdue reappearance in the set list, while ‘Mustapha’, ‘Death On Two Legs’, and ‘Killer Queen’ are absent.  ‘Fat Bottomed Girls’ replaces ‘Rock It’.

Oh, and here is the video of the TV telecast redone by Chief Mouse. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSHNA-j3Bpk&list=PLHCF7sLluO6Ege9Rhq1_i6Gm-1lvDf5vx&index=2

Of course, the directors of these things always have to mess up during BoRhap, don’t know the proper times to zoom out, and the one camera on Roger is artsy fartsy horrible, but….at least there’s video footage. !!!!!!  Decent capturing of the intro, end of TYMD and WATC and GSTQ. And decent for all points in between.
************
Estadio José María Minella Mar del Plata, Argentina March 4th,   Attendance: 43,500  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tQxEELENHM   
Broadcast Recording Sound Quality: B-/C+
Taken from a poor AM recording……basically unlistenable.  Listed here as a comparison to the good to excellent performances available, as well as noting the security issues of the show.  Thousands of extra people entered without paying, many trying to make their way onto the stage in spite of the strong police presence (Argentina being weeks away from a military dictatorship).  The band threatened to cancel their following show if things did not improve.


Estadio Mundialista Gigante de Arroyito (Rosario Central), Rosario, Argentina, March 6th   Attendance: 42,000  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnB23mhYUno  Quality: B
A better sounding recording in front of the ‘smallest’ crowd of the month.

 

Estadio José Amalfitani (Vélez Sársfield) Buenos Aires, March 8th,     Attendance: 65,500   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jj3cL7jDaew&t=868s Audience/Broadcast Matrix Sound Quality: A-
Due to high ticket demand, this THIRD show in Buenos Aires is scheduled a week after the first two.  Of special note in this soccer mad country is that Maradona (of their current World Cup champions) meets the band before the show, and then appears on stage to introduce AOBTD.



SAO PAULO, March 20th and 21st

The band had made plans to perform in Rio de Janiero, in front of perhaps 200,000, but were denied even after offering to donate the proceeds to charity.  So they ended up adding a second show in Sao Paulo on March 20th.
This first show would end up having the largest paid attendance of any single band EVER up to that point, with the following night being the runner up.
 

Estádio Cícero Pompeu de Toledo (Morumbi Stadium) Sao Paulo, Brazil March 20th    Attendance: 131,000   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvsKV_OHzS4&t=37s   Grade:  A++
 

The video broadcast live on national TV.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74zssQjbMDI&list=PLHCF7sLluO6HcKlV8Xk-0zR1Wnwrxj4l-&index=2 
 
of course, as director, I would cut away from showing the band and lights for people dancing in the audience (just as they do today ), and focus on John at the wrong point of BoRhap, and zoom in too close too often……   but it is video footage of THE biggest single band concert event in history up to this point.
*************

The last show of the first leg
Sao Paulo, Brazil March 21st     Attendance: 120,000  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhDi91AIInc&t=390s
 Audience/Broadcast Merge Sound Quality: C-/B-
Nothing like having the broadcasters talk over it  One of the worst available recordings. 
Final performance of ‘Mustapha’ and ‘Death On Two Legs’. 


 

[Stadler]

How do rock stars stay so thin?   If I was at a job that was 2 hours of work and the rest of the time on a bus, or a plane, or sitting around, I'd be 400 pounds.

[TAC]

How do rock stars stay so thin?   If I was at a job that was 2 hours of work and the rest of the time on a bus, or a plane, or sitting around, I'd be 400 pounds.

It's amazing isn't it?

[TAC]

yea, I have my computer back....

SOUTH AMERICA Tour ’81 (and their world record attended show)

After their brief ‘tune up’ in Japan, Queen travel to South America.  They were the first rock band to play the big football stadiums there. At the time, 9 of the top 10 albums in the Argentinian album chart were Queen albums,and the 45 live version of ‘Love Of My Life’ b/w ‘Now I’m Here’ reached #1 in Argentina and Brazil.
Similar to their first visit to Japan, they were being treated like The Beatles in America in 1964. Radio and TV stations would interrupt regularly scheduled programs with special Queen news bulletins.
 

 


Same basic setlist
We Will Rock You (fast) / Let Me Entertain You / Play The Game / Mustapha / Death On Two Legs / Killer Queen / I'm In Love With My Car / Get Down Make Love / Need Your Loving Tonight / Rock It / Save Me / Now I'm Here / Dragon Attack / Now I'm Here (reprise) / Love Of My Life / Keep Yourself Alive / drum/guitar solos / Flash / The Hero / Crazy Little Thing Called Love / Bohemian Rhapsody / Tie Your Mother Down
Encore 1:  Another One Bites The Dust / Sheer Heart Attack  Encore 2: We Will Rock You / We Are The Champions / God Save The Queen

Live at Estadio José Amalfitani (Vélez Sársfield) Buenos Aires, Argentina February 28th, Attendance: 63,000   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGwF4m1BL3w       Quality: A
The first of three nights in Buenos Aires.  A soundboard recording merged with another source for a complete show.  Interesting to listen to so many in a Spanish speaking country audience sing along to ‘Love Of My Life’ and ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’.  This is the largest crowd Queen had played to up to this point, far surpassing the Saarbruken, Germany August '79 outdoor concert by almost 30,000.

Rolling Stone writes an unflattering review, much of it of their soundcheck at the 3500 seat stadium(?)  https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/queen-holds-court-in-south-america-2-114440/   Roger replied in kind   https://www.queenlive.ca/queen/misc/81_Roger.jpg

 
**************
March 1st second night in Buenos Aires,  Attendance 63.000   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7l0xyvFR4w&t=4353s  Quality:  A-
  ‘Somebody To Love’ makes its long overdue reappearance in the set list, while ‘Mustapha’, ‘Death On Two Legs’, and ‘Killer Queen’ are absent.  ‘Fat Bottomed Girls’ replaces ‘Rock It’.

Oh, and here is the video of the TV telecast redone by Chief Mouse. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSHNA-j3Bpk&list=PLHCF7sLluO6Ege9Rhq1_i6Gm-1lvDf5vx&index=2

Of course, the directors of these things always have to mess up during BoRhap, don’t know the proper times to zoom out, and the one camera on Roger is artsy fartsy horrible, but….at least there’s video footage. !!!!!!  Decent capturing of the intro, end of TYMD and WATC and GSTQ. And decent for all points in between.
************
Estadio José María Minella Mar del Plata, Argentina March 4th,   Attendance: 43,500  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tQxEELENHM   
Broadcast Recording Sound Quality: B-/C+
Taken from a poor AM recording……basically unlistenable.  Listed here as a comparison to the good to excellent performances available, as well as noting the security issues of the show.  Thousands of extra people entered without paying, many trying to make their way onto the stage in spite of the strong police presence (Argentina being weeks away from a military dictatorship).  The band threatened to cancel their following show if things did not improve.


Estadio Mundialista Gigante de Arroyito (Rosario Central), Rosario, Argentina, March 6th   Attendance: 42,000  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnB23mhYUno  Quality: B
A better sounding recording in front of the ‘smallest’ crowd of the month.

 

Estadio José Amalfitani (Vélez Sársfield) Buenos Aires, March 8th,     Attendance: 65,500   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jj3cL7jDaew&t=868s Audience/Broadcast Matrix Sound Quality: A-
Due to high ticket demand, this THIRD show in Buenos Aires is scheduled a week after the first two.  Of special note in this soccer mad country is that Maradona (of their current World Cup champions) meets the band before the show, and then appears on stage to introduce AOBTD.



SAO PAULO, March 20th and 21st

The band had made plans to perform in Rio de Janiero, in front of perhaps 200,000, but were denied even after offering to donate the proceeds to charity.  So they ended up adding a second show in Sao Paulo on March 20th.
This first show would end up having the largest paid attendance of any single band EVER up to that point, with the following night being the runner up.
 

Estádio Cícero Pompeu de Toledo (Morumbi Stadium) Sao Paulo, Brazil March 20th    Attendance: 131,000   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvsKV_OHzS4&t=37s   Grade:  A++
 

The video broadcast live on national TV.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74zssQjbMDI&list=PLHCF7sLluO6HcKlV8Xk-0zR1Wnwrxj4l-&index=2 
 
of course, as director, I would cut away from showing the band and lights for people dancing in the audience (just as they do today ), and focus on John at the wrong point of BoRhap, and zoom in too close too often……   but it is video footage of THE biggest single band concert event in history up to this point.
*************

The last show of the first leg
Sao Paulo, Brazil March 21st     Attendance: 120,000  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhDi91AIInc&t=390s
 Audience/Broadcast Merge Sound Quality: C-/B-
Nothing like having the broadcasters talk over it  One of the worst available recordings. 
Final performance of ‘Mustapha’ and ‘Death On Two Legs’. 

So much good stuff here Joe.

First of all. Roger's response to Roling Stone

Great pics, especially of the empty stadiums.

Checked out a few of these shows.
The 2/28/81 Buenos Aires show sounds incredible. I'm going to have to make a note to come back to it.

Watching the 3/1/81 Buenos Aires show and the 3/20 Sao Paulo shows, I think I enjoyed the 3/1 BA video more. Seems like a smaller stage, and the sightlines and camera angles are much better.



I'm not a huge fan of super size stadium show videos. I think you just lose a bit of intimacy. I have a mini beef with Iron Maiden over this kind of thing. Not talking about the horrific editing, it's why I much prefer the Death On The Road (filmed in an arena) video over Rock In Rio or even En Vivo. Big stage, not great camera angles, and showing a cloudy sea of humanity does nothing for me. And maybe it's me, but I always feel like there's a dissonance in the sound for the stadium recordings. I know that's stupid, as it's all run through the board, but I think the stage mikes at these huge shows help detract from the overall soundtrack.

Iron Maiden has a couple of pro shot videos from Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg from the mid 00's and those are great...but they're also filmed in the daylight.

Not to get ahead, but I truly believe what makes the Live Aid set so special is the fact that is was filmed in daylight. There would be so much of the magic lost with the crowd in darkness.

[Kwyjibo]

How do rock stars stay so thin?   If I was at a job that was 2 hours of work and the rest of the time on a bus, or a plane, or sitting around, I'd be 400 pounds.

I think a healthy diet of alcoholic beverages and white powder for breakfast doesn't have that much calories. 

[Stadler]

First of all. Roger's response to Roling Stone

He's not wrong.  And it's worse today.

Iron Maiden has a couple of pro shot videos from Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg from the mid 00's and those are great...but they're also filmed in the daylight.

Not to get ahead, but I truly believe what makes the Live Aid set so special is the fact that is was filmed in daylight. There would be so much of the magic lost with the crowd in darkness.

I agree with this.

[Adami]

How do rock stars stay so thin?   If I was at a job that was 2 hours of work and the rest of the time on a bus, or a plane, or sitting around, I'd be 400 pounds.

Coke and whores.

[Stadler]

How do rock stars stay so thin?   If I was at a job that was 2 hours of work and the rest of the time on a bus, or a plane, or sitting around, I'd be 400 pounds.

Coke and whores.

But I'm not thin.

[Adami]

How do rock stars stay so thin?   If I was at a job that was 2 hours of work and the rest of the time on a bus, or a plane, or sitting around, I'd be 400 pounds.

Coke and whores.

But I'm not thin.

Not coca cola.

[Stadler]

How do rock stars stay so thin?   If I was at a job that was 2 hours of work and the rest of the time on a bus, or a plane, or sitting around, I'd be 400 pounds.

Coke and whores.

But I'm not thin.

Not coca cola.

Oh.  OHHHHHH!   

[DragonAttack]

Next batch:

News of the World. Going into this re-listen, this was my favourite 70s Queen album, listening to it again, it's probably slipped to number  two. Spread Your Wings and It's Late are both brilliant, and elevate this above the rest of the band's catalogue. The stripped down arrangements work surprisingly well. Get Down Make Love doesn't really sit alongside the rest of the material here. I actually quite like Who Needs You.

Jazz. A bit of a mixed bag, as while it's a good attempt to recapture the earlier sound of the band, the songs just don't sit well together. Bicycle Race is always fun to listen to, Don't Stop Me Now is a classic, but much of the rest is a little all over the place, and Fun It is just awful. This is the last of the "golden age" albums for me.

The Game. A great new start for the 80s, with Rheinhold Mack being a real breath of fresh air, introducing a sound and a formula that will see them through their stadium 80s heyday. Both Rock It and Don't Try Suicide are awful, but the whole album has a quality and cohesion to it that delivers. Save Me is excellent. Really enjoyed listening to this, despite the fact a lot of it has dated badly. A lot of big 70s rock bands struggled to adapt to the new musical landscape of the 80s, and this album sounds like Queen trying to figure out how to do that. The next album should have been great...

Just doing a bit of combining/catching up comments....

NOTW was a fun handful of relistens over the past month.  Other than a few moments, it has aged well.

'Jazz'....I have a couple of alternate versions, one deleting 'Fun It'.  Oddly, I have another that goes like this:
Side One: Let Me Entertain You / Fat Bottomed Girls / Fun It / Bicycle Race / If You Can't Beat Them / Jealousy
Side Two:  running order as is, minus 'Fun It' of course

Guess it's because the mix (as bad as it is) fits better

The Game:  going back to most of our younger days, AOBTD was obviously popular in Michigan and Detroit Lion fans.  Played at our fraternity parties.  As was 'Dragon Attack'...which received a ton of FM AOR and college radio air time.  'Rock It' and 'Coming Soon' was also a hit at those parties, as it was semi new wave, and great to dance (hop up and down to in one spot...I was quite good at that )

Flash:  what 'might have been'.  Surprised at the low number of Spotify hits for 'The Hero'.  A shame it wasn't on any compilations in later years.

The South America tour:  I read most of the entries on queenlive.ca eons ago, but never really studied it, because most of those concerts were not available years ago.  Or, if they were, I wasn't going to spend $10-20 a piece for average quality.  So many concerts going back to the Queen II era have been added in the last few years....and the video footage is priceless to me!  Many performances I had not listened to or seen until a few weeks ago. 

Some day, when this finally finishes    ...  I'll be able to revisit more in depth and really be able to savor them as much as I wish to.

Until then, tomorrow's post will be the first solo album offering......

[DragonAttack]

and now, the first Queen solo album

Roger Taylor  Fun In Space

Released:   April 6, 1981
UK (EMI), USA (Elektra)
Charts: UK #18, West Germany #42

Singles:
Future Management  b/w Laugh Or Cry
Charts: UK #49
Released in the UK, Germany, The Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Brazil and Ireland.

Let's Get Crazy b/w Laugh Or Cry
Released in Japan, USA, Canada and Australia.  DNC

My Country b/w Fun In Space
Released in the UK.  DNC.
 


Liner notes:
PRODUCED WRITTEN AND ARRANGED BY ROGER TAYLOR
ENGINEERED BY DAVID RICHARDS
RECORDED AT MOUNTAIN STUDIOS, MONTREAUX

ALL INFLUENCES - COUNSCIOUS, SUBCONSCIOUS AND UNCONSCIOUS
P.S HELLO LISTENERS, I HOPE YOU ENJOY AND HAVE SOME FUN WITH THIS
MY VERY OWN ALBUM.  I LIKE IT.  IF YOU DON'T.  SOD YOU
P.P.S 157 SYNTHESIZERS

Thank you: Crystal - for ribaldry, oafishness and carrying me home. Ratty - for his helpfull rodent ways. David Richards - for help, encouragement and ideas. Aline Jacottet - for organising and bailing us out. Andre Jauchet - for co-engineering 'Airheads' and maintenance.

Thanks very much to Warren Publishing Co. for the use of Creepy magazine and its illustration. "Alien" illustration by Jim Laurier. Alien monster made by Alistair Bowtell. Sleeve design: Hipgnosis. Photography: Peter Christopherson and Paul Maxon. Graphics: Ian Wright. Illustrations by: Colin Chambers, Jeff Cummins, Colin Elgie, Gill Furmanovsky, George Hardie, Paul Maxon, Ian Wright.
**********
SIDE ONE
No Violins  4:33
Laugh Or Cry  3:06
Future Management 3:03
Let's Get Crazy 3:41
My Country I & II 6:49       

SIDE TWO
Good Times Are Now  3:28
Magic Is Loose  3:31
Interlude In Constantinople  2:04
Airheads  3:39
Fun In Space  6:22

Bonus tracks (2015 Hollywood Records reissue)
I Wanna Testify (1977 non-album single version) / Turn on the TV / My Country (1981 single version) /

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQkB0rwA1ZE&list=PLZ6v8cTaWNkgegMJGlQK1vz37iNOP9KPm

'My Country' 45  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mx17BatYY1k

****************************
The first to release a solo single with 'I Wanna Testify' / 'Turn On The TV' 45 in 1977, and with a plethora of offerings for 'The Game' and 'Flash', Roger is the first band member to put out a solo album.  Having stated in an interview a year or so earlier that there were 40 songs being worked on for 'The Game', no doubt many of these were in the works then. 

The non album B side of 'Play The Game', 'A Human Body' was no doubt part of these sessions.  It would have been a 10x better fit on Roger's solo release than as a Queen offering.   

If you are a fan of Roger, and his voice, you'll love this.  I did then, and still do.  Very much of the times.  Highlights are 'Laugh Or Cry', 'Future Management', and certainly ‘Let’s Get Crazy’ ...the one really rockin' track where he let's loose on drums.  It certainly would certainly have improved Side One of what was to follow on the band's next studio release.  And then there's 'My Country', his anti war rant with some tin can drumming that makes for a good album side closer.

Side Two:  ‘Good Times Are Now’ was probably his semi demo for ‘Coming Soon’ that appeared on ‘The Game’.  Then his first ‘Magic’ song….the oddball 'Flash-ish' 'Interlude in Constantinople'  where he 'hopes we'll love all the dopell we've been fed...'    Finally, another semi rocker in 'Airheads', and a spacy finish with the title track.

I was hoping for more with this release, especially a ton more drum kickasserry.  But I really liked it.  A very decent initial offering.

The album came in a nice sleeve, lyrics at various angles on one side, drawings for each song on the other.  Side One of the vinyl has the 'creepy' critter on the label, Side Two a picture of Roger.

It was not until 1996 that it was released on CD.

And, I will admit, that I was quite surprised when doing the research that not only did this album chart upon its release, but made it to the Top Twenty in the UK.  I heard many a song on my university radio and Grand Rapids, MI AOR FM stations, and sometimes heard Side One played at various college 'gatherings'. 

[TAC]

Well, because I went to Spotify to see if it was there, and to try and recognize the single, I'll blast off some streaming stats.

No Violins....173k
Laugh Or Cry...95.5k
Future Management....1.2M
Let's Get Crazy...388k
My Country I & II.....68k
Good Times Are Now....68k
Magic Is Loose....59k
Interlude In Constantinople....42.5k
Airheads....67k
Fun In Space....69.7k

The streams are heavy loaded in the front. I did NOT recognize the single Let's Get Crazy. The first thing I thought of was ..."Are you ready Steve?"

I can't seem to find a promo video for this?

Also, Future Management over 1.2 million streams? I wonder why. I've never heard it. Was it used somewhere that people would flock to that track?


Joe, anyone we've heard of play on this record?

[DragonAttack]

^
Well, everyone's heard of Roger Taylor.

Here is the wiki for David Richards
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Richards_(record_producer)

They were the only two involved in this project.

[TAC]

Oh..OK, did Roger play everything? Gotcha!

[TAC]

and now, the first Queen solo album

Roger Taylor  Fun In Space

Released:   April 6, 1981

Also on April 6, 1981, my father turned 35. I was 12 and a half.

[DragonAttack]

and I was close to being 12 1/2 years younger than your old man.

HOLY CRAP !!! 
Looking at David Richards' discography, amongst his Queen and David Bowie participations, was this:

Yes – Going for the One (1977; assistant engineer)

Stadler....time for me to listen to 'Awaken' tonight!!!   

[MoraWintersoul]

The more popular songs probably ended up on a popular Spotify playlist.

Always liked what I heard from Roger's solo stuff, but never listened to a full album aside from the latest (which was quite good).

[Zoom E]

I have Fun in Space on vinyl. I’m pretty sure I haven’t listened to it in close to 40 years. I look forward to giving it a listen some time this week to see if any of the songs are still etched in my brain. 

[Stadler]

and I was close to being 12 1/2 years younger than your old man.

HOLY CRAP !!! 
Looking at David Richards' discography, amongst his Queen and David Bowie participations, was this:

Yes – Going for the One (1977; assistant engineer)

Stadler....time for me to listen to 'Awaken' tonight!!!   

It's mandatory listening! 

I think that's one of the things I like about Queen; even when the songs themselves didn't cut the mustard, the SOUND was always solid, especially the 80's and 90's records.  There is a warmth to most of their records that I really like.  They were always so solid on the mixes too.

I'm reading a bio of Queen - As It Began,  by Jacky Gunn and Jim Jenkins, and other than the writing is sometimes piece meal and it's just a chronological time-line more than anything else, it's still illuminating.   Though they have a bad habit of ending some paragraphs with the ellipsis...  (I think that is a form of "cheeky British humor", but I could be wrong).

[TAC]

I’ve made it 53 years and I have never heard Going For The One.

[Stadler]

I’ve made it 53 years and I have never heard Going For The One.

It explains a lot.   

In all seriousness, I thought you gave it a listen one time.  Or was that the live Genesis song I like so much?

[TAC]

I listened to a Genesis song you recommended but I did with the sound off. 


I have heard Close To The Edge. It’s the only Yes album I have listened to in my life and even then, I spun it once.

[DragonAttack]

^
This Friday around 10pm, in the dark, put on Side Two of ‘Going for the One’, and do so in the mindset of an early 20ish year old. Relax and enjoy. You won’t regret it.

Oh, and pretend you are under a bit of herbal influence. Adds to the experience. 😉

[Stadler]

^
This Friday around 10pm, in the dark, put on Side Two of ‘Going for the One’, and do so in the mindset of an early 20ish year old. Relax and enjoy. You won’t regret it.

Oh, and pretend you are under a bit of herbal influence. Adds to the experience. 😉

See, don't laugh (and this might turn off TAC entirely from listening), but to me, that album is so special, it IS the influence.  That album transports me in a way that 99% of the records I've ever heard don't.