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Post by deathtoming on Jul 1, 2020 4:35:39 GMT
This is a tour diary from Queen’s A Night at the Opera tour in Japan in 1976
Most of the text is a direct translation from Japanese by me from the 2019 book Queen Live Tour in Japan 1975-1985, which has notes originally published by Music Life magazine in 1976. Some other information comes from recent interviews in another Japanese publication, Queen in Japan, as well as other Japanese sources online. I try to find relevant photos to match the tour diary, but it’s not meant to be exhaustive. Saturday, March 20th, 1976
The band arrives from Hawaii on JAL flight 061 at 7:20 pm. Like the previous year, they are met with a large crowd (of about 500), but this time the back exit they escaped from last year was full of fans too, so they attempt the regular exit. 20 police officers and 10 Security Police surround the band but there are too many fans and the group cannot advance. Even the usually mild-mannered Brian is indignant, having one of his shoes and a pendant torn off of him. The band heads to the Hotel Pacific Tokyo in Shinagawa.  Sunday, March 21, 1976
The band spends the afternoon with newspaper, magazine, TV, and radio engagements. They also do a photoshoot in the garden grounds of the Hotel Pacific Tokyo. [Here are some photos showing Freddie accidentally dismantling a stone lantern, the band’s reaction, and then their attempt at resuming the photoshoot with the damaged lantern.]      [Also, a pic of Brian running]  [...continued in next post...]
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Post by deathtoming on Jul 1, 2020 4:42:49 GMT
[...continued from previous post...] After the photo shoot, the band goes out shopping. Freddie buys 10 kimono and obi at the International Arcade in Yurakucho, John buys a hanging scroll, and Roger and Brian buy Japan-made cameras. [Another source says John said he wanted to go to the same camera store as the previous year, to deal with the same employee, and to try to get a bigger discount.] The guys head to the popular disco BYBLOS in Akasaka, but they couldn’t get in because it was too full, so they go to another disco, MUGEN, on a different level in the same building. Monday, March 22, 1976 - Nippon Budokan
The band arrives at 3 pm for a soundcheck. This 1976 tour started on January 27th in North America. The setlist changes a bit to include Death on Two Legs in the middle of The Prophet’s Song. In the encore, Freddie appears in a kimono, wearing it like a gown. He removes the kimono to reveal hot pants! The female fans, making up more than half of the audience, are delighted by this sexy appearance.  [Here's a t-shirt screenprint kit that was for sale during this tour:]  Roger cuts his foot after missing a step while getting off the stage. Luckily it was not a big deal and he is able to appear with Freddie after the show at the traditional Japanese restaurant in the Hotel Pacific Tokyo, where a reception party was held by Warner Pioneer. Brian, being tall, bumps his head in the doorway at the restaurant; he is suddenly not in the mood to eat, and goes back to his hotel room without attending the reception. Tuesday, March 23, 1976 - Aichi-ken Taiikukan
The band meets in the hotel lobby at around 9:30 am, and heads to Nagoya by bullet train. Soundcheck is at 4:00 pm. After the soundcheck, they don’t go back to the hotel and instead remain at the venue until the show. The band stays at the Hotel Nagoya Castle, just like the previous year.   Wednesday, March 24, 1976 Himeji Kosei Kaikan
The group takes the Hikaru #155 bullet train at 10:27 am from Nagoya to Himeji. They are informed that there is a large group of fans waiting at the station, so they decide to get off the train earlier and take a taxi. Uncomfortable with the idea of going by separate taxis, the four members plus Mr. Itami (Freddie’s bodyguard) cram themselves into one taxi and head to the Hotel Sunroute Himeji. The taxis back in those days had less room than today’s, so the four members were quite upset about this.   [...continued in next post...] |
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Post by deathtoming on Jul 1, 2020 4:51:30 GMT
[...continued from previous post...] Thursday, March 25, 1976
In the morning, they take a bullet train from Himeji to Fukuoka. Fukuoka station is also overflowing with fans, but they make it to the Nishitetsu Grand Hotel.   [These pics are by a Japanese blogger who, as a teenager, waited for Queen at Fukuoka station, and then jumped into a taxi and followed them back to their hotel. The bellboy tipped her off by saying she should get on the elevator because they were coming down to the restaurant, but the timing didn’t work out, so instead she took photos by the hotel restaurant window.]   [More pics by other fans:]   The sound crew goes to the venue for the show scheduled for the next day . In pairings of Freddie/Roger and Brian/John, the band goes shopping. Friday, March 26, 1976 - Kyuuden Kinen Taiikukan - afternoon show
in Japan, Queen performed two shows on one day only twice in their history: this day’s shows, as well as the two shows in Osaka on March 29th. [Thanks to pg and Ryan Newton for catching an error that claimed it was the only two times in all of Queen's history.] The afternoon show started at 2 pm, and the evening show at 6:30 pm. Since the shows were about two hours long, there wasn’t a lot of rest between shows. Two shows in one day was common in the world of Japanese pop music, but was highly unusual for rock acts. It’s clear that Queen was seen as pop idol acts by the music promoters at the time. Freddie’s throat was in a bad condition after the second show. They were even considering cancelling the upcoming Osaka show.  Saturday, March 27, 1976
The band flies out of Fukuoka Airport at 1:20 pm and lands in Itami Airport at 3:00. Freddie goes to the doctor to get his throat checked out, and he is ordered to rest his throat for two days. Freddie loved going on outings, but he would stay in his room at the Osaka Royal Hotel to let his throat heal. The other members went out shopping in the city. [Pic of John leaving the hotel by that same crazed fan:]  [...continued in next post...] |
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Post by deathtoming on Jul 1, 2020 4:54:25 GMT
[...continued from previous post...] Sunday, March 28th, 1976
Brian and John do an interview with Music Life magazine at their hotel. Brian also does an interview with Ongaku Senka magazine. [Here’s an excerpt from that Music Life interview that I found interesting, published May 1976. Keep in mind it’s an English->Japanese->English translation]: Brian: By the way, what did you guys think about our tour this year compared to last year’s? Music Life: I thought you would play more songs from A Night at the Opera, but you only played three, right? And the stage actions and stage show were pretty much the same as last year, so to tell you the truth, I was a bit disappointed. Brian: What? You’re saying you found it boring. Wow, that’s harsh. The reason why we don’t play our new songs is because after we finished recording we toured England immediately and the tours continued after that. We just didn’t have time to rehearse. Also, this tour isn’t necessarily meant to be a promotional tour, so if you were expecting a bunch of new songs, you may have been mistaken. Music Life: But, usually, concerts are basically used to promote the musician’s latest album, aren’t they? Brian: There may be bands like that. I’m not doing live shows for the album; rather, we aim to have equal representation from all of our albums. John: At the very least, we hope to be changing things up more than Deep Purple, haha! Music Life: That’s right, if you guys are putting together your shows with that frame of mind, then there’s not much point in us arbitrarily expecting so much. But the fact that big hits like Killer Queen and Bohemian Rhapsody were only performed in medleys is still disappointing, I gotta say. Brian: We’ve been told that a lot. But everyone is telling us that our stage show is a lot better than last year’s. Maybe it’s just flattery, haha. Music Life: I don’t think so. Japanese people are honest, so they probably truly felt that. [Interview carries on for a bit, as they talked for a total of 2 hours. John mentions they’re going to Australia, and will be away from home for three months.] Music Life: You miss your wife, right? John: Wait, we’re not supposed to talk about that, remember? Music Life: But other Japanese magazines and radio shows have already brought it up. Brian: So, you guys found out that John has four kids? Hahaha… John: That’s not true, Brian! Music Life: In reality you have one kid, right? His name..? John: He’s called Robert. ML: You gave him an unexpectedly common name. John: It’s a bit better than John, haha. [The Music Life interview was with journalists Haruko Minakami and Kaoruko Togo, who would later become editor-in-chief.]  [...continued in next post...] |
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Post by deathtoming on Jul 1, 2020 5:03:09 GMT
[...continued from previous post...]
Ongaku Senka: [asks about the stage show, use of dry ice, etc.]
Roger and Freddie: [answers question, says some things weren’t allowed in Japan due to the fire code (apparently magnesium-based explosives)]
(...silence…)
Roger: Last year, you asked us more questions, but this year you’re pretty quiet. You can go ahead and ask some personal questions.
Ongaku Senka: John, why do you lick your fingers when you play the bass?
John: Because I’m hungry. Actually, it’s just easier to play.
(...silence…)
Roger: You’re really quiet, aren’t you? Why don’t we turn off the lights and do a rock’n’roll party? Ah, that must be why there’s alcohol in the next room.
Ongaku Senka: Everyone, your fans are very keen to find out if any of you are married, and that sort of stuff. For example, whether John has 3 kids, or whether Freddie is about to be a dad. We know you’ve all declared yourself single, but what’s the actual truth? Please tell the public.
Roger: According to the British magazines, Brian and I are in a relationship. Aside from John, we’re all unmarried and single. John has 10 kids.
Freddie: Apparently he’s about to have his 11th.
Roger: Actually, John has one kid. A little boy.
John: His nickname is Frog. His real name is Robert.
[According to Queen’s Japanese interpreter, John was not homesick but at the same time, was very eager to go back home. He was worried that his son would forget what he looked like.]
Still Sunday, March 28, 1976
At 4 pm, even the well-rested Freddie is able to join the rest of the band to go watch the Chiakiraku sumo tournament. Afterwards, the band is able to meet sumo wrestlers Arase Nagahide and Kaiketsu Masateru, leaving the members very impressed. Brian finds the contrast of the ritualistic pre-match actions with the action of the match to be very interesting.
Monday, March 29, 1976 - Osaka Kousei Nenkin Kaikan - afternoon and evening shows
Freddie’s throat has healed, but there are another two shows today. The concerts end without incident. Twice-a-day shows are mentally and physically difficult for the band, and Brian complains about it in an interview.
Tuesday, March 30th, 1976
The band heads to Tokyo by plane from Itami Airport. They land past 3 pm and head to Hotel Pacific Tokyo. Several dozen fans are waiting in the hotel, so the band takes a private elevator that Frank Sinatra used to take, and go to the press conference scheduled for 5 pm. The band attends the reception party at 6 pm. During the kagamibiraki ceremony (busting open a large barrel of sake with a mallet), Roger, being the drummer that he is, takes aim and brings down the mallet onto the barrel, showering Brian with sake in the process.
[Here's three cast members of the Bohemian Rhapsody movie doing the same ceremony, perhaps as an homage?:]
[Lots of other traditional Japanese things were featured at this reception party:]
[There are several photos of the band members wearing each other's clothes, but a Japanese fan noticed how Freddie's shirt from this day looks like the one a Japanese staffer was also wearing.]
[...continued in next post...] |
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Post by deathtoming on Jul 1, 2020 5:06:58 GMT
[...continued from previous post...] Wednesday, March 31 and Thursday, April 1- Nippon Budokan
On this tour, it was standard to do 1 or 2 encores. However, on April 1, after Now I’m Here for the firsts encore, and the rock’n’roll medley for the second encore, See What a Fool I’ve Been was played as a third encore. After this show, Brian, Roger, and Freddie, along with their bodyguards, head to Roppongi for a social outing. The members are in high spirits, to such an extent that Roger uses a pepper mill to bang along to the rhythm of the house band while yelling out in encouragement and demanding an encore. John’s driver got stuck at a traffic light and lost his way, so he had to go back to the hotel without meeting up with the rest of the group. He spent the night alone at the hotel bar. Friday, April 2, 1976 - Miyagi-ken Sports Centre
Of Freddie-era Queen’s six tours of Japan, this would be the only time the group would perform in the Tohoku region. After the earthquake and tsunami disaster of 2011, Brian May would recall, “Miyagi, Sendai…. I have wonderful memories of when we toured in 1976. The young people of Japan warmly embraced us. It’s the same for us, too. The bond between us and Japan remains strong to this day.” Saturday, April 3, 1976
Freddie and Roger do an interview with Music Life magazine. Sunday, April 4, 1976 - Nichidai Kodo
The April 2 show was intended to be the last, but due to tickets selling out immediately at every venue, it was decided to add this show. This venue in Ryogoku was formerly used as a sumo hall. Like the Budokan, the capacity was about 10,000 people. Tuesday, April 6, 1976
Brian and Roger fly out to Australia for next part of the tour. Thursday, April 8, 1976
Freddie and John fly out to Australia.  Misc tour notes
- Backstage, John would hide a mic in the stage crew’s room so that the band could secretly listen in. Roger in particular enjoyed this very much. - Brian demonstrated the Carter Family picking style to a Warner Pioneer rep. - Soundcheck would involve Brian testing the tape delay and then heading back to the hotel. - Fans would throw underwear on stage, and also shower the band with gifts. For the last show, they needed a separate room just to hold all the presents. They kept everything. - After every show, the band would discuss how it went, being very direct and to-the-point with each other. The interpreter was worried that they were fighting, but they would always revert back to their usual selves, and then spend time reading fan letters and opening presents, not leaving their dressing room until over an hour after the show. [the end] |
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Post by deathtoming on Jul 1, 2020 5:27:24 GMT
Ahhhh... I realize there are formatting errors with too much spacing, italics for no reason, and a purple font, but no matter how many times I go back to edit and save, my corrections don't appear. There's also missing text. I was supposed to explain that I couldn't find the Brian-only Ongaku Senka interview, but that I found an awkward group interview instead.
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Post by Ryan Newton on Jul 1, 2020 6:38:32 GMT
Here's something that's worth mentioning. According to this ticket stub, the Budokan show on April 1st was originally scheduled for March 30th. Given what's been detailed about the Osaka shows (and just using common sense I suppose), I can only imagine that Freddie's vocal issues were the reason for the rescheduling.  |
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Post by wijnand on Jul 1, 2020 7:29:29 GMT
Great read again, thanks!
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Post by queen1970s on Jul 1, 2020 11:45:02 GMT
Another great thread. Thanks a lot for the informations
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Post by deathtoming on Jul 1, 2020 13:04:52 GMT
Here's something that's worth mentioning. According to this ticket stub, the Budokan show on April 1st was originally scheduled for March 30th. Given what's been detailed about the Osaka shows (and just using common sense I suppose), I can only imagine that Freddie's vocal issues were the reason for the rescheduling. Hmm, that's interesting. Here's a poster with the dates March 22, March 31, and April 1, and it also says "selling now," so it looks like the rescheduling happened quite early on, and wasn't a response to an ongoing situation during the tour. Maybe they anticipated prior to the tour that three shows in two days might not be a good idea after all? I just checked to see if anything else was booked into the Budokan on the 30th, but couldn't find anything.  |
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Post by The Real Wizard on Jul 1, 2020 19:23:23 GMT
Hmm, that's interesting. Here's a poster with the dates March 22, March 31, and April 1, and it also says "on sale now," so it looks like the rescheduling happened quite early on, and wasn't a response to an ongoing situation during the tour. Maybe they anticipated prior to the tour that three shows in two days might not be a good idea after all? I just checked to see if anything else was booked into the Budokan on the 30th, but couldn't find anything. Indeed - on such short notice it probably just sat empty, which probably meant Queen (read: John Reid) had to foot the bill for booking it for the extra night. Money well spent, as Mercury sounded great on the last four nights of the tour.
Thoroughly enjoying these threads - this is some mighty fine detective work you're doing.
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pg
Queen Mab
Posts: 2,076
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Post by pg on Jul 1, 2020 23:25:55 GMT
fantastic once again, thank you.
One minor point - there were two show in Manchester on the same day in '75, so 3 times overall (2 in Japan)
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Post by deathtoming on Jul 2, 2020 0:02:50 GMT
fantastic once again, thank you. One minor point - there were two show in Manchester on the same day in '75, so 3 times overall (2 in Japan) Ah, interesting! Okay, I've amended my post to mention your correction, thanks. I checked both of my books (same publisher), and they both claim that it has only happened twice in all of Queen's history [edit: the 2020 book actually corrected the error from the 2019 book]. One of the books also said they received gold discs for A Night at the Opera during their '75 Sheer Heart Attack tour, so errors are definitely possible. I might even contact the publisher, because they seem pretty receptive to accuracy. In the book, they include an email address asking readers to contact them because they couldn't publish set list information for a few shows, citing a lack of reliable sources. They're missing set lists for Fukuoka (April 25, '75), afternoon and evening Fukuoka shows (March 26, '76), and Kobe (April 27, '79). If anyone wants me to pass some information along to them, let me know, or I can give you the email address. |
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Post by Ryan Newton on Jul 2, 2020 0:24:49 GMT
fantastic once again, thank you. One minor point - there were two show in Manchester on the same day in '75, so 3 times overall (2 in Japan) Ah, interesting! Okay, I've amended my post to mention your correction, thanks. I checked both of my books (same publisher), and they both claim that it has only happened twice in all of Queen's history. One of the books also said they received gold discs for A Night at the Opera during their '75 Sheer Heart Attack tour, so errors are definitely possible. I might even contact the publisher, because they seem pretty receptive to accuracy. In the book, they include an email address asking readers to contact them because they couldn't publish set list information for a few shows, citing a lack of reliable sources. They're missing set lists for Fukuoka (April 25, '75), afternoon and evening Fukuoka shows (March 26, '76), and Kobe (April 27, '79). If anyone wants me to pass some information along to them, let me know, or I can give you the email address. It actually happened even more than those three. I just had assumed the text had meant only twice during their Japan tours, but also noting the double shows in Manchester, they also did two shows on December 14th 1973 in London (supporting Mott the Hoople), May 10th 1974 in New York (also supporting Mott the Hoople), February 8th 1975 in Cleveland, February 15th 1975 in Boston, February 16th 1975 in New York, February 23rd 1975 in Philadelphia, March 29th 1975 in Santa Monica, and March 9th 1976 in Santa Monica as well. |
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Post by deathtoming on Jul 2, 2020 2:29:39 GMT
Ah, interesting! Okay, I've amended my post to mention your correction, thanks. I checked both of my books (same publisher), and they both claim that it has only happened twice in all of Queen's history. One of the books also said they received gold discs for A Night at the Opera during their '75 Sheer Heart Attack tour, so errors are definitely possible. I might even contact the publisher, because they seem pretty receptive to accuracy. In the book, they include an email address asking readers to contact them because they couldn't publish set list information for a few shows, citing a lack of reliable sources. They're missing set lists for Fukuoka (April 25, '75), afternoon and evening Fukuoka shows (March 26, '76), and Kobe (April 27, '79). If anyone wants me to pass some information along to them, let me know, or I can give you the email address. It actually happened even more than those three. I just had assumed the text had meant only twice during their Japan tours, but also noting the double shows in Manchester, they also did two shows on December 14th 1973 in London (supporting Mott the Hoople), May 10th 1974 in New York (also supporting Mott the Hoople), February 8th 1975 in Cleveland, February 15th 1975 in Boston, February 16th 1975 in New York, February 23rd 1975 in Philadelphia, March 29th 1975 in Santa Monica, and March 9th 1976 in Santa Monica as well. Oh man, I just checked both books more carefully. The book I've been using as my main source, published in 2019, says "in the history of Queen concerts" it has only happened these two times. The other book, published in 2020, says two shows in one night never happened again, so it looks like they caught their mistake from the earlier book after all. I'll amend my post again. Thanks guys! |
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Post by The Real Wizard on Jul 2, 2020 5:12:01 GMT
fantastic once again, thank you. One minor point - there were two show in Manchester on the same day in '75, so 3 times overall (2 in Japan) Ah, interesting! Okay, I've amended my post to mention your correction, thanks. I checked both of my books (same publisher), and they both claim that it has only happened twice in all of Queen's history [edit: the 2020 book actually corrected the error from the 2019 book]. One of the books also said they received gold discs for A Night at the Opera during their '75 Sheer Heart Attack tour, so errors are definitely possible. I might even contact the publisher, because they seem pretty receptive to accuracy. In the book, they include an email address asking readers to contact them because they couldn't publish set list information for a few shows, citing a lack of reliable sources. They're missing set lists for Fukuoka (April 25, '75), afternoon and evening Fukuoka shows (March 26, '76), and Kobe (April 27, '79). If anyone wants me to pass some information along to them, let me know, or I can give you the email address. Books with inaccuracies !? Colour me shocked !!
The Kobe setlist is available now:
If the writer and publisher are open to the revisions, then judging by the amount of legwork you've put into this thread and others, you may have enough material to justify a co-writing credit. Good luck !
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pg
Queen Mab
Posts: 2,076
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Post by pg on Jul 2, 2020 18:11:34 GMT
Here's something that's worth mentioning. According to this ticket stub, the Budokan show on April 1st was originally scheduled for March 30th. Given what's been detailed about the Osaka shows (and just using common sense I suppose), I can only imagine that Freddie's vocal issues were the reason for the rescheduling. According to the tour programme, the schedule was 31/3 and 01/4...although how long there was between tickets printed and tour programme printed is open to question  |
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victorvil
Wordles & Heardles 
Dragonfly Trumpeter
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Post by victorvil on Jul 2, 2020 21:38:53 GMT
This diaries are so amazing. Can't get enough of these. Thanks deathtoming and everyone that has commented. |
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Post by Chopin1995 on Jul 4, 2020 17:57:06 GMT
Thank you again deathtoming for this diary! It's so refreshing to read something totally new about Queen and them just doing their job. |
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Post by sheerheartattack84 on Oct 27, 2021 18:52:26 GMT
Very interesting, thank you :-)
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Post by deathtoming on Oct 29, 2021 4:18:05 GMT
Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'll take this opportunity to correct something I wrote for this Tour Diary. I made reference to a "Japanese staffer" when describing the photo below but that was actually Connie Pappas (now Connie Pappas Hillman after marrying Chris Hillman of The Byrds), who worked for John Reid and was part of Elton John's team for a long time. She pops up in a few pictures of Queen in Japan on this tour.  |
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