Queen – Live at The Boston Music Hall – January 30, 1976 – BBC In Concert series –
Queen this weekend. In a concert recorded at the start of the American leg of their world tour, promoting A Night At The Opera, at The Boston Music Hall and recorded on January 30, 1976.
1975 saw their new release, A Night At The Opera, and – significantly – the single Bohemian Rhapsody. At 5’ 55” it should have been too long for successful radio play but it became one of the greatest singles of all time, staying at No. 1 in the UK chart for nine weeks. The video, directed by Bruce Gowers, is credited with being the first genuine promotional video. The song has regularly featured in all major pop polls and was recently named again as the best single of all time. The success of A Night At The Opera was equally stunning, giving the band their first platinum album.
In 1976 they toured the US and Japan and by spring all four albums resided in the UK Top Twenty. Later that year they released A Day At The Races, and gave a free concert in Hyde Park to an estimated crowd of 200,000 fans. The album was a huge success, advance orders alone amounting to over 500,000. The following year saw two major US tours, the band’s sixth album, News Of The World and the legendary double A side single, We Will Rock You and We Are The Champions. By this time Freddie’s unique talents were becoming clear, a voice with a remarkable range and a stage presence that gave Queen its colorful, unpredictable and flamboyant personality.
If you missed them the first time around – or came to them after Freddie left us, here is a good example of what Queen with Freddie Mercury were like during those early days. It was, to say the least, astonishing.
Crank it up and enjoy.
