Queen Live Performances - 1970s

1970s

Queen played approximately 700 live performances during their career with roughly two-thirds during the seventies. Their early performances were essentially hard rock, often heavy metal, but the band later developed a more pop rock sound as the years went by. Many of their future trademarks first appeared in these early shows although some could be traced back to the members' previous bands and artistic outlets (e.g., Smile, Ibex and Wreckage).

Freddie Mercury dressed in an overtly flamboyant, Thespian manner and acted with great camp and extravagance while dry ice and banks of colourful lights were used with considerable effect. During the concerts, it was typical for both Brian May and Roger Taylor to have impromptu, instrumental interludes and Mercury to engage in a crowd 'shout-along' whereas it was traditional for Taylor to sing one song. Brian May and John Deacon sang backup vocals. Other recognisable trademarks were Mercury's microphone, which featured only the upper part of the stand with no base (which allegedly first came about while Mercury was with his band "Wreckage" where the bottom of his stand accidentally broke off), a grand piano, and May's hand-built electric guitar, the Red Special, with his inimitable curly hair. The lengthy guitar solo by May showcased his unique skills and creativity at using a multiple-delay effect which gave rise to a layered, orchestral atmosphere. Only on very rare occasions did Queen allow a non-member to perform, or even appear, on stage with them, the most notable being keyboardist Spike Edney who performed with the band during the eighties. A semi-informal medley of 50's rock 'n roll songs (especially "Big Spender" and "Jailhouse Rock") was also a staple and usually formed the backbone of an encore. The band's logo, which was designed by Mercury shortly before the release of the first album is made up of their star signs and was usually displayed on the front of Taylor's bass drum during their early tours. Some stage costumes worn by Mercury and May on their earliest tours and a few subsequent tours were created by fashion designer Zandra Rhodes.

The concert duration and set-list for each Queen show evolved significantly during its career, eventually leading to shows that exceeded two hours. Queen performed most of the songs released on their catalogue of studio albums during live performances. Queen is remembered for stand-out performances during tours in the seventies which were mainly recorded on videotape. Examples include shows in: Rainbow Theatre (1974), Hammersmith Odeon (1975), Hyde Park (1976), Earls Court (1977), Houston (1977), and the Hammersmith Odeon (1979). None of these recordings have officially been released. Footage from other seventies shows exist, especially from Japan in 1975/1976 and Europe in 1978/1979, but most of this footage is of inferior quality compared to the aforementioned recordings, due to poor camera angles, inadequate lighting and unbalanced sound mixing. Filming of rock concerts was still in its formative stages, and most rock acts placed little importance on how well their shows could be captured on film. In addition, like many acts at the time, most of its early promotional videos featured the band performing the song on-stage as a quasi-live rendition, which could not capture Queen's full live experience.

Lisa Marie Presley stated that the first rock concert she attended was by Queen in Los Angeles in the late seventies. After the show, she gave Mercury a scarf that belonged to her late father.