| Concert Tour Name: | A Day at the Races Tour |
| Album: | A Day at the Races |
| Type: | World |
| Artist: | Queen |
| Start Date: | 13 January 1977 |
| End Date: | 7 June 1977 |
| Number Of Legs: | 2 |
| Last Tour: | Summer Gigs (1976) |
| This Tour: | A Day at the Races Tour (1977) |
| Next Tour: | News of the World Tour (1977–1978) |
The A Day at the Races Tour (also known as the World Tour '77, Summer Tour 1977 and the Jubilee Tour) was the fourth headlining concert tour by the British rock band Queen, supporting their late 1976 album A Day at the Races.
This tour was the first in which the band played "Somebody to Love" and many others. "Brighton Rock" and "Bohemian Rhapsody" were performed full-length for the first time. Also, singer Freddie Mercury performed a vocal canon between "White Man" and "The Prophet's Song".
"When people started singing along, we found it kind of annoying…" recalled Brian May. "Then there was an enormous realisation, at Bingley Hall in the Midlands. They sang every note of every song. Freddie and I looked at each other and went, 'Something's happening here. We've been fighting it, and we should be embracing it.' That's where 'We Will Rock You' and 'We Are the Champions' came from. It was an epoch-making moment."[1]
The opening act for most of the North American concerts was Thin Lizzy. In New York City, the concert at Madison Square Garden sold out within moments of tickets going on sale.[2]
The final two shows at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre were recorded, with the band using an expensive lighting rig in the shape of a crown for the first time.[3] Both shows were also professionally recorded on video and the first can be found on many bootlegs. Of one such release – Top Fax, Pix And Info – photographer Ross Halfin said: "It was a Silver Jubilee show. This had excellent soundboard quality. I actually shot this show as a much younger man."[4]
Lead vocals, piano, tambourine
Guitar, backing vocals, banjo ("Bring Back That Leroy Brown")
Drums, backing vocals
Bass guitar, additional vocals, triangle
| City | Venue | Attendance | Gross | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 January | Detroit, United States | Cobo Arena | 11,041 / 11,041 | $79,281 | [5] | |
| 20 January | Saginaw, United States | Saginaw Civic Center | 7,200 / 7,200 | $42,637 | ||
| 28 January | Chicago, United States | Chicago Stadium | 13,000 / 13,000 | $101,465 | [6] | |
| 5 February | New York City, United States | Madison Square Garden | 19,600 / 19,600 | $145,000 | [7] | |
| 23 February | St. Louis, United States | Kiel Auditorium | 8,152 | $52,754 | [8] | |
| 5 March | San Diego, United States | San Diego Sports Arena | 9,518 | $66,206 | [9] |