The Works Tour Explained

Concert Tour Name:The Works Tour
Type:World
Album:The Works
Artist:Queen
Start Date:24 August 1984
End Date:15 May 1985
Number Of Legs:5
Number Of Shows:48
Last Tour:Hot Space Tour
(1982)
This Tour:The Works Tour
(1984–1985)
Next Tour:The Magic Tour
(1986)

The Works Tour was the tenth headlining concert tour by the British rock band Queen to promote their successful 1984 album The Works. During the tour, Queen participated in the Rock in Rio festival in 1985; the concert was released on VHS. The band released a DVD from a concert in Tokyo titled , but the name of the concert was incorrect as the band performed 2 further concerts after Tokyo in Nagoya and Osaka.

Stage design

The stage design was based on a scene from Fritz Lang's Metropolis with huge rotating cog-wheels at the rear of the stage and a brightly lit cityscape.[1] Due to a prior ligament damage in his knee, it was somewhat of a challenge for Mercury to navigate the complex set of multiple levels and stairs. Eventually, in Hanover, Mercury fell down the stairs during the performance of "Hammer to Fall".[2] He was only able to play "Bohemian Rhapsody", "We Will Rock You", and "We Are the Champions" afterwards, shortening the concert somewhat. Due to Mercury's injury, May played the first bars of "We Will Rock You" out of anxiety to get Mercury to the hospital.

Breaking apartheid embargo

Queen scheduled 12 performances in Bophuthatswana, South Africa, at the Sun City Super Bowl in October 1984.[3] Due to the apartheid policy of South Africa, the United Nations requested entertainers to boycott the country and Britain's Musicians’ Union banned any of its members from performing in Sun City.[3] Queen played anyway, despite the controversy, though several shows were cancelled after Mercury's voice gave out after three days live performances. The show was extended to a third weekend.[3]

Tour dates

DateCityCountryVenueOpening ActAttendance
Europe
24 August 1984BrusselsBelgiumForest National-9.000/9.000
28 August 1984DublinIrelandRDS ArenaGeneral Public25.000/25.000
29 August 1984
31 August 1984BirminghamEnglandNEC Arena43.500/43.500
1 September 1984
2 September 1984
4 September 1984LondonWembley Arena44.000/44.000
5 September 1984
7 September 1984
8 September 1984
10 September 1984DortmundWest GermanyWestfalenhallenLancelot16.424/16.424
14 September 1984MilanItalyPalasport di San Siro-18.000/20.000
15 September 1984
16 September 1984MunichWest GermanyOlympiahalle12.000/12.000
18 September 1984ParisFrancePalais Omnisports de Paris-BercyAirrace17.000/17.000
20 September 1984LeidenNetherlandsGroenoordhallen11.000/11.000
21 September 1984BrusselsBelgiumForest National9.000/9.000
22 September 1984HanoverWest GermanyEuropahalle9.000/9.000
24 September 1984West BerlinDeutschlandhalle11.000/11.000
26 September 1984FrankfurtFesthalle Frankfurt14.000/14.000
27 September 1984StuttgartHanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle13.000/13.000
29 September 1984ViennaAustriaWiener Stadthalle28.200/28.200
30 September 1984
Africa
5 October 1984BophuthatswanaSouth AfricaSun City Superbowl-54.000/54.000
6 October 1984
7 October 1984
10 October 1984
13 October 1984
14 October 1984
18 October 1984
19 October 1984
20 October 1984
South America
11 January 1985Rio de JaneiroBrazilCity of Rock-150.000
18 January 1985250.000
Oceania
13 April 1985AucklandNew ZealandMount Smart StadiumThe Narcs35.000/35.000
16 April 1985MelbourneAustraliaMelbourne Sports and Entertainment CentreSport of Kings52.000/52.000
17 April 1985
19 April 1985
20 April 1985
25 April 1985SydneySydney Entertainment Centre-62.000/62.000
26 April 1985
28 April 1985
29 April 1985
Asia
8 May 1985TokyoJapanNippon Budokan--
9 May 1985
11 May 1985Yoyogi National Gymnasium
13 May 1985NagoyaAichi Prefectural Gymnasium
15 May 1985OsakaOsaka-jō Hall

Cancelled shows

DateCityCountryVenue
12 September 1984VeronaItalyVerona Arena
19 September 1984LeidenNetherlandsGroenoordhallen
9 October 1984BophuthatswanaSouth AfricaSun City Super Bowl
24 January 1985 SantiagoChileEstadio Nacional
25 January 1985
11 April 1985NapierNew ZealandMcLean Park
14 April 1985ChristchurchQueen Elizabeth II Park

Personnel

Queen

Additional musicians

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Bell . Mike . . 8 September 1984 . Body but no soul.
  2. Book: Freestone, Peter . David Evans . Freddie Mercury: An intimate memoir by the man who knew him best . . 2001 . 0-7119-8674-6 . 65–66.
  3. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/queens-tragic-rhapsody-234996/ "Queen’s Tragic Rhapsody"