Queen 1976 Japan Tour Diary
Saturday, March 20th
At 7:20 PM, Queen appeared at the arrival gate of Haneda Airport, fresh from JAL flight 061 from Hawaii. As during the previous year, a large crowd of fans had gathered to see them. Since fans had gotten wise and gathered at the back exit the band had used to escape the last time, the band decided to try pushing forward through the crowd. Twenty police officers and dozens of bodyguards surrounded the band, but they were no match for the mob of fans and couldn't move forward. Fans snatched off their shoes and jewelry, enraging even the usually mild-mannered Brian. Accomodation for the first leg of the tour was the Tokyo Hotel Pacific in Shinagawa.Sunday, March 21
The band granted interviews to newspapers, magazines, TV, and radio stations in the afternoon. A photoshoot was also held in the garden of the Tokyo Hotel Pacific. After these, the band went shopping, a tradition they followed whenever they visited Japan. Freddie bought ten kimono and obi at the Yurakucho International Arcade, John bought a hanging scroll, and Roger and Brian bought Japanese-made cameras.That night, they headed to the popular disco Byblos in Akasaka, but it was at capacity, so they went to the disco Mugen on the upper floor of the same building.
Monday, March 22nd, at the Nippon Budoukan
Sound check began at 3 PM. Queen's 1976 live appearances had kicked off back in January with a North American tour, and the setlist was slightly altered for the Japanese tour—Death On Two Legs was inserted in the middle of The Prophet's Song. For the encore, Freddie appeared in a kimono that he wore like a gown. Eventually he'd take it off to reveal hotpants underneath! This sexy appearance delighted the female fans, who of course at this point made up a majority of the audience.Roger apparently missed a step as he was leaving the stage and cut his foot. Fortunately it wasn't serious, and after the show, he and Freddie attended a dinner party thrown by Warner Pioneer. The tall Brian accidentally whacked his head on the doorframe of the restaurant on the way in and suddenly lost his appetite, so he returned to his room instead of attending.
Tuesday, March 23rd, at the Aichi Prefectural Gym
The band gathered in the hotel lobby around 9:30 AM and took the shinkansen to Nagoya. Soundcheck began at 4 PM. This time, they didn't return to the hotel after soundcheck, remaining at the venue until the actual show. Their accommodation was the same as last year, the Nagoya Castle Hotel.Wednesday, March 24th
Queen traveled from Nagoya to Himeji on the Hikari 155 shinkansen departing at 10:27 AM. During the journey, they received word that a large humber of fans had gathered at Himeji Station, so they quickly got off at Shin-Kobe Station and took a taxi the rest of the way to the hotel, which was the Hotel Sunroute Himeji.Friday, March 26th, at Kyushu Electric Power Memorial Gymnasium for both afternoon & evening performances
In Queen's concert history, there has only been two instances of more than one show in a day—this Fukuoka date and the Osaka performances on the 29th. The daytime show began at 2 PM and the evening show began at 6:30. Since the concert itself was over two hours long, there was almost no break in between. Two shows in one day was common in the Japanese pop music scene at the time, but it was unusual for rock musicians. This style of promotion clearly shows that entertainment promoters in Japan considered them an idol act rather than a rock group at this point.Perhaps the demands of two concerts in one day took their toll on Freddie, as the condition of his voice worsened after these performances. At one point, the situation was so serious that there was talk of cancelling the Osaka concerts.
Saturday, March 27th
The band took a flight from Fukuoka to Itami, arriving at 3 PM. Freddie immediately saw a doctor after landing and was told he needed two days of rest for his voice. Even though he loved going out, Freddie obeyed and stayed quietly in his room at the Osaka Royal Hotel, focusing on recovering. The other members went shopping out in Osaka.Sunday, March 28th
Brian and John gave an interview at the hotel. Brian then gave another interview with Ongaku Senka. At 4 PM, Freddie, having recovered, joined them all to watch the final day of the Osaka Grand Sumo Tournament. They were thrilled to be able to meet the wrestlers Arase and Kaiketsu in their dressing rooms after the match was over. Brian, who had never seen a sumo match before, was especially mesmerized and breathlessly said, "What I found interesting was that when the wrestlers came out, they were very polite to each other and their formality and respect was so magnificent to behold. But once the match began, all of that went out the window. I was shocked by that sudden change."Monday, March 29th, at the Osaka Welfare Pension Hall for both afternoon & evening performances
With Freddie's voice recovered, the band performed two shows in one day for the second time. Fortunately, he was in better condition and successfully performed both times. But having two shows in one day proved very difficult for the rest of the band, and Brian said in an interview that "two shows in one day is very difficult. We realized after doing it that it's extremely difficult to bring both shows to their full potential. So I think this was ultimately not the best idea. Next time, we want them to stick to one show a day," thus putting the promoters back on their heels.Tuesday, March 30th
They flew from Itami back to Tokyo. After arriving at Haneda a little after 3 PM, they went straight back to Tokyo Hotel Pacific. Since there were dozens of fans inside the lobby, they took a private elevator, which Frank Sinatra is said to have used when he stayed there in the past, and got off on the floor where a 5 PM press conference was scheduled to be held.At 6, they attended a reception party held in the same room. Roger was in charge of breaking a sake barrel for the ceremony. As befits a drummer, he swung the wooden mallet with such force that sake splashed all over Brian, who was standing behind him.
Wednesday, March 31, and Thursday, April 1st, at the Nippon Budoukan
During the 1976 Japan tour, there were usually one or two encores per show. But at the April 1st performance, See What A Fool I've Been was performed as a third encore after the first encore of Now I'm Here and a rock'n'roll medley. After the show, three members (minus John) had an evening in out in Roppongi with their respective Japanese bodyguards. They were all in high spirits, especially Roger, who was tapping a pepper shaker to the rhythm, cheering on the house band that was playing and even demanding an encore. John couldn't join because his driver got lost on the way, so he spent time alone at back at the hotel bar.Friday, April 2nd, at the Miyagi Prefecture Sports Center
Queen toured Japan six times during their original run, but the only time they performed in the Tohoku region was at this 1976 concert in Sendai. When the big earthquake of 2011 struck, Brian mentioned this Sendai concert and sent a message saying "Miyagi, Sendai... I have wonderful memories of touring here with Queen in 1976. The young people of Japan welcomed us with open arms, and we felt the same way. The bond between us and Japan remains strong to this very day."Saturday, April 3rd
Freddie and Roger were interviewed for Music Life.Sunday, April 4th, at the Nihon University Auditorium
This tour was originally scheduled to conclude with the Sendai performance on April 2nd, but due to tickets selling out immediately upon release, an additional performance was hastily arranged at the Nihon University Auditorium. Located in Ryougoku, this facility was originally used as a sumo arena. Like the Budoukan, it was a massive venue with a seating capacity of 10,000. It was demolished in 1983 due to its deterioration.This tour took place after the release of the massive hit Bohemian Rhapsody, and many fans were eager to see how the band would recreate the song onstage. Indeed, during this tour, the operatic part of the song was played on a tape at the start, with the band members appearing as the song transitioned into the rock section, after which the performance flowed seamlessly into Ogre Battle as part of a medley. The balled section of BoRhap was performed again in the middle of the concert, followed by another medley of Killer Queen and March of the Black Queen before returning to the ending section of BoRhap. It wasn't until the North American tour in January of 1977 that they began performing the song as a standalone.
Freddie's proficiency in Japanese on this day was notable. For example, when introducing songs, he'd say things like "tsugi ha atarashii kyoku, THE PROPHET'S SONG! A NIGHT AT THE OPERA kara utaimasu!" ["Up next is a new song, The Prophet's Song, from our new album, A Night at the Opera!"] with quite fluent pronunciation.
Tuesday, April 6th
Brian and Roger departed for Australia, the band's next tour destination, on a flight that departed at 8:30 PM.Thursday, April 8th
John and Freddie also left for Australia on a flight departing at 9:30 AM. Before his departure, while sipping tea in the lounge at Haneda, Freddie sadly murmured, "I don't want to leave Japan. I really want to stay here forever," which touched the hearts of the staff who were sending him off.Anecdotes:
Impressions of the band during the 1976 tour as told from the Japanese staff:Queen didn't have a clearly-designated leader, but it was Freddie who more often than not took the lead. He always took great care to be in the best condition (in spite of his voice problems in Fukuoka), and the British staff were most attentive to him. Roger, on the other hand, was the most popular amongst the Japanese staff. They said that of the four, he had the most rockstar-like aura, that unique energy that musicians exude when they're in top form, and yet he also had a vulnerability that made you want to take care of him.
Brian was quiet once again. He was diligent, reading fan letters and writing replies whenever possible, but surprisingly he also had a short fuse and got angry quite easily. But his anger is like boiling water—he boils over fast but calms down just as quickly, then is angry at himself for lashing out. He's quite emotionally volatile and moody.
John was also usually quiet, but once he started talking, no one could get him to stop. However, when the others went out for a night on the town, John would stay holed up in his room. During the later Japanese tours, he went out to discos and nightclubs constantly, so it's hard to imagine him staying in so much.
During this tour, they again split up into two groups, this time of Freddie & Roger and Brian & John.
Last time, Brian had discovered a love of Japanese paper lanterns, but this time, perhaps out of a sense of rivalry, Freddie took a shine to them as well. However, due to the time of year, there weren't many shops with lanterns in stock, so he had to go directly to a wholesaler to purchase ten of them at an expense.
One thing Freddie showed absolutely no interest in was cameras. Brian and John were the camera duo. This time they even bought some niche accessories, like fisheye lenses. As soon as John arrived in Japan, he went straight to his favorite camera shop. Their enthusiasm apparently influenced Roger, who bought a Pentax camera the very first chance he got even though he had little interest in photography.
