Queen + Paul Rodgers Tour

Queen + Paul Rodgers Tour
World tour by Queen + Paul Rodgers
Start date March 28, 2005
End date May 25, 2006
Legs 5
Number of shows 32 in Europe
1 in Central America
25 in North America
6 in Asia
64 in Total
Queen tour chronology
The Magic Tour
(1986)		 Queen + Paul Rodgers Tour
(2005-06)		 Rock the Cosmos Tour
(2008)

Queen + Paul Rodgers Tour was a world concert tour by Queen guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor, joined by singer Paul Rodgers under the moniker of Queen + Paul Rodgers. The tour was Queen's first since The Magic Tour in 1986, and the death of lead singer Freddie Mercury in November 1991.[1] The band's drummer Roger Taylor commented; "We never thought we would tour again, Paul (Rodgers) came along by chance and we seemed to have a chemistry. Paul is just such a great singer. He's not trying to be Freddie."[1] Bassist John Deacon also did not take part due to his retirement in 1997, however he gave the enterprise his blessing.

History

The origins of the collaboration came when Brian May played at the Fender Strat Pack concert in 2004. Now for the first time, he joined Paul Rodgers for a rendition of Free's classic, "All Right Now". After this Brian spoke of a chemistry between the two of them. Following this, Brian invited Paul to play with Queen at their induction to the UK Music Hall of Fame. Again citing a new excitement with Rodgers, the three announced they would tour in 2005. The tour originally was meant only to include Europe and the 46664 concerts of that year. However at the end of the European tour, some dates in the USA and Japan were added. In 2006, a full scale US tour was undertaken, with very poor attendance.

The show

The stage design for the tour was minimal, lacking a large backing screen that would later be featured on the Rock The Cosmos Tour, and elaborate stage theatrics. A large 'B Stage' was constructed out from the main stage, into the audience which would frequently be used for acoustic performances by all the members of the band. The show began with the Eminem song "Lose Yourself" being played over the PA system, and a dance-theme remix of the Queen song It's A Beautiful Day. Toward the end of Lose Yourself, the guitar would join in from behind a large curtain which covered the band from view, before Rodgers would appear singing a shortened version of the song "Reachin' Out". Thought by many fans to be a new song, it was a charity song that both Brian and Paul had played together on in the 1990s. Brian would appear after, playing the introductory riff to "Tie Your Mother Down", before the curtain fell and the band would perform the full song.

The first segment of the concert consisted largely of Queen hits and some of Rodgers' songs. To introduce "Fat Bottomed Girls", Brian would play the introductory riff from the earlier Queen song "White Man". Rodgers often played a muted steel string guitar on "Crazy Little Thing Called Love". An acoustic section would follow, Taylor leaving the kit at times to sing "Say It's Not True" on the B-Stage, while Brian would play acoustic Queen songs such as "Love of My Life" and "39". At the Hyde Park concert, John Lennon's song "Imagine" was added to the setlist, being played after "Love of My Life", in response to the recent bombings in London. A unique version of "Hammer To Fall" would be played, which featured a slower and mellower first verse sung by May and Rodgers. The second half of the song would be played as a full band, depending on the condition of his voice, Rodgers would also sing this section, or leave it to Taylor. Taylor would often play an intricate cover of Sandy Nelson drum instrumental "Let There Be Drums", followed by a performance of "I'm In Love With My Car", with Taylor taking lead vocals and the drum parts.

A guitar solo by May would follow, with a band instrumental of "Last Horizon" playing, in which a large mirror ball was used. During the second half of the concert, Taylor would leave the kit to sing "These Are The Days Of Our Lives", with a screen playing nostalgic footage, including shots of the band on their early tours in Japan. "Radio GaGa" would follow, with Taylor singing the first and second verses, with drum samples from the studio version controlled by Edney. Rodgers would take the rest of the song, with Taylor playing live drums for the rest of the song. During "Bohemian Rhapsody", Freddie's vocal and piano part, along with video footage from Queen's 1986 show at Wembley Stadium would be used, while the rest of the band would play live music. After the operatic section, Rodgers would sing the heavy part, while the closing lines of the song would be an interchanging duet between Rodgers and Mercury. The song would end with Mercury taking a bow to the crowd, and the band would leave the stage. For the encore, a largely rigid line up of "The Show Must Go On", "All Right Now", "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions" would be played, before the band would leave the stage, Taylor throwing his drumsticks into the audience.

Setlists

Queen + Paul Rodgers performing at Cologne on July 6, 2005 during their European Tour.
Brian May performing during the tour.

Tour dates

Date City Country Venue
Europe
March 28, 2005 London England Brixton Academy
March 30, 2005 Paris France Zénith de Paris
April 1, 2005 Madrid Spain Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidad
April 2, 2005 Barcelona Palau Sant Jordi
April 4, 2005 Rome Italy PalaLottomatica
April 5, 2005 Milan Datch Forum di Assago
April 7, 2005 Florence Nelson Mandela Forum
April 8, 2005 Pesaro BPA Palas
April 10, 2005 Basel Switzerland St. Jakobshalle
April 13, 2005 Vienna Austria Wiener Stadthalle
April 14, 2005 Munich Germany Olympiahalle
April 15, 2005 Gdańsk Poland Hala Olivia
April 16, 2005 Prague Czech Republic Sazka Arena
April 17, 2005 Leipzig Germany Leipzig Arena
April 19, 2005 Frankfurt Festhalle Frankfurt
April 20, 2005 Antwerp Belgium Sportpaleis
April 23, 2005 Budapest Hungary Budapest Sports Arena
April 25, 2005 Dortmund Germany Westfalenhallen
April 26, 2005 Rotterdam Netherlands Ahoy Rotterdam
April 28, 2005 Hamburg Germany Color Line Arena
April 30, 2005 Stockholm Sweden Stockholm Globe Arena
May 3, 2005 Newcastle England Metro Radio Arena
May 4, 2005 Manchester Manchester Evening News Arena
May 6, 2005 Birmingham National Exhibition Centre
May 7, 2005 Cardiff Wales Cardiff International Arena
May 9, 2005 Sheffield England Hallam FM Arena
May 11, 2005 London Wembley Pavilion
May 13, 2005 Belfast Northern Ireland Odyssey Arena
May 14, 2005 Dublin Ireland Point Depot
July 2, 2005 Lisbon Portugal Estádio do Restelo
July 6, 2005 Cologne Germany RheinEnergieStadion
July 10, 2005 Arnhem Netherlands GelreDome
July 15, 2005 London England Hyde Park
Central America
October 8, 2005 Oranjestad Aruba Aruba Entertainment Center
North America
October 16, 2005 East Rutherford United States Continental Airlines Arena
October 22, 2005 Los Angeles Hollywood Bowl
Asia
October 26, 2005 Saitama Japan Saitama Super Arena
October 27, 2005
October 29, 2005 Yokohama Yokohama Arena
October 30, 2005
November 1, 2005 Nagoya Nagoya Dome
November 3, 2005 Fukuoka Fukuoka Dome
North America
March 3, 2006 Miami United States American Airlines Arena
March 4, 2006 Jacksonville Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena
March 7, 2006 Duluth Arena at Gwinnett Center
March 8, 2006 Washington, D.C. MCI Center
March 10, 2006 Worcester DCU Center
March 12, 2006 Uniondale Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
March 14, 2006 Philadelphia Wachovia Spectrum
March 16, 2006 Toronto Canada Air Canada Centre
March 17, 2006 Buffalo United States HSBC Arena
March 20, 2006 Pittsburgh Mellon Arena
March 21, 2006 Cleveland Quicken Loans Arena
March 23, 2006 Rosemont Allstate Arena
March 24, 2006 Auburn Hills The Palace of Auburn Hills
March 26, 2006 Saint Paul Xcel Energy Center
March 27, 2006 Milwaukee Bradley Center
March 31, 2006 Glendale Glendale Arena
April 1, 2006 San Diego Cox Arena
April 3, 2006 Anaheim Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim
April 5, 2006 San Jose HP Pavilion at San Jose
April 7, 2006 Paradise MGM Grand Garden Arena
April 10, 2006 Seattle KeyArena
April 11, 2006 Portland Rose Garden Arena
April 13, 2006 Vancouver Canada Pacific Coliseum
Cancellations and rescheduled shows
June 11, 2005 Tromsø Fyllingen Stadium Cancelled
July 8, 2005 London Hyde Park Rescheduled to July 15, 2005
July 10, 2005 Nijmegen Goffertpark Rescheduled to GelreDome, Arnhem

Sources:[2][3][4]

Box office score data

Venue City Tickets Sold / Available Gross Revenue
Hollywood Bowl Hollywood 16,305 / 16,305 (100%) $1,127,840
American Airlines Arena Miami 5,897 / 6,000 (98%) $573,453
Veterans Memorial Arena Jacksonville 3,769 / 5,000 (75%) $321,135
Arena at Gwinnett Center Duluth 5,909 / 9,258 (64%) $437,087
Verizon Center Washington, DC 9,475 / 12,571 (75%) $844,090
Nassau Coliseum Uniondale 7,697 / 11,000 (70%) $609,915
Air Canada Centre Toronto 11,279 / 11,279 (100%) $1,066,519
Quicken Loans Arena Cleveland 6,218 / 9,096 (68%) $421,942
Allstate Arena Rosemont 7,441 / 9,500 (78%) $756,870
The Palace Auburn Hills 10,296 / 10,296 (100%) $707,235
Bradley Center Milwaukee 6,282 / 9,000 (70%) $484,394
Cox Arena San Diego 6,030 / 7,586 (79%) $508,060
Honda Center Anaheim 9,085 / 14,373 (63%) $666,735
MGM Grand Las Vegas 6,359 / 7,800 (82%) $626,355
KeyArena Seattle 4,592 / 12,500 (37%) $463,195
Rose Garden Portland 4,234 / 12,600 (34%) $395,380
TOTAL 120,868 / 164,164 (74%) $10,010,205

Tour band

Additional musicians:

References

  1. 1 2 Queen most loved band The Guardian. Retrieved 3 August 2011
  2. ↑ "Tour Dates (T-Shirt, 1)". QueenConcerts. Retrieved 2012-04-16.
  3. ↑ "Tour Dates (T-Shirt, 2)". QueenConcerts. Retrieved 2012-04-16.
  4. ↑ "Tour Dates (T-Shirt, 3)". QueenConcerts. Retrieved 2012-04-16.

External links

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