Queen + Paul Rodgers Tour

Queen + Paul Rodgers Tour

World tour by Queen + Paul Rodgers
Start date	March 28, 2005
End date	April 13, 2006
Legs	5
No. 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.

European Setlists 

March 28, 2005 – London, England

1. "Intro: Track 13"
2. "Intro: Lose Yourself"
3. "Intro: Reachin' Out"
4. "Tie Your Mother Down"
5. "A Little Bit Of Love"
6. "I Want To Break Free"
7. "Fat Bottomed Girls"
8. "Crazy Little Thing Called Love"
9. "Seagull"
10. "'39"
11. "Love Of My Life"
12. "Hammer To Fall"
13. "Guitar Solo"
14. "Last Horizon"
15. "These Are The Days Of Our Lives"
16. "Radio Ga Ga"
17. "Can't Get Enough"
18. "I'm In Love With My Car"
19. "I Want It All"
20. "A Kind Of Magic"
21. "Bohemian Rhapsody"
22. "The Show Must Go On"
23. "Feel Like Makin' Love"
24. "All Right Now"
25. "We Will Rock You"
26. "We Are The Champions"
27. "God Save The Queen"

March 30, 2005 – Paris, France April 4, 2005 – Rome, Italy

1. "Intro: Track 13"
2. "Intro: Lose Yourself"
3. "Intro: Reachin' Out"
4. "Tie Your Mother Down"
5. "Can't Get Enough"
6. "I Want To Break Free"
7. "Fat Bottomed Girls"
8. "Crazy Little Thing Called Love"
9. "Seagull"
10. "'39"
11. "Love Of My Life"
12. "Hammer To Fall"
13. "A Little Bit Of Love"
14. "I'm In Love With My Car"
15. "Guitar Solo"
16. "Last Horizon"
17. "These Are The Days Of Our Lives"
18. "Radio Ga Ga"
19. "I Want It All"
20. "A Kind Of Magic"
21. "Feel Like Makin' Love"
22. "Bohemian Rhapsody"
23. "The Show Must Go On"
24. "All Right Now"
25. "We Will Rock You"
26. "We Are The Champions"
27. "God Save The Queen"

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	Barclaycard Center
April 2, 2005	Barcelona		Palau Sant Jordi
April 4, 2005	Rome	Italy	PalaLottomatica
April 5, 2005	Milan		Mediolanum Forum
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	O2 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	Barclaycard Arena Hamburg
April 30, 2005	Stockholm	Sweden	Ericsson Globe
May 3, 2005	Newcastle	England	Metro Radio Arena
May 4, 2005	Manchester		Manchester Arena
May 6, 2005	Birmingham		Genting Arena
May 7, 2005	Cardiff	Wales	Motorpoint Arena Cardiff
May 9, 2005	Sheffield	England	Sheffield Arena
May 11, 2005	London		Wembley Pavilion
May 13, 2005	Belfast	Northern Ireland	SSE 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	Izod Center
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		Infinite Energy Arena
March 8, 2006	Washington, D.C.		Verizon 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	KeyBank Center
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		BMO Harris Bradley Center
March 31, 2006	Glendale		Gila River Arena
April 1, 2006	San Diego		Viejas Arena
April 3, 2006	Anaheim		Honda Center
April 5, 2006	San Jose		SAP Center
April 7, 2006	Paradise		MGM Grand Garden Arena
April 10, 2006	Seattle		KeyArena
April 11, 2006	Portland		Moda Center
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
Infinite Energy Arena	Duluth	5,909 / 9,258 (64%)	$437,087
Verizon Center	Washington, D.C.	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 of Auburn Hills	Auburn Hills	10,296 / 10,296 (100%)	$707,235
BMO Harris Bradley Center	Milwaukee	6,282 / 9,000 (70%)	$484,394
Viejas Arena	San Diego	6,030 / 7,586 (79%)	$508,060
Honda Center	Anaheim	9,085 / 14,373 (63%)	$666,735
MGM Grand Garden Arena	Las Vegas	6,359 / 7,800 (82%)	$626,355
KeyArena	Seattle	4,592 / 12,500 (37%)	$463,195
Moda Center	Portland	4,234 / 12,600 (34%)	$395,380
TOTAL		120,868 / 164,164 (74%)	$10,010,205

Tour band

• Brian May – Lead guitar, Vocals
• Roger Taylor – drums, percussion, Vocals
• Paul Rodgers – Lead vocals, Guitar, Piano
• Freddie Mercury – Pre-recorded lead vocals

Additional musicians:

• Spike Edney – keyboards, Backing vocals
• Danny Miranda – Bass guitar, Acoustic guitar, Backing vocals
• Jamie Moses – Rhythm guitar, Backing vocals

References

1. 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

• Queen Concerts
• Queen + Paul Rodgers official site