Queen Hyde Park 1976
Encyclopedia
Queen live in Hyde Park
1976 was a famous concert by the band. The concert took place on the 18th September, during the hot summer of 1976. It was part of a brief summer tour of the UK by the band; they also played in Edinburgh
and Cardiff
on this tour.
The Hyde Park gig was in fact a free concert, which drew in a crowd of over 150,000, which was one of the largest audiences for any concert in London
. The free concert was organised by Richard Branson
, an entrepreneur at the time.
There is more than one audio source of this concert as well as a video. According to Roger Taylor, the drummer of Queen, the complete show was supposed to be shown on TV in early 1976 but was never aired. Since then, the footage has leaked out to collectors, though in terrible quality. Over the years, some of the footage has been showed in various documentaries and there are rumors of a future official release.
The rest of the day's music was provided by Steamturd, The Kiki Dee Band, Supercharge, The Rich Kids (not to be confused with Midge Ure's band of the same name), Broken Wreck Chords and Steve Hillage. Elton John was backstage but did not appear duetting with Kiki Dee for "Don't go breaking my heart" as she felt it would scupper her moment of glory, despite his pleading to guest appear. She sang to a life-sized cardboard cut-out of Elton instead. Video footage exists of him calling her all sorts of nasty names backstage. A severe swarm of bees caused a near riot during Steve Hillage's set, causing all sorts of violence to erupt. The band was over an hour late to come on stage so they were unable to play their encore due to time restraints.
Hyde Park, London
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
1976 was a famous concert by the band. The concert took place on the 18th September, during the hot summer of 1976. It was part of a brief summer tour of the UK by the band; they also played in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
and Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
on this tour.
The Hyde Park gig was in fact a free concert, which drew in a crowd of over 150,000, which was one of the largest audiences for any concert in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The free concert was organised by Richard Branson
Richard Branson
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an English business magnate, best known for his Virgin Group of more than 400 companies....
, an entrepreneur at the time.
There is more than one audio source of this concert as well as a video. According to Roger Taylor, the drummer of Queen, the complete show was supposed to be shown on TV in early 1976 but was never aired. Since then, the footage has leaked out to collectors, though in terrible quality. Over the years, some of the footage has been showed in various documentaries and there are rumors of a future official release.
The rest of the day's music was provided by Steamturd, The Kiki Dee Band, Supercharge, The Rich Kids (not to be confused with Midge Ure's band of the same name), Broken Wreck Chords and Steve Hillage. Elton John was backstage but did not appear duetting with Kiki Dee for "Don't go breaking my heart" as she felt it would scupper her moment of glory, despite his pleading to guest appear. She sang to a life-sized cardboard cut-out of Elton instead. Video footage exists of him calling her all sorts of nasty names backstage. A severe swarm of bees caused a near riot during Steve Hillage's set, causing all sorts of violence to erupt. The band was over an hour late to come on stage so they were unable to play their encore due to time restraints.