City:	London, England
Venue:	Marquee Club
Date:	April 9, 1973

Partial setlist:	Father To Son, Big Spender, Jailhouse Rock
Trident set this show up as Queen's first as a "signed" band specifically as a showcase for EMI Records personnel, as they managed to strike a distribution and licensing deal for the band with the label by February 1973 (in the 1976 book on the band by George Tremlett, Dave Thomas at Trident says he initiated the EMI deal with Roy Featherstone at the Midem Festival in Cannes, France in January 1973, for whom he played some of Queen's studio recordings). With the help of Jack Nelson at Trident, they agreed to an advance of £2,000 for the global publishing rights for the next three years. That advance provided the band the cash to buy some much-needed gear to improve their show, with this gig being the first with their improved arsenal. Jac Holzman, founder and president of Elektra Records in the U.S., also attended this gig, now-famously saying afterwards, "I have seen the future of pop music and it is a band called Queen." He had received a copy of Keep Yourself Alive (apparently the De Lane Lea demo, not the final studio version) from Norman Sheffield of Trident earlier in the year and signed them to Elektra not long after the show. Things were falling into place. Over 50 years later, Holzman's son Adam wrote his inherited account of the events, including the fact that Queen wrote to Jac every year in gratitude. That said, in a positive review of the Imperial College show later in the year, Rosemary Horide recalls the band "weren't very together" at this gig six months prior. EMI executive Paul Watts has a similar recollection of the era (as chronicled in the 1976 "Official Biography" by Larry Pryce): "I went along to the Marquee Club to see them perform live, and although that night they didn't have a particularly good gig it was easy to see that the spark of something really outstanding was there. [...] The next gig I saw Queen do was at the Imperial College, and it was quite amazing. Their stage performance was superb, as was their music, and the rapport they built up with the audience was fantastic." The chronology in photographer Mick Rock's book about Queen insists Father To Son was performed on this night. David Croker, then manager of the newly-formed EMI label, also recalled the show in the George Tremlett book: "When they came on stage and started to play, they were fantastic - and then after the second number it all plummeted downhill. It was most extraordinary. As they came on, the effect was terrific and as they started the first number I thought, 'My God, I am witnessing something brilliant,' but then it all started to go wrong. It was one of those dates which never quite gelled, though at the end they retrieved something with Big Spender and their rock 'n' roll medley." A 2020 article also mentions this show: "The Marquee showcase duly made a strong impression, including on Trident's Ken Scott, who was in the audience that night. Well known for his production work with David Bowie, he later said of the gig: 'My view now is exactly as it was then: Wow.'" Queen headlined, and a band called Fantasy was the opening act. The latter's guitarist, Peter James, recalls: "It was a joint promotion gig. We had our first album out on Polydor. We went on first." The pre-show photos were taken by Mick Rock, and the gig photos were taken by Douglas Puddifoot, many of which made it to the front and back covers of Queen's debut album.

Previous Concert

Next Concert

Back to 1973 Concerts

Home