| City: | New York, NY, USA |
| Venue: | Uris Theatre |
| Date: | May 11, 1974 |
  
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These shots of Sam Goody and the Uris Theatre in NYC around this time are from Super 8 footage shot by Mott The Hoople keyboardist Morgan Fisher (who would later play with Queen in 1982). This is the sixth and final concert at the Uris Theatre, and the last time they would open for Mott The Hoople. During the encore of Mott's set, Queen joined them to provide backing vocals on All The Young Dudes. Shortly thereafter, Brian May collapsed from pain. It turns out he had developed hepatitis from a tainted needle he received when the band got their required inoculations before going to Australia in February, and he had been in considerable pain throughout this tour. It soon developed into gangrene, and at one point there was a chance that his arm would have to be amputated. The band were forced to abandon the rest of the shows on the tour. Here's a newspaper article on the subject. Many years later, Roger Taylor recalled the day: "Poor Brian was yellow, bright yellow, and I was amazed we managed to shepherd him through the immigration queue at JFK in New York. The poor fellow could hardly stand and we got him on the plane, got him home, and got him to hospital. He was very ill. We were devestated. The tour had been cut short, you know, cos it was our first trip to America, so there were mixed feelings about that, but also very worried about Brian on the other hand." Here's the full list of shows with Mott The Hoople that were cancelled (including a couple Canadian dates): 1974.05.13 - Boston, MA, Orpheum Theatre (rescheduled from April 26) 1974.05.15 - Washington, D.C., DAR Constitution Hall 1974.05.16 - Charleston, SC, Municipal Auditorium 1974.05.17 - Atlanta, GA, Fox Theatre 1974.05.18 - Knoxville, TN, Coliseum 1974.05.20 - Detroit, MI, Masonic Temple 1974.05.21 - Chicago, IL, Auditorium Theatre 1974.05.22 - Milwaukee, WI, Auditorium 1974.05.23 - South Bend, IN, Morris Civic Auditorium 1974.05.24 - Toledo, OH, Sports Arena 1974.05.25 - Cleveland, OH, Allen Theatre (7pm and 10:30 shows) 1974.05.26 - Columbus, OH, Mershon Auditorium 1974.05.27 - Toronto, ON, Massey Hall 1974.05.28 - London, ON, London Arena 1974.05.30 - Pittsburgh, PA, Syria Mosque 1974.05.31 - Philadelphia, PA, Schubert Theatre 1974.06.01 - Philadelphia, PA, Schubert Theatre 1974.06.02 - Richmond, VA, The Mosque The US prog rock band Kansas replaced Queen in the opening slot. At the show in Detroit on May 20 (just prior to the release of the first Kansas album), there was no announcement that a different band was opening up for Mott The Hoople. A fair portion of the crowd was there for Queen, so Kansas ended up playing to constant boos and shouts for Queen. After a song or two, one of the members of Kansas grabbed the mic to shout, "Queen's not here, so shut the fuck up and listen." Furthermore, a double bill with Blue Oyster Cult at the Santa Monica Auditorium had even been booked for June 7. Nazareth filled in for Queen. In an interview with Record Mirror a few weeks later, Roger revealed that there were some headlining dates in order as well: "We had planned to be touring the west coast for a month without Mott, but because of Brian catching hepatitis we had to forget about it. It was a real drag cos we were all looking forward to going to California." While recovering in hospital, Brian wrote a few songs while the band worked in the studio on their next record. During this time, Brian was approached by the band Sparks to join them, which he declined. He was committed to Queen, although worried that they might let him go. Of course the thought didn't even cross their mind, as Brian was such a key element of their unique sound. Brian returned to work in the studio for a few weeks, and a headlining tour of North America was planned for September (in the Record Mirror piece Roger said it would be "about twenty dates, in all the places we thought suited us best"). But it would have to be postponed until the new year, as Brian fell ill once again, this time needing emergency surgery for a duodenal ulcer. After he regained his health he would join the rest of the band to finish their third album, Sheer Heart Attack. |
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