City: Birmingham, UK
Venue: Town Hall
Date: November 27, 1973

Presumed setlist:
Procession, Father To Son, Son And Daughter, Ogre Battle, Hangman, Keep Yourself Alive, Liar, Jailhouse Rock medley, Bama Lama Bama Loo


   

     

   

According to a fan who saw the show, half the audience was at the bar at the beginning of Queen's set. They were David Bowie fans who were there to see Mott The Hoople (Bowie wrote All The Young Dudes, their biggest hit). With each passing song, more people left the bar to watch Queen and were won over by the energetic show and the musicianship.

There's a funny moment during the a cappella second chorus of Hangman, after "Hang that rope from the highest tree". Freddie, in a campy voice, says, "Yes, you'll do that" (as he did last night in Keep Yourself Alive).

Queen's fortunes varied somewhat on this tour. On many nights they were reported to have blown Mott The Hoople off the stage, but on this night things didn't go quite so smoothly. Someone who attended the show recalls a noticeably nervous Freddie Mercury, who even tripped over a monitor at one point: "Freddie was clearly winded, but continued on from the floor as if it were part of the show. This impressed some audience members, but not everyone. During the last song, Freddie was hit in the face by a hot dog. With ketchup falling down to his neck, he was visibly distraught."

The third pic is particularly interesting, as it is the last known shot of the fuzz switch still visible on Brian May's Red Special. Over the next year it would be removed, the hole covered with duct tape, and replaced with a red dot (and later black tape again). In 1998 it was finally replaced with the "May Star" as seen on the front cover of his 1993 solo album Back To The Light.


Recording length: 25 minutes (1 CD, incomplete)
Quality: B-
Source: Audience
Lineage: "A Night At The Court" (TNT) silvers

     
Track listing:
Procession, Father To Son, Son And Daughter, Ogre Battle, Hangman, Keep Yourself Alive [cut]


This 1994 bootleg was the first release of the incomplete Birmingham audience recording. There's some distortion, probably from a bad tape transfer. The given date of November 21 is incorrect. The bulk of the discs is a recording from an Earls Court '77 video feed.

There are two versions of the bootleg, the second of which has a gray background on the inside of the artwork. It is this artwork that an Italian bootleg label used in their re-release of this title three years later.


Recording length: 25 minutes (1 CD, incomplete)
Quality: B-
Source: Audience
Lineage: "A Night At The Court" (Spank) silvers

     
Track listing:
Procession, Father To Son, Son And Daughter, Ogre Battle, Hangman, Keep Yourself Alive [cut]


A Night In The Court was re-released in 1997 by an Italian bootleg label.


Recording length: 6 minutes (1 CD, incomplete)
Quality: B-
Source: Audience
Lineage: "Ultra Rare Trax" (FQ) silver

     
Track listing:
Hangman


This 1995 Mexican compilation bootleg contains one song from the Birmingham audience recording, sounding exactly the same as on A Night At The Court.


Recording length: 6 minutes (1 CD, incomplete)
Quality: B-
Source: Audience
Lineage: "The Ultimate Rarities Collection" (FBCD) silver

     
Track listing:
Hangman


This 1996 Italian disc is a straight copy of "Ultra Rare Trax."


Recording length: 26 minutes (1 CD, incomplete)
Quality: B
Source: Audience
Lineage: "First Procession" (Gypsy Eye) silver

     
Track listing:
Procession, Father To Son, Son And Daughter, Ogre Battle, Hangman, Keep Yourself Alive [cut]


Gypsy Eye's version is a slight upgrade, as it doesn't have the distortion - although the bootleg label added a crackling effect in their mastering process (most likely hiss reduction), something which they very often would often do to their source material before pressing it to CD. That said, overall this is still a more pleasurable listen than the older version. Keep Yourself Alive is still cut, although it's about a minute longer on this copy.

The Golders Green material at the beginning of the disc is inferior to other versions.


Recording length: 15 minutes (incomplete)
Quality: B
Source: Audience
Lineage: AUD > Master Cassette > ? > MP3
Track listing:
Hangman [cut], Keep Yourself Alive [cut], Jailhouse Rock medley, Bama Lama Bama Loo


This is the earliest Queen concert with more than one audience source. This second source from Birmingham emerged in 2021, containing much of the missing portion of the show.




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