City: | Glasgow, UK |
Venue: | Queen Margaret Union, University of Glasgow |
Date: | March 15, 1974 |
Presumed setlist: | Procession, Father To Son, Ogre Battle, White Queen, Son And Daughter, Great King Rat, Modern Times Rock 'n' Roll, Keep Yourself Alive, Seven Seas Of Rhye, Jailhouse Rock, Liar |
Jake Scott says: "At the time the Uni had a male students' Union (GUU) and a Female Students' Union (QMU). Queen played at the female union. Later both Unions became unisex. I was a president at the QMU in the early 90s and when clearing out old filing cabinets found the actual contract of this gig in the Ents drawer. The fee the band paid [to rent the hall] was around £320." The show didn't begin too smoothly as the band's equipment overloaded the main electric supply, causing them to make several attempts to begin Father To Son. Eventually everything worked out, and the show began around 1am. A drunken fan held up a Queen album cover next to Brian at some point, but the guitarist was undeterred. The two unions are a running theme in this review of the show, which illustrates the technical problems that plagued the evening, particularly during Liar, which is stated to be the last song of the set (even after the rock and roll medley, which is also mentioned). There are surprisingly two other reviews for this early gig (1, 2). Greg Brooks' revised Queen Live book suggests that the lighting crew decided to quit after the previous night's show in Cheltenham (to be replaced by another crew as arranged by Trident), but the reality is they quit after this gig. They were worn out by the overnight non-stop long trip from Cheltenham to Glasgow, not to mention the tech issues at two of the past three gigs adding to their mounting frustrations. Roger Taylor recalled this gig in a 2013 interview. "I remember doing a show at Glasgow University with all these guys outside looking through this narrow window at the top of a dressing room shouting, 'I can see you Brian May'." |