City:	Boston, MA, USA
Venue:	Orpheum Theatre
Date:	April 26, 1974

A concert at Bucknell College in Lewisburg, PA, was initially scheduled for this day. For some reason this didn't pan out, and the Boston concert originally scheduled to be played on April 27 was moved to this night. A second show was added due to popular demand, but in the end neither concert was performed. Ian Hunter was ill on this day, according to this 1974 article (the previous night's show at Allbright College in Reading, PA had also been cancelled). Another article states that the 1975 concert is Queen's third attempt at playing in Boston. It is referring to the fact that the cancelled April 26 show would be rescheduled for May 13, but Queen's spot on the tour was curtailed after Brian May fell seriously ill following a show in New York on May 11. Furthermore, a review of the 1975 show also reports that the 1974 show was cancelled due to Brian's health, which means it's referring to the rescheduled date. This article from the May 17 MIH Tech also indicates that the rescheduled date was played by Mott The Hoople but not with Queen. In addition, this clipping from the February 25, 1975 MIH Tech clarifies that the 1975 date was Queen's first in Boston. Thanks to Mike Tremaglio for doing the detective work and submitting the clippings. Several fans insist they saw Queen at the Orpheum in 1974 with Aerosmith as the main act, one of whom asserts that Queen blew them off the stage in their hometown (they, too, were touring for their second album, Get Your Wings). Phil Sutcliffe, in his "The Ultimate Illustrated History of the Crown Kings of Rock" book, writes that Billy Squier (who would later open for Queen in 1982) first met Freddie Mercury after their gig at the Orpheum in 1974 (thanks to Dave Maguire for pointing this out). But it's certain that the show didn't happen, and that the meeting would have happened in 1975. The band are seen in the photos above hanging out during the day, but that's all they did in Boston. What was once a puzzling day in Queen history is now two uneventful days. Many recordings from other dates disguised as this one have circulated over the years, and they are obviously fakes.

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