Blimp Time Hop: Listen To Queen Explode At Portland Expo In 1974

We played Queen's Now I'm Here from the album Sheer Heart Attack, in a double-shot on Tuesday.

As I was listening to it in the WBLM studio, I heard the line "Down in the city, just Hoople and me." That reminded me that Queen went on their first US tour opening for Mott The Hoople in 1974.

Now I'm Here was written by Brian May as his fond recollection of that inaugural trip across America with Ian Hunter and company.

Your friends at the Blimp have found a quality audio recording of Freddie, Brian, Roger and John on their earliest American tour. It's not just any show, it's from right here in our great city.

An historic stop in Southern Maine happened at the Portland Expo on April 28, 1974. For many the many Blimpsters that were fortunate enough to be at this concert, we gotta believe it ranks way up there as one of the best rock performances they'd ever witnessed.

To see an explosive young Queen at their hungriest is something that the rest of us are envious of, to say the least.

If you were there, we bow to you.

Here's the 45 minute warm-up setlist.

setlist.fm

Now that we've looked over what they played in print, let's get on with the show and listen.

Queen made the trek to Maine 4 times from 1974 to 1980. They returned for show number 2 at the Lewiston Armory in February of 1975.

wblm.com

setlist.fm

The third Queen show in Maine happened in November of 1977, the first year of operation for Cumberland County Civic Center.

setlist.fm

In 1980 they came back to Portland for the last time, able to leave their fur coats behind for a summer night in Maine.

On August 27, 1980, Queen rocked us silly on The Game Tour. The show opened with Freddie in all his outrageous brilliance, wearing a black leather motorcycle jacket and launching into Jailhouse Rock.

The sheer power of his four-octave vocal range stills echoes today within the walls of the Cumberland County County Civic Center, now known as the Cross insurance Arena.

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Filed Under: Blimp Time-Hop, Maine Concerts, Portland Expo, queen

Categories: Articles, Concerts, Portland