Instruments: The Works Tour I [24.08.1984 - 20.10.1984]
Information > Instruments on tour > The Works 1984
After the guys took a year off, they returned with a new tour which included some obvious changes. Freddie played electric guitar instead of the twelve string acoustic, Brian additionally used an acoustic classical guitar, Roger stopped carrying the gong, and the auxiliary musician was now Spike Edney, who played guitar, piano and synths. Freddie didn't play tambourine anymore and Brian didn't play piano either.
Drums: Ludwig Classic series drum kit in the Chrome Wrap finish
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Cymbals: Zildjian (brilliant finish)
Effects: 5 Simmons Electronic Drums Pads The bass drum logo was the white 'Queen' writing (The Works font) on on a black background. |
Fender Precision '68 model was the main one, and the newly
acquired Elite 1 (red finish) was the back-up. During
Under Pressure John used the Fender Precision Special
and in Another One Bites The Dust he played the
Musicman Stingray.
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Acoustic guitar: Freddie didn't use acoustic guitars anymore
but Brian kept playing the Ovation Pacemaker 12-string during
both Love Of My Life and the beginning of CLTCL. Electric guitars: Five people used electric guitars on this tour, four of them Fender Telecasters (John - Staying Power, Freddie - CLTCL and Not Fade Away, Brian - third verse and solo in CLTCL and Rick Parfitt - the night he guested in Jailhouse Rock). Brian also had a Gibson Classical Electric for Is This The World We Created and, of course, his Red Special (with the Gibson Flying V as a spare). Spike played a Gordon Smith in Hammer to Fall. Info for guitar enthusiasts: Freddie's Telecaster was a 1983 USA Standard Blonde model with Elite saddles on the bridge. It seems to have disappeared after his death. |
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Piano was Freddie's Steinway (top photos). The sytnhs used were
three - one Roland Jupiter 8 and two Oberheim OBX-a
(bottom left photo). Some new parts of the set (Radio Ga Ga, Impromptu) needed accurate piano sounds, something synths couldn't do yet. The perfect way of solving that problem was this wonderful instrument which sounds great and is easy to transport: the Yamaha CP80 Electric Grand Piano (bottom right photo). Although it wasn't listed by the crew, they did use a Roland VP-330 for "robotic" voices in excerpts from Machines (can be heard during Spike's solo) and vocoder voices in Radio Ga Ga. |
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| Shure vocal mics for everyone (including Spike), with one extra for Freddie's guitar moment, and another one for him when he played piano. |