Harold May MSG story

So, the oft-told story about Brian May's dad coming to Madison Square Garden to see his son play in America for the first time, and finally giving his approval...

Which show was it?

Well, it turns out we can even ask what *year* was it ?


I'd always thought it was the February 5, 1977 show. It was the first time they played the Garden. Brian flew his folks in on the brand spanking new Concorde that his dad helped create, which had only existed for a year. Makes sense, right?

But then the story popped up in the Days Of Our Lives documentary, in the News Of The World segment. So maybe it was December 1 or 2, 1977 ?

This quote from the new "Queen in 3D" book seems to corroborate with that:

"Only a year later we played MSG again, and this time I wanted my family to share the experience."

The pic attached to this post is from Brian's website, which he footnotes as 1977.

But in the Days documentary Brian says it was the "first time", which brings us back to February 5.

And then there's this quote:

"Our first night ever in Madison Square Garden in New York was very special for me, partly because it was the realisation of a dream, and partly because I had flown my Mum and Dad, and my wife and newborn baby Jimmy out to see us play. I think it was the moment that my Dad realised that I hadn't really thrown my life away!"

Jimmy was born in June 1978. So then was it November 16/17, 1978?

But surely not the 17th - Brian wouldn't have had his folks at the show with naked strippers on bicycles.


what.
the.
hell.


Chime in, experts - which show was it?

To be honest, Brian's a bit absent minded isn't he?
Remember, they'd never played A Hard Life before they performed it with Tom Chaplin......

But I don't blame him. When artists are fully engrossed in their work, comparatively minuscule details like dates tend not to register.

There's an interview with Jason Newsted where he's asked what his favourite track on Load was, and his response was - "I couldn't tell you which songs were on Load or Reload."

Thanks for the pic. It's better than mine in my FB-gallery ... ;-)

[QUOTE] [b]The Real Wizard wrote:[/b]

But I don't blame him. When artists are fully engrossed in their work, comparatively minuscule details like dates tend not to register.

[/QUOTE]

Though surely, a moment as personal as that particular night at the MSG would be something Brian would absolutely remember.

And to the question ... When was Dane Clark there? On ADATR Tour yes, on the NOTW '77 Tour yes, and on the Jazz ' 78 Tour too ...


So Dane is unusable for analysis ... and Dominique too :-( ... In the book As It Began there is this parents attendance dated into December 1977 ...

Maybe is Brian May's hair length analysis usefull?
It seems to me that his hair in Autumn 1978 was longer than at the end of 1977 ... (and on the backstage pic).

... from 1978 too ...

... and from the NOTW autumn/winter tour '77.

... or from December '77 too.

Brian look suggest fall/winter 1977 IMHO

Memory is a funny thing ... while I've got little doubt Brian remembers every single personal detail about that occasion (how he felt, the gist of what his dad said), I'm pretty sure he might have forgotten the more statistical data about it (date, setlist, what they were wearing, what kind of t-shirt the cute blonde on the first row had - though he may very well remember the face of the cute blonde in question).

It's a shame I don't have a chance to compare Clark's look. These pics are from the US ADATR tour (as we all know) ...

Watch out! Look at Clark's chin in that dressing room on the North American "ADATR" tour!

.... His beard is missing during a visit of Brian's parents.