Queen's A Day at the Races turns 50 this December. We look back at the album, the Hyde Park show and the memorabilia from Queen's biggest year yet.
On 10 December 1976, Queen released A Day at the Races, the follow-up to A Night at the Opera and the band's first fully self-produced album. Fifty years on, it's a good moment to look back at one of the most important years in Queen's story — and the collectables it produced.
The year Queen went stadium-sized
1976 began with Queen still riding the success of "Bohemian Rhapsody". Over the summer they recorded the new album at The Manor in Oxfordshire, as well as Sarm East and Wessex Studios in London. In between, on 18 September, they played a free concert in Hyde Park to a crowd reported at over 150,000.
"Somebody to Love" was released as the lead single in November, with its gospel-style layered vocals. The album followed in December and went to number one in the UK.
Collecting A Day at the Races
The album era left a rich trail of memorabilia:
- First UK pressings on EMI, with the original inner sleeve and the band crest on the cover
- Singles and picture sleeves for "Somebody to Love" and "Tie Your Mother Down", including overseas releases
- Hyde Park 1976 tickets, flyers and photographs from a free show that few people thought to keep souvenirs from
- Tour programmes from the 1977 shows that followed
- Gold and platinum awards for the album
Signed Queen
Four-signature Queen items from the mid-70s are among the most sought-after in rock collecting. They're also among the most faked. Freddie Mercury's signature in particular is widely forged, so authentication and a clear history are essential. Every signed Queen item we sell comes with our Letter of Authenticity and lifetime authenticity guarantee.
Were you there?
If you were at Hyde Park in 1976, or saw Queen on the 1977 tour, we'd love to hear from you — and to see anything you kept.