By March 1st, and after three bassists have departed, John Deacon joins the band. From this day on - to the very last Queen concert on 9 August, 1986 - the band line-up remains the same.

Four months of intensive rehearsals follow before the new line-up is ready to perform its first two shows in July. The gigs are typically attended by sixty or seventy people and provide Queen with an opportunity to gauge valuable audience reaction and comment. An invitation for one show asks guests to attend ‘a good time with good music, from a band who desperately need an opinion.’

On 11 July, Queen begin an 11 date tour of Cornwall, and concludes at the Tregye Festival of Contemporary Music, an outdoor show on August 21.

The year is rounded off by two more gigs in and around the London area, concluding with a New Year’s Eve gig at the London Rugby Club.

Text taken from the forthcoming revised and updated edition of Queen Live: A Concert Documentary