In February 1978, Queen decided that they should have their management. Breaking up with John Reed was much more friendly than breaking up with Trident. The contract was signed in the backseat of Freddy’s Rolls Royce during the break between filming the We Will Rock You video in the garden behind Roger's house in Surrey! A short tour of Europe began in April 1978 - and again from Stockholm.
In July, the group began work on a new album, which they first recorded outside the UK - in Montreux and France. For the presentation of the next single - Bicycle Race - the group rented the Wimbledon Stadium, and 50 naked girls arranged their cycling! In the original version, the cover of the single depicted one of these girls from the back, but because of the mass protests of the public, she had to put on her panties! In October, Queen toured the United States and Canada again, and on November 10, the Jazz album was released. The envelope for him contained a poster depicting a cycling race of naked girls, but the Americans seized it - however, they put in a card, filling out and sending it out that especially thirsty fans could still get it! An evening on the occasion of the release of the Jazz album took place in New Orleans and immediately went down in history. It was organized by the group itself to invite there EMI, their European record company, and Electra, their representatives in the USA. The heads of the companies met for the first time, and each assured that all their directors were present, and tried to prove their numerical superiority. This evening has truly become an outstanding event. What was not there! Fight in the mud, dwarfs, half-naked waitresses and other fantastic and amazing characters.
The North American tour ended in late December, and the band flew back to England for Christmas. But they did not have much time for rest, because in January 1979 they again had to go to Europe. The tour began in Hamburg. And in March, they took refuge in Mountain Studios in Montreux to work on a live album. The group adored the quiet and calm city of Montreux and its studio, so the idea arose about buying a studio.
Their further tour route in April 1979 lay in Japan. In June, they turned to the English Tennis Club with a request to provide them with Wimbledon Central Court (after the end of the tournament, of course) for a concert. But the request was rejected.
Live Killers' first live album was released in June 1979. It was published by numerous requests from listeners.
Queen was invited to write music for the sci-fi movie Flash Gordon. When it was initially discussed with producer Dino de Laurentiis, he simply asked, "What are the Quins?" The group agreed to write music and began work in June in Munich.
By the end of 1979, Queen began preparations for the Crazy Tour. The plans included performances in such famous places as Tiffany's in Purley, Lewisham Odeon, Alexandrinsky Palace and Hammersmith Odeon. They were one of the bands that gave a concert in favor of the starving people of Kampuchea. During this tour, group tour manager Jerry Stickels lost consciousness behind the scenes and was taken to hospital. (Beginning in 1976, Jerry did not miss a single Queen tour, and has since organized all the tours).
Beginning in 1980, the group worked on their new album, The Game; it was the first album in which they used electronic synthesizer magic. In June, they again went on tour in North America. Roger also began work on his first solo album. The Game was released in June, and in Canada alone it went platinum 5 times. Another One Bites The Dust became the band's best-selling single worldwide. In the United States, he became the number one hit in several categories at once, topping the rock, soul and disco charts.
They received the Dick Clark Award for Best Band, Billboard's Top Prize for Best Single in multiple nominations at once, and have also been featured in many other awards, including the Grammy and Canadian Juneau. December 8, 1980, released the album Flash Gordon with music for the film. By the end of 1980, Queen had sold over 45 million albums worldwide.
In February 1981, after another trip to the Far East, the group flew to Rio de Janeiro on their first tour of South America. Queen was the first rock band to stage performances in South American stadiums, paving the way for many other bands in the future. The equipment was supposed to arrive in a specially hired Flying Tiger 747 cargo plane from Tokyo, breaking the longest air route in the world between the two capitals - Tokyo and Buenos Aires.
To be continued in the next part https://zen.yandex.ru/media/id/5d6273f204af1f00aeac207e/a-brief-history-of-queen-part-4-5d91e8d697b5d400aea59f69