In 1978, Queen toured the US and Canada
The band sold-out venues in London in early 1978, but still had problems getting the right recording contract that could give them “complete artistic control”. Polydor offered this guarantee and signed them in June. Their first single, ” Hong Kong Garden “, featuring a xylophone motif, reached the top 10…
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The only gig that year was an informal show on 15 December at the Gaumont State Cinema in Kilburn , London, filmed for the documentary The Kids Are Alright .
Queen commenced the News of the World Tour in November 1977, and Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times called this concert tour the band’s “most spectacularly staged and finely honed show”.
News of Hackett’s departure coincided with the band’s double live album Seconds Out , recorded in Paris on the A Trick of the Tail and Wind & Wuthering tours and released in October 1977. It reached No. 4 in the UK and No. 47 in the US.
The group reconvened in September 1977, but Townshend announced there would be no live performances for the immediate future, a decision that Daltrey endorsed.
By the time Seconds Out was released, Banks, Rutherford and Collins had already recorded …And Then There Were Three… , the first Genesis album recorded as a trio, in September 1977 at Relight Studios with Hentschel as producer. It was then mixed at Trident Studios in London. In order to…
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The album was released in August 1977.
They ended the tour with two concerts at Earls Court , London, in June, which commemorated the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II , and at the cost of £50,000 the band used a lighting rig in the shape of a crown for the first time.
In May 1977 Genesis released Spot the Pigeon , an extended play of three tracks left off Wind & Wuthering . It peaked at No. 14 on the UK singles chart. It was the final Genesis release before Hackett left the group.