Album · 50 years old this year
A Day at the Races
A Day at the Races is Queen's fifth studio album, released on 10 December 1976. It was recorded at The Manor, Sarm East and Wessex Sound Studios, and it was the first record the band produced entirely themselves, without Roy Thomas Baker, with Mike Stone handling the engineering. EMI put it out in the UK and Elektra in the US.
It works as a companion piece to A Night at the Opera. Both borrow their titles from Marx Brothers films, share similar packaging and wander across a wide range of musical ideas. The follow-up to a record like that had plenty to live up to, and it did well: number one in the UK, Japan and the Netherlands, and number five in the US, where it went on to reach platinum. In 2006 a BBC Radio 2 listener poll placed it 67th among the greatest albums of all time. A good one for anyone who loves Queen at their most adventurous.
A Day at the Races: tracklist, credits and charts
10 tracks · 44:19Tracklist
- 1Tie Your Mother DownBrian May4:47
- 2You Take My Breath AwayFreddie Mercury5:09
- 3Long AwayBrian May3:34
- 4The Millionaire WaltzFreddie Mercury4:55
- 5You And IJohn Deacon3:27
- 6Somebody To LoveFreddie Mercury4:56
- 7White ManBrian May4:59
- 8Good Old‐Fashioned Lover BoyFreddie Mercury2:55
- 9DrowseRoger Taylor3:43
- 10Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)Brian May5:54
- Produced by
- Queen
- Recorded at
- Sarm East Studios (London), The Manor (Oxfordshire), Wessex Sound Studios (London), Advision (London)
- Recorded
- * 12 July – 24 August 1976 (initial sessions) * 5 September – 19 November 1976 (final sessions)
- Engineered by
- Mike Stone
- Labels
- Elektra, EMI
- Length
- 44:19
Line-up
- John Deacon · bass guitar, acoustic guitar, bass
- Brian May · guitar, background vocals, lead vocals, choir vocals, slide guitar, acoustic guitar, harmonium, piano
- Roger Taylor · drums (drum set), background vocals, vocals, choir vocals, triangle, wood block, electric guitar, lead vocals, tambourine
- Freddie Mercury · background vocals, lead vocals, piano, choir vocals
- Mike Stone · vocals · guest
Singles
- “Somebody to Love” · 12 November 1976
- “Tie Your Mother Down” · 4 March 1977
- “Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)” · 25 March 1977 (Japan)
- “Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy” · 20 May 1977
- “Long Away” · 7 June 1977
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1976–1977 | 1 |
| US Billboard 200 · 1976–1977 | 5 |
| Dutch Albums · 1976–1977 | 1 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1976–1977 | 1 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1976–1977 | 3 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1976–1977 | 4 |
| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) · 1976–1977 | 4 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1976–1977 | 8 |
| Austrian Albums · 1976–1977 | 8 |
| Swedish Albums · 1976–1977 | 8 |
All 14 charts
| German Albums · 1976–1977 | 10 |
| New Zealand Albums · 1976–1977 | 11 |
| Polish Albums · 2021 | 48 |
| Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 2019 | 154 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Belgium · 1978 | Gold |
| Canada | Platinum |
| Germany | Gold |
| Italy · 2026 | Gold |
| Netherlands · 1977 | Platinum |
| New Zealand · 2026 | Gold |
| Poland · 2009 | Platinum |
| South Africa · 1982 | Gold |
| United Kingdom | Gold |
| United States | Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
77.1
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
12k
ListenBrainz listeners
209k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
913
Deezer fans (all editions)
Also released on 10 December
Every year →
More from Queen
Full discography →
Queen
1973
Queen II
1974
Sheer Heart Attack
1974
A Night at the Opera
1975
Queen’s First E.P.
1977
News of the World
1977
Jazz
1978
Live Killers
1979
The Game
1980
Flash Gordon
1980
Greatest Hits
1981
Hot Space
1982
The Works
1984
A Kind of Magic
1986
Live Magic
1986
Hungarian Rhapsody: Live in Budapest
1987
The Miracle
1989
At the Beeb
1989
Innuendo
1991
Greatest Hits II
1991
Box of Tricks
1992
Classic Queen
1992
The 12″ Collection
1992
Live at Wembley ’86
1992
Five Live
1993
The Greatest 3
1995
Made in Heaven
1995
Queen Rocks
1997
The Crown Jewels: A 25th Anniversary Celebration
1998
Greatest Hits III
1999
Highlander
2000
Greatest Hits I, II & III: The Platinum Collection
2000
We Will Rock You
2002
Jewels
2004
We Are the Champions: Final Live in Japan
2004
Queen on Fire: Live at the Bowl
2004
Stone Cold Classics
2006
The A–Z of Queen, Volume 1
2007
Rock Montreal
2007
The Singles Collection, Volume 1
2008
The Singles Collection, Volume 2
2009
Absolute Greatest
2009
The Singles Collection, Volume 3
2010
The Singles Collection, Volume 4
2010
Deep Cuts, Volume 1 (1973–1976)
2011
Deep Cuts, Volume 2 (1977–1982)
2011
Deep Cuts, Volume 3 (1984–1995)
2011
Icon
2013
Live at the Rainbow ’74
2014
Queen Forever
2014
A Night at the Odeon
2015
Bohemian Rhapsody: The Original Soundtrack
2018
Riffs
2025
Pop
2025
Anthems
2025
Ballads
2025
The best of 1976
All of 1976 →
More on Elektra
The label →
Ride the Lightning
Metallica · 1984
Kill ’Em All
Metallica · 1983
News of the World
Queen · 1977
The Game
Queen · 1980
Sheer Heart Attack
Queen · 1974
Jazz
Queen · 1978
Stiff Upper Lip
AC/DC · 2000
Reinventing the Steel
Pantera · 2000
Greatest Hits
Queen · 1981
Flash Gordon
Queen · 1980
Sound of White Noise
Anthrax · 1993
The Nothing
Korn · 2019
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz; also seen: 1976-12-18 (wikidata)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 10 December 1976 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 10 December 1976 | |
| Wikidata | 18 December 1976 | |
| US release | December 1976 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 10 December 1976 | earliest UK or European date |
49 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | CA | Hollywood Records | 00050087240776 | remaster |
| — | CA | Hollywood Records | 00050087240783 | remaster |
| — | US | Hollywood Records | 050087240783 | other |
| 1976 | CA | Elektra | other | |
| 1976 | JP | Elektra | other | |
| 1976 | DE | EMI Electrola | other | |
| December 1976 | US | Elektra | other | |
| 10 December 1976 | GB | EMI | original | |
| 1986 | DE | EMI | 077774620826 | other |
| 1986 | IT | EMI | 077774620826 | other |
| 1986 | NL | EMI | 077774620826 | other |
| 1987 | JP | EMI | 4988006610170 | other |
| 1988 | DE | EMI | 077774620826 | other |
| 1988 | DE | EMI | 077774620826 | other |
| 1991 | CA | Hollywood Records | 075596103527 | other |
| 5 March 1991 | US | Hollywood Records | 720616103529 | other |
| 1992 | GB | EMI | 077774620826 | other |
| 1993 | GB | Parlophone | 077778949329 | other |
| 1993 | IT | Parlophone | 077778949329 | other |
| 1993 | XE | Parlophone | 077778949329 | other |
| 1993 | AR | Parlophone | 077778949329 | other |
| 1996 | US | Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab | other | |
| 16 April 1996 | US | Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab | 015775166820 | other |
| 1998 | US | Hollywood Records | other | |
| 6 November 1998 | JP | EMI | 4988006760837 | other |
| 1999 | GB | EMI | 724349946217 | other |
| 21 November 2001 | JP | Universal Music | 4988006796003 | other |
| 11 February 2004 | JP | EMI | 4988006818149 | other |
| 6 April 2008 | ES | EMI | 8423793300218 | other |
| 2011 | XE | Island | 602527644172 | other |
| 2011 | US | Hollywood Records | 050087240783 | remaster |
| 2011 | ZA | Universal | 6009143467736 | remaster |
| 14 March 2011 | — | EMI | 00602527644196 | remaster |
| 14 March 2011 | XE | Island | 602527644172 | remaster |
| 14 March 2011 | GB | Island | 602527644165 | remaster |
| 16 March 2011 | JP | Island | 4988005646200 | remaster |
| 16 March 2011 | JP | Universal Music | 4988005646200 | remaster |
| 17 May 2011 | — | EMI | 00602527644202 | remaster |
| 17 May 2011 | US | Hollywood Records | 050087240776 | remaster |
| 14 December 2011 | JP | Island | 4988005692801 | remaster |
| 2014 | CA | Hollywood Records | 00050087318260 | deluxe |
| 2014 | XW | EMI | 00602547025517 | deluxe |
| 2014 | — | EMI | 00602547024619 | other |
| 2014 | CA | Hollywood Records | 00050087318277 | other |
| 23 April 2014 | JP | Island | 4988005816597 | other |
| 28 April 2015 | IT | Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A. | 9778107163454 | other |
| 25 September 2015 | XE | Virgin EMI Records | 602547202703 | other |
| 28 July 2018 | IT | Virgin EMI Records | other | |
| 12 December 2018 | JP | Island | 4988031308943 | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · upscaled: major: best source 1218x1225, upscaled to 1500 (x1.23)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 1218×1225 | upscaled: major: best source 1218x1225, upscaled to 1500 (x1.23) |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |