A
rock band from 1968-1970. Predecessor to the world-famous band known as
Queen.
Before there was Queen, there was Smile. In 1968, Tim Staffell and Brian May were attending Imperial College and decided to form a band. Roger Taylor answered the call. The band signed a deal with Mercury Records in 1969 and released an E.P. containing the songs Earth, Step On Me, April Lady, Blag, and Polar Bear. Earth became their first and only single.
Smile's sound could be characterized as dreamy and clumsy. For better or worse, this effect was intensified by the horrible recording quality on their tracks. The distinct sound of Brian May's homemade "Red Special" guitar is clearly evident on these tracks (particularly on Earth), but the talents of Taylor and Staffell are far less distinct at this stage. Even the bizarre subject matter of Earth, a homesick man in a space-age universe, exiled from his home planet, didn't seem to be enough to bring the band any worthwhile recognition.
The album was neither well publicized nor widely released and the band began to feel that their record company had given them a bad deal. They tried to get out of their contract but found that the only legal way to do so was to change the band. Frusterated and angry, Staffell decided to take one for the team and resigned as lead singer and bass guitarist, liberating the rest of the band from their agreement.
Tim Staffell was soon replaced by his flamboyant flatmate, Freddie Bulsara, who the world now knows as Freddie Mercury (no relation to the record company). Freddie had served as the band's unofficial manager from the start. The band was soon renamed as Larry Lurex and, later, Queen. John Deacon signed on as bass-guitarist in 1971. Their first album, Queen, was released n 1973.
The band
Tim Staffell: lead vocals, bass guitar
Brian May: Lead guitar, backing vocals
Roger Taylor: drums, backing vocals
* I have not been able to determine the writing credits, since no copies of the released version of the E.P. are still known to exist.