they would do something but not in that incarnation. To be honest, I wasn’t sure about Tim Staffell.’
Brian’s decision to quit 1984 had been partly driven by a desire to write his own material. Tim Staffell shared this ambition with him and had been making a concerted effort to write since the previous summer. Smile’s set now included 1984’s one original ‘Step On Me’, and two new compositions ‘Earth’ and ‘Doing Alright’ (which would end up on the first Queen album). With lyrics influenced by his passion for science fiction, Staffell would later be dismissive of his early work, describing it as ‘pretentious guff … cobblers’.
‘“Earth” was a good song,’ insists Chris Smith. ‘It was the era of the moon landings, so that was very much in the ether. I remember Tim telling me that he’d written the song about being given the choice to go to space in a rocket ship, but the catch was you could never come back to earth. I remember he said, “If I had the choice to go and not come back I’d take it.” I said, “No thanks, Tim, I’ll stay here.”’
At Trident, Smile cut the single, ‘Earth’, with a B-side of ‘Step On Me’ (also squeezing in a recording of ‘Doing Alright’). It was set for an August release. In the meantime, though, it was back to Cornwall for another run of Smile shows. Smile’s entourage for the summer trip had expanded to include Peter Abbey, van driver Richard Thompson, roadie Pete Edmunds, and, for less obvious reasons, Freddie Bulsara.
On 21 July, astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. ‘We all crowded round the TV at Roger’s mum’s to watch it,’ recalls Richard Thompson. Winifred Taylor had agreed to accommodate the touring party for some nights, and found Roger’s dandyish friend Freddie a source of endless fascination. Despite being bussed around the country in the back of avan, Fred managed to maintain impeccable sartorial standards. Said Roger Taylor: ‘My mother could never work out how Freddie’s trousers had such a perfect crease in them.’
Back in London, Smile signed to the Rondo Talent Agency on Kensington Church Street. While overshadowed by other Rondo clients such as Nick Drake and the fledgling Genesis, the connection at least meant more bookings. Through the remainder of the summer, the trio would gain valuable experience opening for The Climax Chicago Blues Band, Family and others, and 1984’s rhythm guitarist John Garnham caught them in concert. ‘They were supporting a group called Timebox who had a song called “Bake Jam Roll in Your Eye”, absolute crap title and song,’ he laughs. ‘Smile came on and did this wonderful slow, heavy version of “If I Were a Carpenter.”’ As a roadie for Smile at a gig at Watford College in October, Garnham was even more taken: ‘They were better than Taste [the headliners]. That was the time I thought, “Yes, they’re on to something here.”’
Garnham wasn’t alone. From their first gig, Smile had acquired an ardent if not uncritical fan in Fred Bulsara. ‘I think Freddie was there in the wings when we first played,’ says Chris Smith. ‘After the gigs, he’d be like, “You know that bit where the drums come in? Well, why don’t you do this instead?” He was full of suggestions, full of ideas. I said to Brian, “Fred is desperate to be in this band, you know”, but Brian was like, “No, no, no, Tim is the lead singer. He’d never wear it.”’
Brian May has no recollection of Fred’s stints as a 1984 roadie. Instead, he remembers first meeting his future singer at a Smile show. ‘I don’t know if it’s accurate or not but in my mind’s eye I remember him very much dressed like a rock star,’ he said in 2005. ‘But the kind of rock star you hadn’t seen before – really flamboyant and androgynous. He was flicking a pompom around and being very flippant, saying, “Yes, it’s wonderful, it’s wonderful, but … why don’t you
Brian’s decision to quit 1984 had been partly driven by a desire to write his own material. Tim Staffell shared this ambition with him and had been making a concerted effort to write since the previous summer. Smile’s set now included 1984’s one original ‘Step On Me’, and two new compositions ‘Earth’ and ‘Doing Alright’ (which would end up on the first Queen album). With lyrics influenced by his passion for science fiction, Staffell would later be dismissive of his early work, describing it as ‘pretentious guff … cobblers’.
‘“Earth” was a good song,’ insists Chris Smith. ‘It was the era of the moon landings, so that was very much in the ether. I remember Tim telling me that he’d written the song about being given the choice to go to space in a rocket ship, but the catch was you could never come back to earth. I remember he said, “If I had the choice to go and not come back I’d take it.” I said, “No thanks, Tim, I’ll stay here.”’
At Trident, Smile cut the single, ‘Earth’, with a B-side of ‘Step On Me’ (also squeezing in a recording of ‘Doing Alright’). It was set for an August release. In the meantime, though, it was back to Cornwall for another run of Smile shows. Smile’s entourage for the summer trip had expanded to include Peter Abbey, van driver Richard Thompson, roadie Pete Edmunds, and, for less obvious reasons, Freddie Bulsara.
On 21 July, astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. ‘We all crowded round the TV at Roger’s mum’s to watch it,’ recalls Richard Thompson. Winifred Taylor had agreed to accommodate the touring party for some nights, and found Roger’s dandyish friend Freddie a source of endless fascination. Despite being bussed around the country in the back of avan, Fred managed to maintain impeccable sartorial standards. Said Roger Taylor: ‘My mother could never work out how Freddie’s trousers had such a perfect crease in them.’
Back in London, Smile signed to the Rondo Talent Agency on Kensington Church Street. While overshadowed by other Rondo clients such as Nick Drake and the fledgling Genesis, the connection at least meant more bookings. Through the remainder of the summer, the trio would gain valuable experience opening for The Climax Chicago Blues Band, Family and others, and 1984’s rhythm guitarist John Garnham caught them in concert. ‘They were supporting a group called Timebox who had a song called “Bake Jam Roll in Your Eye”, absolute crap title and song,’ he laughs. ‘Smile came on and did this wonderful slow, heavy version of “If I Were a Carpenter.”’ As a roadie for Smile at a gig at Watford College in October, Garnham was even more taken: ‘They were better than Taste [the headliners]. That was the time I thought, “Yes, they’re on to something here.”’
Garnham wasn’t alone. From their first gig, Smile had acquired an ardent if not uncritical fan in Fred Bulsara. ‘I think Freddie was there in the wings when we first played,’ says Chris Smith. ‘After the gigs, he’d be like, “You know that bit where the drums come in? Well, why don’t you do this instead?” He was full of suggestions, full of ideas. I said to Brian, “Fred is desperate to be in this band, you know”, but Brian was like, “No, no, no, Tim is the lead singer. He’d never wear it.”’
Brian May has no recollection of Fred’s stints as a 1984 roadie. Instead, he remembers first meeting his future singer at a Smile show. ‘I don’t know if it’s accurate or not but in my mind’s eye I remember him very much dressed like a rock star,’ he said in 2005. ‘But the kind of rock star you hadn’t seen before – really flamboyant and androgynous. He was flicking a pompom around and being very flippant, saying, “Yes, it’s wonderful, it’s wonderful, but … why don’t you
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