Queen: The Complete Works (4 page)

While he was in The Cousin Jacks, word had spread about young Roger Taylor’s expertise on the drums and, early in 1965, Johnny Quale And The Reaction sent an invitation to him to join the band. (Mike Dudley, Roger’s musical ally, came along too.) Johnny Quale, whose real name was John Grose, was known around Cornwall as an Elvis Presley impersonator – sideburns and all – and preferred straight-up rock as opposed to the more adventurous music other garage bands were engrossed in at the time. After a few rehearsals, the band made their live debut on 15 March 1965 at the Rock and Rhythm Championship at Truro’s City Hall. Among the fifteen groups that entered, Johnny Quale And The Reaction placed fourth, a position that pleasantly surprised the band. Spurred on by this, the band played a series of shows throughout the spring and summer of 1965, but the musical split between Johnny and the others was starting to show. The lead vocalist was still insisting the band play Elvis covers, while the band wanted to expand their musical direction.

The solution was to perform two sets, the first simply as The Reaction (allowing them to play the music they wanted with various band members taking turns on lead vocals), the second featuring Johnny Quale putting on his showman routine. In October 1965, the band were presented the opportunity to record an EP, representing Johnny’s musical preferences on one side and those of the others on the flip. At Sound Studios in Wadebridge, the band recorded ‘Bona Serra’, ‘Just A Little Bit’, ‘What’s On Your Mind’ and ‘I’ll Go Crazy’ as Johnny Quale And The Reaction, and ‘In The Midnight Hour’ and ‘I Got You (I Feel Good)’ as The Reaction, with Roger providing lead vocals.

However, the end was nigh for Johnny. Saturday nights were normally kept clear of bookings, but when the band agreed to perform a gig at short notice on the night that an Elvis Presley film was to be screened at the Plaza in Truro, Johnny had to make a decision. He ultimately performed the gig, but tendered his resignation afterwards. Now minus their eccentric frontman, the band became simply...

THE REACTION

Autumn 1965–Autumn 1968

Musicians, autumn 1965–1967
: Roger ‘Sandy’ Brokenshaw (
vocals
), Jim Craven (
bass guitar
), Geoff Daniel (
guitar
), Mike Dudley (
keyboards, guitar
), Mike Grose (
guitar
), John ‘Acker’ Snell (
saxophone
), Roger ‘Splodge’ Taylor (
vocals, drums
)

Musicians, 1967–summer 1968
: Mike Dudley (
keyboards, guitar
), Mike Grose (
guitar
), Richard Penrose (
bass guitar
), Roger Taylor (
vocals, drums
)

Musicians, summer–autumn 1968
: Jim Craven (
bass guitar
), Mike Dudley (
keyboards, guitar
), Mike Grose (
guitar
), Roger Taylor (
vocals, drums
)

Known itinerary
:

November 17, 1965: Methodist Hall, St Agnes

December 1965: Truro School, Truro

December 27, 1965: Schools Christmas Dance, Truro

January 8, 1966: Princess Pavilion, Falmouth

March 7, 1966: City Hall, Truro

March 12, 1966: Princess Pavilion, Falmouth

March 17, 1966: Flamingo Ballroom, Redruth

July 17, 1966: City Hall, Truro

August 15, 1966: Dartmouth, Devon

August 16, 1966: Town Hall, Torquay

January 7, 1967: Flamingo Ballroom, Redruth

January 24, 1967: Penmare Hotel, Hayle

January 28, 1967: Guildhall, St Ives

March 3, 1967: Flamingo Ballroom, Redruth

March 4, 1967: Princess Pavilion, Falmouth

March 10, 1967: Penmare Hotel, Hayle

March 11, 1967: Blue Lagoon, Newquay

March 31, 1967: Penmare Hotel, Hayle

April 21, 1967: County Grammar School, Truro

April 29, 1967: Penmare Hotel, Hayle

May 4, 1967: Skating Rink, Camborne

May 6, 1967: Blue Lagoon, Newquay

May 27, 1967: Skating Rink, Camborne

July 29, 1967: Beach, Perranporth

July 31, 1967: Village Hall, St Just

August 4, 1967: Rugby Club, Hayle

November 10, 1967: Pennance Hotel, Hayle

December 21, 1967: Raven Youth Club, Thurnby Lodge

July 4, 1968: Beach, Perranporth

July 13, 1968: Princess Pavilion, Falmouth

It was an easy transition for The Reaction: they were used to performing sets without their erstwhile lead singer, but they still needed a vocalist. After a series of auditions, they hired Roger ‘Sandy’ Brokenshaw, who was later fired due to his penchant for upbeat soul and mainstream ballads. The band wanted to progress into heavier musical territories, but were without a lead singer again. It eventually dawned upon the band that Roger Taylor would be the best vocal substitute, but he still wanted to establish himself as a proficient drummer, a difficult task when coupled with singing. He was up to the challenge anyway, and The Reaction morphed into the power trio they had always wanted to be.

The band also landed a pair of roadies, Neil Battersby and Peter Gill-Carey. Roger, meanwhile, gradually evolved into the leader of the group, an inevitability, considering his status as the lead vocalist. When the band contacted a booking agency (BCD Entertainments) about performing some dates, Roger successfully argued that the band might as well find their own bookings and save the ten per cent fee the agency required. Roger also explored his creative side, already establishing himself as an eccentric, theatrical drummer: in a move that even Keith Moon never attempted, Roger doused his cymbals with gasoline and set them alight. After acquiring his family’s piano, he removed the outer frame, painted the now-exposed interior and, during shows, would leave his drums to pound out random chords. When the set came to an end with ‘Land Of 1,000 Dances’, he would attack the piano with as much ferocity as he had his drums. Other times, the band would conclude their shows by spraying each other with foam.

In February 1967, a horrific road accident almost brought an end to The Reaction. Roger had just been granted his driver’s licence and offered to relieve Neil Battersby of his duties for a night. As the van and its occupants – including Roger, Michael Dudley, his girlfriend Marian Little, Richard Penrose, his girlfriend Valerie Burrows, Neil Battersby and Peter Gill-Carey – were travelling along the A30, they encountered some serious fog. Without warning, the van somersaulted and landed on its roof, sliding along the road for several feet before coming to a halt. Roger was thrown clear and was unhurt, but his passengers weren’t so lucky: Michael received a broken hand and nose, Marian suffered a cut chest and Valerie had internal stomach injuries. Richard and Neil were covered in cuts and glass, but the worst injured was Peter, who was lying unconscious in the middle of the road and bleeding profusely. The accident was so severe that Peter was left with a paralysed right arm and was unable to finish his medical degree. Unbeknown to Roger, he had slammed into an abandoned fish van; seven years were spent in legally exonerating him.

The accident affected Roger considerably and, while The Reaction continued throughout 1967, he was grateful when university started up in October. Studying for his dentistry degree, he moved to Shepherd’s Bush to study at the Royal London Hospital. Roger returned throughout the year to perform with The Reaction, which had turned into a psychedelic, Hendrix-inspired group in Roger’s absence, and while the band continued to perform sparsely throughout 1968, they drifted apart for good in the autumn. Roger’s next musical path was to involve two former musicians from a band in Middlesex, who were determined to start their own power trio and had placed an ad at Imperial College seeking a Ginger Baker/Mitch Mitchell-type drummer.

SMILE

Summer 1968–Winter 1970

Musicians
: Brian May (
guitar, vocals
), Tim Staffell (
vocals, bass guitar
), Roger Taylor (drums, vocals), Chris Smith (
keyboards
), Mike Grose (bass guitar, vocals – April 17 & 18, 1970 only)

Repertoire included
: ‘Toccata and Fugue in D Minor’, ‘Can’t Be So Sad’, ‘If I Were A Carpenter’, ‘Earth’, ‘Mony Mony’, ‘See What A Fool I’ve Been’, ‘Rollin’ Over’

Known itinerary
:

Summer 1968: PJ’s Club, Truro

Summer 1968: Flamingo Ballroom, Redruth

Summer 1968: Imperial College, London

October 26, 1968: Imperial College, London

October 31, 1968: Imperial College, London

February 27, 1969: Royal Albert Hall, London

February 28, 1969: Athletic Club, Richmond

March 15, 1969: Imperial College, London

March 28, 1969: PJ’s Club, Truro

March 29, 1969: PJ’s Club, Truro

April 18, 1969: PJ’s Club, Truro

April 19, 1969: Revolution Club, London

July 19, 1969: PJ’s Club, Truro

September 13, 1969: PJ’s Club, Truro

September 14, 1969: PJ’s Club, Truro

December 13, 1969: Marquee Club, London

January 31, 1970: Imperial College, London

April 17, 1970: PJ’s Club, Truro

April 18, 1970: PJ’s Club, Truro

April 1970, unknown venue

May 1970, unknown venue

Taking their cue from the myriad power trios and supergroups being formed in the late 1960s, Brian and Tim Staffell called their new band Smile and had a completely different philosophy from 1984: instead of relying mostly on straight-up covers, the band would write their own songs. In the absence of enough original material, however, Smile also deconstructed more contemporary songs from bands like The Small Faces, The Beatles and so forth. In an age when progressive rock was still booming, Smile was bringing its own approach to the genre.

Tim and Brian journeyed to Shepherd’s Bush to hold an audition for Roger, who had answered an advert placed in the local paper for a drummer. They turned up with acoustic guitars and, since Roger’s drum set was back in Truro, their new drummer tapped at a pair of bongos. Realizing his immense talent (even on bongos), Tim and Brian immediately formed a friendship with Roger and Smile was born. The band played three gigs during the summer of 1968 that served chiefly as a means of integrating Roger into Tim and Brian’s collective vision, landing their first proper gig supporting Pink Floyd at Imperial College London on 26 October. Not surprisingly, given their penchant for jamming on one song for up to twenty minutes, Smile fitted in nicely with Pink Floyd’s audience. The Floyd, who were now minus founding member Syd Barrett, were shedding the hippie acid rock that had characterized their early hits and were redesigning themselves as the forefathers of progressive stoner rock.

Given Brian’s relationship with the faculty at Imperial College, Smile became the house band there and were given free rein to rehearse on campus and perform supporting slots for more established bands like Pink Floyd, Yes, Tyrannosaurus Rex (later T. Rex) and Family. The band was augmented by roadie Pete Edmunds and sound mixer John Harris (who also occasionally deputized on keyboards), though a constant presence at rehearsals was Freddie Bulsara, who would later rechristen himself Freddie Mercury. He had met Tim at Ealing College of Art and the two became friends; it was inevitable that Freddie’s path would cross with Brian and Roger’s, which ultimately led to the formation of Queen.

Keyboardist Chris Smith was briefly introduced into the fold and played a few shows with the band, but was told that his services were no longer required in February 1969; the band felt that they had a full enough sound without him. A charity show was organized at the Royal Albert Hall on 27 February 1969, where Smile shared the bill with Joe Cocker, Spooky Tooth, The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and Free, whose lead singer was Paul Rodgers. Smile were the headliners and were introduced, like the other bands, by legendary DJ John Peel, but their set started inauspiciously. When Tim walked out on stage, his bass guitar lead was too short and popped out of the amplifier by the time he reached the microphone at the front of the stage. He had also neglected to wear shoes or socks and discovered all too quickly that the stage was littered with splinters. Their set was filmed, albeit without sound, and included ‘If I Were A Carpenter’, an original by Tim called ‘Earth’, ‘Mony Mony’ and ‘See What A Fool I’ve Been’, which was derived from a Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee song called ‘That’s How I Feel’.

After a gig in April 1969 at the Revolution Club, Smile were approached by an impressed Lou Reizner, a talent scout for Mercury Records, and offered a recording contract; it was accepted almost immediately. After two sessions in the summer of 1969, which saw six compositions recorded, a single – ‘Earth’, backed with ‘Step On Me’ – was released, though only in North America, where Smile had no fan base. The tactic had worked with Deep Purple’s debut single, ‘Hush’, but the Smile single failed to chart and their contract wasn’t renewed.

But Mercury hadn’t completely given up on Smile yet: in December, they organized a showcase concert at the Marquee Club and had the band play as the main support to Kippington Lodge (featuring a young Nick Lowe). While Smile’s set was tight, the audience wasn’t as receptive as they would have hoped and the end was nigh for Smile. Brian was still a committed scholar and started to research zodiacal light; at the beginning of 1970, he studied in Tenerife (where the necessary equipment had been moved from Switzerland) and had two papers published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Brian’s absence from Smile was a portent for Tim: he was unsure if Brian would still be dedicated to the band on his return, deciding therefore to leave Smile and form another band. With a handful of prior commitments still to fulfil, Brian and Roger turned to the drummer’s bassist
friend Mike Grose to help them out for two dates – coincidentally, at a PJ’s Club, which Mike co-owned at the time – in April 1970, before coaxing Tim back for two more gigs later in April and May. But enough was enough for Tim, and his departure after that formally ended Smile; Tim went on to play in the bands No Joke! (also with Mike), Humpy Bong and Morgan. With their future in the music industry still unsure, Brian and Roger turned to Freddie Bulsara, the unofficial fourth member of Smile, for assistance.