#tim staffell

[riaaanna]

📸 Pat McConnell

Shared by Tim Staffell who recently (2020) rediscovered the contact print of Smile's photo session.

These were scattered across the OIQFC magazine, Tim's TikTok, and Tim's subscription newsletter - so I thought I'd put them all together! I hope he'll share or sell proper scans of the whole thing one day.

[corpumderelictum]

Thank you for coming to my TED talk

[freddiemercurylegendabovelegends]

Today - July 18th, 1970 - Queen Story!

Queen played at Imperial College, London, UK with Mike Grose on bass

- This is first public performance in London and first concert accredited with the name Queen -

During this show, the group announced to the small crowd (about fifty people) that the singer Tim Staffell had left the band and that their new frontman is Freddie Mercury

📸 Pic 2: In this note taken from Queen's first BBC session Freddie still using his birth name in 1973

- Mike Grose, Queen's first bassist dies in 2019

[stesichoreanpalinode]

HOW did we not know this before? Picture it! Brian, Roger, Freddie and Tim in a cave in Cornwall singing harmonies spontaneously and listening to the echoes…

[rushingheadlong]

A (possibly) previously-unseen article about 1984

At least it's new to me :) Very interesting to see the band described as a "psychedelic" group, and there's some nice bits here from Brian and Tim too!

Originally printed in the 17 February 1967 issue of the Middlesex Chronicle. (Open in a new tab for better quality)

Pop Notes by Ray Hammond

(Image caption - The 1984 pop group, left to right: Tim Staffell, Dave Dilloway, Richard Thompson, John Garnham, and Brian May.)

Futuristic group

What will pop music be like in 1984? One group who thinks it has the answer to this question is based in Twickenham and called, of course, "1984".

The group comprises vocalist Tim Staffell, who lives in Teddington, bass man Dave Dilloway, from Whitton, lead guitar Brian (Brimi) May, from Feltham, rhythmist John Garnham, from Teddington, and drummer Richard Thompson, from Hounslow. They are all 19 years old except John, who is 20.

I talked the other evening to the boys about their group, their ideas and their plans for the future. "The psychedelic music is certainly here to stay," said Tim. "It makes more of music than mere sound, it makes it a whole and complete art form."

On stage

The boys told me about their stage performances. Dave said: "We use everything in our act, including things like shaving foam, and plastic bricks that we throw around." Dave, as well as playing bass, also rigs lighting to the group's requirements to provide the "psychedelic experiences".

Although the group have been playing for over a year - is [sic] was founded first at Hampton Grammar School - the boys have only recently had enough experience and equipment to become serious semi-professionals.

Last month the group won an area semi-final at Croydon in a national talent search, and it is now awaiting news of the national winners, who will have the chance of a test recording for a major record company.

There are problems that stand in the way of success though. Four of the group are students and in consequence they have not got unlimited time and money to give to group work. Brian stated his personal ambition as being "able to play well enough to respect ourselves," and while this sentiment is echoed by the rest of the group, it was obvious that big success is the wish of most members.

The boys show their many talents on stage. Brian made his own guitar (the product is amazing. It is in many ways superior to the mass-produced instruments, and has a wiring system that Brian has built and designed). All stage electronics are handled by Dave.

New ideas are always formulating in Tim's mind, although he is keeping quiet about some which he calls "the most revolutionary."

After we had finished chatting, the boys went back to their instruments and gave vent to several numbers.

Treatments

Standards like "Heatwave," receive a very original treatment, mostly due to the sounds that Brian coaxes out of his guitar. Jazz chords and electronic sounds add feeling and nuance to numbers that are often churned out wholesale.

Using two bass drums for a fuller sound, Richard's drumming, combined with the full bass riffs and the steady work of John, provides a firm basis for experiments in sound - an opportunity which is not wasted.

Whatever does happen to pop music in 1984, I hope that the teenagers then will have the chance to hear excitement of the type that is generated by "1984", one of the most forward looking groups today.

[courseyoulovemeyoudontknowme]

Bohemian Rhapsody (2018, Bryan Singer)

16/08/2024

[not-the-coffee-machine4]

I wish Queen had re-recorded April Lady, like I love Brian’s version for Smile but Freddie would have done NUMBERS on that song

[gluttons-for-punishment]

[sunnymeddows]

55 years of Maylor/Smile

prompt: photoshoot 📸 @55yearsofmaylor

medium: pencil on paper

[55yearsofmaylor]

55 Years of Maylor

Huge thanks to all who participated!

The collection (maylor55) is still open for anyone who wasn’t quite ready.

The delights so far are:

(You Can Give Me) All The Love That I Crave by Anonymous

I Want It All by @valesweetdreams

Shake In Two by @mysticanni

Starshine by @demonessryu

Photoshoot by @sunnymeddows

Novalunosis by @litsy-kalyptica

Yesterday Now Today by @sunnymeddows

Magnetic Attraction by @mysticanni

Is This Seat Taken? by @demonessryu

Orbiting His Sun by @sunnymeddows

A Brand New Day’s Beginning by @mysticanni

Lost With You by @demonessryu

[riaaanna]

Babies 🥺💖

Brian and Tim at Trident Studios 1968 as shared by Tim 🥰

[astrophysicist-guitar-god]

Queen in Cornwall: postscript

This page isn't strictly a postscript, but more a way of recording information that comes to light after the publication of the book.  Firstly during the afternoon at The Driftwood (when 'Queen in Cornwall' was launched as an initial print run of 200) our guests said a few things of interest that are not in the book. I particularly remember Jill Johnson saying that she cut Roger Taylor's hair into the 60's mod bob featured in the photo on p126. Also Mike Grose explaining that he was on Porthpean beach when he first heard Queen on national radio and realised that they were going to be successful. The day after the party/launch Neil Battersby sent me this e-mail which I thought interesting and worth posting:  Rikki and I had a great time today at the Driftwood, meeting old friends and reliving memories. In looking though the book two things come to mind: 1. Pages 37 and 41 in your book show a school photograph. The boy to the left of Roger is not Mike. It is Jeff Webb, who was also in the same class as Roger (1S). 2. A fan asked if we drank a lot at the gigs. The answer is "no", but it did remind me of a fact that I certainly had forgotten. After we had packed up we did our best to find a milk vending machine on the drive home. These are now extinct, but in those days were very common. We were told to drink a lot of milk in those days. Roger used them the most, referring to them as "metal cows". (x)

From the QUEEN IN CORNWALL blog online, which was created to "document the musicians and events" for the Queen in Cornwall book by Rupert White. (Published 2011, available on Amazon)

[brianmaysleftclog]

RB for sample size and all that

[freddiemercurylegendabovelegends]

Tim Staffel born in London, 24 February 1948

🔸Staffel revealed how Mercury, then known as Farrokh Bulsara, would tell his schoolmates: 'Some day I'm going to be a superstar.'

'[Freddie] was a civilised guy, not rough round the edges,' added Tim. 'I never ever saw him swear or say a bad word at anybody.

'Some people's egotism is offensive but not with Freddie. He was always a lovely, lovely guy. There was none of that avarice for fame.'

- During the late 1960s, Tim Staffell was the frontman of the band Smile, alongside guitarist Brian May.

However in 1970, Tim took the decision to leave the band for another outfit called Humpy Bong, forcing the exiting members to recruit Freddie Mercury as singer.

While Humpy Bong was over within five years, Queen would go on to become one of the best-selling bands of all time.

He added: 'I was desperately envious. The only thing I'd say in my defence is that I was never destructively jealous. But by God I was envious.'

Tim, who now lives in a semi-detached home in Richmond, south-west London, had been schoolfriends with Mercury at Ealing Art College.

22 Nov 2018

➡️ Full Article ↘

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6416945/Meet-singer-quit-Queen-Freddie-Mercury-took-over.html

Pic n.1: 28 april 1970 - Queen, Mike Grose (was Queen's first bass player, died on March 8, 2019), Roger Taylor and Freddie Mercury at Imperial College, London, UK

📸 Photo © Doug Puddifoot

📸 Pic n.2: Tim Staffel

[hermitwhosipstea]

My work for @55yearsofmaylor

A bit of context:

Roger comes from Cornwall, the land of Arthurian legend and mischievous pixies, and Brian has always been sceptical of this.

Until 1970, when he opens his eyes, he doesn't know where he is. A minute ago, he was standing backstage at the gig that Roger's mother had prepared in Cornwall, arguing with him over a few drum beats that he thought Roger had played incorrectly. And now he woke up, with moss-covered stone walls and plants all around him. And suddenly a message appeared before his eyes: a picture. Appearing in the picture is Roger in ancient clothes, looking older than the Roger Brian had just argued with. Below there are words encrusted in gold: "He was chosen to become The Once and Future Drummer".

Roger gets better every day, gradually becoming the master of drumming. From that day on, during their 55 years together, Brian never had to question Roger's qualifications again.

Close-up and non-filter

[rushingheadlong]

Happy Birthday Tim Staffell!

Born 24 February 1948, Tim is perhaps best known as being the lead singer and bassist in the band "Smile" alongside Brian May and Roger Taylor. In addition to co-writing the future Queen song "Doin' Alright", Tim also introduced his bandmates to his art school classmate Freddie Mercury, thereby laying the groundwork for the formation of Queen after Tim departed Smile in early 1970.

After setting aside his musical career in 1977, Tim went on to work in practical effects and design. Some of his credits include model-making for Doctor Who, Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends, and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Tim returned to music with the release of his first solo album, aMIGO, in 2005. Since then he has released Two Late (2018), Parallel World (2020), How High (2021, with Paul Stewart) and Wayward Child (2023).