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The Band Smile was formed in 1968, by two students at Imperial College in London. Brian May and Tim Staffel needed a drummer to join them and placed a notice on the school's bulletin board. Roger Taylor auditioned for this group, and the beginning of a band Queen was formed. Smile lasted for only two years, when Tim went off to join another band. A friend of Tim and Roger's, Freddie Bulsara, left the band he was in and joined forces with Brian and Roger. and so, Queen was born. The group needed a bass player and began to look. In the early days, Queen went through 3 bass players before John Decon joined them in February, 1971. Queen first performed live on June 27, 1970. At this time, Freddie decided to change his last name to Mercury. The Band was now complete. Throughout their recording careers, it would remain the same. Freddie Mercury (lead vocals & piano), Brian May (lead guitar, vocals, keyboard), Roger Taylor (drums, vocals, keyboard), John Deacon (bass guitar). Band members often played additional instruments, on occasion learning new instruments for a particular song .
September 5. 1946 - November 24, 1991 Freddie Mercury Freddie was born "Farookh Bulsara" in Zanzibar off the coast of Tanaznia. He got the nickname Freddie while he was in school, and later changed his name to Mercury when Queen was getting started. When Freddie was eight, he was sent to St. Peter's Boarding School, near Bombay. It was during this period that the headmaster of the school recognized Freddie's musical talent and suggested to his parents to piano lessons. He was also involved in the school theater and choir. It was at this school Freddie formed his first band, the Hectics. In 1964, Freddie's family moved to England due to political unrest in their country, and in 1966, he enrolled in Ealing College of the Arts, to study graphic illustration. While in school,he met a fellow student Tim Staffell who introduced him to the band Smile. Watching Smile made Freddie realize he wanted to be in a band himself, so after he finished his diploma in graphic art and design he joined a band called Ibex, taking over lead vocals from the guitarist. Freddie died November 24, 1991 (approx. 7:00pm, London time). Only the day before had he announced to the world that he was ill with AIDS.
Brian May born July 19, 1947 Brian was born in Twickenham, England and began learning to play the piano at age 5, and the ukulele by the time he was 6. Brian received his first acoustic guitar on his 7th birthday and soon began altering it to make it more manageable and to give it an electric sound. By the time Brian was in his mid teens, he was no longer satisfied playing an acoustic guitar with pickups added. He wanted an electric guitar, but was something his family couldn't afford. Brian's father was an electronics engineer, and Brian himself was a talented physics student planning a career in astronomy, so they decided to work together and build Brian a new guitar to the specifications he wanted. They'd both had experience in wood and metal working. They began building the guitar in August 1963 when Brian was 16. The materials for the guitar came from some unique and unusual places. The neck is made from mahogany from an old fireplace, the body mostly of oak, and the tremolo assembly included a knife edge and two motorbike valve springs. The fret markers are made from old pearl buttons. Brian originally wound his own pickups for the guitar, as he had for his first guitar, but he didn't like the resulting sound so he finally purchased Burns pickups. He didn't care for the microphonic sound, so he filled them with epoxy. Brian's guitar quickly became known as the "Red Special". Instead of using a regular pick, Brian found he like the sound achieved when using an old English sixpence coin. The sixpence hasn't been in circulation since the early '70's. In late 1992 or early 1993, Brian got the Royal Mint to make up coins using his likeness on the for use as picks.
Roger Taylor Born July 26, 1949 Roger was born in King's Lynn, Norfolk, England. His middle name is "Meddows" is a family name that had been passed down through the generations. At age eight after watching his cousin play guitar, Roger decided that he'd like to play. He first taught himself to play on a ukulele. Almost immediately, he and some friends formed a band called the "Bubblingover Boys" even though Roger says that none of them could really play at that time. When he was almost eleven, Roger was awarded a chord scholarship to the Truro Cathedral School. At about that time,he had saved enough to buy an inexpensive acoustic guitar and began to play it , but his interest was short-lived, and he found himself being more interested by the percussion side of things. In 1963, Roger started a band called the "Cousin Jacks" with Roger initially playing a rhythm guitar. He soon switched to the drums which he enjoyed much more. The band only lasted about a year.In 1965, Roger joined another band called "Johnny Quale and the Reaction". As it went through personnel changes, it eventually changed to "Reaction", and Roger played and sang with them for several years. While Roger was in London Hospital Medical School studying dentistry, a friend told him of a notice on the school's bulletin board. There was a new band looking for a drummer, so Roger contacted the people , and subsequently auditioned with Brian May and Tim Staffel for the position. The band "Smile" was born .
John Deacon Born August 19, 1951 John was born in Oadby, Leicester, England. John got his first guitar, a plastic "Tommy Steel" guitar, when he was seven. When he was 11, John started saving money from odd jobs and his paper route to buy himself an inexpensive acoustic guitar. John formed his first band "The Opposition" when he was 14, playing rhythm guitar for the group. A year later there was a vacancy in the band due to the last bass playing leaving. John decided to buy his first bass guitar and fill the spot.
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