Smile were an English rock band based in London, and the predecessor to rock band Queen. The band was formed in 1968 by Brian May, who went on to become Queen's guitarist. It included Tim Staffell as lead singer and bass guitarist, and later, drummer Roger Taylor, who also went on to play for Queen. They recorded only six songs and disbanded in 1970. These songs were titled "April Lady", "Step on Me", "Polar Bear", "Earth", "Blag", and "Doin' Alright" (later re-recorded by Queen for their self-titled debut album in 1973). These songs exist on the CD Ghost of a Smile. "April Lady" was dedicated to Roger Taylor's girlfriend at the time. History Hampton School mates and guitarists Tim Staffell and Brian May joined other friends to form a musical group in 1965 called "1984". They played many gigs in West London, opening for more famous bands, and they recorded four cover songs at Thames Television in May 1967, as well as "Step On Me" written by May and Staffell. In early 1968, first May then Staffell left the group. May was an astrophysics student at London's Imperial College, and Staffell was enrolled at Ealing Art College. They linked up with keyboardist Chris Smith, another Ealing student, and they decided to form a new band. They placed an advertisement on the college notice board for a "Ginger Baker type" drummer, and a young dental student named Roger Taylor auditioned on bongos (his drum kit was elsewhere) and got the job. The band debuted by opening for either Pink Floyd or the Troggs (stories differ) at Imperial College in October 1968, but Smith was frustrated with the hard-rocking band's lack of interest in traditional blues, and he quit or was fired in February 1969. The band was now a trio for their biggest public performance on 27 February 1969 at a concert in aid of the National Council for the Unmarried Mother and Her Child, held at the Royal Albert Hall. May, Taylor and Staffell performed on guitar, drums and bass respectively. Smile gigged quite a bit on the London scene, according to Time Outs listings. On 19 April they played at the Speakeasy, and on 31 May appeared at the Whisky-A-Go-Go. In March 1969, the band played at a venue known as PJ's, using claims to have previously been played on BBC Radio 1 to secure an audience. It seems