I wanted to break free ... so I stormed out on Queen warning them: You’re going nowhere
IN THE hit movie Bohemian Rhapsody, a young Freddie Mercury gets his big break when the founder members of Queen are dumped by their lead singer.
The year is 1970 and frontman Tim Staffell tells Brian May and Roger Taylor that as the band, then called Smile, are going nowhere together, he is leaving for a band called Humpy Bong.
Five years later, Mercury led Queen to world domination with the No 1 smash which gave the biopic its name. Humpy Bong fizzled out within a year.
Yesterday Staffell said he had no regrets about the “sliding doors” moment which gave birth to a rock legend, but led him into a more homely existence.
The happily-married father-offour, 70, lives in a Victorian semi in the middle-class suburb of Richmond, south-west London.
Homely
His life trajectory could not differ more than that of Mercury, who died tragically young at 45 after contracting Aids.
As Queen sold up to 300 million records, Staffell drifted out of the music industry, but remained friends with surviving Queen members, began recording music again and was drafted in to sing on the movie.
“Although I was envious of them, I wanted a more homely existence,” he said.
“I’m so glad I didn’t go on the road because I just couldn’t cope with it. What I really wanted to do was write songs, record them in the studio and maybe do the odd gig close to home.”
Staffell’s musical journey began at Hampton Grammar School, south-west London, where Brian May, Queen’s lead guitarist, was also a pupil. He began playing acoustic guitar aged 14 and sang and played with a school band called the Railroaders, then was the lead vocal with a blues-rock outfit called 1984.
With 1984, he had a regular gig at Vesta rowing club in Wandsworth and was on the bill at an all-night gig at Olympia, which included Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd and Traffic.
Staffell had also started a graphics and drawing course at Ealing Art College, where fellow students included Mercury, then known as Farrokh Bulsara.
“He used to say, ‘Some day I’m going to be a superstar’ and everybody used to say, ‘Yeah, sure you are Freddie’,” Staffell said.
He was a civilised guy, not rough round the edges. 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.”
Staffell and May formed Smile in 1968 and brought Roger Taylor in as drummer. But after two years, Staffell decided to leave Smile for folk rock band Humpy Bong.
Mercury, played in the film by American Rami Malek, persuaded May and Taylor to take him on as Smile’s lead singer, then changed the band’s name to Queen.
Smile’s most-recognised song Doin’ Alright was included on Queen’s first album and is performed in the movie.
Staffell said: “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.”
May wanted Staffell to sing the Smile lyrics rather than Jack Roth, the son of Hollywood star Tim, who plays him in the brief dumping scene.
Staffell said: “I never knew if I could still hack it so I went down to Abbey Road and apparently the boy done good.
“Then they said, ‘Will you overdub the bass as well?’ and it made perfect sense.
“Then they said were using it for the soundtrack album and ever since then I’ve been bathing in the glow.”
Tim Staffell’s second album is available via iTunes, Amazon and Spotify or via his website: www.timstaffell.com