Editing Queen (band) (section)

===1968–1971: Foundations===
The founding members of Queen met in west London during the late 1960s. Guitarist [[Brian May]] had built [[Red Special|his own guitar]] with his father in 1963, and formed the group 1984 (named after [[Nineteen Eighty-Four|Orwell's novel]]) the following year with singer [[Tim Staffell]].{{sfn|Blake|2010|pp=30,32–33}} May left the group in early 1968 to focus on his degree in Physics and Infrared Astronomy at [[Imperial College London|Imperial College]] and find a group that could write original material.{{sfn|Blake|2010|pp=37,44,64}} He formed the group [[Smile (band)|Smile]] with Staffell (now playing bass) and keyboardist Chris Smith.{{sfn|Blake|2010|p=59}} To complete the line-up, May placed an advertisement on a college notice board for a "[[Mitch Mitchell]]/[[Ginger Baker]] type" drummer; [[Roger Taylor (Queen drummer)|Roger Taylor]], a young dental student, auditioned and got the job.{{sfn|Hodkinson|2004|p=118}} Smith left the group in early 1969, immediately before a gig at the [[Royal Albert Hall]] with [[Free (band)|Free]] and the [[Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band]].{{sfn|Blake|2010|p=62}}

[[File:Queen @ Imperial College campus - 1970.jpg|thumb|left|Queen in 1970. Left to right; Mike Grose (who was the first of the band's three early bass players before John Deacon joined in 1971), Roger Taylor, Freddie Mercury and Brian May]]
While attending [[Ealing Art College]] in west London, Staffell became friends with fellow student [[Freddie Mercury|Farrokh "Freddie" Bulsara]], who was from [[Zanzibar]] and of Indian [[Parsi]] descent.{{sfn|Blake|2010|p=44}}<ref>{{cite news |title=Freddie Mercury's complex relationship with Zanzibar |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-45900712 |access-date=28 February 2019 |agency=BBC |archive-date=25 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181025001722/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/world-africa-45900712 |url-status=live }}</ref> Bulsara had studied fashion design for a year before switching to graphic art and design,{{sfn|Blake|2010|p=56-57}} and soon became a keen fan of Smile. He asked if he could join the group as lead singer, but May felt Staffell would not give up that role.{{sfn|Blake|2010|p=65}} He also ran a stall in [[Kensington Market, London|Kensington Market]] with Taylor.{{sfn|Dean|1986|p=7}}

[[File:Queen First Public Performance Here 18 July 1970.jpg|thumb|upright|[[PRS for Music]] heritage award at [[Prince Consort Road]] commemorating Queen's first performance in London]]
In 1970, Staffell quit Smile, feeling his interests in [[Soul music|soul]] and [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]] clashed with the group's hard rock sound and being fed up with the lack of success. He formed the group [[Humpy Bong]] with former [[Bee Gees]] drummer [[Colin Petersen]].{{sfn|Blake|2010|pp=92–93}} The remaining members accepted Bulsara as lead singer, and recruited Taylor's friend Mike Grose as bassist. The four played their first gig at a fundraising event in [[Truro]] on 27 June 1970.{{sfn|Blake|2010|p=95}} Bulsara suggested the group should be renamed to "Queen". The others were uncertain at first, but he said, "it's wonderful, dear, people will love it".{{sfn|Blake|2010|p=95}} At the same time, he decided to [[Name change#United Kingdom|change his surname]] to Mercury, inspired by the line "Mother Mercury, look what they've done to me" in the song "[[Queen (Queen album)#"My Fairy King"|My Fairy King]]".{{sfn|Blake|2010|p=96}} The group played their first London gig on 18 July.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-21669973 |title=Heritage award to mark Queen's first gig |publisher=bbc.co.uk |date=5 March 2013 |access-date=22 June 2018 |archive-date=26 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326015501/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-21669973 |url-status=live }}</ref> The early set consisted of material that later appeared on the first two albums, along with various rock and roll covers, such as [[Cliff Richard]] and [[the Shadows]]' "[[Please Don't Tease]]". They attracted the attention of producer [[John Anthony (record producer)|John Anthony]], who was interested in the group's sound but thought they had the wrong bass player.{{sfn|Blake|2010|p=96}} After three live gigs, Mike Grose decided not to continue with the band and was replaced by Barry Mitchell (ex [[Crushed Butler]]). Mitchell played thirteen gigs with Queen between August 1970 and January 1971.{{sfn|Blake|2010|p=97}} In turn, Mitchell left in January 1971 and was replaced by Doug Bogie for two live gigs.{{sfn|Blake|2010|pp=102,105}}