Modern British School Logo for the band Smile, featuring Brian May, Roger Taylor and Tim Staffell gouache 49 x 69.5cm Provenance: Used in the 1973 charity production of Tommy the Rock Opera Gifted to the present owner by Lou Reizner Acquired directly from Lou Reizner, the then head of Mercury Records’ European operations, the present lot was used as the set dressing for the 1973 charity production of Tommy the Rock Opera starring The Who, Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood, Sandy Denny, Steve Winwood and Peter Sellers. Staged at the Rainbow Theatre, Finsbury Park, the production was held to benefit the mental health charity, the Richmond Fellowship. In addition to having been used in Reizner’s 1973 production, this striking image was previously known as the logo for the band Smile. Widely regarded as the precursor to Queen, the band members for Smile, who consisted of Brian May, Roger Taylor and Tim Staffell, were signed to Mercury Records by Reizner in 1969. In 1970, after Staffell left Smile to play with Humpy Bong, May and Taylor were encouraged to continue playing by Farrokh Bulsara, a keen fan of the group. Bulsara soon joined May and Taylor as their lead vocalist and, at around the same time, changed his name to Freddie Mercury.