The members of a band may change a lot over the years as a result of different circumstances. The team that reaches the top can end up being an entirely different group of people from those who started everything since it is a common practice to leave a band for various reasons in the music industry. The histories of some of our favorite bands are filled with these kinds of scenarios.
Opting to take a different course with your music career is not a foreign concept, and it’s actually understandable. Still, these decisions may cause a lot of lost opportunities. In the long run, you can turn into an unknown figure in music history. In fact, some really well-known bands were founded by people whose names we have never heard of in our lives. Queen is a great example of that.
The band changed three bassists until they found John Deacon, who played with them for over 20 years. The first bassist Queen hired was Mike Grose. Apparently, in the years the band was first formed, Grose played three gigs with them. He reportedly thought that the band had potential but was not patient enough to wait. Thus, he left Queen.
With that move, he opened the way for Deacon to be known as ‘the bassist’ of Queen eventually. Now, Grose is known only by his name, with little to no information about him. He only gained a little recognition in 2019 when Brian May honored his name on his Instagram and Facebook pages upon his death.
The guitarist expressed his sadness over his former bandmate in his Instagram post. He also outlined Grose’s background as one of the Queen’s original members and his contributions to its early activities. He ended the text by thanking the late musician and sending his condolences.
May’s post in 2019 read:
“Yes — not a jolly time for us. Mike Grose was Queen’s first bass player. Around 1970, Roger invited him to come up to London from Cornwall to rehearse with us, putting those first songs together. He was a powerful figure with powerful gear! His sound was massive and monolithic! In the end, the liaison didn’t work out, but we owe Mike gratitude for helping us take those first steps. RIP Mike. Bri.”
Mike Grose became one of the first members and the first bassist of Queen in 1970. Yet, he could not make a name for himself after his departure from the band. Still, it’s obvious that, even though things didn’t work out between him and the rest of the members, he affected Brian May. He is apparently grateful for Mike’s presence in the band’s first year, although it was short.
