從今天開始，如果你還不知道誰是“SMILE“，那你就太遜了。在北歐，來自

瑞典的少女二人組“SMILE“正掀起一陣旋風。在各廣播電臺及知名舞廳都可聽見她們的歌，聲勢之盛無人可及，嚴然是目前最當紅的偶像團體。首張同名專輯“SMILE“發行之後，立即深獲當在青少年的喜愛，不僅銷售成績令人側目，更直逼排行榜冠軍寶座，更獲選爲最受歡迎專輯，可謂一鳴驚人。


“SMILE“是由NINA和VERONICA兩人所組成，與一般偶像團體不同的是，她們兩人絕非泛泛之輩。在組成“SMILE“之前，她們兩人分別擁有自己的樂團，對於自己的演唱也各有所規劃。在瑞典極受重視的知名製作人ROBERT　UHLMANN原本就有意爲NINA製作一張專輯，在一個偶然的機會下，他見到了VERONICA，對VERONICA的表演大爲激賞，更進一步將她們兩人組成了“SMILE“本專輯由曾爲AQUA製作專輯的ROBERT　UHLMANN及ROBIN　REX兩位重量級怪才共同擔綱製作，果然不同凡響，走出EURO－DANCE的新風格，令人驚喜不已。


專輯中的首支單曲“SWEET　SENORITA“是一首極爲浪漫的歌曲，在傳統歐式舞曲的架構之中融入了西班牙的佛朗明哥式的和曲調，使原本就已充滿韻律動感的鬥牛舞顯得更加生動。快板的“TIC　TOC“全曲洋溢著年輕活力，讓人一聽就忍不住想隨著節奏舞動，已成爲歐洲各國舞廳中點播率最高的歌曲之一。含有濃厚亞洲風味的“BUTTERFLY“也是本專輯中難已忽略的一首歌，十分有趣的歌詞搭配上NINA與VERONICA兩人絕妙的和聲令人愛不釋手。“BOYS“絕對是下一首即將攻佔各大舞池的歌曲，朗朗上口的旋律和超重的節奏令人印象深刻，相信你一定也會愛上她們！


在中國，她們同樣有著數以萬計的擁護者，在中國最具影響力的文藝節目中能找到她們的蹤跡，在南寧民歌節，湖南衛視的春節聯歡晚會等節目中，她們的出現給晚會了帶來高潮，活力四射的節奏讓觀须S之舞動，使人雀躍，觀袀兦椴蛔越地為之歡呼，她們無疑是最閃亮的新星組合。



by Geoff Orens
Five years before the first Queen album was released, half of that future supergroup worked together in Smile, a hard rock outfit that played in the London and Cornwall area in the late '60s. Although the band never was able to commercially release any of their work during their 18-month existence, they did record six songs which finally saw domestic release in 1997 on the album Ghost of a Smile. Smile was formed at Imperial College in Kensington, London, in late 1968. Students Brian May (guitar) and Tim Staffell (bass, vocals) had previously worked together in the band 1984. After that group broke up, the two put an ad up on a school bulletin board looking for a "Ginger Baker/Mitch Mitchell-type drummer." Roger Taylor, who had previously sung lead vocals in the Reaction, was the best of those who auditioned and the new trio christened themselves Smile. Staffell designed a logo for the group which was a pair of large grinning red lips with glimmering white teeth and the band started gigging at Imperial College in October 1968. In early 1969, Smile supported such recently established acts as Pink Floyd and Yes and in February they even played a supporting gig at Royal Albert Hall in London. Focusing mostly on hard rock covers, the group would extend the songs they played to lengths of up to 20 minutes, changing tempos frequently. The group's reputation soon grew and Smile became Imperial College's house band. In the Cornwall area, where Roger Taylor grew up, the band also developed a solid fan base. At one of their gigs in April 1969, Smile were approached by an A&R man from Mercury Records America who offered them a deal to record a single. Lacking much original material, the band chose to record a Tim Staffell-penned track called "Earth," and backed it with "Step on Me," which had its birth with 1984. The group put down the tracks in June 1969, but Mercury ended up only pressing promotional copies of the single. However, the label retained enough interest in the group to book more studio time for them in September 1969. At De Lane Lea studios, Smile laid down three more songs, all originals, including "Doin' Alright," which was later performed by Queen. However, Staffell was beginning to lose interest in the group and became more attracted to American music. Meanwhile, May's astronomical studies at college were taking him away from the band for weeks at an end. Staffell left Smile in early 1970 and was replaced as vocalist by the flamboyant Freddie Mercury, who had been hanging around with the group for a couple years while also working in his own bands. Smile also added a new bass player, Mike Grose, and continued to perform sporadic gigs. Mercury had definite ideas of the directions where the band should go and by July 1970, Smile had been renamed Queen. Staffell later joined Humpty Bang who released on single, "Don't Be Too Long," and performed on Top of the Pops. He later joined the bands Outside and Morgan. The first commercial release of Smile material was a Japanese compilation that came out on record in 1982. Ghost of a Smile, released in 1997, finally saw the band's complete output released on an easily accessible compact disc.