[This story was originally run in Goldmine magazine, 1996. All rights reserved. No reproduction in whole or in part without express written permission of the authors. This is basically the band's story in their own words, with interviewers questions left in only when needed to make the answer make sense. It remains the only real story of the band as told by the band themselves. The interviews were conducted between 1984 and 1996 with all four band members. Ronnie Lane was too ill at the time to do an interview specifically for this piece, although he did get to read it, and he helped as much as he was able. He passed away on June 4, 1997. God bless him, everyone who knew him still misses him. Last year I compiled the best of his Austin recordings for release as Ronnie Lane Live in Austin (Sideburn Records). I gave this story a 'fresh' proof/edit in December 2003, with nothing new added to it, and deleted the discography and reviews of the best CDs available in '96 as they've been made redundant by the new UK (compiled by the band) and US CDs (compiled by this author) now in 2003. The intro is a bit dated now (Mac's bio still to come, the band's royalties were still under litigation), but I only made cosmetic changes, and left it as originally printed. Any comments in italicized parentheses are mine from 12/03. -- Kent H. Benjamin, Austin, TX]

SMALL FACES TALK TO YOU:
THE STORY OF THE SMALL FACES IN THEIR OWN WORDS
by Kent H. Benjamin, Ken Sharp, and John Hellier

Small Faces were the archetypal mod band. During their short tenure as a group, they were the epitome of cool. From the beginning of their recording career, they were virtually the best-dressed, sharpest looking band in England. A brilliant band live and in the studio, Small Faces featured one of the most dynamic and electrifying singers in all of rock'n'roll, Steve Marriott.You'd be hard-pressed to find a band that displayed more sheer passion and incendiary energy. Beyond their cool image, another engaging aspect of the Small Faces was the genuine camaraderie and friendship that flourished among the members. A gang of four Jack the Lads, the group even lived together in a London home for a period of time. Like the Beatles, they were a select in-group with only four members.

Astonishingly, in only 2 1/2 years time, the songwriting team of Marriott and Ronnie Lane turned out an amazing string of twelve Top Forty hits. Talk about prolific! Small Faces were also the first band to brazenly champion recreational drug use in such songs as "Here Come the Nice," "Itchycoo Park," and "Eddie's Dreaming." Sadly, they were also perhaps the most ripped-off and under-appreciated of all the great English bands; as of early 1996, they still receive no royalties for any of their records, and were paid a measly 20 pounds a week during their teen scream heyday. [Editor's note: this has thankfully been put right now, in no small part due to Kenney Jones' efforts!]

Small Faces achieved the dubious honor of having not one but two manipulative managers -- Don Arden and Andrew Loog Oldham, and one of the most maddening and hard-to-untangle messes of released product of any major British act. The band itself released only 12 singles during its career, and three albums (Small Faces on Decca in early 1966, Small Faces on Immediate in June 1967, and Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake on Immediate in 1968). Amazingly, there were another four singles released by different managers without the band's approval/and/or after leaving the label, and three more albums released without their knowledge (From the Beginning on Decca, also in June 1967, There Are But Four Small Faces in America in early 1968 -- part of the British Immediate album with 5 singles/b-sides, and the posthumous The Autumn Stone in 1969 on Immediate). During the 1970s, there were literally dozens of albums released in various countries with odd mish-mashes and mismatches of material, and even releases under their name in which the material on the record wasn't even the band. There were also Small Faces releases credited to Rod Stewart that were in fact the Marriott-led incarnation of the band. The world of the Small Faces on compact disc gets somewhat less confusing -- even though like the vinyl era, no one paid the band or consulted with them about the releases. At least one consolation is that some of the CDs were done by fans, particularly after The Jam -- one of the two biggest bands to come out in England in the '70s -- covered a song by Small Faces and Jam leader Paul Weller listed them as their favorite group and one of their most profound influences.

In 1996, Small Faces are more popular in England than at any time since their break-up; many of the hottest acts in England -- Paul Weller, Oasis, Blur, and Supergrass to name a few -- all list them as one of their all-time favorite bands. In a recent Arena TV (British) program called Punk and the Pistols, the Sex Pistols listed both the Small Faces and their subsequent incarnation as the Faces as being their biggest influence. Plans are currently afoot for a Small Faces all-star tribute album with such acts as Weller, Primal Scream, Squeeze, and Glen Matlock taking part. Two boxed sets of the Immediate Records material were released late last year, and a boxed set of Decca material has just been issued. In November, Granada Television screened a half-hour special on the band as part of it's My Generation series of Sixties artist retrospectives.

The four founding members of Small Faces all went on to successful careers after the original band split. Steve Marriott left the group in early 1969 to form Humble Pie. The remaining three members (Ronnie Lane, Ian McLagan, and Kenney Jones) formed The Faces with the addition of Ron Wood and Rod Stewart, and went on to become one of the top touring acts in the world in the early '70s. Lane quit the band on Easter of 1973, and formed Slim Chance, which predated the whole acoustic, 'unplugged' era by nearly two decades, touring in a gypsy caravan. The Faces continued until 1975 with a bassist recruited because he liked to drink champagne, at which time, Rod Stewart left to pursue his solo career full-time and Ron Wood joined the Rolling Stones.

McLagan played sessions with the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Paul Weller and the Georgia Satellites. His most noted session work was with the Rolling Stones for the Some Girls record and tour. Mac (as he's called by his friends) released several solo albums, and lived in L.A. for over a decade before moving to a small town outside Austin, Texas, in the Nineties. Married to Kim Kerrigan Moon, Mac has just completed an extensive world tour with Rod Stewart, and is putting the finishing touches on an autobiography. Jones joined the Who as an equal partner in 1979 after Keith Moon's death. Lane contracted multiple sclerosis (MS) during the recording sessions for Rough Mix, a 1977 album he recorded with Pete Townshend. Subsequently he formed the A.R.M.S. organization, which was launched with a famous all-star benefit concert put on by Lane's friends, including Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page. He moved briefly to Houston before relocating to Austin, Texas, where he performed locally with various all-star line-ups comprised of local musicians, including Alejandro Escovedo, J. D. Foster, Jon Dee Graham, and Susan Voelz. He currently lives in Trinidad, Colorado, with his wife Susan and their family. Sadly his debilitating MS prevents him from being actively involved in music; he spends most of his time confined in a wheel chair. Marriott made Humble Pie one of the most popular touring acts on the American circuit in the early Seventies, reformed Small Faces in 1976 and 1978, and toured throughout the Eighties with a succession of less well-known line-ups including Packet Of Three. He died in a fire in his house in Arkesden, Essex on April 20, 1991.

For the first-time ever, this is the true story of the Small Faces, from their formation in late 1964 until their acrimonious demise in early 1969, as told in their own words. We used an interview with Ian "Mac" McLagan conducted by frequent Goldmine contributor Ken Sharp in February, 1996, in Philadelphia while he was on tour with Rod Stewart, as the basic template for this piece. Small Faces expert John Hellier, who publishes the The Darlings of Wapping Wharf Launderette E.1 fanzine in England, contributed three unpublished interviews with Steve Marriott from the Eighties; the primary source is from an interview Hellier conducted with him in Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire on 24 February 1984, and additional material is from Neil Morgan on 20 July 1987 was used, along with a few quotes from the third piece. We also used a radio interview from KLBJ with Marriott conducted by Ed Mayberry that was taped when Packet of Three played Austin in the October of 1986. Ronnie Lane is featured in several interviews from Jody Denberg, currently the program director for AAA radio station KGSR in Austin; the bulk of the material was culled from a KLBJ Critic's Choice program from 13 April 1986, and from an interview by Kent Benjamin for Austin television taped on 5 March 1988. Kenney Jones was interviewed by Ken Sharp and Kent Benjamin at his home in England in April 1996. This piece was transcribed, compiled, and edited by Kent Benjamin in Austin in March-April, 1996; the explanatory notes in parentheses are Kent's.

CAST OF CHARACTERS:
Steve Marriott: vocals, guitar, keyboards for Small Faces
Ronnie "Plonk" Lane: vocals, bass for Small Faces
Ian "Mac" McLagan: Hammond organ, piano, occasional guitar, vocals for Small Faces
Kenney Jones: drummer for Small Faces
Jimmy Winston: original organist/rhythm guitarist, and vocals for Small Faces
Don Arden: original Small Faces manager during the Decca years; father of Sharon
Andrew Loog Oldham: Immediate Records co-owner, 2nd manager of the Small Faces, and manager of the Rolling Stones
Tony Calder: co-owner of Immediate Records

LINK to INDIVIDUAL CHAPTERS OF THE STORY:

From the Beginning

Four Small Faces

Glory Days

Studio Cats

The Songs

Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake

Touring America

Party Central

We Are The Mods

Influences

Small Faces As Musicians

D.I.V.O.R.C.E.

Reunions

Afterglow

Copyright April 1996, Kent Benjamin, Ken Sharp, John Hellier, Austin, TX/Philadelphia PA. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited without the express written permission of the copyright holders. Reproduced on www.ianmclagan.com with permission.

"For Nice is the music, forever and ever, amen."

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