Displaying items by tag: the Small Faces

Many of us who are into the Mod scene appreciate what is termed as Madras. From, shirts to jackets, to shorts and trousers, any discerning Mod, Modernist, Ivy League fan, or stylish geezer should own something that is a summer staple among the stylish. Here is a short history of how Madras became popular in the Western world.

Robert Stigwood was born in 1934 in Adelaide, South Australia and was educated at Sacred Heart College. He began his career as a copywriter for a local advertising agency but in 1955, aged 21 he moved to England. At first, he took odd jobs including working as an assistant in the institution for "teenage boys" in East Anglia.

In the liner notes to P.P. Arnold’s long-overdue release The Turning Tide, Barry Gibb refers to the singer as “a girl inside a woman. Childlike in many ways, and yet her voice was somehow ancient.” His words only begin to describe a too-oft-overlooked voice of the sixties, and the artist behind that voice, whom he brought into the studio to record ten tracks in 1969.

This brilliant musical documentary tells the story of Ronnie Lane from his heyday with first the Small Faces and then the Faces through the sixties and seventies and then his experiments with a rural life and the touring musical circus that he dubbed The Passing Show. Finally it charts his latter days once he developed Multiple Sclerosis. Featuring numerous musical clips and interviews with family, friends and colleagues including Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend, Ian McLagan, Kenney Jones, Glyn Johns, Henry McCullough, Joe Ely and many more.

In the summer of 1991, I was running a fanzine entitled Positive Energy of Madness. Issues were sporadic as most fanzines were back in the day.

A documentary tells the story of Ronnie Lane from his heyday with first the Small Faces and then the Faces through the sixties and seventies and then his experiments with a rural life and the touring musical circus that he dubbed The Passing Show.

Documentary retrospective on the very influential British Invasion band, the Small Faces. Includes archival interviews with Ronnie Lane and Steve Marriott

© Words - Val Weedon

Ian McLagan was a keyboard player best known as a member of the Small Faces and Faces.  He sadly died on December 3rd following complications from a stroke.  

© Words Matteo Sedazzari
When the album opens up with Steve Marriott  bragging at the start “I've got a new axe, it's gonna make me rock hard man! “, you just know you are about  to enter into a loud, powerful and epic voyage of pure rock ‘n’ roll.  And if you were lucky enough to be in attendance at the Fillmore you certainly got your money’s worth, as you do with this album.   Marriott and the boys play more than just a gig, they give a heroic performance that can now be remembered for the worth that it should.

I've been long excited about The Action's "In The Lap Of The Mods" book like it was the second coming.  The Action, along with The Small Faces, The Kinks and David Bowie are my favourite 60's artists.  From their first single as The Boys all the way down to the material cut before they became Mighty Baby (released in the 80's on a mini LP "Speak Louder Than") and even lead singer Reg King's 1971 solo LP I'm all on board as a one man American cheering section. I'm still, 18 years later, slowly wrapping my head around Mighty Baby.