Trivia / The Small Faces

• Black Sheep Hit: "Itchycoo Park", which was one of their less bluesy numbers.
  • Also "Lazy Sunday" which was probably influenced by The Kinks, and was a probable influence on Blur's "Parklife".
• He Also Did: Steve Marriott previously worked as a child actor, and played the Artful Dodger in an early West End production of Oliver!.
• One-Hit Wonder: In America, "Itchycoo Park" was the band's only notable hit.
• The Pete Best: Jimmy Winston, the band's original organist, never fit in particularly well with the group—Winston was older and taller than the other members, and occasionally tried to steal the spotlight from them. Ian McLagan, his replacement, fit the band's overall image better—Mc Lagan was 5'5" and even looked like he could have been Ronnie Lane's brother—and was a stronger keyboardist to boot (the dismissed Winston was actually more proficient on guitar than keys).
• What Could Have Been: The tracks the band recorded for their shelved fourth LP (eventually released posthumously along with several live tracks as The Autumn Stone) indicate at least a partial move in a heavier direction, comparable to early Led Zeppelin. In particular, "Wham Bam Thank You Mam" and "Call it Something Nice" feature heavy riffs and distorted guitars that would not be out of place in the following decade. Reportedly, Marriott wanted to bring in Peter Frampton to play lead guitar so that he could concentrate on singing and playing rhythm. However, the other members vetoed this idea flat-out, and it became a sore point for Marriott and led him to start his own band with Frampton.

---