Small Faces, Humble Pie

(b. 30 January 1947, London, England, d. 20 April 1991, Essex, England)

Steve Marriott died April 20 1991 in his sleep when fire swept his home in England…  The Small Faces were the best English band never to hit it big in America. On this side of the Atlantic, all anybody remembers them only for is their sole stateside hit, “Itchycoo Park” — but in England, the Small Faces were one of the most extraordinary and successful bands of the mid-’60s; their music remains some of the most valuable and enjoyable of the era.  Lead singer/guitarist Steve Marriott’s formal background was on the stage; as a young teenager, he’d auditioned and won the part of The Artful Dodger in the Lionel Bart musical Oliver!. Marriott was earning his living at a music shop when he made the acquaintance of Ronnie Lane (bass, backing vocals), who had formed a band called the Pioneers, which included drummer Kenney Jones. Lane invited Marriott to jam with the Pioneers at a show they were playing at a local club — the gig was a disaster, but out of that show the group decided to turn their talents toward American R&B. The band — with Marriott now installed permanently and Jimmy Winston recruited on organ — cast its lot with a faction of British youth known as the Mods, stylish posers who, among their other attributes, affected a dandified look and a fanatical love of American R&B. The quartet, now christened the Small Faces (“face” being a piece of Mod slang for a fashion leader), began making a name for themselves on stage, sparked by the group’s no-holds-barred performance style.  The quartet was signed by manager Don Arden, and brought to Decca/London to record. The band’s debut single, “What’cha Gonna Do About It,” was released in August of 1965 and reached number 14 on the charts…~ http://www.geocities.com/ederveen2/bio.html  discography