The Darlings Of Wapping Wharf: The Small Faces

Small Faces. Big Sound. None of them were above five feet six inches tall. But despite being a group of diminished stature, this will not be a short history.

In the sleeve notes to the double CD collection Small Faces: The Decca Anthology 1965-1967, respected music writer Paolo Hewitt points out that 'it all happened in a very short space of time. At the start of 1965, they were complete unknowns. One year later, they were famous.'

Ronald Frederick 'Plonk' Lane was born in Plaistow on 1 April 1946, 'a funny guy too, and even though he could be excitable, he was a lot more relaxed than Steve' (Marriott, according to Ian McLagan). Why 'Plonk'? For the same - but opposite - penis-related reason that Tich of Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich was called Tich. To Pete Townshend, Ronnie 'liked the same music as I did: he liked to drink and smoke a little grass; he was funny, sincere, artistic, creative, gifted and down to earth. In some respects, he was a typical London East Ender.'

After leaving school at 16, Ronnie met drummer Kenney Jones (born 16 September 1948 in Whitechapel) at a local pub. Kenney 'was quieter, but once he got started, and when he got a word in edgewise, he was hilarious' (Ian McLagan). The two promptly formed a beat group called The Outcasts. Initially playing lead guitar, Ronnie quickly switched to bass guitar, and when he was prospecting for a Harmony bass, he visited the Manor Park 'J60 Music Bar', where he happened to meet bright and sparky employee Steve Marriott.

'I'd like to have a look at that bass over there', said Ronnie. 'Oh, that's the best bass in the shop. That's a great bass!' said Steve. An animated banter about the merits of various instruments ensued, during which they discovered a mutual interest in James Brown, Sue Records and Bobby 'Blue' Bland. Lane bought his bass and accepted Steve's invitation to visit his home after-hours, where he was impressed by Steve's extensive collection of Motown and Stax records. 'This opened my ears considerably', recalled Ronnie.

Steve was dark and dynamic, small but 'larger than life. A cartoon of a person' (according to Ian McLagan). At that time, he was a member of an R&B group called The Moments. Formed in late 1963 when he was still only 16, The Moments started out as the Frantiks, or sometimes the Frantik Ones, but later became Steve Marriott & The Moonlights until they finally settled on the Moments. With Steve was Johnny Herve, Tony McIntyre, Colin Green and Dennis Thompson. Marriott would sometimes invite girlfriend Adrienne Posta to share vocals with him on duets. They'd met when they were both 'Italia Conti Academy' pupils.

The Moments even got as far as recording a revived version of Cliff Richard's debut hit 'Move It'. written by Ian Samwell, who would later figure in The Small Faces story. Former Shadows' drummer Tony Meehan was induced to help with production. Despite the single being hawked around several major record companies, it generated no interest, and the track was never released. When the despondent Thompson and Herve quit, Marriott changed the group's name to Steve Marriott & The Moments. The new lineup now had Barry Hewitt on bass, Tony McIntyre on drums, Steve on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, plus former Johnny Kidd & The Pirates guitarist Johnny Weider and Allen Ellett on keyboards and vocals. An EP, Steve Marriott's Moments, issued on 6 October 2008 (Acid Jazz AJX210S), gathers 'Money Money', 'Good Morning Blues', 'You Really Got Me', and 'You'll Never Get Away From Me.' Their increasing R&B orientation attracted the attention of manager Tony Calder - who would also later figure in The Small Faces story as co-founder of the Immediate label.

The Moments played gigs as frequently as six nights a week, including spots at 'The Flamingo' and 'The 100 Club', each earning a wage of £30 a week - £10 more than Don Arden would pay Steve as a member of The Small Faces! They generated a loyal Mod following around their East End stomping ground with forays into Essex. At 'Attic Fanatics' at 'The Attic Club' - 1A High Street, Hounslow - punters paid 3/6d to see the 'Raving R&B' of Steve Marriott's Moments at 7:30 pm on Tuesday, 18 August 1964. They began writing their own blend of Soul and fast & furious R&B. Written jointly by Marriott and Ellet, their next recording endeavour was called 'A Touch Of The Blues.' The other half of Immediate Records and machiavellian Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham saw them play and was sufficiently impressed with Steve's vocals that he agreed to produce the record, although it lingered unreleased.

Steve briefly changed the group's name to the Wondering Ones around March 1964 but promptly changed it back to The Moments in time to play a historic gig at the Rainham 'Albion' where Ronnie Lane's Outcasts happened to share the bill.

Oddly, Steve's debut on vinyl had come singing 'Consider Yourself' as the Artful Dodger in the New Theatre original cast recording of the Oliver musical, with Ian Carmichael as Fagan (World Record Club TP151 in 1962, CD reissue Old Thundridge Records RIB001, 2013). Producer Shel Talmy writes:

Steve Marriott was one of the most talented artists I've worked with and also one of the most mercurial. His mood changes were legendary, kinda like dealing with an unexploded time bomb and not knowing when it was skedded to go off!'

According to the many things written about Steve, he was mad about music from a very early age and had become fairly proficient on both guitar and harmonica (mouth-harp) by the time he was thirteen.

What he didn't know was that in 1962, Steve's father spotted an ad placed in a London newspaper by Lionel Bart, author of the very successful 'Oliver', based, of course, on the classic Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist. Bart was searching for a replacement for a major 'Oliver' character, the Artful Dodger. Mr Marriott hadn't told his son what he was doing when he applied for an audition, so Steve was surprised when he was selected to 'demonstrate his wares'! From all reports, Steve was undaunted and as a Buddy Holly fan, chose to sing 'Oh Boy', then showed his versatility by singing the Connie Francis hit 'Who's Sorry Now'!' Needless to say, he passed the audition.

(quoted with the kind permission of Shel Talmy).

'Any kid off the street could have got a part in Oliver. It wasn't hard', commented Steve dismissively in NME on 15 December 1984.

An issue of Fabulous 208 magazine (dated 11 June 1966) bemoans the lot of child stars, singling out Steve Marriott for special attention. 'Steve was a star at twelve. You can imagine what laws there were to 'protect' him then. It was don't do this, don't do that. There were laws going right back to the days of child labour in the mines! . it's great that the law protects the interests of the young, but must they go so far? Aren't you allowed to grow up at 16, and be responsible, and prepare to give something to society?'

In later productions, the Artful Dodger role was taken by future Monkee Davy Jones on Broadway and by Jack Wild in the movie.

But first, The Moments recorded an opportunistic American cover of The Kinks' 'You Really Got Me' for that same World Artists label, b/w 'Money Money' (WA 1032). Steve acquits himself well, but no one can really replicate Dave Davies' manic guitar break on the Kinks original, so he plays harmonica instead. For the slinky B-side, a Don Charles and Alan Caddy song, he throws in his trademark 'come on, children' and 'come on now, sing your song' plus another harmonica solo. Both sides eventually turn up as 2003 bonus tracks on the collection Small Faces (Charly Records SNAP 149CD). The Moments 'You Really Got Me' was also later salvaged onto the 2010 compilation Hits Of The Sixties (Disky MP 906471), while 'Money Money' turned up that same year on Dig The New Breed from the Acid Jazz label AJXCD223. In February 2006, 'Money Money' also became part of a Steve Marriott triple-CD retrospective, Tin Soldier (Castle Music CMETD935), which gathers Humble Pie and Packet Of Three material, too.

But when the single bombed, Ellet promptly quit the group. Then, in October 1964, in a bizarre move, the Moments told Steve Marriott he was no longer required! They considered Steve lacked the maturity to make it. Steve went on to greater things. The Moments never had their moment in the big time.

Give Her My Regards - Steve Marriott single

'Give Her My Regards' (Kenny Lynch) 1:55 b/w 'Imaginary Love' (Steve Marriott) 2:15

Released: 1963, Decca F 11619, Belinda Recordings. No chart placing

The 1960s was a trip.

The sixties was a decade that tells a story in ways that other decades do not. On a rising curve from the poverty and post-war austerity of the preceding decade, the world was expanding. It's a storybook narrative that begins with pages in crisp black and white before it moves through a gradual evolution of rising expectations into new explosions of gaudy colour.

The essential point to grasp...