Then At 1: Lazy Sunday

Ronnie Lane met Steve Marriott when he wanted to buy a bass guitar. There was a conversation between the two after which they agreed to listen to music together. That resulted in the formation of the Small Faces group.

They came up with that name because their group, in which Kenney Jnes and Jimmy Winston were also to play, did not consist of tall people in terms of stature. Dan Arden, who now manages British group The Nashville Teens, immediately saw the quality in the foursome and managed to get them to Decca for their first record. In 1965 it produced Whatcha Gonna Do About It, which was a modest hit in the United Kingdom. There was no successor and the group was renewed with Ian McLagan on keyboardist. In early 1966 they recorded Sha-La-La-La-Lee with which they made it to the top 3 of the UK hit list. In our country, the single meant their first Top 40 list. Hey Girl did slightly less on the UK charts with a tenth place afterward. When All Or Nothing was released in August, they scored their first UK number 1 hit within two weeks of its release. It wasn’t long before the hit ranked second in the Top 40. Later Ichycoo Park and Tin Soldier would also make the top 5 as well.

Lazy Sunday is a song from the concept album Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake, Small Faces’ third studio album at the time. The album was released in a round cover in the appearance of a snuff can, an idea borrowed from the tobacco variety Ogden’s Nut-Brown Flake. Marriott was inspired by an argument he had with a neighbor while writing the song. The backing tune also features (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction, the 1965 Rolling Stones hit, on the kazoo. A striking detail is that the group did not want the song released as a single, but the record label Soon decided otherwise. Lazy Sunday reached number 2 on the UK charts and was in the Top 40 for four weeks in first place. Lazy Sunday became their biggest hit in our country. In 1968 The Universal also made it into the Top 40. By the end of the year, it was clear that Small Face had had its day. At least; for Steve Marriot. While performing on New Year’s Eve, late in 1968, he shouted that he was going to quit. What few people know is that he was already working with Peter Frampton in the new group, Humble Pie. The Autumn Rock album was released in 1969 when the group broke up.

The remaining Small Faces continued as The Faces joining Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood who previously played in the Jeff Beck Group.

Winton Jensen

"Falls down a lot. General tv buff. Incurable zombie fan. Subtly charming problem solver. Amateur explorer."

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