Faces are an English rock band formed in 1969 by members of

Small Faces Small Faces were an English rock band from London, founded in 1965. The group originally consisted of Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones and Jimmy Winston, with Ian McLagan replacing Winston as the band's keyboardist in 1966. The ...

after lead singer and guitarist

Steve Marriott Stephen Peter Marriott (30 January 1947 – 20 April 1991) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He co-founded and played in the rock bands Small Faces and Humble Pie, in a career spanning over two decades. Marriott was inducted pos ...

left to form Humble Pie. The remaining Small Faces—

Ian McLagan Ian Patrick McLagan (; 12 May 1945 – 3 December 2014) was an English keyboardist, best known as a member of the rock bands Small Faces and Faces. He also collaborated with the Rolling Stones and led his own band from the late 1970s. He was i ...

(keyboards),

Ronnie Lane Ronald Frederick Lane (1 April 1946 – 4 June 1997) was an English musician and songwriter who is best known as the bass guitarist and founding member of Small Faces (1965–69) and subsequently Faces (1969–73). Lane formed Small Faces ...

(electric bass, vocals), and

Kenney Jones Kenneth Thomas "Kenney" Jones (born 16 September 1948) is an English drummer best known for his work in the groups Small Faces, Faces, and the Who. Jones was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 as a member of Small Faces/Faces ...

(drums and percussion)—were joined by

Ronnie Wood Ronald David Wood (born 1 June 1947) is an English rock musician, best known as an official member of the Rolling Stones since 1975, as well as a member of Faces and the Jeff Beck Group. Wood began his career in 1964, playing guitar with a ...

(guitar) and Rod Stewart (lead vocals), both from

the Jeff Beck Group The Jeff Beck Group was a British rock band formed in London in January 1967 by former Yardbirds guitarist Jeff Beck. Their innovative approach to heavy-sounding blues, rhythm and blues and rock was a major influence on popular music. Firs ...

, and the new line-up was renamed Faces. The band had a unique arrangement, as Rod Stewart had signed a separate solo recording contract with the Mercury label shortly before joining the group, which was signed to Warner's. Band members often contributed to Stewart's solo albums as contract players, and Faces live shows of the period would feature as much of Stewart's solo material as that of the band, which later fuelled tensions amongst them when they began to effectively be viewed as Stewart's 'backing band'. The group lacked a single main songwriter as from the beginning each member would work in tandem to offer songs for each of their albums (Stewart and Wood most often wrote together as a duo, as did Lane and Wood, while Lane would usually contribute at least one solo composition per album). While Stewart was the primary lead singer, both Lane and Wood would also sing lead vocals on several tracks (Lane usually sang lead on his own solo compositions). Their first two albums, '' First Step'' (1970) and ''

Long Player The LP (from "long playing" or "long play") is an analog sound storage medium, a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of rpm; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use of the "microgroove" groove specification; and ...

'' (1971), lacked a hit single, but their third album, 1971's '' A Nod Is As Good As a Wink... to a Blind Horse'', bolstered by the success of Stewart's solo work, became a worldwide hit, peaking at number 2 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

and number 6 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 album chart and spawning the band's first hit single, " Stay with Me". Tensions in the band came to a head during the recording of their fourth (and final) studio album, 1973's '' Ooh La La''. Ronnie Lane, who was a founder member of Small Faces, left over his diminished role in the band in 1973, and was replaced by

Tetsu Yamauchi is a Japanese retired bass guitarist. In the 1970s, he was a member of several popular hard rock bands, including Free, where he replaced former bassist Andy Fraser before the band's final album '' Heartbreaker'', and the Faces, where he replac ...

on bass. The band continued to tour throughout 1974 and 1975, releasing a live album, '' Coast to Coast: Overture and Beginners'', in 1974 that was jointly credited to Rod Stewart/Faces. Ronnie Wood also began to drift from the group over this period, releasing two solo albums of his own, and appearing as a guest musician on two

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

albums and joining them on tour in 1975. He was briefly replaced by

Jesse Ed Davis Jesse Edwin Davis III (September 21, 1944 – June 22, 1988) was a Native American guitarist. He was well regarded as a session artist and solo performer, was a member of Taj Mahal's backing band and played with musicians such as Eric Clapton, J ...

on guitars before the band broke up at the end of 1975. A greatest hits collection, ''

Snakes and Ladders / The Best of Faces ''Snakes and Ladders / The Best of Faces'' was an October 1976 best-of album (the 7th album and 2nd compilation album) by British rock group Faces. While the first released Faces compilation was a repackaging of the group's first two LPs as a d ...

'', appeared in 1976, and additional retrospective albums would appear over the subsequent decades. Stewart would continue his successful solo career, while Ronnie Wood would formally join the Rolling Stones as a permanent member in 1975. Kenney Jones joined

the Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

as a replacement for the deceased

Keith Moon Keith John Moon (23 August 19467 September 1978) was an English drummer for the rock band the Who. He was noted for his unique style of playing and his eccentric, often self-destructive behaviour and addiction to drugs and alcohol. Moon grew ...

in 1978. Ian McLagan would go on to work as a session and touring musician with a number of acts (including his own bands) throughout the 1970s until his death in 2014, while Ronnie Lane's activities in the music business (which included 1977's critically-lauded ''

Rough Mix ''Rough Mix'' is an album by the Who's guitarist Pete Townshend and former Small Faces and Faces bassist Ronnie Lane. The album was released in September 1977 as Polydor 2442 in the UK and MCA 2295 in the US. It peaked at number 44 on the UK a ...

'' collaboration with

Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is co-founder, leader, guitarist, second lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s. Townsh ...

) were severely curtailed by 1980 due to the onset of

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...

which forced his eventual retirement by the early 1990s. The original Small Faces would have a reunion during the mid to late 1970s with Marriott, Jones, and McLagan joined by

Rick Wills Richard William Wills (born 5 December 1947) is an English bass guitarist. He is best known for his work with the rock band Foreigner and his associations with the Small Faces, Peter Frampton, Spooky Tooth, David Gilmour, Bad Company and The J ...

on bass guitar, as Lane withdrew early due to his illness. A number of partial reunions of the Faces were rumored throughout the 2000s, with various one-off performances involving surviving members occurring. In 2010-2011 a brief reunion tour occurred with

Mick Hucknall Michael James Hucknall (born 8 June 1960) is an English singer and songwriter. Hucknall achieved international fame in the 1980s as the lead singer and songwriter of the soul-influenced pop band Simply Red, with whom he enjoyed a 25-year career ...

and

Glen Matlock Glen Matlock (born 27 August 1956) is an English musician, best known for being the bass guitarist in the original line-up of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols. He is credited as a songwriter on 10 of the 12 songs on the Sex Pistols' only alb ...

on vocals and bass respectively. In 2021, Jones, Stewart, and Wood reunited to record a new record. Faces and Small Faces were jointly inducted into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...

in 2012. Stewart was scheduled to perform with the rest of the band, but was unable to do so at the last minute due to illness; he was replaced by Hucknall.

History

The first collaboration among the future Faces was in a formation called Quiet Melon, which also featured Wood's older brother

Art Wood Arthur Wood (7 July 1937 – 3 November 2006) was a British blues, pop and rock singer, who led The Artwoods in the 1960s and subsequently became a graphic artist. He was the brother of Ronnie Wood of The Rolling Stones. Life Born in 193 ...

and

Kim Gardner Kim Gardner (27 January 1948 in Dulwich, London – 24 October 2001 in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles) was an English musician. He was part of the British Invasion of the US during the 1960s, and sound recording and reproduction, rec ...

; they recorded four songs and played a few shows in May 1969, during a break in Ronnie Wood's and Rod Stewart's commitments with The Jeff Beck Group. Later that summer Wood and Stewart parted ways with Beck and joined Lane, McLagan and Jones full-time. Prior to any releases by the new Faces lineup, Wood and McLagan appeared on Stewart's first solo album in 1969, '' An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down'' (known as ''The Rod Stewart Album'' in the US). The rest of the backing band on the album included drummer

Micky Waller Michael Waller (6 September 1941 – 29 April 2008) was an English drummer, who played with many of the biggest names on the UK rock and blues scene, after he became a professional musician in 1960. In addition to being a member, albeit sometim ...

keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instr ...

Keith Emerson Keith Noel Emerson (2 November 1944 – 11 March 2016) was an English keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer. He played keyboards in a number of bands before finding his first commercial success with the Nice in the late 1960s. He became ...

and guitarists

Martin Pugh Martin John Pugh is a British guitarist who came to prominence after joining blues-rock band Steamhammer in 1968, staying with that band through 5 years and 4 albums. The debut Steamhammer album, also known as '' Steamhammer'', was released ...

(of Steamhammer, and later

Armageddon According to the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Christian Bible, Armageddon (, from grc, Ἁρμαγεδών ''Harmagedōn'', Late Latin: , from Hebrew: ''Har Məgīddō'') is the prophesied location of a gathering of armies ...

and 7th Order) and

Martin Quittenton Martin Quittenton (22 April 1945 – 16 April 2015) was a British guitarist and composer. He played in the blues rock band Steamhammer, formed in 1968. Their debut album '' Steamhammer'' was released in 1969. Quittenton also worked with Rod Stew ...

(also from Steamhammer). With the addition of Wood and Stewart, the "small" part of the original band name was dropped, partly because the two newcomers (at 5'9" and 5'10" respectively) were significantly taller than the three former Small Faces. Hoping to capitalise on the Small Faces' earlier success, record company executives wanted the band to keep their old name; however, the band objected, arguing the personnel changes resulted in a group very different from the Small Faces. As a compromise, in the US their debut album was credited to the Small Faces, while subsequent albums appeared under their new name. The group regularly toured Britain, Europe and the United States from 1970 to 1975, and were among the top-grossing live acts in that period; in 1974 their touring also encompassed Australia, New Zealand and Japan. They toured the United States and Canada in 1975. Among their most successful songs were "Had Me a Real Good Time", their breakthrough UK hit " Stay with Me", "Cindy Incidentally" and " Pool Hall Richard". As Rod Stewart's solo career became more successful than that of the group, the band became overshadowed by their lead singer. A disillusioned

left the band in 1973; one reason given later for his departure was frustration over not having more opportunities to sing lead vocals. Lane's role as bassist was taken over by

(who had replaced

Andy Fraser Andrew McIan Fraser (3 July 1952 – 16 March 2015) was a British musician and songwriter, best known as the bassist and co-composer for the rock band Free, which he helped found in 1968 when he was 15. He also founded the rock band Sharks ...

in Free). Released just months before Lane left the band, the Faces' final studio album was '' Ooh La La''. The following year a live album was released, entitled '' Coast to Coast: Overture and Beginners''; it was criticised by reviewers for being poorly recorded and thought out. It featured selections from their late 1973 tour, the first featuring Yamauchi.Liner Notes for "Overture and Beginners" They recorded a few tracks for another studio album, but had lost enthusiasm and their final release as a group was the late 1974 UK Top 20 hit " You Can Make Me Dance, Sing or Anything". In 1975 Wood began working with

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

, which brought differences between Stewart and the others to a head, and after a troubled fall US tour (with

on rhythm guitar), in December the band announced that they were splitting.

Post-Faces

The members have had varied post-band careers. Wood joined the Rolling Stones and later became a full member with the departure of

Mick Taylor Michael Kevin Taylor (born 17 January 1949) is an English guitarist, best known as a former member of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (1967–1969) and the Rolling Stones (1969–1974). As a member of the Stones, h ...

, Lane formed Slim Chance and had a modest solo career that ended prematurely when he was diagnosed with

and he also worked on an album with

Who Who or WHO may refer to: * Who (pronoun), an interrogative or relative pronoun * Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism * World Health Organization Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Who, a creature in the Dr. Seuss book '' Horton He ...

guitarist

, ''

''. Jones joined the Who after the death of

; McLagan stated in a 2004 interview that Townshend also asked him to join the Who, but he had already promised

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

that he would tour as a Rolling Stones sideman. McLagan moved to the United States, where he formed Ian McLagan & the Bump Band. Tetsu Yamauchi returned to his native Japan, where he recorded and toured as a jazz musician and Stewart's solo career was extremely successful. There was also a Small Faces reunion in the late 1970s (without Ronnie Lane) that resulted in two albums; and in 1981 Ronnie Lane and Steve Marriott collaborated on the album ''The Legendary Majik Mijits''. Faces reformed for the encore of Rod Stewart's Wembley Stadium concert in 1986. Ronnie Lane, by then suffering from

, was on stage to sing in his wheelchair, but was unable to play bass; Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones filled in for him. The same line-up reunited once more (minus Lane) in 1993 when Rod Stewart was awarded the Lifetime Achievement award at the

Brit Awards The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

. Ronnie Lane made his final concert appearance in 1992 at a Ronnie Wood show with Ian McLagan on keyboards; Lane died in 1997. In 2004 a 4-disc Faces box set entitled '' Five Guys Walk into a Bar...'' was released by Rhino Records, featuring many of the band's most popular tracks as well as several previously unreleased songs. Drummer Kenney Jones formed a group called the Jones Gang, together with singer Robert Hart (formerly of

Bad Company Bad Company are an English rock supergroup that was formed in 1973 by singer Paul Rodgers, guitarist Mick Ralphs, drummer Simon Kirke and bassist Boz Burrell. Bad Company ''AllMusic'' Peter Grant, who managed the rock band Led Zeppelin, a ...

), Patrick Walford and bassist Rick Wills (formerly of Foreigner); in 2005 their first single "Angel" reached number 1 on the US

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

"hot singles sales" list. During 2004 and early 2005 the surviving Faces had several near-reunions, none of which featured more than three members at the same time: In May 2004 Kenney Jones and Ronnie Wood joined Ian McLagan on stage at his concert at The Mean Fiddler in London. In August 2004 Wood and McLagan joined Stewart at the

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018. The Hollywood Bowl is known for its distin ...

; Wood also appeared at several other of Stewart's 2004 gigs, including New York's

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

, the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

and a street performance in London for an audience of 80,000. In March 2005 McLagan joined Ronnie Wood's band at a London show, which also featured Kenney Jones on drums for the final encore; and in December 2005 Wood joined Ian McLagan & the Bump Band for three numbers at a concert in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Reunion

On 11 June 2008, Rod Stewart announced that the surviving Faces were discussing a possible reunion, envisioning making a recording and/or performing at least one or two concerts. On 18 November Rod Stewart, Ron Wood, Ian McLagan and Kenney Jones reunited along with Rod Stewart's touring bassist Conrad Korsch for a rehearsal "just to check if they can remember the songs"; the band's official reunion website was launched earlier the same month. However, on 23 January 2009, a spokesman for Rod Stewart denied there were any plans for a 2009 Faces reunion tour. On 24 September 2009, it was announced that the Faces, minus Rod Stewart, would reunite for a one-off charity show for the

Performing Rights Society PRS for Music Limited (formerly The MCPS-PRS Alliance Limited) is a British music copyright collective, made up of two collection societies: the Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society (MCPS) and the Performing Right Society (PRS). It undertakes ...

's Music Members' Benevolent Fund, at the

in London. "This will be so special for us, staging a reunion for such a wonderful and prestigious event," said Ronnie Wood when the announcement of the concert was made. "Sadly Ronnie Lane can't be with us, but I'm sure he will be there in spirit, God bless him." Lane's ex-wife, Katy, is one of many to receive assistance from the charity. The event was held on 25 October. Ronnie Wood, Kenney Jones and Ian McLagan all took part, with various vocalists, including

, replacing Stewart, and Bill Wyman filling in for the late Ronnie Lane on bass guitar. On 25 May 2010, it was announced that the Faces had officially reformed with Hucknall taking on vocal duties, and

of the

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...

on bass. The band played festival dates in both 2010 and 2011, with dates in the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands and Japan. The Small Faces/Faces were inducted into the

in 2012. On 23 March, the Faces announced that they would reunite with Rod Stewart to play at the induction ceremony for the first time in 19 years. However, on the eve of the ceremony, Stewart bowed out owing to a bout of influenza and Hucknall was asked to sing in his place. In June 2013, speaking in an interview on YouTube, Kenney Jones confirmed the band's intention to reunite with Stewart for a tour in 2014. However, Ian McLagan died on 3 December 2014, putting this reunion in doubt. Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood and Kenney Jones performed a short set at Hurtwood Polo Club on 5 September 2015 for charity, following their brief reunion at Rod Stewart's private party for his 70th birthday in January of that year. The reunion show was critically acclaimed, with ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

'' newspaper reviewing the performance as "5 star," under the headline of "worth the 40-year wait." A further reunion occurred in 2019 at a Private event. In 2020 Rod Stewart reunited with Ronnie Wood and Kenney Jones to perform "Stay With Me" as the finale of that years

Ceremony. On July 19, 2021, it was reported that Kenney Jones, Rod Stewart and Ron Wood had reunited in the studio to record new music.

Influence on music

Although they enjoyed only modest success compared to contemporaries such as

and

, the Faces have had considerable influence on latter-day rock revivalists. Their good-natured, back-to-basics (and frequently liquor-laden) concerts and studio albums connect them with such bands as the Damned and the

. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012.

Personnel

Current and former members

– drums, percussion (1969–1975, 1986, 1993, 2009–2012, 2015, 2019, 2020, 2021-present) *

– guitar, vocals, bass (1969–1975, 1986, 1993, 2009–2012, 2015, 2019, 2020, 2021-present) * Rod Stewart – lead vocals, harmonica, occasional banjo and guitar (1969–1975, 1986, 1993, 2015, 2019, 2020, 2021-present) *

– keyboards, backing vocals (1969–1975, 1986, 1993, 2009–2012; died 2014) *

– bass, vocals, guitar (1969–1973; died 1997) *

– bass (1973–1975)

Additional personnel

– rhythm guitar (1975; died 1988) * Bill Wyman – bass (1986, 1993, 2009) *

Andy Fairweather Low Andrew Fairweather Low (born 2 August 1948) is a Welsh guitarist and singer. He was a founding member and lead singer of 1960s pop band Amen Corner, and in recent years has toured extensively with Roger Waters, Eric Clapton and Bill Wyman's R ...

– rhythm guitar (2009) *

– lead vocals (2009–2012) *

– bass (2010–2012) * Robin Le Mesurier - guitar (2015; died 2021)

Timeline of members

Discography

Studio albums

* '' First Step'' (1970) * ''

'' (1971) * '' A Nod Is As Good As a Wink... to a Blind Horse'' (1971) * '' Ooh La La'' (1973)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Faces (Band) English blues rock musical groups Rod Stewart British supergroups Rock music supergroups Musical groups established in 1969 Musical groups disestablished in 1975 Musical groups reestablished in 2009 Musical groups disestablished in 2011 Musical groups reestablished in 2021 Musical groups from London Musical quintets Mercury Records artists Warner Records artists 1969 establishments in England