''Playmates'' is the fourth studio album, and the first during their reunion, by English rock band the
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 ...
. The album was created by
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
and
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 ...
when they reformed in the late seventies and recorded it along with the album ''
78 in the Shade
''78 in the Shade'' is the fifth and final studio album, and the second during their reunion, by Small Faces. It was released on the Atlantic label in 1978 and re-issued in 2005 on Wounded Bird. The album was created during the brief re-union ...
''.
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 ...
left before the album was recorded.
Reunion: 1975–1978
Following the break-up of Faces in 1975, the original
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 ...
line-up reformed briefly to film videos miming to the reissued "
Itchycoo Park
"Itchycoo Park" is a song written by Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane, first recorded by their group, the Small Faces. Largely written by Lane, it was one of the first music recordings to feature flanging, an effect at that time made possible ...
", which hit the charts again. The group tried recording together again but Lane left after the first rehearsal due to an argument. Unbeknownst to the others, he was just beginning to show the symptoms of multiple sclerosis, and his behaviour was misinterpreted by Marriott and the others as a drunken tantrum. Lane subsequently began recording ''
Rough Mix'' with
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 ...
's
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 ...
shortly after the argument.
Nevertheless, McLagan, Jones and Marriott decided to stay together as Small Faces, recruiting ex-Peter Frampton and Roxy Music bassist Rick Wills to take Lane's place. This iteration of Small Faces recorded two albums: ''Playmates'' (1977) and ''78 in the Shade'' (1978), released on Atlantic Records. Both albums were later reissued on
Wounded Bird Records
Wounded Bird Records is an American compact disc only re-issue record label that was founded in 1998 in Guilderland, New York.
They re-release lesser known albums from popular and lesser known artists, including Paul Butterfield, Cactus, Herb ...
. Guitarist
Jimmy McCulloch
James McCulloch (4 June 1953 – 27 September 1979) was a Scottish musician best known for playing lead guitar and bass, as a member of Paul McCartney's band Wings from 1974 to 1977. McCulloch was a member of the Glasgow psychedelic band One i ...
also briefly joined this line-up after leaving Wings. When McCulloch phoned Paul McCartney, who had found him increasingly difficult to work with, to announce he was joining Marriott, McCartney reportedly said "I was a little put out at first, but, well, what can you say to that?" McCulloch's tenure with the band lasted only for a few months in late 1977. He recorded only one album, 78 in the Shade in 1978 with the band. Unfortunately for the band, mainstream music in Britain was rapidly changing direction, punk rock having been established around this time. The reunion albums, as a result, were both critical and commercial failures. Small Faces broke up again in 1978.
Track listing
In popular culture
*
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...
drummer
Ringo Starr covered the song "Tonight" for his studio album
''Bad Boy'' in 1978.
Personnel
;Small Faces
*
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 ...
– guitar, harmonica, vocals
*
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, vocals
*
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 ...
– bass guitar, vocals
*
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, vocals
with:
* Dave Hynes - backing vocals
*
Greg Ridley - backing vocals
*
P.P. Arnold
PP, pp or Pp may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Pianissimo'', a music term meaning ''very quiet'', from musical dynamics
* Production code for the 1967–1968 ''Doctor Who'' serial ''The Enemy of the World''
* Police Procedural - a subgen ...
- backing vocals
*
Vicky Brown - backing vocals
* Joe Brown - mandolin, acoustic guitar, backing vocals
*
Mel Collins
Melvyn Desmond Collins (born 5 September 1947, Isle of Man) is a British saxophonist, flautist and session musician.
Collins has played in several progressive rock groups, having been a member of King Crimson on two occasions (the first from ...
- saxophone
References
* Guests : https://www.discogs.com/fr/Small-Faces-Playmates/release/2991325
{{Authority control
1977 albums
Small Faces albums
Atlantic Records albums
albums produced by Shel Talmy