A childhood memory - THE SMALL FACES - Itchycoo park REACTION

[@TheCornishCockney]

“I feel inclined,to blow my mind” The 60’s. Wow. Cooler than anyone today.

[@berndschuster1547]

Itchycoo park from Small Faces. Thank you Harri and it's time for the Flower Power era!

[@davidmckenzie420]

Loved it as a teenager...Still appreciate it!

[@Ozzcaddy]

Great song and great band.

[@fredscott5644]

The Small Faces are one of my all time favorite bands. They never released a bad album. All the cool people went on to form Humble Pie along with guitarist from the Herd, Peter Frampton. Love your reaction! Keep them coming!

[@unclephil7650]

I remember reading that the BBC banned With a Little Help From My Friends by The Beatles because of the line “I get high with a Little help from my friends”

[@wm.stclaire3127]

Every member of Small Faces were highlighted talented and its such a shame they were so very underrated.

[@jackempson3044]

This song marked a change in the culture at the time. Music was changing fast, sound was improving and new doors were opening every album.

[@dinodasbunce6224]

This is a great example of music from the psychedelic movement in rock music. Thank you for reacting to this great group and song.

[@Caldostanite19]

You sound fake. Like Ai generated fake

[@827dusty]

I'm 66 yrs. old and remember this song from when I was about 11. This song sings about skipping school and taking LSD. "It's all too Beautiful." Featuring the great Steve Marriott.

[@kianpa1]

My favorite song ever!!! Thank you! ❤️

[@cindyfalstrom7231]

T hank you Harry. LOVE Small Faces, my favorite band (after Beatles) from the 60's. Steve Marriott was a HUGELY talented vocalist and guitar player. Started his professional career at 13 in the stage production of Oliver, then Small Faces at 17, Humble Pie at 22, then a solo career until his untimely death at 44. He was greatly admired by his peers. Robert Plant, Roger Daltry, David Bowie, among many others have cited him as the greatest soul/blues/rock singer Britain ever produced. Please look deeper at his body of work. I recommend: "I Wonder" by Humble Pie ; Also "You're so Good For Me", Hot & Nasty, or I Don't Need No Dr. all very popular Humble Pie songs. Steve's voice is amazing. Also for incredible soul singing and blues guitar try "Help me through the Day" by Steve Marriott. His voice just bleeds....

[@michaelrowe7329]

I'm a prodigy of the 60\70s and believe me mate, this tune never tires in my 64 year mind because life is beautiful!!!! Loved your feed from Virginia!!!!

[@peterfields4801]

Nobody listened to the BBC for music in those days Harri,thank goodness for Radio Caroline!!!

[@pilesovinyl]

One of my all time favorites! The late great Steve Marriott on lead guitar and vocals, the late great Ronnie Lane on bass and background vocals, the late Ian McLagan on keyboards and the lone surviving member drummer Kenny Jones. It was one of the very first uses of "phasing", that airy distortion in the drum fills and on the vocals. It was perhaps the THE best example of pop-psch in rock. Great post. Marriott went on to lead up Humble Pie.

[@tonyx2802]

Loved 'Lazy Sunday'. This too. Just SO English 60's 🤎🤎🤎

[@catem3102]

I was born in 1962 and this is a very magical memory of mine. It's in my cells.

[@shelleybleu4903]

I had such a crush on him when I was 12.

[@827dusty]

Steve Marriott went on to form the great Band "Humble Pie." He sounds nothing like he did in this song. Steve Marriott is a Blues and Funk mad man! One of the greatest vocal front men ever. Check out "Humble Pie." 3"30 days in the hole," "Black Coffee," and so many more. He was easily in the top three of the greatest voices in Rock.

[@patricialegge2482]

OMG!!!! One of my All time favourite songs from early teens. Thank you Harri. This was like the best song ever. It was about letting go, chilling out, making memories. I'll be singing this all day tomorrow. Harri, it's was always Itchycoo Park.

[@aviatom1]

Man, so much fun hearing music that moved us as kids, lol.

[@andrewclayton4181]

A great song. An absolute classic. They discovered phasing, playing around in the studio and wrote the song to incorporate it. They are a very highly regarded group. Steve Marriot is the lead singer, died before his time, Ronnie Lane is on guitar and in the chorus, had a sad demise too. They had other hits too. The Poacher is one. This one wasn't banned, I remember it being on the radio during the summer of love. Naive, Optimistic days.

[@damonhines8187]

Ronnie's on bass guitar, but okay. Always loved his playing, singing and energy. My first band, and later me on my own, did his and Ian's 'You're So Rude' from "A Nod Is As Good As A Wink...'. Loved 'Evolution' too, part of his contribution to Pete Townshend's first solo effort, 'Who Csme First?' Also, I carried around a copy of Rolling Stone chronicling the ARMS concerts for years. May've recycled it, may still be here somewhere. lol Rest In Peace, Steve, Ronnie, Ian.

[@compostcorner5934]

Love this ,i was a kid when they first appeared on the scene .about 6 years old Now 60 . Always remember it playing on the radio .. legendary stuff Rip Steve marriot ,and Ronnie lane

[@stevestruthers6180]

I was five when the song came out, and I absolutely loved it. It's one of my most-cherished, best-remembered from my early childhood days. Still love it even today.

[@johnj2763]

One of my favorite songs of all time done by one of the great bands of all time. Steve Marriott was one of the best front men ever RIP. When he left Small Faces lucked out in his replacement lol. But Steve settled in nicely with Humble Pie, another outstanding group pf musician/performers.

[@haroldhoot]

How lovely this song is, expressing how a person can be overwhelmed by beauty itself and weep with joy and gratitude.

[@jb8280]

I love how KZbin and other platforms have allowed people to discover and/or appreciate bands that were overshadowed by the Beatles and the Stones. The Small Faces are really getting new life as is The Kinks as the amazing bands they were. Dig a little deeper and discover The Creation. The Move. Tages. The Action and so many more that were amazing bands of the era.

[@ARUD08]

And there were also the Who, the Yardbirds and the Zombies in Britain.

[@donaldriddle230]

The Small Faces were actually bigger than the Beatles in the UK back then. Its also known that Robert Plant from Led Zeppelin was so impressed with Steve Marriott's voice, he used to follow the band from Gig to Gig to listen to him sing. I think its safe to say he was influenced by Marriot, and he wasnt the only one! Steve left the Small faces to join with Peter Frampton, Gerry Shirley and Greg Ridley to form the band Humble pie. Now, if you listen to Humble Pie live singing I Dont Need No Doctor and other songs as well, you'll hear Steve interacting with the crowd saying things like, Had a Good Time, and How do you feel? and other stuff that later you will hear Peter Frampton do in his Solo career especially during Do You Feel Like We do. Did he get that from Steve? Only he knows. I know what I think. Itchy Koo Park was a good song but they had plenty of songs that were better. Tin Soldier was one.

[@Nutty_commenter]

Oh yeah, Tin Soldier! I'd completely forgotten it. Must listen!

[@braudabo]

How did you come up with this grotesque idea? In what way, on what planet, at what point in time should the Faces have been bigger than the Beatles. A single number 1 (All or nothing), a few TOP 10 hits (albeit high-class ones) are recorded. Especially in 1967 with "Sgt. Pepper" and "All you need is love" there was nobody in the UK, in the music-world, who reached the range of the Beatles. The Faces didn't even come close to the Stones, or the Kinks. Perhaps, for a brief moment, to the Who. By the way, the Faces' most viewed song on youtube is "Tin Soldier" (13,200,000). Even a not-so-well-known Beatles album track like "Two of Us" has over 9,000,000 views.

[@unclephil7650]

Thank you Cynthia. This is one of the first 45s I ever bought

[@Cynthia...]

I still have a lot of my 45s and LPs. I just can’t seem to break away from them. Lol

[@debbiechang5781]

Wow! I was around 12 or 13 when this came out and it got a great deal of airplay in the U.S. For some reason, I always thought it was done by the Young Rascals 🤷🏻‍♀️. Great memories! Thanks Cynthia. This is a great choice. Harri, I am surprised that you knew this song, being a youngster as you are 😂. This is why we all love Harribest. The greatest content is right here. 🌺✌️

[@thomaswest7746]

He's Steve Marriott, also of Humble Pie, in which Peter Frampton was in, it wasn't band in the USA

[@mariaportengen2959]

I can also recommend their song : lazy Sunday, a great number. I grew up with this band, how time flies, ha ha. 🖐️🖐️💕💕🎶🎶

[@marymargaretmoore9034]

Love this song so much! Steve Marriott (R.I.P.) had such a great voice. The Small Faces became The Faces and their work is legendary. Please do "Flying" and "Around the Plynth" by the Small Faces (album "First Step") with Rod Stewart (his best period imo), Ron Wood, Ronnie Lane and Ian McLagen.

[@jollyrodgers7272]

The Faces reportedly hated this song as they feared it would stereotype them as "bubblegum". I remember it when it was on the radio, and didn't get the connection it was about getting 'high' and hiding in the weeds (itchycoo - or Itchy Coup - is middle english for what we call 'stinging nettle plant' in US). Maybe the BBC censors thought it was all a metaphor.

[@pencilpauli9442]

Steve Marriot was a great singer. A couple of Small Faces songs to check out: Tin Soldier The Song of the Baker And Steve with Humble Pie: Black Coffee. (Old Grey Whistle Test)

[@hrblsh]

Ok, I’m now starting to figure out that The Small Faces are a band I need to look into deeper!

[@cindyfalstrom7231]

Yes you do! They were the perfect little band, 4 supremely talented youths totally in synch with one another, plus the brilliant songwriting team of Steve Marriott/Ronnie Lane. Try "You Need Lovin", one of their first from 1966. Inspired Robert Plant ( an acknowledged huge fan) to sing "Whole Lotta Love" Then move forward. Then Check out Humble Pie, Steve's next band. Lucky you, I wish I was just discovering them again - what fun!

[@georgeralph8031]

An argument can be made that this is the greatest rock song ever recorded. And I would vote in favor of it.

[@shelter9236]

I have the 45 of this song, I loved it in high school and played it all the time, still have it and now the CD. None of us really knew what it was about that much here in the US about the park and all of that but loved the drum flanging phasing going on...that was unusual. Tin Soldier is another good one by them to react to. Ian McLagan, the keyboardist, lived in the Austin, TX area not that far from me and passed away in 2014, Marriott died in a fire in 1991, was with Humble Pie band after leaving the Small Faces. Phasing on the Drums: Two synchronised tape copies of a finished recording were played simultaneously into a third master recorder, and by manually retarding the rotation of one of the two tape reels by pressing on the flanges, a skilled engineer could subtly manipulate the phase difference between the two sources, creating the lush 'swooshing' phase effect that sweeps up and down the frequency range. The original single version was mixed and mastered in mono, and the phasing effect is more pronounced in the mono mix than in the later stereo mix.

[@janabraam7963]

Takes me back to my hippie/trippy days. I've just subscribed hoping you'll react to more music from the 60's & 70's. Best music ever. It's when we listened to the lyrics. Messages of peace and love were sent and received through those times.

[@kirpalite]

ANOTHER GREAT REACTION! THANKS HARRY!

[@surlechapeau]

This was their only top 40 hit in the US#16, which is why its the only one I remember from them. The Small Faces were a talented group though. Now The Faces, had two memorable top 40 hits, with Rod Stewart on lead vocals.

[@shaunw9270]

Another Small Faces release, "Here Come The Nice" was definitely banned by the BBC , but this wasn't .

[@rodneygriffin7666]

Fabulous track. Fantastic band. Tin soldier as well, please...

[@charlesyateschalfant]

I love older music...it had melody.

[@phnigra111]

“Over bridge of Sighs” To rest my eyes in shades of green Harri, Now there’s a good one to tackle.. Robin Trower “Bridge of Sighs”

[@dagmar.6954]

The Small Faces were another great English band from the 60's. They had some great hits "Itchycoo Park", "Lazy Sunday", "All Or Nothing", "Tin Soldier" & "Whatcha Gonna Do About It" etc. In 1969 after lead singer/guitarist Steve Marriott left the group to form Humble Pie" the remaining members of Small Faces, Ian McLagan (keyboards), Ronnie Lane (bass guitar, vocals) & Kenney Jones (drums & percussion)-were joined by Ronnie Wood (guitar) & Rod Stewart (lead vocals), both from the Jeff Beck Group, and the new line-up was renamed "Faces".

[@Dusty999]

Ronnie Lane penned a great song you can hear on Pete Townshend's "Who Came First": "Evolution".

[@danielvolk237]

Great song Cynthia. A real blast from the past. Love it. Thanks Harri. 🔥👍🙃🌏💟🕊️

[@Katehowe3010]

You're right about this song being banned, but remarkably they released another single called 'Here Comes The Nice', which contained the lyric 'He knows what i want when i need some speed' Incredibly, this wasn't banned?!? Strange world hey!

[@damonhines8187]

The first I ever heard of the use of 'flanging'/'phasing' at the end, 2nd only to 'Axis: Bold As Love', imho. Great band, song, artists, one and all. Forever grateful to Steve, Ronnie, Ian(Rest In Peace, guys), and Kenny.

[@personalcheeses8073]

This song never grows old.its still as fresh as the day it was released

[@jonnno243]

I always look forward to the flanging in this great song. Its there on Status Quo's Pictures of Matchstick Men too.

[@timmistorey5989]

I love your reactions. I'm from Islington and all your childhood favourites are mine xx

[@georgeralph8031]

If Stevie had turned left instead of right in the dense smoke that filled his room that night, he may very well still be with us.

[@cindyfalstrom7231]

Horrifying to think about...

[@keymack2477]

Some great classic psychedelic rock for you Harri!!

[@musicairplanes4884]

Amazing that Steve Marriott went form this to Humble Pie. Huge transition.

[@rubroken]

I was a teen when this song came out. Don't know for sure why I liked it, but it sounded sooo good

[@flamencoprof]

I'm in my early 70s, and it is to my great regret that I only discovered Steve Marriott about a decade ago. I well recall this pop hit from the time, but just as "The Small Faces". The story I heard was that there were fashionable/noted/talented/clubbing persons around London at the time who were dubbed "Faces". The band name was a bit of self-deprecation. Much later, after being fixated on Led Zep, Jethro Tull, Cream, Hendrix & Pink Floyd in the 70s, I discovered through KZbin a whole heap of great artists I had missed/ignored/overlooked/dismissed. Steve Marriott is one of those artists. Other commenters are naming performances by him, but my fave is "Black Coffee" with P P Arnold backing, no less. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gqLWfn6soN-XrcU

[@cindyfalstrom7231]

The Small Faces were THE Mod band in the mid 60's along with the Who. In Mod terminology, a "Face" is a well known, fashionable Mod about town. The tallest member of the band was 5'5", thus they were the "Small Faces"

[@joelliebler5690]

Nice tune that I remembered a bit too just like you Hari not knowing the name of it. They just never broke through in the USA.

[@hughwalker5628]

Try some of Marriott's work with Humble Pie - Black Coffee really demonstrates the power of his voice. One of the greatest male singers this country ever produced and a huge influence on Robert Plant.

[@becksullivan4796]

Oh man! I forgot about this one!

[@suzie4417]

One of my favourite songs from the psychedelic 60’s, loved dancing to this one 🎶😻🇨🇦☮️ BBC & CBC (Canadian broadcast channel) both did the banning of music, but the fans always knew where to find it!! I’m actually surprised that more music from the 1950’s onward weren’t banned, we had some pretty risqué songs going on 😆💞

[@stevestruthers6180]

I live in Canada and have lived there all my life. I was just five when the song came out, but I remember regularly hearing it on local radio stations. The CBC might have banned it, but local radio stations back in the day were particularly free-wheeling, particularly the US-owned CKLW 800AM station that was located in Windsor, Ontario, not far from my home town, and which had a powerful transmitter that allowed it to reach well into the Midwestern US states.

[@slimpickins9124]

A fun song that did well on the pop charts. Lotta' famous rockers were in this band at one time in their careers.

[@jimmoore9239]

Trust me. I got the message! I painted the title to this song on my desk.

[@Katehowe3010]

One of their best singles after 'Tin Soldier', but promise me that you will never play the version by the abysmal M.People. Remember it this way!

[@jomiiller6297]

Check out Lazy Sunday Afternoon another great song of theirs

[@tbradley6250]

Ian McLagan married Keith Moon's ex-wife. Kenny Jones, became the drummer for The Who after Moon died in Sept. of 1978.

[@patricialegge2482]

If they banned that they would have to ban Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. Another great song.

[@Dusty999]

Why is that?

[@joelanderos23]

@@Dusty999 songs about drugs were frowned on.

[@Dusty999]

@@joelanderos23 Yes, but having neither mentioned or referenced drugs, the censors would have had to make a direct inference. OTOH, a song like ''Linda Sue Dixon'' may have run afoul of the powers that be.

[@joelanderos23]

@@Dusty999 with the "pyschedelic" flavor music of the song it wasn't too hard to figure out.

[@pathatfield2543]

I see you seem to enjoy hearing good songs from obscure bands.With that in mind,could you please play a song called”This is the Story of My Love” by a band called Wizzard,which was a band that Roy Wood joined after leaving ELO.This song happens to be my personal favorite Wizard song,but you really can’t go wrong no matter which of their songs you pickThey just make me feel happy!

[@mychercherup6892]

This song got played on the radio when it came out. I can not remember how it got pass the censors. Read the drummers biography he tells all about this song. Steve Marriott was one of the best.

[@MrSpikeMilligan]

The guy on the right is Ronnie Lane. Check out his later band Slim Chance playing 'the Poacher' and 'How Come'

[@deanwrigleyuk]

Steve Marriott had the best voice of any of the 60s rock singers. Keith Richards wanted him in The Rolling Stones as a second guitarist and gave him an audition with the rest of the band, telling him to just play guitar and not to sing. But he sang and didn't get the job!

[@timaudas7269]

They wrote a song called here comes the nice, how that got passed is amazing

[@stanleynykaza9042]

Thanks for doing this song ALSO requesting CCR UP AROUND THE BEND and SWEET HITCH HIKER !! more 60s

[@Gumshrud1]

good analysis, Itchycoo Park was/is an all-time favorite.. something else to note is the uses of 'flanging', whereby the drums are phased in and out. 1st time use of flanging on a rock song.

[@AntonioSzytulskyj]

1967, probably the greatest year in the history of modern music, for the quality of the songs released in that year Ex: "A whiter shade of pale" and "San Francisco", released 24 hours apart from one another. For the rest, BBC would ban everything, except the TV licence!

[@cindyp1033]

😎🔥 Steve Marriott!❤️

[@jennhen2675]

I haven't heard this song in a long time.

[@dannymoore6886]

Steve Marriot was great in Humble Pie. 30 days in the hole.

[@brewstergallery]

Hey Harri from Ned and Janet. A great pick for one the unsung heroes of Mod and Psych and R n R. The Small Faces were extraordinary. Sadly we've lost Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane and Ian McLagan. You'll love any of their songs Harri, trust us but dig the concept album Ogden's Nut Gone Flake ! Marriott left to form Humble Pie and the rest continued on by adding Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood to becomes The Faces. Thanks again

[@sst3d]

Little Stevie Marriot…..later with Humble Pie. RIP

[@ronpotter9810]

In answer to your question about the song getting banned: Here is what Steve Marriot says With the lyrics, "What did you do there? I got high," it was fairly obvious that they were doing in the park, although the band denied that it was about drugs, kind of like John Lennon did with "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds," which was released the same year. Marriott told Creem in 1975: "The thing about 'Itchycoo Park' was that the era was wrong, and the word 'high' freaked everybody out. All the radio stations. But that song was real. Ronnie Lane and I used to go to a park called Itchycoo Park. I swear to God. We used to bunk off school and groove there. We got high, but we didn't smoke. We just got high from not going to school."

[@garyscarlett5471]

You should give Humble Pies song Black Coffee a listen

[@TheCornishCockney]

*it wasn’t banned mate. If it didn’t make No1 then it got damn close and got lots of airplay…..by auntie beeb!! The suits there had no idea.😄

[@longlivetheboleyn1917]

Steve Marriott was only 18 and had so much charisma for his age. When he left the small faces he auditioned for the rolling stones but was rejected by mick jagger because of fear Steve would out shine him

[@jaccilowe3842]

As already said below...Steve Marriott singing Black Coffee is a dream. No, this never got banned in the UK; I don't think they caught it!

[@eturfrey]

Steve Marriott was one of the the best frontmen and that’s not just my opinion. Check out all the quotes by Bowie, Jagger, Richards, Plant.

[@maryellenazack4466]

❤❤❤

[@georgeralph8031]

People forget they were Mods before they became musicians.

[@larissahorne9991]

What I can't understand is why Suzi Quatro was considered Controversial. My question is "What Was Their Problem?" Well She was definitely a pioneer for Rock Chicks to come. Such a pity wasn't appreciated in Her homeland America. My Big Sister was a 70's Teenager and She has a story from Her High School years. A Girl in My Sister's class won a top ten Record of She chose Suzi Quatro. Her Parents and the Headmaster (Principle) made Her return it.

[@rogerwitte]

There are several North London parks that claim to be the actual Itchycoo Park - all characterised by a healthy crop of stinging nettles.

[@MollieC-uc1fk]

I still have my 45 and played it all the time, I love the phasing on the drums. The keyboardist, Ian McLagan, lived not that far from me in Texas but he passed away not too long ago. Ronnie Lane acts like he'd like to be anywhere else but there, LOL...and yes this one was lip synced due to the phasing. Yeah, you can pass off high as in rising up in the air high, LOL But yeah, banned cuss words and so much more and on TV it was even worse. And horrible how Marriott died.

[@hughwalker5628]

...and listen to Here come the nice - it's about speed.

[@sst3d]

Ahh you may be my generation, young man…

[@michaelpond6386]

Damn it, as a kid every time I heard this thing on the radio, I got into some kind of trouble. It was always a bad omen. Thank God it was still not popular when I was in the service. It’s just kind of creepy. Another bad luck song was by a group called “bubble puppy”.

[@Husselbu1]

Tuuuunnnee...Stone cold classic

[@johnthursfield3056]

You need to listen to Steve Marriot singing Black Coffee with Humble Pie if you think he sounds vulnerable in this. On that he absolutely isn't.

[@dancarter482]

_M People_ did a quite good cover of this - Heather Small has great tone - I like both.

[@cindyp1033]

The softer side of Steve Marriott but check him out in Humble Pie or his solo work! RIP Steve💔

[@jameshitt8385]

Love the song, brings back many memories., of the 1960's

[@cletushouse906]

Check out Marriott doing BLACK COFFEE.

[@dannygriffith6185]

Not sure about this song, but the BBC did ban the Beatles song "A Day In the Life" over the line " I'd love to turn you on."

[@personalcheeses8073]

The BBC still are as hypocritical as ever. Glad I no longer fund them