By late 1967, the band had felt constricted financially & creatively by manager Don Arden (father of Sharon Osbourne), and were lured by Rolling Stones' publicist Andrew Loog Oldham into signing with his new Immediate label. They soon recorded more expansive psychedelic sounding material including hit pop tunes like "Lazy Sunday" which was included with their UK number one classic concept album Ogdens Nut Gone Flake and "Itchycoo Park" which was their only stateside charting single.
The demise of the Small Faces arrived on New Years Eve 1968, when Steve Marriott walked off stage at The Alexandra Palace in London. Marriott felt that despite the success of the group, he was still not being taken seriously as a musician. He went on to achieve major status in the U.S.A with Peter Frampton in Humble Pie. The others continued as the Faces, opting to drop the "Small" after one LP as new recruits Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood towered above their new band mates. Drummer Kenney Jones later joined The Who after the death of their drummer Keith Moon. As years went on, Marriott kept recording various lineups as Humble Pie but became somewhat of a caricature and casualty of rock excess. Tragically, Steve Marriott died in a house fire in 1991 and Ronnie Lane followed him in 1997 after a long battle with Multiple Sclerosis. Keyboardist Ian McLagan has continued to tour and record with his own band as well as with artists like Billy Bragg, The New Barbarians ( a group composed of Ian, Ron Wood, Keith Richards, Stanley Clarke, and Billy Cobham), and The Rolling Stones. According to announcements at the shows on the New Barbarians tour, the proceeds of the live gigs were going to pay Ronnie Lane's medical expenses associated with Ronnie's struggle with Multiple Sclerosis.
The Small Faces remain one of British rock's most important legacy acts, with their membership having links to so many other acts. Amongst the many bands they influenced were The Jam, Ramones, Oasis and X.
There are a number of locations around London linked to the Small Faces, many to be found in the East End where they grew up.
The J60 Music bar in Manor Park, an instrument shop where Steve Marriott first met Ronnie Lane
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Little Ilford park, also located in Manor Park, inspired the track Itchycoo Park, Steve and other kids in the East End used to play in this park when they grew up.
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In 1968 the Small Faces recorded a video for their track Lazy Sunday, Steve sings in his native East end accent and the video was shot in the East End using Kenney Jones parents' flat in Havering Street. The video ends with a shot of the nearby Thames.
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Long Agos and Worlds Apart
Small Faces Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The times before I met you long ago
If I could sit quite still
And times could pass me by
I'd sit quite still and pass the time
I'd have with you
A summer evening touches everywhere
Just like before, we'll meet again
When we can think of long agos and worlds apart
That were and are no more
The lyrics to Small Faces' song Long Agos and Worlds Apart speak of a yearning for a time long gone, reminiscing about a time before the singer met someone they now hold dear. They express a yearning to go back to that time and just be with them again. The singer appears to have experienced something incredible with this person, something they'd love nothing more than to relive. The song speaks to a deep nostalgia, a longing for a time we can never go back to.
The imagery in the song is particularly poignant. The line "If I could sit quite still, and times could pass me by, I'd sit quite still and pass the time I'd have with you" is particularly moving - the image of the singer sitting still, frozen in time with their loved one, encapsulates the sense of longing and desperation to hold onto a time that everything else has left behind.
The idea that they will meet again "When we can think of long agos and worlds apart that were and are no more" suggests that there is some hope of rekindling that past love, but the reality that the past is forever gone makes it bittersweet. Long Agos and Worlds Apart is a beautiful and melancholy song that speaks to the nature of human existence; a constant yearning for the things we can never possess, the constant hankering for a time that we can never return to.
Line by Line Meaning
Please don't ask me how I know
I cannot explain how I know what I know
The times before I met you long ago
I have memories from before I met you a long time ago
If I could sit quite still
If only I could be still and not have to move
And times could pass me by
And let the time pass me by without interruption
I'd sit quite still and pass the time
I would be content to spend time this way
I'd have with you
If only you were here to share it with me
A summer evening touches everywhere
It feels like a summer evening all around us
Just like before, we'll meet again
We will meet again, just like we did before
When we can think of long agos and worlds apart
We can reminisce about a long time ago and faraway places
That were and are no more
Things that existed before but have since disappeared
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: IAN MC LAGAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind