The Small Fakers

Event information

The Small Faces are without any shadow of doubt, one of the most sensational British bands of the 1960s, and are as much a part of the soundtrack to the fabbest decade ever as The Beatles, The Stones, The Kinks, The Who, or anyone else for that matter!

Hitting the charts as teenage mods with their very first disc, 'Whatcha Gonna Do About It', the four diminutive Cockneys went on to release numerous timeless classics including, ‘Sha-La-La-La-Lee’, ‘Here Come The Nice’, ‘Itchycoo Park’ and ‘Lazy Sunday’.

The band are almost as famous for their groundbreaking psychedelic LP, ‘Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake’, which topped the UK’s album charts in 1968. Released a whole year before The Who’s ‘Tommy’, it’s widely regarded as rock’s very first concept album.

The Small Faces split in 1969. Lead singer Steve Marriott – recognised as having one of the greatest ‘blue-eyed soul’ voices ever – went on to have huge international success in the 70s with Humble Pie. The rest of the band – Ronnie Lane on bass, Ian McLagan on keyboards and Kenney Jones on drums – hooked up with Ronnie Wood (later to join The Rolling Stones) and Rod Stewart and had massive worldwide success of their own as The Faces.

Interest in The Small Faces never went away though, and was re-ignited by Jam frontman Paul Weller’s fascination with them in the late 70s, and again in the 90s by Britpop bands like Blur, Oasis and Primal Scream name checking them in interviews as a massive influence. More recently, bands like The Arctic Monkeys and The Kaiser Chiefs have declared themselves to be huge fans too.

But while fans of other great 60's bands had tributes to their heroes to see, to recreate the original live experience, The Small Faces were unrepresented. Until 2007 that is, when they got their very own tribute at long last - THE SMALL FAKERS.
Four years on, and The Small Fakers are established in the Premiership of tribute acts. They have built a terrific international reputation for themselves as the ONLY Small Faces tribute band in the WORLD, and have played to sell-out audiences in Italy, Spain, Switzerland and the Republic of Ireland, and all over the UK. They have played the Isle of Wight festival four times since forming, and in 2008, the day after headlining the festival with his fellow Sex Pistols, bass player Glen Matlock joined The Fakers onstage to perform what many people regard at the Small Faces’ ultimate track, their 1966 number one ‘All Or Nothing’.

In 2011, the band took the #1 Album 'OGDENS NUT GONE FLAKE' out on the road, something the Small Faces never managed themselves, for a 16-date tour of the UK. The narration for the tour was provided by Stanley Unwin's son John, who appeared either on stage with the band or on a video backdrop, alongside projected psychedelic video imagery fitting to the story of the album.

The band have also performed with original Small Face Jimmy Winston, who claimed the Fakers were 'much better live than the Small Faces were.' and original drummer Kenney Jones - who also played with Rod Stewart and The Faces and The Who - when he joined the band for a rendition of 'All or Nothing' at Hurtwood Park Polo Club in 2012. He also praised the Small Fakers as being 'Really great, absolutely spot on.' Children, siblings and parents of the original band members have declared themselves Fakers fans too, with Ronnie Lane's older brother Stan even claiming: 'For those who never saw The Small Faces live, The Fakers are as close as you're gonna get.'

With endorsees like this, it's no wonder that The Fakers' trajectory is still very much on the rise, with bookings coming thick and fast, and venues and audiences getting bigger and bigger. 2013 is set to be their most exciting year yet, with a host of new Small Faces-related ventures guaranteed to raise their profile even more and win thousands of new fans.
Ali McKenzie former lead singer with legendary 60s band The Birds, returns with the Band of a 1000 Dances. Read Geno Washington crossed with Georgie Fame and you will know what we are on about!
The Universal-As sharp musically as they are in attire, Liverpool quartet The Universal apply timeless values of upbeat melodic British rock songwriting to a sharp-dressed 2013 model.

The band are based around singer, guitarist and songwriter Terry Shaughnessy, who brings a deep-seated love of classic vintage guitar rock. Growing up in Liverpool, the ambience of the Beatles was a happily accepted ever-present, but with two uncles playing in bands and a mother an active member of the Small Faces fan club, Shaughnessy's musical education came steeped in classic values of songs with creativity, individuality and fire in the belly. The Universal are completed with Gary Chambers on bass, Dave Ormsby on drums and lead guitarist Piet Koehorst.