The Small Faces were an English rock band who were initially active between 1965 and 1969.; During their original tenure, they released three studio albums, four compilation albums and fourteen singles in the United Kingdom. With the exception of the band's two first singles "Whatcha Gonna Do About It" and "I've Got Mine" (both 1965) that featured Jimmy Winston on guitar and keyboards, Small Faces had a consistent lineup of guitarist Steve Marriott, bassist Ronnie Lane, keyboardist Ian McLagan and drummer Kenney Jones. Between August 1965 and June 1968, the Small Faces scored ten top-20 singles on the UK singles chart, including seven top-10 releases, of which "All or Nothing" reached number one. Several of their singles were featured on the UK's year-end ranking, and they became the eleventh best-selling recording artist in Britain during 1966. Despite their success in Britain, the Small Faces only scored one top-20 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 with "Itchycoo Park" (1967), and have thus been referred to as "the best English band never to hit it big in America" by AllMusic critic Bruce Eder. The Small Faces achieved success during the transition to the album era, with their third and final studio album Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake reaching number one for six weeks during the summer of 1968. The band initially broke up in 1969 after Marriott formed Humble Pie with Peter Frampton.
The Small Faces' debut album and eight first singles were released by Decca Records in the UK under the management of Don Arden. The band were not directly signed to Decca, but rather to Arden's production company Contemporary Music. The Small Faces signed a three-year recording contract on 10 June 1965 together with their parents, as they were underage. Throughout 1966, the Small Faces' relationship with Arden soured, particularly after the single "My Mind's Eye" was released in November without the band's consent. After an incident in which Arden told the band members' parents about supposed drug use, the band turned to Andrew Loog Oldham's independent record label Immediate Records, who bought the contract from Arden for £25,000 and signed the band in February 1967. As a direct retaliation, Arden released the compilation album From the Beginning and the single "Patterns" in an attempt to hamper the success of the band's Immediate debut single "Here Come the Nice" (all 1967). With Immediate, the band released a further two studio albums and seven singles during their original tenure. The Small Faces reunited in the mid-1970s after a re-issue of "Itchycoo Park" had become a hit, and the band released the albums Playmates and 78 in the Shade to limited commercial and critical success while signed to Atlantic Records.
The Small Faces' music has been compiled on hundreds of compilation albums following their breakup, starting with The Autumn Stone in November 1969, which contained material the band had released on both Decca and Immediate. Most subsequent compilation albums are solely bound to the material Decca or Immediate had the rights to; a notable exception to this rule is the 2003 compilation album Ultimate Collection, released on Sanctuary Records, which features tracks from both of the band's labels. Sanctuary owns the rights to the Immediate Recordings in the UK, whilst Charly Records owns the rights in the US. The multitrack tapes for the group's Immediate recordings were presumed lost after Virgin Records took over ownership of Olympic Studios in the 1970s. A few of them were salvaged, and released on the Here Come the Nice: The Immediate Years 1967–1969 box set in January 2014. The Decca Recordings are currently owned by Decca under Universal Music Group, who released The Decca Years 1965–1967 box set in 2015 from recently discovered first generation master tapes.
Albums Studio albums + Year TitleAlbum detailsPeak chart positionsCertifications(sales thresholds) UK US FIN NOR GER1966Small Faces Released 6 May1966 Label: Decca Records 3—8×—1967Small Faces Released: 23 June 1967 Label: Immediate Records 12———— 1968Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake Released: 24 May 1968 Label: Immediate Records 11595136 BPI: Gold 1977Playmates Released: 12 August 1977 Label: Atlantic Records ————— 197878 in the Shade Released: 9 September1978 Label: Atlantic Records —————"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. "×" denotes the chart did not exist yet.
Live albums +YearTitleAlbum details2000The BBC Sessions Released: 29 February 2000 Label: Strange Fruit 2021Live 1966 Released: 3 September 2021 Label: Nice Records Compilation albums + Year TitleAlbum detailsPeak chart positionsCertifications(sales thresholds) UK US1967From the Beginning Released 2 June 1967 Label: Decca Records 17—1968There Are But Four Small Faces Released: February 1968 Label: Immediate Records —178 1969In Memoriam Released 1 May 1969 Label: Immediate Records ——The Autumn Stone Released 14 November 1969 Label: Immediate Records —— 1972Early Faces Released: 1972 Label: Pride —176 1976Rock Roots Released: 1976 Label: Decca Records —— 1990The Singles As and Bs Released: 1990 Label: See For Miles Records —— 1992All Or Nothing Released: 30 June 1992 Label: Sony Special Products —— 1995The Best of Small Faces Released: 26 July 1995 Label: Summit Records ——BPI: SilverThe Immediate Years Released: 7 August 1995 Label: Charly Records —— 1996The Decca Anthology Released: 1996 Label: Deram Records 66— 2000The Darlings of Wapping Wharf Launderette Released: 16 May 2000 Label: Immediate Records —— 2002Odds And Mods Released: 20 August 2002 Label: Immediate Records —— 2003Ultimate Collection Released: 26 May 2003 Label: Sanctuary Records 24—BPI: Silver 2014Here Come the Nice: The Immediate Years 1967–1969 Released: 27 January 2014 Label: Charly Records ——Greatest Hits: The Immediate Years 1967–1969 Released: 27 January 2014 Label: Charly Records —— 2015The Decca Years 1965–1967 Released: 9 October 2015 Label: Universal Music Group —— 2021The Complete Atlantic Years Released: 18 June 2021 Label: Wounded Bird Records ——"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.
Singles +YearSingle detailsPeak chart positionsCertifications (sales thresholds)AlbumUKAUSCANSWENLNORUS1965"Whatcha Gonna Do About It" b/w "What's a Matter Baby"
Released: 6 August 1965 Label: Decca Records 14—28———— "I've Got Mine" b/w "It's Too Late" (from Small Faces)
Released: 5 November 1965 Label: Decca Records —xx—xxx 1966"Sha-La-La-La-Lee" b/w "Grow Your Own"
Released: 28 January 1966 Label: Decca Records 351—————Small Faces"Hey Girl" b/w "Almost Grown"
Released: 6 May 1966 Label: Decca Records 1060—————"All or Nothing" b/w "Understanding"
Released: 5 August 1966 Label: Decca Records 115—15210—"My Mind's Eye" b/w "I Can't Dance With You"
Released: 11 November 1966 Label: Decca Records 4——1713——1967"I Can't Make It" b/w "Just Passing"
Released: 3 March 1967 Label: Decca Records 26——————"Patterns" b/w "E Too D" (from Small Faces)
Released: 26 May 1967 Label: Decca Records 51——————"Here Come the Nice" b/w "Talk to You" (from Small Faces)
Released: 2 June 1967 Label: Immediate Records 12——————"Itchycoo Park" b/w "I'm Only Dreaming"
Released: 4 August 1967 Label: Immediate Records 321—3416BPI: Silver"Tin Soldier" b/w "I Feel Much Better"
Released: 2 December 1967 Label: Immediate Records 9338164—731968"Lazy Sunday" b/w "Rollin' Over (Part II of Happiness Stan)" (from Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake)
Released: 5 April 1968 ´ Label: Immediate Records 2542—17114Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake"The Universal" b/w "Donkey Rides, A Penny, A Glass"
Released: 28 June 1968 Label: Immediate Records 1637——12——1969"Mad John" b/w "The Journey" (from Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake)
Released: 1969 Label: Immediate Records x——xxx—Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake"Afterglow of Your Love" b/w "Wham Bam Thank You Mam"
Released: 7 March 1969 Label: Immediate Records 3695——19——1975"Itchycoo Park" b/w "My Way of Giving" (from Small Faces)
Released: 22 November 1975 Label: Immediate Records 9—xxxxx1976"Lazy Sunday" b/w "(Tell Me) Have You Ever Seen Me?" (from Small Faces)
Released: 19 March 1976 Label: Immediate Records 39xxxxxxOgdens' Nut Gone Flake1977"Lookin' for a Love" b/w "Kayoed (By Luv)" (from Playmates)
Released: 29 July 1977 Label: Atlantic Records ——xx—xxPlaymates"Stand By Me, Stand By You" b/w "Hungry And Looking"
Released: 12 November 1977 Label: Atlantic Records —xxxxxx78 in the Shade1978"Filthy Rich" b/w "Over Too Soon" (from 78 in the Shade)
Released: 15 July 1978 Label: Atlantic Records —xxxxxx2013"Green Circles (stereo)" b/w "Green Circles (mono)" (from Small Faces)
Released: 20 April 2013 Label: Charly Records —xxxxxxSmall Faces"—" denotes releases that did not chart. "x" denotes single not released in that territory. Year-end rankings +YearSingleYear-end rankingsUK1966"Sha-La-La-La-Lee"41"All or Nothing"19"My Mind's Eye"73 1967 "Itchycoo Park" 33 1968 "Lazy Sunday" 38
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