Ronnie Lane – Small Faces

Ronnie Lane was a musician loved and respected by his peers, though never as well known as the famous musicians he played with.  He was an original member of the Small Faces that ultimately became Faces joined by Rod Stewart and Ron Wood.   Leaving the Faces in 1973 he formed Slim Chance and they toured as a rock n roll circus.  He teamed up with Pete Townshend and released the critically acclaimed Rough Mix LP in 1977.  When Ronnie was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, his friends including Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck organized and performed the ARMS concerts, launched to raise money to fight the disease. On April 17, 1987 he was in NY to appear with a new group he was working with called The Tremors.  We talked about all of these things and even learned the truth about “Itchycoo Park.”

Ian McLagan was a good friend and fellow band mate of Ronnie’s in the Small Faces and Faces.  I got his take on some of the same subjects when he and his Austin, TX based group the Bump Band stopped by WFUV in November 2004.