Rod Stewart is reuniting with his early-’70s band the Faces, featuring surviving members Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones and from Who drummer Kenny Jones. Jones revealed the group’s plans, telling Bang Showbiz: “We’ve done about 14 songs, it’s a mixture of stuff we never released which is worthy of releasing and there’s some new stuff which is really wonderful. Rod is writing the lyrics and he’s really keen on it.”
Sadly, keyboardist Ian McLagan died in 2014, with bassist Ronnie Lane passing in 1997 at age 51 after suffering from multiple sclerosis for over two decades.
Kenny Jones went on to say the trio is eying live dates in support of the new project: “Whether or not we’re going to go on a big extended tour remains to be seen. What we have decided is to do some really big gigs like The O2, Maddison Square Garden, some other big venues in America.”
Rod Stewart, Ron Wood, and Kenney Jones last reunited on September 5th, 2015. The concert at Surrey, England’s Hurtwood Park Polo Club benefited Prostate Cancer UK, and marked the first time in 22 years that Rod had taken to the stage to publicly front the Faces.
FAST FACTS
- The Faces formed in 1969 when Small Faces frontman Steve Marriott quit the band to form Humble Pie with Peter Frampton. The band enlisted the help of Rod Stewart and Ron Wood — who, being several inches taller than their diminutive bandmates, forced the group to drop the “Small” from their name. The band split in 1975 when Stewart left the band to pursue a solo career full time.
- Bassist Ronnie Lane, who had left in 1973, started a solo career and recorded the 1977 joint album Rough Mix with Pete Townshend. He died in 1997 after years of battling Multiple sclerosis.
- Ian MacLagan toured and recorded with the Rolling Stones from 1978 to 1981 and can be heard on 1978’s Some Girls, 1982’s live album Still Life — and the recently released archival set, Some Girls – Live In Texas ’78.
- Following Keith Moon‘s death in 1978, Kenney Jones joined the Who touring with the band from 1979 to 1982 and was featured on their three ’80s studio albums, 1981’s Face Dances, 1982’s It’s Hard, and 1984 live collection Who’s Last. He last played as a member of the Who in 1988.
SIDE NOTES
- Out now is a new LP box set of Rod Stewart‘s first four Warner Bros. albums, titled, Rod Stewart 1975-1978. The collection also includes a bonus album of rare and unreleased studio outtakes from those albums: Atlantic Crossing (1975), A Night On The Town (1976), Footloose & Fancy Free (1977), and Blondes Have More Fun (1978).
CHECK IT OUT: The Faces on October 26th, 1971 performing “Three Button Hand Me Down” on BBC’s Sounds For Saturday: