Itchycoo Park

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“Itchycoo Park”
“Itchycoo Park” cover
Single by Small Faces
B-side "I'm Only Dreaming"
Released 4 August 1967
Format 7"
Recorded Olympic Studios London Flag of England 1967
Genre Psychedelic pop
Length 2:45
Label Immediate
Writer(s) Steve Marriott
Ronnie Lane
Producer Glyn Johns
Small Faces singles chronology
"Here Come the Nice"
(1967)		 "Itchycoo Park"
(1967)		 "Tin Soldier"
(1967)

"Itchycoo Park" is a psychedelic pop song written by Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane of the group Small Faces. The song reached number three in the UK Singles Chart, 1967. It was also the first British record to feature the special effect of flanging.

Contents

[edit] Song Profile

"Itchycoo Park" was released by mod band Small Faces in August, 1967. Together with "Lazy Sunday", "Tin Soldier" and "All or Nothing", the song is one of the band's biggest hits and has become a classic of its time.[1]

The song reached No. 16 in the American Billboard charts in 1968.[2]

"Itchycoo Park" was the first British record to feature the special effect of "flanging" more commonly known as "phasing" in the UK (when two tapes are played together at different speeds) the technique was developed by Olympic Studios engineer George Chkiantz in 1966.[3]

Long running British music magazine NME cites readers poll voting "Itchycoo Park" no. 62 out of top 100 singles of all time.[4]

"Itchycoo Park" climbed to the top of the charts again when it was re-released on 13 December 1975.[5]

[edit] Inspiration

The song was first thought of by Ronnie Lane, who had been reading a leaflet on the virtues of Oxford which mentioned its dreaming spires.[6]

A number of sources claim the song's name is derived from the nickname of Little Ilford Park, on Church Road in the London suburb of Manor Park, where Small Faces' singer and song-writer Steve Marriott grew up. However, as this is in Little Ilford and not actually Ilford, this claim is doubtful (see below). The "itchycoo" nickname is, in turn, attributed to the stinging nettles which grew there. Other sources cite nearby Wanstead Flats (Manor Park end) as the inspiration for the song.[7]

Photo of Wanstead Flats, London E12 near Marriott's Manor Park home
Photo of Wanstead Flats, London E12 near Marriott's Manor Park home

Marriott and Small Faces manager Tony Calder came up with the well-known story when Marriott was told the BBC had banned the song for its overt drug references, Calder confirms:

"We scammed the story together, we told the BBC that Itchycoo Park was a piece of waste ground in the East End that the band had played on as kids - we put the story out at ten and by lunchtime we were told the ban was off." - Tony Calder (Manager)[8]

Ronnie Lane on the true location of Itchycoo Park:

"It's a place we used to go to in Ilford years ago. Some bloke we know suggested it to us because it's full of nettles and you keep scratching". - Ronnie Lane

[9]

[edit] Other possible etymologies

Another local park, in the nearby town of Ilford, called Valentines Park, was also often referred to as Itchycoo Park.

The hairy seeds from the Rose hip (or wild Dog Rose) were called "Itchycoos" by English children in the 1950s[citation needed], and the term is still used by some elsewhere in the United Kingdom.[citation needed] The seeds could be broken out of the berry and dropped down someone's collar between shirt and back to cause itching.[10]

[edit] Uses and Cover Versions

[edit] Notes

Notes:

  1. ^ Guide to British Music of the 1960s. Making Time. Retrieved on 2007-08-10.
  2. ^ Hewitt, Paulo. Steve Marriott - All Too Beautiful.... Helter Skelter, pp.160. ISBN 1-900924-44-7. 
  3. ^ The Small Faces In One Minute. BBC. Retrieved on 2007-08-10.
  4. ^ NME Readers all time top 100 singles published 1976. NME. Retrieved on 2007-08-10.
  5. ^ Top 40 Hits of Mid January 1976. everyHit.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-10.
  6. ^ Hewitt, Paulo; Kenney Jones (1995). small faces the young mods' forgotten story. Acid Jazz, pp.99. ISBN 0 9523935 0 6. 
  7. ^ Small Faces London- Ilford Park. Making Time. Retrieved on 2007-08-10.
  8. ^ Steve Marriott, All Too Beautiful p.154
  9. ^ Hewitt, Paulo; Kenney Jones (1995). small faces the young mods' forgotten story. Acid Jazz, pp.98. ISBN 0 9523935 0 6. 
  10. ^ Itchy Secrets. www.show.me.uk. Retrieved on 2007-08-10.
  11. ^ "Itchycoo Park, soundtrack to Severance film 2006 http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/reviews/cl-et-severance25may25,0,288807.story Retrieved 22/09/07

References:

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Small Faces
Steve Marriott | Ronnie "Plonk" Lane | Kenney Jones | Ian "Mac" McLagan
Former members
Jimmy Winston (1965 – 1966)
Discography
Small Faces (1966) – From the Beginning (1967) – Small Faces (1967) – Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake (1968) – The Autumn Stone – Playmates – 78 In The Shade – Itchycoo Park
Live albums (The BBC Sessions)
BBC Session (Saturday Club) (1965) – BBC Session (Saturday Club) (1965) – BBC Session (Saturday Club) (1966) – BBC Session (Saturday Club) (1966) – BBC Session (Top Gear) (1968) – 1968 Sessions – The Final Tour (1969)
7" Singles
"Whatcha Gonna Do About It"/"What's a Matter Baby" (1965) – "I've Got Mine"/"It's Too Late" (1965) – "Sha-La-La-La-Lee"/"Grow Your Own" (1966) – "Hey Girl"/"Almost Grown" (1966) – "All or Nothing"/"Understanding" (1966) –  – " My Mind's Eye"/"I Can't Dance With You" (1966) – "I Can't Make It"/"Just Passing" (1967) – "Patterns"/"E Too D" (1967) – "Here Come the Nice"/"Talk To You" (1967) – "Itchycoo Park"/"I'm Only Dreaming" (1967) – "Tin Soldier"/"I Feel Much Better" (1967) – "Lazy Sunday"/"Rollin' Over" (1968) – "The Universal"/"Donkey Rides, A Penny, A Glass" (1968) – "Afterglow (Of Your Love)"/"Wham Bam Thank You Mam" (1969) – "Itchycoo Park" (re – release) (1975) – "Lazy Sunday" (re – release) (1976)
Other related people
Don Arden – Andrew Loog Oldham – Tony Calder – Glyn Johns