Died On This Date (June 4, 1997) Ronnie Lane / The Small Faces

Ronnie Lane
April 1, 1946 – June 4, 1997

Ronnie Lane was born in the east end of London, and from an early age, he wanted to be a musician. Meeting drummer Kenney Jones at 16, Lane formed his first band, the Outkasts with him initially on guitar, but quickly switching to bass. Lane soon met Steve Marriott and together with Jones and Jimmy Winston, they formed the Small Faces in 1965. In 1972, Lane broke from the Small Faces to embark on a solo career. During that time, he hooked up with Pete Townsend to record an album called Rough Mix that was released in 1977. It was during the Rough Mix sessions that Lane discovered he was suffering from Multiple Sclerosis, which barely slowed him down for a bit as he continued to tour and record. In fact he spent most of those days as a gypsy minstrel, traveling the highways of England playing acoustically along the way. In 1983, Lane’s then girlfriend, Boo Oldfield helped arrange an MS benefit concert (A.R.M.S Concert) that featured performances by Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts, Jones and Andy Fairweather-Low. Joe Cocker and Paul Rodgers were added to a US tour. Suffering from the effects of MS, Lane moved to the better climate of Austin TX, where he continued to work with the likes of Alejandro Escovedo. Since he wasn’t earning royalties from his days with the Small Faces, friends like Jimmy Page and Rod Stewart generously helped with the medical bills. Kenney Jones and Ian McLagan were able to arrange Small Faces royalty payments to Lane, before he died of pneumonia as a result of the MS on June 4, 1997.

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