Itchycoo Park
{{short description|1967 single by Small Faces}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2014}}
{{EngvarB|date=June 2014}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Itchycoo Park
| cover = SmallFacesItchycooPark.jpg
| caption = Dutch picture sleeve
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Small Faces
| album =
| B-side = I'm Only Dreaming
| released = 4 August 1967
| recorded = 3–7 July 1967{{Cite AV media notes |last1=Caiger|first1=Rob|last2=Flood|first2=Tosh |title=Greatest Hits: The Immediate Years 1967–1969 |others=Small Faces |date=2014 |type=Liner notes|publisher=Immediate, Charly |id=F 847}}
| studio = Olympic (London)
| venue =
| genre = {{hlist|Psychedelic rock{{cite book|last=DeRogatis|first=Jim|title=Turn On Your Mind: Four Decades of Great Psychedelic Rock|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation|year=2003|isbn=0-634-05548-8|page=162|chapter=Ten Great English Psychedelic Rock Songs|author-link=Jim DeRogatis|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U7cQmRsLgN8C&pg=PA162}}{{cite web|first= Ljubinko|last= Zivkovic|title= 12 obscure psych-rock songs from the 1960s that deserve a revival|website= Audio Phix |date= January 6, 2025|url= https://audiophix.com/12-obscure-psych-rock-songs-1960s-that-deserve-revival|accessdate= January 8, 2025}}|psychedelic pop{{cite web|url=https://rockhall.com/blog/post/7402_10-essential-small-faces-faces-songs/|title=10 Essential Small Faces/Faces Songs|website=Rock and Roll Hall of Fame|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160614125827/https://rockhall.com/blog/post/7402_10-essential-small-faces-faces-songs/|archive-date=14 June 2016|access-date=21 March 2020}}|experimental pop{{cite book |last1=Barnes |first1=Mike |title=A New Day Yesterday: UK Progressive Rock & the 70s |date=2024 |publisher=Omnibus Press |location=London |isbn=9781915841360 |pages=9–10 |edition=2nd}}|music hall{{cite book|first=Bob |last=Stanley|title=Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop|chapter= 1966: The London Look|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9emZAAAAQBAJ&pg=PT7|date=13 September 2013|publisher=Faber & Faber|isbn=978-0-571-28198-5|page=206}}}}
| length = 2:45
| label = Immediate
| writer =
| producer =
- Steve Marriott
- Ronnie Lane
| prev_title = Here Come the Nice
| prev_year = 1967
| next_title = Tin Soldier
| next_year = 1967
| misc = {{Audio sample
| type = single
| file = Itchycoo park.ogg
}}
}}
"Itchycoo Park" is a song by English rock band Small Faces, written by Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane. Largely written by Lane, it was among a number of pop songs of the era to make use of flanging, an effect involving, at that time, electro-mechanical processes. The song was not included on any of their UK albums, but was however featured on the North American release There Are But Four Small Faces (1968).
Released on 4 August 1967 by Immediate Records, the song was the Small Faces' fifth top-ten song in the UK Singles Chart, reaching a position of number three. "Itchycoo Park" became the Small Faces' sole top-forty hit in the United States, reaching number sixteen on the US Billboard Hot 100 in early 1968. In Continental Europe, it reached the top ten in several countries, while in Canada and New Zealand it was a number one hit. The single was re-released in December 1975, reaching number nine in the UK Singles chart, and is often attributed as the reason for the Small Faces reunion during the mid-1970s.{{Cite web|date=2004-10-19|title=IanMcLagan.com - The Story of the Small Faces in Their Own Words: Reunions|url=http://www.ianmclagan.com/sf/reunions.htm|access-date=2020-07-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041019235857/http://www.ianmclagan.com/sf/reunions.htm|archive-date=19 October 2004}}
The song has since been covered by various other recording artists, most notably by English group M People in 1995, whose dance rendition of the song reached number eleven in the UK.
The location and etymology of the titular park has long been debated, many claiming it to be Little Ilford Park in Manor Park, East London, Valentine's Park in Ilford or Wanstead Flats in Wanstead, East London.
Song profile
"Itchycoo Park" was released by 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.{{cite web| title = Guide to British Music of the 1960s| publisher = Making Time| url = http://www.makingtime.co.uk/small_faces.html| access-date = 10 August 2007}}
The song reached number 16 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1968, during a chart run of 16 weeks.{{cite book| last1 = Hewitt & Rod Stewart| first1 = Paulo| last2 = Hellier| first2 = John| title = Steve Marriott - All Too Beautiful...| publisher = Helter Skelter| isbn = 1-900924-44-7| page = 160| title-link = Steve Marriott - All Too Beautiful...| year = 2004}} In Canada, the song reached number 1.{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.100161.pdf| title=RPM Top 100 Singles - January 27, 1968
| publisher=Library and Archives Canada
| access-date=17 November 2017}}
Long running British music magazine NME cites readers poll voting "Itchycoo Park" number 62 out of the top 100 singles of all time.{{cite magazine| title = NME Readers all time top 100 singles published 1976| magazine = NME| url = http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/nme_readers.htm| access-date = 10 August 2007}}
"Itchycoo Park" climbed the charts again when it was re-released on 13 December 1975.{{cite web| title = Top 40 Hits of Mid January 1976| publisher = everyHit.com| url = http://everyhit.com/retrocharts/1976-JanuaryB.html| access-date = 10 August 2007}}
The song was one of the first pop singles to use flanging, an effect that can be heard on the drums in the bridge section after each chorus.{{cite book|last1=Hodgson|first1=Jay|title=Understanding Records: A Field Guide To Recording Practice|date=19 August 2010|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA|isbn=9781441124098|page=142|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sc2oAwAAQBAJ&q=flanging++itchycoo+park|access-date=13 February 2017|language=en}} Most sources credit the use of the effect to Olympic Studios engineer George Chkiantz who showed it to the Small Faces' regular engineer Glyn Johns; he in turn demonstrated it to the group, who were always on the lookout for innovative production sounds, and they readily agreed to its use on the single.
Although many devices were soon created that could produce the same effect by purely electronic means, the effect as used on "Itchycoo Park" was at that time an electro-mechanical studio process.{{cite web|last1=Stojkovski|first1=Dragan|title=Itchycoo Park|url=http://www.kurrentmusic.com/blogviewer.html?blog-guid=f390c3db-f3d4-4743-8ec3-5c76ded21b1f|website=Kurrent Music|access-date=14 February 2017|language=en|date=6 September 2016|archive-date=18 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170218145639/http://www.kurrentmusic.com/blogviewer.html?blog-guid=f390c3db-f3d4-4743-8ec3-5c76ded21b1f|url-status=dead}} Two synchronised tape copies of a finished recording were played simultaneously into a third master recorder, and by manually retarding the rotation of one of the two tape reels by pressing on the flanges, a skilled engineer could subtly manipulate the phase difference between the two sources, creating the lush 'swooshing' phase effect that sweeps up and down the frequency range. The original single version was mixed and mastered in mono, and the phasing effect is more pronounced in the mono mix than in the later stereo mix.{{Citation needed|date=May 2013}}
Inspiration
The song was first conceived and largely written by Ronnie Lane, who had been reading a leaflet on the virtues of Oxford which mentioned its Bridge of Sighs and "dreaming spires", both referenced in the song's first stanza.
{{cite book| last = Hewitt| first = Paolo| author-link=Paolo Hewitt| title = Small Faces: The Young Mods' Forgotten Story| publisher = Acid Jazz Books Ltd.|location=London| year = 1995| isbn = 0-9523935-0-6| page = 99}}
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 songwriter Steve Marriott grew up. 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.{{cite web| title = Small Faces London- Ilford Park| publisher = Making Time| url = http://www.makingtime.co.uk/rfr/london5.htm| access-date = 10 August 2007}}
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:
{{blockquote|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.Steve Marriott, All Too Beautiful p.154}}
Ronnie Lane said of 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 actually".{{cite book| last = Hewitt| first = Paulo|author2=Kenney Jones| title = Small Faces: The Young Mods' Forgotten Story| publisher = Acid Jazz| year = 1995| isbn = 0-9523935-0-6| page = 98}}
=Other possible etymologies=
In an interview Steve Marriott stated that Itchycoo Park is Valentine's Park in Ilford. "We used to go there and get stung by wasps. It's what we used to call it." This was reiterated by actor Tony Robinson, a childhood friend of Marriott.{{cite book| last = Robinson| first = Tony| title = No Cunning Plan| publisher = Sidgwick & Jackson| year = 2016| isbn = 978-1-5098-4303-9| page = 30}}
The term "Itchycoo" also appears in the Scots language from around the 1950s, particularly referring to the itchy seeds of the rose-hip (Dog Rose).{{cite web | title = ITCHY-COO | publisher = Scottish National Dictionary/Dictionary of the Scots Language | url = http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/itchycoo | access-date = 26 July 2016}}
Steve Marriott once said of The Small Faces "(We) were a mix of R&B and music hall. The R&B came from Detroit, the music hall from Stepney. That's what 'Itchycoo Park' is about… having a drink and a party."
Itchy Park refers to the grounds of Christ Church, Spitalfields in the East End of London, laid out as gardens in 1890.[https://books.google.com/books?id=jE89AAAAIAAJ&dq=itchy+park&pg=PA185 Itchy Park] Retrieved 16 September 2008
In his book A New Day Yesterday: UK Progressive Rock & the 70s (2020), Mike Barnes writes that the song "epitomised a peculiarly late-Sixties English way of looking through a metaphorical lens – be it drug induced or not – at the everyday and transforming it, via the imagination, into something transcendental, almost mystical, and as such it was one of the most potent songs of the psychedelic era, which, at most, lasted just a couple of years from 1966 to the beginning of 1968."{{cite book |last1=Barnes |first1=Mike |title=A New Day Yesterday: UK Progressive Rock & the 70s |date=2024 |publisher=Omnibus Press |location=London |isbn=9781915841360 |pages=9–10 |edition=2nd}} Barnes says that, with the song, the Small Faces "began to veer into more period territory, while still making a brilliant experimental pop single. They epitomised the way that many British musicians at this time were moving away from their influences and pursuing more individual ideas. [...] This pop song, with its memorable tune and alluring soundworld – and a Top 10 hit for the group – re-imagined humdrum Britain as somewhere that really could be perceived as being all too beautiful."
Personnel
=Small Faces=
- Steve Marriott{{snd}}lead and backing vocals, guitar
- Ronnie Lane{{snd}}backing vocals, bass
- Ian McLagan{{snd}}backing vocals, organ, piano
- Kenney Jones{{snd}}drums, percussion
Charts
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
=Weekly charts=
| class="wikitable sortable"
!Chart (1976) !Peak position |
| UK Singles (OCC)
| align="center" |9 |
| Belgium (Ultratop)
| style="text-align:center;" |21 |
| Ireland (IRMA){{Cite web|title=The Irish Charts - All there is to know|url=http://irishcharts.ie/search/placement|access-date=2020-07-03|website=irishcharts.ie}}
| style="text-align:center;" |8 |
{{col-2}}
=Year-end charts=
| class="wikitable" |
| align="left"|Chart (1967)
! style="text-align:center;"|Rank |
|---|
| UK Singles (OCC){{cite web|title= The 100 best-selling singles of 1967 [in the U.K.] |publisher= sixtiescity.net |access-date= 3 July 2020 |url= http://www.sixtiescity.net/charts/67chart.htm#top100}}
| style="text-align:center;"|33 |
| class="wikitable" |
| align="left"|Chart (1968)
! style="text-align:center;"|Rank |
|---|
| US Cash Box Top 100{{Cite web |url=http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/60s_files/1968YESP.html |title=Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 26, 1968 |access-date=3 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150601014249/http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/60s_files/1968YESP.html |archive-date=1 June 2015 |url-status=dead }}
| style="text-align:center;"|77 |
| Canada Top Singles (RPM){{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.5867.pdf| title=RPM Top 100 of 1968 - January 6, 1969}}
| style="text-align:center;"|59 |
{{col-end}}
Certifications
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Small Faces|title=Itchycoo Park|award=Silver|relyear=2004|certyear=2022|id=18327-1565-1|access-date=26 August 2022}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}
M People version
{{Infobox song
| name = Itchycoo Park
| cover = M_People-Itchycoo_Park.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = M People
| album = Bizarre Fruit II
| released = {{start date|1995|11|13|df=y}}{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1995/Music-Week-1995-11-11.pdf|title=New Releases: Singles|magazine=Music Week|page=31|date=11 November 1995|access-date=23 August 2021}}
| recorded =
| studio =
| venue =
| genre =
| length = 3:34
| label = Deconstruction
| writer =
| producer = M People
| prev_title = Love Rendezvous
| prev_year = 1995
| next_title = Just for You
| next_year = 1997
| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|l8LOis_gIfc|"Itchycoo Park"}}}}
}}
British band M People released a dance version of "Itchycoo Park" in November 1995 by Deconstruction Records as the second single from their reissued and expanded version of the 1994 Bizarre Fruit album, Bizarre Fruit II (1995). It was produced by the band, peaking at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart and was remixed by David Morales. The song also peaked at number 21 in New Zealand, number 24 in Iceland, number 27 in Australia, and number 22 on the Eurochart Hot 100. The accompanying music video for "Itchycoo Park" was directed by British photographer and director Maria Mochnacz.{{cite web|url=https://imvdb.com/video/m-people/itchycoo-park|title=Itchycoo Park (1995) by M People|publisher=IMVDb.com|access-date=18 October 2018}}
=Critical reception=
Scottish Aberdeen Press and Journal described M People's cover version of "Itchycoo Park" as "refreshing"."Friday November 17, 1995". Aberdeen Press and Journal. 17 November 1995. page 12. Jose F. Promis from AllMusic named it an "epic version".{{cite web|first= Jose F. |last= Promis |title= M People – The Best Of M People |publisher= AllMusic |access-date= 6 November 2020 |url= https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-best-of-m-people-mw0000471738}} Larry Flick from Billboard noted that front woman Heather Small "whips through" the cover version "with a smooth blend of streetwise edge and sophisticated flair." He added, "Her distinctive way with a lyric is the stuff of future legends."{{cite magazine|first=Larry|last=Flick|title=Dance Trax: Gangsta-Bop Hits The Spot; Divas Dance The Night Away|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1996/BB-1996-08-10.pdf|magazine=Billboard|date=10 August 1996|page=27|accessdate=1 December 2022|author-link=Larry Flick}} Michael Bonner from Melody Maker wrote, "Bubbly, inoffensive, radio-friendly."{{cite magazine|first=Michael|last=Bonner|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/nothingelseon/53589787806/|title=Singles|magazine=Melody Maker|date=11 November 1995|page=36|access-date=17 March 2024}} A reviewer from Music & Media felt that "chart darlings M People have reworked this Small Faces classic with equal measures of dance beats, a Billy Joel/River Of Dreams piano sound and marvellous gospel undertones. Their innovative arrangements will take them high into the charts with this one."{{cite magazine|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Music-and-Media/90s/1995/MM-1995-12-02.pdf|title=New Releases: Singles|magazine=Music & Media|volume=12|issue=48|date=2 December 1995|page=8|access-date=31 July 2019}} Mark Beaumont from NME deemed it "a gospelised cover" and "late to come across as anything but the cred-grasping toss it is."{{cite magazine|first=Mark|last=Beaumont|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/nothingelseon/53608801505/|title=Long Play|magazine=NME|date=2 December 1995|page=46|access-date=9 May 2024|author-link=Mark Beaumont (journalist)}} Gill Whyte from Smash Hits gave it four out of five, writing, "Kind of like a gospel cola ad with bonza psychedelic doings and piano twinklings. And, of course, there's the inimitable M-ster dance vibe and the oops-I've-swallowed-an-orange vocals by Megaphone Woman Heather. A top picnic of which you are advised to partake."{{cite magazine|first=Gill|last=Whyte|url=https://sites.google.com/view/smash-hits-remembered-1994-5/home/1995/442-8th-november-21st-november-1995|title=Singles|work=Smash Hits|date=8 November 1995|page=|access-date=16 February 2025}} Another Smash Hits editor, Alex Needham, viewed it as a "dodgy version" in her review of the Bizarre Fruit II album.{{cite magazine|first=Alex|last=Needham|url=https://sites.google.com/view/smash-hits-remembered-1994-5/home/1995/444-6th-december-19th-december-1995|title=Albums|work=Smash Hits|date=6 December 1995|page=57|access-date=17 February 2025}}
=Track listing=
- Cassette single – 74321 33073 4
- "Itchycoo Park" (Radio Edit) – 3:52
- "Itchycoo Park" (Morales Classic Club Mix) – 7:52
- CD single – 74321 33073 2
- "Itchycoo Park" (Radio Edit) – 3:52
- "Itchycoo Park" (M People Master Mix) – 6:42
- "Itchycoo Park" (Morales Classic Club Mix) – 7:52
- "Itchycoo Park" (Hed Boys Post-Op Mix) – 9:04
- "Itchycoo Park" (Morales Beautiful Instrumental) – 6:22
- 12–inch single – 74321 33073 1
- "Itchycoo Park" (M People Master Mix) – 6:42
- "Itchycoo Park" (Hed Boys Post-Op Mix) – 9:04
- "Itchycoo Park" (Morales Classic Club Mix) – 7:52
- "Padlock" (Junior Vasquez Club Dub) – 6:59
=Charts=
Uses and other notable versions
{{more footnotes needed|section|date=July 2020}}
- 1984: covered by progressive rock band The Enid
- 1992: Rymes with Orange, on the album Peel
- 1993: Blue Murder cover on the album Nothin' But Trouble
- 1993: Heavy metal band Quiet Riot covered on the album Terrified.
- 1996: covered by Ben Lee for the I Shot Andy Warhol soundtrack
- 1996: Tasmin Archer covered the song as a bonus track to the Japanese edition of her album Bloom
- 1996: The song is featured in the soundtrack to the Australian film Mr. Reliable{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/mr-reliable-mw0000974887|title=Mr. Reliable - Original Soundtrack {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits|website=AllMusic|access-date=21 March 2020}}
- 1999: Itchycoo Park 1999 was a "Pre-Bonnaroo" like music festival in Manchester, Tennessee, the same place in which Bonnaroo is today. The festival was successful its first year but did not fulfill its plans to return in 2000.
- 1999: The song can be heard in the marijuana documentary Grass.
- 2006: The original version is heard in the opening scenes of the British film Severance starring Danny Dyer.{{cite web | title=Itchycoo Park, soundtrack to Severance film | year=2006 | url=http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/reviews/cl-et-severance25may25,0,288807.story | access-date=22 September 2007}}
- 2009: Used in soundtrack for the movie The Men Who Stare at Goats starring George Clooney, Ewan McGregor and Jeff Bridges.
- New Zealand/Australian band Dragon covered the song on their album It's All Too Beautiful (2011).
- 2015: Covered by Nellie McKay on her album My Weekly Reader.
- 2015: Covered by Alice Cooper's Hollywood Vampires on their debut album.
- 2018: The song can be heard in the Season 2 finale of The Handmaid's Tale. Commander Lawrence plays the song at his home.
- 2024: Covered by Robyn Hitchcock on his album 1967: Vacations in the Past.
References
{{Reflist}}
Further reading
{{refbegin}}
- Paolo Hewitt/John Hellier (2004). Steve Marriott - All Too Beautiful.... Helter Skelter Publishing {{ISBN|1-900924-44-7}}.
- Paolo Hewitt/Kenney Jones (1995) Small Faces: The Young Mods' Forgotten Story – Acid Jazz {{ISBN|0-9523935-0-6}}
{{refend}}
External links
- [http://www.thesmallfaces.com/ The Small Faces Official Site]
{{Small Faces}}
{{M People}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Psychedelic pop songs
Category:British psychedelic rock songs
Category:Experimental pop songs
Category:Songs written by Steve Marriott
Category:Songs written by Ronnie Lane
Category:Deconstruction Records singles
Category:Immediate Records singles