Itchycoo Park

"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.
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.
The song reached number 16 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1968, during a chart run of 16 weeks. In Canada, the song reached number 1.
Long running British music magazine NME cites readers poll voting "Itchycoo Park" number 62 out of the top 100 singles of all time.
"Itchycoo Park" climbed the charts again when it was re-released on 13 December 1975.
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. 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. 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.
==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. 
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.
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:
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".
===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.
The term "Itchycoo" also appears in the Scots language from around the 1950s.
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.Itchy Park Retrieved 16 September 2008
==Personnel==
According to the liner notes of the 2012 7" re-master:
===Small Faces===
* Steve Marriottlead and backing vocals, guitar
* Ronnie Lanebacking vocals, bass
* Ian McLaganbacking vocals, organ, piano
* Kenney Jonesdrums, percussion
==Charts==
===Weekly charts===
Chart (1967–1968) 	Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report) 	2
Belgium (Ultratop) 	19
Canada Top Singles (RPM) 	1
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)	38
Netherlands (Single Top 100) 	3
New Zealand (Listener) 	1
Norway (VG-lista) 	4
US Billboard Hot 100 	16
US Cash Box Top 100 	13
US Record World Top 100 	12
UK Singles (OCC) 	3
West Germany (Media Control) 	17
Chart (1976) 	Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC) 	9
Belgium (Ultratop)	21
Ireland (IRMA) 	8
===Year-end charts===
Chart (1967) 	Rank
UK Singles (OCC)	33
Chart (1968) 	Rank
US Cash Box Top 100 	77
Canada Top Singles (RPM)	59
==Certifications==
==M People version==
British band M People released a dance version of "Itchycoo Park" in November 1995 by Deconstruction 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 Maria Mochnacz.
===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 deemed it an "epic version". 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." Michael Bonner from Melody Maker wrote, "Bubbly, inoffensive, radio-friendly." 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."
===Track listing===
===Charts===
Chart (1995) 	Peakposition
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) 	22
Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40) 	24
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade) 	14
Netherlands (Single Top 100 Tipparade)	4
UK Singles (OCC) 	11
==Uses and other notable versions==
*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
*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.
*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.
==References==
==Further reading==
*Paolo Hewitt/John Hellier (2004). Steve Marriott - All Too Beautiful.... Helter Skelter Publishing .
*Paolo Hewitt/Kenney Jones (1995) Small Faces: The Young Mods' Forgotten Story – Acid Jazz 
==External links==
*The Small Faces Official Site
Category:1967 singles
Category:1999 singles
Category:Small Faces songs
Category:Psychedelic pop songs
Category:Songs about London
Category:Songs written by Steve Marriott
Category:Songs written by Ronnie Lane
Category:M People songs
Category:1995 singles
Category:1967 songs
Category:Deconstruction Records singles
Category:Immediate Records singles
Category:House music songs
Category:RPM Top Singles number-one singles
Category:Number-one singles in New Zealand