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Itchycoo Park

"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.

Song Profile

"Itchycoo Park" was released by mod band The 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 No. 16 in the American Billboard charts in 1968.

"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 slightly different speeds) the technique was developed by Olympic Studios engineer George Chkiantz in 1966.

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

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

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. 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.

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)

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

Other possible etymologies

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

Itchy Park is located in the East End of London and dates back to the Victorian era.

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

Uses and Cover Versions

1984 - covered by progressive rock band The Enid
1993 - Blue Murder cover on the album, Nothin' But Trouble
1993 - Heavy metal band Quiet Riot covered on the album Terrified.
1994 - cover by 90s dance band M People on their album Bizarre Fruit
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
2006 - The original version is heard in the opening scenes of the British film Severance starring Danny Dyer.

Notes

Notes: References:

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
CHUM Charts (Canada)