ZOOMING IN ON KENNEY JONES
Written by Val Weedon
Normally when it is time to catch up with Kenney, I would be heading down to Hurtwood by car. But the recent Covid-19 crisis meant that any face to a Faces contact was not safe.
Fortunately, the development of online apps such as Skype and Facetime has allowed visual communication to take place and more recently there has been a new kid in town called Zoom. Although this has largely been used by companies and organisations for video conferencing, it has also grown in popularity during lockdown for family and friends to keep in touch. So, it occurred to me it may be one way I could still carry out my interview with Kenney without either of us being at risk. He agreed, so we set a date to chat and when the time came, I sat eagerly in front of my computer screen waiting for the appearance of the lovely Kenney Jones.
Before we start our chat there is a slight problem of not being able to hear Kenney. Now neither of us are great at the technical stuff, but thankfully Kenney’s daughter Erin is on hand to help us out! Then as Kenney sat down, he noticed he could only see half of me! A quick adjustment to my computer screen and we were finally ready to go.
Although I have some serious questions to ask Kenney, I know from experience my conversation with him will include some off-beat banter between us. And even though I have known Kenney for over 50 years he never stops amazing me with his unexpected stories. One of them unfolded in front of me after I noticed behind me, in view, was my guitar hanging on the wall. Somehow, I felt the need to explain to Kenney that I had recently starting learning to play it. Without any hesitation Kenney gets up and disappears, saying, he will find some drumsticks. I laugh as I did not get time to explain that I could only master one chord at the moment and very much a novice, so hoping he was not expecting me to join him in some sort of duet or jamming session!
Thankfully, Kenney could not find any drumsticks close by, but instead appears with, what looks like a child’s tin drum!
“This is as near as I’m going to get to a drum” he says and quickly points out that it is not really a drum, but an ice-bucket. I breath a sigh of relief.
He then goes onto explain “this was given to me by the SAS when I did a gig for them a while ago. In return I gave them one of my cymbals and it is now in a display cabinet in the Officer’s Mess, alongside Colonel Gaddafi’s Gold Winchester gun.” This is one of those unexpected tales from Kenney I mentioned, and I am stunned into silence, partly thinking he’s pulling my leg as Kenney has often caught me out. But then quickly realise this story is real. I am therefore not surprised the SAS would put Kenney’s cymbals on display in such an honourable place, knowing only too well what a legend he is.
I am keen to find out what Kenney has made of the recent lockdown situation and how he has been coping?
“I’ve been doing really well. Do not forget I am incredibly lucky living in the countryside and feel upset and sad for some people suffering in high rise flats. I have two sons in London, one of them has a house with a garden, but the other lives in a flat. We talk on the phone and keep spirits up as I see that we are all in this together. I also have the Polo club and the fields to tend. My isolation really consists of going from our house to car and car to the club, then in reverse. At home there are all those little jobs you park to one side promising to do one day. So, I’ve been doing them too.” he smiles. Kenney continues.
“I’m extremely grateful that I have got things to do. I’m also a qualified Groundsman and when we first came here to Hurtwood it was just a piece of land set aside that no one had done anything to, I developed it myself, creating the Polo Club and so I know every inch of it."
Although the Polo season has now been disrupted during lockdown and with social isolation, Kenney explains that the grass still needs cutting and he is the only one who can use the big tractors to carry out this work. There are also about 30 horses still in their Livery Stables that his son Cody tends to.
“We all help where we can, so we are doing things like this whether there is a lockdown on not. Horses still need to be fed and cared for.” Kenney adds
“We got a shout out on Radio 2 recently. Not just me, but for all those Groundsmen tending grass, especially sports facilities. We must be ready for when it is safe to resume. I emphasise the word ‘safe’ as none of us will play until it is safe.”
Kenney explains to me that Polo is a tricky sport to play in the first place and with the present situation players will need to avoid contact.
“Contact can happen when you try to take possession of the ball which involves riding alongside each other and ride each other off. It is like a gentle push, so you are making contact, with the purpose of taking your opponent’s eye off the line of the ball, this allows you to take possession. None of that contact will be allowed to happen if we resume now. We have to be sensible about it and we will wait for the go-ahead from the Hurlingham Polo Association that will allow us to get back to riding and playing again.”
Hurlingham Polo Association is the governing body for Polo in the UK, Ireland, and other countries around the world. Kenney is a Council member and Hurtwood is an affiliated club.
Kenney reflects on the positive side of what is happening.
“I hope we come out and into a better world. One of the good things to come out of this situation is not having so much traffic or aircraft, so air quality is better, and you can see the stars at night. It reminds me of being a kid just after the War and having a feeling of contentment and peace about it. I still remember rationing and it is a bit like that now with supplies being restricted. We are fortunate really, but I do feel for the elderly who are confined and perhaps cannot see their family. London seems to have bore the brunt of it and my heart goes out to them. Personally, we haven’t had anyone close that has been affected by the virus directly.”
I ask him if he saw the recent speech from our Prime Minister Boris Johnson outlining the next stages in response to the Covid-19 crisis.
“I thought it was fairly good, but disappointed at opposition and criticism, using it as a tool against government. He is in a difficult position and had the virus so will be doubly cautious and having to deal with both the issue of saving lives and dealing with the economy. We are all alert, but we need to have at the forefront of our minds this is a deadly virus. If we think about the rules of social distancing, we’ll be safe.”
I ask Kenney if he’s used this time to take up any hobbies or activities.
“Not really” he adds. “People ask me if I’ve been practising drums, but I haven’t much, just enough to keep my hands moving. I miss playing with other musicians, getting together and rehearsing, then doing a gig. Performing is when your drumming skills come together. I know there is talk about doing it online, but it’s not the same as performing live together.”
As far as activities go, he explains that Jayne bought him a racing bicycle some years ago and he’s recently taken it out of storage with the intent of riding again.
“Sitting on the saddle of a racing bike is like sitting on a razor blade” he jokes. “I went out on it recently, remembering I had a bike as a kid and was a rather good cyclist back then. But when I got on my racing bike, I was wobbling all over the place!”
It has not deterred him though and he vows he will keep trying to improve.
I ask Kenney what the things are he misses during this lockdown and social distancing.
“On the downside, this virus stops me doing things with the grandchildren.”
Kenney recently became a grandad again when his daughter Casey gave birth in April to her third son.
“I got to see him through a window” Kenney said “but haven’t cuddled him yet. I have two young granddaughters who live in Brighton that have just taken up horse-riding and I would dearly love to pick them up and take them riding for the day.”
Kenney has always been very much a family man and so not being able to interact is something he is missing. His daughter Erin still lives at home and he gets to see one of his boys Cody at Hurtwood when he tends the horses.
Keeping in touch with his music fans is also important to Kenney. So recently he agreed to do a Q & A which was recorded, and his responses were published on Facebook and Instagram. What Kenney did not anticipate was just how popular this would be with the fans.
“I didn’t realise what I’d taken on and just approached the questions one after another, but then realised it was a bit of mistake not to have edited them first.”
But in true Kenney form, he took it all in his stride. I asked if there was any question he got bored with answering or are there ones he hates answering?
He smiles and says, “I never get bored answering questions” laughing, he adds “the ones I hate answering are those I can’t answer.”
One of the regular questions he gets asked is ‘When are The Faces getting back together to do a tour?’ Which was exactly my next question to him!
“Well it’s pretty obvious now with this virus that it’s not going to happen now. We have been talking about it over the years and we do get together two or three times a year. We have a laugh and drink, nothing changes there.”
Kenney explains they were looking at plans to tour the UK later this year, possibly a few nights at the O2, followed by UK regional concerts. But of course, that idea has now been put on hold.
“We have kept in touch during the lockdown via text, email or phone and we are talking about putting together a Faces album of material not released before. We all have some unreleased stuff and between us are finding material we could use but will not know how good that material is until we start listening to it. We want to make it interesting and involving stuff we have done individually and collectively as well. All in its early stages and we’re working on that for a bit of fun.”
Recently Kenney appeared in a documentary called ‘The Shadows at Sixty’ broadcast on BBC 4 May 1st (now available on iPlayer) It’s fairly well known that Kenney is a huge fan of The Shadows and Brian Bennett their drummer is his idol. When Kenney was with the Small Faces, he purchased Brian’s kit that by chance was on sale in Drum City. It is a drum kit that he used all through the Small Faces years and it’s the one that appears on the Ogdens’ album. The drum kit remains in his possession.
Brian once expressed to Kenney that he really regretted selling his kit and asked Kenney if he would ever sell it back to him? Although Kenney said he probably would he had also become extremely attached to it. So, he’s offered to share it with Brian saying that any time he wanted to use it he could. Over the years they have become good friends.
“It was Brian who phoned me to ask if I’d say a few nice things about The Shadows for the documentary. Of course, I did not hesitate in saying yes. It was recorded about 18 months ago, but sadly I was not feeling well on that day, so the clips shown were quite short. I love the Shadows and their music, which is not easy to play, that is why you rarely see covers bands doing their stuff. It is quite difficult to get right. He laughs as he explains “I formed a band recently called ‘The Shagows’. It’s not a covers or tribute band, it’s just a few local musician friends that get together for fun to play Shadows music.”
I joke with Kenney saying perhaps Brian will be guest drummer one day, just like Kenney has done with the Small Fakers, the Small Faces tribute band. He laughs at the thought. It was an opportunity to mention to Kenney that the Small Fakers have recently recorded and released some of their own material under the name of The Veras. Kenney said he knew they had been working on their own material but had not heard it yet. So, I promise to contact the band and get them to forward a copy for him to listen to. Kenney said they had come a long way and it was good for them to get out of their comfort zone and do something they wanted to do."
Next on my list of things to ask Kenney was the film documentary on the Small Faces, which went into production earlier this year. It was commissioned by Sky Arts and is being produced by MGMM studios. http://mgmm.tv/small-faces
“The making of this film is coming along really, really well with loads of great interviews. It’s a huge task getting all the clips together as the Small Faces were filmed all the time, everywhere they went and appeared in loads of tv shows.”
Kenney has already contributed a lot to the project and will continue to do so until its release, which has not been set yet.
I do a quick time check and realise we have been chatting for about 50 minutes so time to let Kenney get on with his day. We were both chuffed with ourselves that we had managed this technical challenge of video conferencing, but not realising that it would take us a while to work out how to exit our meeting!
Then Kenney spies a little button and says, “it’s telling me to leave so I’m leaving now!” We both laugh and Zoom..he’s gone! Until next time Kenney...take care
Written by Val Weedon
Journalist and former Small Faces Fan Club assistant
May 2020
ZOOMING IN ON KENNEY JONES
Written by Val Weedon
Normally when it is time to catch up with Kenney, I would be heading down to Hurtwood by car. But the recent Covid-19 crisis meant that any face to a Faces contact was not safe.
Fortunately, the development of online apps such as Skype and Facetime has allowed visual communication to take place and more recently there has been a new kid in town called Zoom. Although this has largely been used by companies and organisations for video conferencing, it has also grown in popularity during lockdown for family and friends to keep in touch. So, it occurred to me it may be one way I could still carry out my interview with Kenney without either of us being at risk. He agreed, so we set a date to chat and when the time came, I sat eagerly in front of my computer screen waiting for the appearance of the lovely Kenney Jones.
Before we start our chat there is a slight problem of not being able to hear Kenney. Now neither of us are great at the technical stuff, but thankfully Kenney’s daughter Erin is on hand to help us out! Then as Kenney sat down, he noticed he could only see half of me! A quick adjustment to my computer screen and we were finally ready to go.
Although I have some serious questions to ask Kenney, I know from experience my conversation with him will include some off-beat banter between us. And even though I have known Kenney for over 50 years he never stops amazing me with his unexpected stories. One of them unfolded in front of me after I noticed behind me, in view, was my guitar hanging on the wall. Somehow, I felt the need to explain to Kenney that I had recently starting learning to play it. Without any hesitation Kenney gets up and disappears, saying, he will find some drumsticks. I laugh as I did not get time to explain that I could only master one chord at the moment and very much a novice, so hoping he was not expecting me to join him in some sort of duet or jamming session!
Thankfully, Kenney could not find any drumsticks close by, but instead appears with, what looks like a child’s tin drum!
“This is as near as I’m going to get to a drum” he says and quickly points out that it is not really a drum, but an ice-bucket. I breath a sigh of relief.
He then goes onto explain “this was given to me by the SAS when I did a gig for them a while ago. In return I gave them one of my cymbals and it is now in a display cabinet in the Officer’s Mess, alongside Colonel Gaddafi’s Gold Winchester gun.” This is one of those unexpected tales from Kenney I mentioned, and I am stunned into silence, partly thinking he’s pulling my leg as Kenney has often caught me out. But then quickly realise this story is real. I am therefore not surprised the SAS would put Kenney’s cymbals on display in such an honourable place, knowing only too well what a legend he is.
I am keen to find out what Kenney has made of the recent lockdown situation and how he has been coping?
“I’ve been doing really well. Do not forget I am incredibly lucky living in the countryside and feel upset and sad for some people suffering in high rise flats. I have two sons in London, one of them has a house with a garden, but the other lives in a flat. We talk on the phone and keep spirits up as I see that we are all in this together. I also have the Polo club and the fields to tend. My isolation really consists of going from our house to car and car to the club, then in reverse. At home there are all those little jobs you park to one side promising to do one day. So, I’ve been doing them too.” he smiles. Kenney continues.
“I’m extremely grateful that I have got things to do. I’m also a qualified Groundsman and when we first came here to Hurtwood it was just a piece of land set aside that no one had done anything to, I developed it myself, creating the Polo Club and so I know every inch of it."
Although the Polo season has now been disrupted during lockdown and with social isolation, Kenney explains that the grass still needs cutting and he is the only one who can use the big tractors to carry out this work. There are also about 30 horses still in their Livery Stables that his son Cody tends to.
“We all help where we can, so we are doing things like this whether there is a lockdown on not. Horses still need to be fed and cared for.” Kenney adds
“We got a shout out on Radio 2 recently. Not just me, but for all those Groundsmen tending grass, especially sports facilities. We must be ready for when it is safe to resume. I emphasise the word ‘safe’ as none of us will play until it is safe.”
Kenney explains to me that Polo is a tricky sport to play in the first place and with the present situation players will need to avoid contact.
“Contact can happen when you try to take possession of the ball which involves riding alongside each other and ride each other off. It is like a gentle push, so you are making contact, with the purpose of taking your opponent’s eye off the line of the ball, this allows you to take possession. None of that contact will be allowed to happen if we resume now. We have to be sensible about it and we will wait for the go-ahead from the Hurlingham Polo Association that will allow us to get back to riding and playing again.”
Hurlingham Polo Association is the governing body for Polo in the UK, Ireland, and other countries around the world. Kenney is a Council member and Hurtwood is an affiliated club.
Kenney reflects on the positive side of what is happening.
“I hope we come out and into a better world. One of the good things to come out of this situation is not having so much traffic or aircraft, so air quality is better, and you can see the stars at night. It reminds me of being a kid just after the War and having a feeling of contentment and peace about it. I still remember rationing and it is a bit like that now with supplies being restricted. We are fortunate really, but I do feel for the elderly who are confined and perhaps cannot see their family. London seems to have bore the brunt of it and my heart goes out to them. Personally, we haven’t had anyone close that has been affected by the virus directly.”
I ask him if he saw the recent speech from our Prime Minister Boris Johnson outlining the next stages in response to the Covid-19 crisis.
“I thought it was fairly good, but disappointed at opposition and criticism, using it as a tool against government. He is in a difficult position and had the virus so will be doubly cautious and having to deal with both the issue of saving lives and dealing with the economy. We are all alert, but we need to have at the forefront of our minds this is a deadly virus. If we think about the rules of social distancing, we’ll be safe.”
I ask Kenney if he’s used this time to take up any hobbies or activities.
“Not really” he adds. “People ask me if I’ve been practising drums, but I haven’t much, just enough to keep my hands moving. I miss playing with other musicians, getting together and rehearsing, then doing a gig. Performing is when your drumming skills come together. I know there is talk about doing it online, but it’s not the same as performing live together.”
As far as activities go, he explains that Jayne bought him a racing bicycle some years ago and he’s recently taken it out of storage with the intent of riding again.
“Sitting on the saddle of a racing bike is like sitting on a razor blade” he jokes. “I went out on it recently, remembering I had a bike as a kid and was a rather good cyclist back then. But when I got on my racing bike, I was wobbling all over the place!”
It has not deterred him though and he vows he will keep trying to improve.
I ask Kenney what the things are he misses during this lockdown and social distancing.
“On the downside, this virus stops me doing things with the grandchildren.”
Kenney recently became a grandad again when his daughter Casey gave birth in April to her third son.
“I got to see him through a window” Kenney said “but haven’t cuddled him yet. I have two young granddaughters who live in Brighton that have just taken up horse-riding and I would dearly love to pick them up and take them riding for the day.”
Kenney has always been very much a family man and so not being able to interact is something he is missing. His daughter Erin still lives at home and he gets to see one of his boys Cody at Hurtwood when he tends the horses.
Keeping in touch with his music fans is also important to Kenney. So recently he agreed to do a Q & A which was recorded, and his responses were published on Facebook and Instagram. What Kenney did not anticipate was just how popular this would be with the fans.
“I didn’t realise what I’d taken on and just approached the questions one after another, but then realised it was a bit of mistake not to have edited them first.”
But in true Kenney form, he took it all in his stride. I asked if there was any question he got bored with answering or are there ones he hates answering?
He smiles and says, “I never get bored answering questions” laughing, he adds “the ones I hate answering are those I can’t answer.”
One of the regular questions he gets asked is ‘When are The Faces getting back together to do a tour?’ Which was exactly my next question to him!
“Well it’s pretty obvious now with this virus that it’s not going to happen now. We have been talking about it over the years and we do get together two or three times a year. We have a laugh and drink, nothing changes there.”
Kenney explains they were looking at plans to tour the UK later this year, possibly a few nights at the O2, followed by UK regional concerts. But of course, that idea has now been put on hold.
“We have kept in touch during the lockdown via text, email or phone and we are talking about putting together a Faces album of material not released before. We all have some unreleased stuff and between us are finding material we could use but will not know how good that material is until we start listening to it. We want to make it interesting and involving stuff we have done individually and collectively as well. All in its early stages and we’re working on that for a bit of fun.”
Recently Kenney appeared in a documentary called ‘The Shadows at Sixty’ broadcast on BBC 4 May 1st (now available on iPlayer) It’s fairly well known that Kenney is a huge fan of The Shadows and Brian Bennett their drummer is his idol. When Kenney was with the Small Faces, he purchased Brian’s kit that by chance was on sale in Drum City. It is a drum kit that he used all through the Small Faces years and it’s the one that appears on the Ogdens’ album. The drum kit remains in his possession.
Brian once expressed to Kenney that he really regretted selling his kit and asked Kenney if he would ever sell it back to him? Although Kenney said he probably would he had also become extremely attached to it. So, he’s offered to share it with Brian saying that any time he wanted to use it he could. Over the years they have become good friends.
“It was Brian who phoned me to ask if I’d say a few nice things about The Shadows for the documentary. Of course, I did not hesitate in saying yes. It was recorded about 18 months ago, but sadly I was not feeling well on that day, so the clips shown were quite short. I love the Shadows and their music, which is not easy to play, that is why you rarely see covers bands doing their stuff. It is quite difficult to get right. He laughs as he explains “I formed a band recently called ‘The Shagows’. It’s not a covers or tribute band, it’s just a few local musician friends that get together for fun to play Shadows music.”
I joke with Kenney saying perhaps Brian will be guest drummer one day, just like Kenney has done with the Small Fakers, the Small Faces tribute band. He laughs at the thought. It was an opportunity to mention to Kenney that the Small Fakers have recently recorded and released some of their own material under the name of The Veras. Kenney said he knew they had been working on their own material but had not heard it yet. So, I promise to contact the band and get them to forward a copy for him to listen to. Kenney said they had come a long way and it was good for them to get out of their comfort zone and do something they wanted to do."
Next on my list of things to ask Kenney was the film documentary on the Small Faces, which went into production earlier this year. It was commissioned by Sky Arts and is being produced by MGMM studios. http://mgmm.tv/small-faces
“The making of this film is coming along really, really well with loads of great interviews. It’s a huge task getting all the clips together as the Small Faces were filmed all the time, everywhere they went and appeared in loads of tv shows.”
Kenney has already contributed a lot to the project and will continue to do so until its release, which has not been set yet.
I do a quick time check and realise we have been chatting for about 50 minutes so time to let Kenney get on with his day. We were both chuffed with ourselves that we had managed this technical challenge of video conferencing, but not realising that it would take us a while to work out how to exit our meeting!
Then Kenney spies a little button and says, “it’s telling me to leave so I’m leaving now!” We both laugh and Zoom..he’s gone! Until next time Kenney...take care
Written by Val Weedon
Journalist and former Small Faces Fan Club assistant
May 2020
Val points out her guitar on wall
Kenney nips off to find some drum sticks!
Kenney returns with a tin drum that is really an ice bucket given to him as a present from the SAS
Kenney and Val try very hard to end their meeting, but struggle finding the button to switch it off!
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