Features
Reunion Rumbles
Rock fans love a good band reunion. So much, in fact, it sometimes seems to be part of a group’s strategy to break up so they can reap those reunion dollars a few years down the road.
Two acts being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame in April would make excellent reunion choices. That is, if individual members can bury any ancient hatchets that might still be festering years later.
At this time the most likely reunion scenario involves the induction of Small Faces / The Faces. Possibly one of the only groups to be honored by combining two separate names and lineups, a reunion of the surviving members could very well take place.
The Small Faces began life in 1965, sporting a lineup that included Steve Marriott, Kenny Jones, Ronnie Lane and Jimmy Winston who was replaced by keyboardist Ian McLagan in 1966. After the Small Faces broke up in 1969 with Marriott going off to form Humble Pie, three members – McLagan, Jones and Lane – joined with Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood to launch Faces.
Although Faces broke up as Stewart’s star climbed in the 1970s and Wood went off to join The Rolling Stones, surviving members reunited for a few shows in the U.K. and Europe in 2010 and 2011. While Wood was onboard for the reunion dates, Stewart was not, resulting in Simply Red’s Mick Hucknall handling lead vocals.
So far, early signs seem to indicate a Faces reunion with Rod Stewart could be in the cards for the Rock Hall’s induction ceremony. Speaking to Rolling Stone, Stewart said he would “definitely make” himself available.
McLaglan is also open to a Stewart/Faces reunion, telling Rolling Stone he’ll “be happy” if it happens. However, the keyboardist isn’t all that crazy about the Rock Hall combining the two bands.
“Well, you know, the Small Faces was such a different band than The Faces, “McLaglan told the magazine. “I know three of us are the same, but when you take Steve Marriott out, it’s a very different band. But in the end, I’m knocked out that Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane, as well as Kenny Jones and I will be honored.”
So if you’re betting on a Faces reunion with Stewart, the odds appear to range from even money to pretty good.
Too bad the same can’t be said for Guns N’ Roses.
The band being inducted into the Rock Hall isn’t the group currently touring with Axl Rose. Come April, the Rock Hall will induct the band that became famous in the late 1980s with hits like “Sweet Child O’ Mine” and “Welcome To The Jungle.” In other words, the Rock Hall is honoring Rose along with guitarists Slash and Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKagan and drummer Steve Adler, who in 1990 was replaced by Matt Sorum.
However, no one except maybe the most hopeful fans are anticipating a GNR reunion come April. The Chicago Sun-Times points out that Rose spoke to the press a couple of years ago about the band’s reunion chances, and his words were hardly optimistic.
“There’s zero possibility of me having anything to do with Slash other than by ambush, and that wouldn’t be pretty,” Rose said in 2009.
But maybe a Guns N’ Roses reunion is possible in the future, albeit, the far future. The Sun-Times quotes McKagan talking about that possibility during an interview earlier this month when GNR’s induction was anticipated but not yet official. According to the bassist, a reunion probably will happen but not at the induction ceremony or even during the next couple of years.
“I can’t picture it,” McKagan said. “It’s bound to happen, but I’d love to call the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame, whoever they are, and say, ‘Hey guys, why don’t you put this off for another 10 years?’”