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Formed
in 1979 by Chris Philpot, Mick Cohen and John Wratten and augmented
by Andy Orr in August 1980, Small World first hit the scene in
November 1980. The band were influenced by 1960s guitar based
groups like the Small Faces and post-punk new wave such as The
Jam and The Clash.
Although the band attracted a diverse audience, they soon became
a firm favourite on the Mod scene playing numerous headline gigs
all over London and the UK, including venues such as the Marquee,
Dingwalls, 100 Club, Fulham Greyhound. They had their own fan
club, run by John’s sister Jacquie which had a membership of over
600. In 1982, the band released their first single “Love is Dead/Liberty”
on Whaam! Records. The single quickly sold out and is now quite
collectable.
At the end of 1982, Andy Orr was replaced on drums byPaul Guidotti,
formerly of The Stripes. The band continued gigging throughout
1983 and 1984, releasing one further single “First Impressions”
on Valid records. In October 1984, after a “farewell” gig at Islington’s
Hope & Anchor, Small World were “put on ice”. This allowed the
lads to pursue other musical projects which included The Combine
and The Rage. In 1987, Small World reformed to play at the Assembly
Room in Rotherham. The gig was a sell-out and subsequently the
boys have continued to gig, on and off, ever since.
Small World were different from many of their peers on the Mod
scene. Whereas some bands simply disappeared from the Mod scene
due to its lack of “street cred” and money-making opportunities,
Small World stuck with it. After all, the band were from the scene,
from the grassroots, and not manufactured or shaped by some record
company executive who wanted to cash-in on this year’s fad. Small
World were proud to be part of the Mod scene !
Anyone who has ever seen Small World perform live will have appreciated
how much effort and energy the lads put into their performance.
Their sound is definitely more raunchy than “jingle-jangle”, but
the songs are melodic and extremely catchy! One “Sounds” journalist
once compared Small World’s rendition of “Tin Soldiers” to the
original version by Stiff Little Fingers, quoting that the Small
World version made the original “shrivel up and die”. Not bad
considering that SLF’s power always made the hair on the back
of my neck stand up!
The band released a double CD/Album on Detour Records in 1999
entitled 'Slight Detour' (DRCD019/DRLP019), this comprised of
unreleased demos and the two singles the band recorded and is
very highly recommended. Also available is a live album recorded
in Japan in 2002.
SMALL
WORLD WEB SITE |
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