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Jimmy Winston Biography

jimmy-winston
  • Born: April 20, 1945 in Stratford, London, England
  • Years Active: 1990s
  • Member of: The Small Faces
  • Genre: Rock & Alternative

Originally the organist for the Moments, a mid-'60s London outfit featuring Steve Marriott, Jimmy Winston (born Jimmy Langworth) seemed headed on the track to success in music when he joined Marriott in the earliest lineup of the Small Faces in 1965. Like Marriott, Ronnie Lane, and Kenny Jones, Winston was a London mod, and the four could make a soulful sound together. Winston never meshed with the rest of the group, however, and after two singles (including the classic "Whatcha Gonna Do About It"), he left the Small Faces in October of 1965. Jimmy Winston tried to remain in music with a band and a single release of his own on English Decca, to which the Small Faces had been signed. Jimmy Winston & His Reflections, featuring future Yes keyboard player Tony Kaye, tried making their mark with "Sorry She's Mine," reworking a song that the Small Faces had already covered, but it failed to chart, despite being a solid piece of what today is called freakbeat rock. The group later evolved into Winston's Fumbs, which left behind a killer psychedelic 45 track in "Snow White." It also failed to chart, and Winston decided to pursue an acting career -- which apparently had been his original goal -- turning up in episodes of Dr. Who ("Day of the Daleks") and UFO, and on the original London cast recording of Hair, alongside Sonja Kristina, Marsha Hunt, and Alex Harvey. Winston wasn't heard from again on record until 1976, when his solo single "Sun in the Morning" b/w "Just Wanna Smile" was issued on the Nems label. He kept his hand in music, reportedly playing some of the Small Faces' repertory at pubs and also turning up at various gatherings of the group's fans, and he provided the forward to a new published history of the band from Cherry Red Books. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

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