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Jimmy Winston

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Jimmy Winston
Winston in 1965
Background information
Birth nameJames Edward Winston Langwith
Born(1945-04-20)20 April 1945
Stratford, London, England
Died26 September 2020(2020-09-26) (aged 75)
Occupations
  • Instrumentalist
  • singer
  • songwriter
  • actor
Instruments
Labels

James Edward Winston Langwith (20 April 1945 – 26 September 2020), known professionally as Jimmy Winston, was an English musician and actor. He was the original keyboard player with Small Faces.[1] Winston had apparently previously worked under the stage name James Moody.

His acting credits include the 1968 stage musical Hair and the 1972 Doctor Who serial Day of the Daleks.

Small Faces

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In early 1965, Winston, along with his acquaintance Steve Marriott, formed Small Faces with Ronnie Lane and Kenney Jones. While originally a guitarist, his role was soon shifted to become a keyboardist.[2] Winston was fundamental in the band's emergence, as his parents owned the Ruskin Arms pub located in Manor Park, a place where the group would rehearse and occasionally perform.[3] After a performance at the Cavern Club on Leicester Square, an assistant of manager Don Arden stepped up to the band and managed to secure them a contract with Decca Records.[2] The band released their debut single "Whatcha Gonna Do About It" later that year, peaking at number 14.[4] The success of this single would be followed by "I've Got Mine", which despite good reviews failed to chart. The group including Winston performed the song in Dateline Diamonds (1965).[5] Shortly after this release, Winston left the group, and was promptly replaced by Ian McLagan.

A factor that has been rumoured about his termination is that during an episode of Thank Your Lucky Stars, Winston snubbed Marriott.[6] There has been controversy whether Winston left the group himself or was fired. Lane stated in an interview that he was fired:

Our original organist, Jimmy Winston, wasn't working out. He couldn't play – I mean, none of us could play, but we was keen. Jimmy Winston couldn't play, and on top of it he had an ego as if he could play the piano, so he had to go! We chucked him out of the Small Faces. Very exciting times, the Sixties, there'll never be another time like it, I'm sure.

— Ronnie Lane, Small Faces Talk to You: The story of the Small Faces in their own words

However, Kenney Jones later said: "He [Winston] got above his station and tried to compete with Steve Marriott."[7]

Music post-Small Faces

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Soon after being kicked out of Small Faces, Winston led his own group called Jimmy Winston and His Reflections. The group was short-lived. He would later be a member of another short-lived group called Winston’s Fumbs in 1967.

Acting

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Winston was also an actor. His debut film role was as a member of Small Faces in the 1965 film Dateline Diamonds, although his first role as an actor was in an episode of the 1969 series Doctor in the House, portraying “Hairy”. Winston’s film and television credits would continue until the early 1980s, during which he appeared in all of the episodes of the 1972 Doctor Who serial Day of the Daleks, featuring Jon Pertwee as the then Doctor.

Winston’s last appearance on television was when he appeared on the show BBC2 Playhouse in 1983. Winston’s next credit wouldn’t be for another twenty six years, when he was interviewed for the Small Faces documentary Small Faces: All or Nothing 1965–1968 in 2009.

Death

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Winston died on 26 September 2020, at the age of 75 after suffering from mesothelioma.[8]

Discography

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Solo

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"Sun In the Morning" / "Just Wanna Smile" (1976)

with Small Faces

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(While he is credited as the sole keyboardist on their first two singles, Winston is also credited on some tracks on four further albums released by the band)

with Jimmy Winston and His Reflections

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"Sorry She's Mine" / "It's Not What You Do (But the Way That You Do It)" (1966)

with Winston's Fumbs

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"Real Crazy Apartment" / "Snow White" (1967)

Filmography

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Title Year Role Director Notes
Dateline Diamonds 1966 Himself Jeremy Summers as a member of Small Faces
Doctor in the House 1969 Hairy David Askey Episode: The Students Are Revolting!
Never a Cross Word Hippie Episode: Sir or Madam
No Blade of Grass 1970 1st Hun. Cornel Wilde
UFO Rating Ken Turner Episode: Destruction
The Ballad of Tam Lin Second Coven Roddy McDowall
Day of the Daleks 1972 Shura Paul Bernard All episodes
Justice 1973 Cyril Butler James Ormerod Episode: Covenant for Quiet Enjoyment
The Sweeney 1978 Sid (uncredited) Episode: Hearts and Mind
BBC2 Playhouse 1983 Flash Man Jim O'Brien Episode: Jake's End
Small Faces: All or Nothing 1965–1968 2009 Himself David Peck as a member of Small Faces, and also interviews

References

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  1. ^ Eder, Bruce. "Biography: Jimmy Winston". Allmusic. Retrieved 28 July 2010.
  2. ^ a b "The darlings of wapping wharf launderette – the small faces fanzine – Jimmy Winston interview". www.wappingwharf.com. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  3. ^ "Jimmy Winston – Room for Ravers". www.makingtime.co.uk. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  4. ^ "The Small Faces Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
  5. ^ Muise (2002). Gallagher, Marriott, Derringer & Trower: their lives and music. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 90. ISBN 9780634029561.
  6. ^ Schmitt, Roland (1 August 2011). The Small Faces & Other Stories. Bobcat Books. ISBN 9780857124517.
  7. ^ "Kenney Jones Interview". the Official Faces Homepage. Archived from the original on 10 June 2011. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
  8. ^ "Jimmy Winston, founder-member of the Small Faces – obituary". Telegraph.co.uk. 11 October 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
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