Hey Girl (Small Faces song)

"Hey Girl"
Dutch picture sleeve
Single by Small Faces
B-side"Almost Grown"
Released6 May 1966
RecordedMarch 1966
StudioIBC, London
GenreRock, rhythm and blues, beat
Length2:18
LabelDecca
Songwriters
ProducerDon Arden
Small Faces singles chronology
"Sha-La-La-La-Lee"
(1966) 		"Hey Girl"
(1966) 		"All or Nothing"
(1966)
Audio
"Hey Girl" on YouTube

"Hey Girl" is a song by the English rock band Small Faces. Released in May 1966, the song reached number ten in the UK on the Record Retailer chart.[1]

Background

"Hey Girl" was written by Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane and was a compromise between the band and their manager, Don Arden, as Arden wanted a very commercial sounding song.[2] Marriott biographers John Hellier and Paolo Hewitt classify "Hey Girl" as a "jaunty sing-along" and the "sound of compromise".[2]

As with the bulk of the material that would end up on the Small Faces debut album, "Hey Girl" was recorded during one of the sessions between 22 and 25 March 1966 at IBC Studios in London,[3] with audio engineer John Pantry.[4] The song marked the first time Arden was credited as a producer on a Small Faces recording, which his son David reasoned was because Arden identified with his artists "doing great" and wanted to be part of it.[5]

Release

Decca Records released "Hey Girl" as the Small Faces fourth British single on 6 May 1966.[6][7] It was the first of the Small Faces single A-sides to be credited solely to the songwriting duo of Marriott and Lane.[5] During the Small Faces appearance on ITV music programme Ready Steady Go! to promote "Hey Girl" on 10 June 1966, Marriott fainted infront of the cameras towards the end of the song's performance.[8][9] Hellier and Hewitt considered this incident to be a side effect of the band's hectic touring schedule.[8]

After the success of "Hey Girl" an employee of Robert Stigwood's management company contacted the band to see where they stood. When Don Arden found out, he, along with four "heavies," visited Stigwood's London offices and Arden hung Stigwood by his legs from a balcony window and threatened violence if he interfered with his bands ever again. The story would become common knowledge around the music industry, cementing Arden's tough man reputation.[10]

Personnel

Personnel according to the 2025 re-issue of The Autumn Stone.[4]

Charts

Weekly chart performance for "Hey Girl"
Chart (1966) Peak

position

Australia (Kent Music Report)[11] 60
Malaysia (Radio Malaysia)[12] 5
Singapore (Radio Singapore)[13] 6
UK (Disc and Music Echo)[14] 9
UK (New Musical Express)[15] 12
UK (Melody Maker)[16] 6
UK (Record Retailer)[1] 10

See also

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b "Hey Girl by Small Faces". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 15 August 2023. Retrieved 18 December 2025.
  2. ^ a b Hellier & Hewitt 2004, p. 113.
  3. ^ Badman & Rawlings 1997, p. 28; Caiger 2025, p. 10.
  4. ^ a b Caiger 2025, p. 10.
  5. ^ a b Spence 2021, p. 72.
  6. ^ Hellier & Hewitt 2004, pp. 113, 303.
  7. ^ Anon. (30 April 1966). "Faceless Stars" (PDF). Melody Maker. p. 5. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 December 2024. Retrieved 18 December 2025 – via WorldRadioHistory. The Small Faces new single, an original by the group, titled "Hey Girl", will be released on May 6, the same day as their first LP Small Faces.
  8. ^ a b Hellier & Hewitt 2004, p. 116.
  9. ^ Sexton, Paul (6 May 2024). "'Hey Girl': The Small Faces Think Big With Their First Self-Written Hit". uDiscoverMusic. Archived from the original on 28 April 2025. Retrieved 18 December 2025.
  10. ^ Hellier & Hewitt 2004, p. 114.
  11. ^ Kent 2005, p. 365.
  12. ^ Anon. (30 July 1966). "Hits Of The World" (PDF). Billboard. p. 50. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 December 2024. Retrieved 14 December 2025 – via WorldRadioHistory.
  13. ^ Anon. (18 June 1966). "Hits Of The World" (PDF). Billboard. p. 36. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 September 2025. Retrieved 14 December 2025 – via WorldRadioHistory.
  14. ^ Anon. (21 May 1966). "Top 50". Disc and Music Echo. p. 3.
  15. ^ Anon. (28 May 1966). "NME Top Thirty". New Musical Express. p. 5.
  16. ^ Anon. (28 May 1966). "Melody Maker Pop 50". Melody Maker. p. 2.

Sources

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