Ronnie Lane
| Ronnie Lane | |
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Lane performing with his band
Slim Chance in 1975 |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Ronald Frederick Lane |
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| Born |
1 April 1946 Plaistow, London, England |
| Died | 4 June 1997 (aged 51) Trinidad, Colorado, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1964–1992 |
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Ronald Frederick "Ronnie" Lane (1 April 1946 – 4 June 1997) was an English musician, songwriter, and producer who is best known as the bass guitarist and founding member of two prominent English rock and roll bands: the Small Faces where he was nicknamed "Plonk" (1965–69), and, after losing the band's frontman, the Faces, with two new members added to the line-up (from The Jeff Beck Group), who dubbed him "Three-Piece" (1969–73).
Subsequently Lane collaborated with other musicians, leading his own bands and pursuing a solo career, while remaining close to his former bandmates. In the late 1970s he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and was supported by charity projects and financial contributions from friends, former bandmates and fans. After suffering from the disease for 21 years, he died at 51.
For his work in both Small Faces and Faces, Lane was inducted posthumously into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012.
Lane was born in Plaistow Maternity Hospital, Plaistow, a working class area in the East End of London, to Elsie Lane and Stanley Lane, a truck driver. Lane later described his father as a "saint", who would work a long work day, and then return home to nurse his wife and two sons, all of whom were diagnosed with M.S. at differing points in their lives. Doctors assured Lane as a child that the destructive disease was not necessarily inherited, although he found out later in his life that he had indeed inherited it.
After leaving school at the age of sixteen, Lane met Kenney Jones at a local pub, and they formed a group they named The Outcasts. Initially playing lead guitar, Lane quickly switched to bass. When shopping for a Harmony bass guitar, Lane visited the J60 Music Bar in Manor Park, London, where he met Steve Marriott, who was working there. Lane bought his bass, and went to Marriott's house after work, where Marriott introduced him to his Motown and Stax collection. Lane and Marriott set out to form a band, recruiting friends Kenney Jones and Jimmy Winston, who switched from guitar to organ. Marriott was chosen to be the frontman and singer.
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