All was not happy in the Small Faces camp. They'd had a number 1 record with All or Nothing and they were one of the country's most successful groups. However, the members of the group had little or nothing in the bank to show for their efforts. They laid the blame at manager Don Arden. While he had been instrumental in the group's success, the money from record sales and live shows was not reaching the band. Frustrated, the Small Faces' parents turned up at Don Arden's Carnaby Street office to ask what had happened to the money. He replied that they had spent it all on drugs. Exit unhappy parents even if they had not been told the truth. In addition, Arden was not pushing the group into the lucrative US market. Of course, other management would have been in control had the group started touring the US.

The Small Faces briefly signed to the Harold Davidson Agency before moving to Andrew Loog Oldham's Immediate Records. The former Rolling Stones manager had set up Immediate with Tony Calder as an independent record label that would offer artists unlimited studio time to help foster creativity. This was very attractive to the Small Faces who were one of the first signings. Furthermore, the Immediate artists worked together, often writing or producing for each other, playing on each other's records and touring together. This environment suited the Small Faces who were looking to produce more creative and serious music. Here Come the Nice was released in June 1967 although Decca issued an unreleased track Patterns as a spoiler. The latter was not a success as the band refused to support it. The new Immediate single delivered another hit for the Small Faces and even the prudish BBC failed to recognise that the song was about a drug dealer and it escaped a ban. They took Lord Buckley's Here Come the Nazz and changed the final word to "nice", their shorthand for being stoned and, in this case, referring to a dealer - "he's always there if I need some speed." The band members were fond of using the word "nice" to indicate they were high.

To be continued

• Part 15: Creative in the studio
• Return to part 13