KENNEY JONES has spent the best part of four decades at the heart of the rock music industry.

As drummer with the Small Faces, Faces and The Who, he has been involved in three of the biggest bands the business has ever known.

Now Kenney is embarking on a new chapter in an already illustrious musical career with the formation of a band featuring singer Robert Hart, guitarist Gary Grainger and Rick Wills on bass.

From the moment he started drumming in the front room of his parents home in Stepney, East London, Kenney became hooked on music and  by the tender age of just 16, being a member of a band had become a way of life to him.

He shot to fame with the Small Faces in 1965 and had his first hit single when he was 17. The band were at the heart of the Mod revolution that swept Britain and in the years that have followed they have been cited as a major influence on musicians during the past 35 years.

In 1967 the group produced what is generally recognised as one of the all-time greatest albums, ‘Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake,’ and it is still in the top 100 albums today. The album rightly gave them a reputation as one of the most innovative bands of the 60’s, and that reputation has been enhanced with the passing of years. When the Small Faces eventually disbanded Jones was instrumental in forming The Faces who featured Rod Stewart as their lead singer.

The Faces took the rock world by storm in the early 1970’s on both sides of the Atlantic, and became one of the most raucous, fun-loving bands of the time with a fanatical following. Their live act produced sell-out crowds in huge outdoor arenas all over the States, and their music created a massive world-wide fan base.

By the time the Faces split in the mid-seventies Kenney was already recognised as one of the top drummers in the rock industry, and it was no surprise that he was the Who’s choice to replace Keith Moon after his tragic death in 1978.

Once again Kenney found himself part of hugely successful band, with big selling albums, long tours and sell-out crowds a regular part of his everyday life.

After leaving the Who Jones formed a partnership with former Bad Company singer, Paul Rodgers, in the early 1990’s, creating a band called the Law earning critical acclaim, and which reinforced Kenney’s reputation as a gifted and  talented musician.

Although the Small Faces, Faces, The Who and The Law have been the four main bands in his life, Kenney has also been much sought-after during his career and has performed with some of the biggest names around.

He has recorded a single of his own called Ready or Not, and has appeared on albums by the Rolling Stones, Andy Fairweather Low, Joan Armatrading, Marsha Hunt, Flash Fearless, Mike Batt, Willie And The Poor Boys, Pete Townshend, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, David Essex, John Lodge and Wings.

Following his time with Paul Rodgers in The Law, Kenney took some time out from his musical career to concentrate on one of his other great passions in life, polo. He is the owner of Hurtwood Park Polo Club and for many years has been an accomplished player.

However, music has always been his first love and having played with Robert Hart and Gary Grainger in a charity gig during the summer of 2001, the three decided to think seriously about forming a new band.

“I’d known Gary from way back in the 1970’s,” says Kenney. “At that time I was in The Faces and he played in a band who used to support us called Strider, he’s a great guitarist and an excellent song-writer.

“I was totally knocked out by Robert’s voice when I first heard it on a CD I was given by Boz Burrell, who’d played with him in Bad Company and he sounded even better when I heard him live.

“Rick Wills seemed perfect for the band as well and we’d played together before in the late 1970’s when he was part of the re-formed Small Faces.

“The great thing about us is that we all get on so well and we all have a lot of respect for each other. I feel lucky to be working with some great musicians and I honestly think it’s the most progressive song-writing machine I’ve been in next to the Small Faces.”