Ronnie Lane

Ronald Frederick Lane (1 April 1946 – 4 June 1997) was an English musician and songwriter who was the bassist and co-founder of the rock bands Small Faces (1965–1969) and Faces (1969–1973).

Lane formed Small Faces in 1965 after meeting Steve Marriott, with whom he subsequently wrote many of their hit singles including "All or Nothing", "Itchycoo Park" and "Lazy Sunday". After Marriott left Small Faces in 1968, band members Lane, Ian McLagan and Kenny Jones were joined by Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood to form Faces. Like Small Faces, the band achieved critical and commercial success. Lane quit the Faces in 1973 and subsequently collaborated with other musicians, leading his own bands and pursuing a solo career. In 1977, he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. He was supported by charity projects and financial contributions from friends, former bandmates and fans. After living with the disease for 21 years, he died in June 1997, aged 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, then a working-class area in Essex, to Elsie Lane and Stanley Lane, a lorry driver. Lane later described his father as a "saint" who would work a long workday and then return home to nurse his wife and two sons, all of whom were diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) at different 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 16, 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 employee Steve Marriott. Lane bought his bass, and went to Marriott's house after work, where Marriott introduced him to his Motown and Stax record collection. Lane and Marriott set out to form a band, recruiting friends Jimmy Winston, who switched from guitar to organ, and Jones. Marriott was chosen to be the frontman and singer.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.