Small Faces rock star talks cancer

“I’ve got nothing to hide,” said Kenney, as he told the County Times about his Father’s Day fundraiser for Prostate Cancer UK. “The more I find out about prostate cancer the more I want to go public about it.”

Diagnosed with the disease last year, Kenney has undergone a series of treatments and surgeries to tackle the cancer that affects one in eight men in the UK.

The 65-year-old said: “It’s a men’s stigma - all you hear is these horror stories. When I first talked to my friends in the bar and said I had prostate cancer, it was the opposite to bees around a jam pot, it was as if I had something wrong with me. They changed the subject very quickly because they didn’t want to know about it.

“A lot of men have the symptoms. I was living in denial for about 17 years.”

Kenney said that the longer symptoms are ignored the more abrasive treatment will have to be.

To help spread awareness and raise money for Prostate Cancer UK, Kenney has been organising the ‘Rock ‘N’ Horse Power’ event at Hurtwood Park, near Ewhurst.

To take place on Father’s Day, June 14, the event will feature an amazing line up, including The Who (Roger Daltrey, Pete Townsend and Kenney Jones), Jeff Beck, Mick Hucknall (Simply Red), Mike Rutherford (Genesis), John Lodge (Moody Blues) and Procul Harum, plus more - all hosted by Vic Reeves.

There will also be classic and supercars on display, a polo match and other activities.

“It will be the first time I’ve played with Roger Daltrey and Pete Townsend in 25 years.

“It’s a family event, for a great cause and ticket prices are really low.”

One of the founding members of The Small Faces that formed in 1965, Kenney said it was a creative time.

“We weren’t interested in fame. We wanted to play first and foremost. We were great mates and had a great deal of fun together. We were all East-Enders and we were all small, hence the name.”

Although they were responsible for the Mod movement in the ‘60s, Kenney said it was completely unintentional: “We invented it. We grew up in the black and white foggy end of town. I fell in love with a red Caravelle, found some Levis, and they were short so you could see my colourful socks. We didn’t realise we were creating the Mod scene.”

Kenney famously took over from drummer Keith Moon of The Who when he died in 1978.

Tickets: Adult £20, children under 16 £10, and children under £12 go free.

To buy, visit www.hurtwoodparkpolo.co.uk/events/rock-n-horsepower