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Steve Marriott: All Too Beautiful
Steve Marriott was one of the music world's most extraordinary individuals, A supremely gifted songwriter, singer and … schemer. A vocalist from the same mould as Rod Stewart, Eric Burdon and Steve Winwood … but arguably the greatest white soul singer of them all. Marriott never held back from anything, least of all his music, his vocals always possessed an intensity, clarity and maturity that at the time were unmatched by any other singer.
His band The Small Faces were the first to be banned from Top of The Pops and were deported from Australia at gunpoint. Steve's next group Humble Pie ruled the stadiums of America but the money earned was diverted by mafia associates and he returned to the UK broke and on the run from the Taxman. In later life he struggled with schizophrenia but always continued playing - blistering gigs in front of small audiences in the pubs and clubs around London. Recently reunited with his old Humble Pie sparring partner Peter Frampton, he was on the verge of a comeback when he was tragically killed in a housefire, aged 44-years-old. A huge influence on a new generation of musicians from Paul Weller to Noel Gallagher, due to his death, Marriott has perhaps not been granted the status in Rock 'n' Roll's pantheon that he deserved. A major reassessment is long overdue. Marriott was simply one of the greatest rock stars of all time.
“An exhaustive account of the East End musical maverick, it spans his beginnings as a child prodigy, his memorable work with arch top Mods the Small Faces, and all the way through to his later work with Humble Pie, his subsequent solo career and untimely death in 1991.” Gary Crowley
“A riveting account of the singer’s life, crammed with entertaining stories of
rebellion and debauchery and insightful historical background… Compulsive
reading.” The Daily Express
“One of the best books I’ve read about the backwaters of rock music.” The Daily Mail
“A wonderfully researched, eminently readable appreciation of the creative force behind the Small Faces and Humble Pie, who created some of the finest pop, rock ’n’ boogie music of his generation.” ***** Classic Rock
“All Too Beautiful traces Marriott’s mercurial career from his upbringing in postwar, bomb-damaged London to his cocaine-ravaged demise in a fire at his Essex home in 1991, aged 44. Revealing… sympathetic, long overdue.” **** Uncut
“Ultimately, this is a complex story of extraordinary talent, missed chances, exotic highs and frightening lows… This comprehensive biography of Steve Marriott is as close as we’re going to get to extracting the truth about Britain’s finest white-soul exponent.” ***** Record Collector
“Compelling reading.” **** Mojo
His band The Small Faces were the first to be banned from Top of The Pops and were deported from Australia at gunpoint. Steve's next group Humble Pie ruled the stadiums of America but the money earned was diverted by mafia associates and he returned to the UK broke and on the run from the Taxman. In later life he struggled with schizophrenia but always continued playing - blistering gigs in front of small audiences in the pubs and clubs around London. Recently reunited with his old Humble Pie sparring partner Peter Frampton, he was on the verge of a comeback when he was tragically killed in a housefire, aged 44-years-old. A huge influence on a new generation of musicians from Paul Weller to Noel Gallagher, due to his death, Marriott has perhaps not been granted the status in Rock 'n' Roll's pantheon that he deserved. A major reassessment is long overdue. Marriott was simply one of the greatest rock stars of all time.
“An exhaustive account of the East End musical maverick, it spans his beginnings as a child prodigy, his memorable work with arch top Mods the Small Faces, and all the way through to his later work with Humble Pie, his subsequent solo career and untimely death in 1991.” Gary Crowley
“A riveting account of the singer’s life, crammed with entertaining stories of
rebellion and debauchery and insightful historical background… Compulsive
reading.” The Daily Express
“One of the best books I’ve read about the backwaters of rock music.” The Daily Mail
“A wonderfully researched, eminently readable appreciation of the creative force behind the Small Faces and Humble Pie, who created some of the finest pop, rock ’n’ boogie music of his generation.” ***** Classic Rock
“All Too Beautiful traces Marriott’s mercurial career from his upbringing in postwar, bomb-damaged London to his cocaine-ravaged demise in a fire at his Essex home in 1991, aged 44. Revealing… sympathetic, long overdue.” **** Uncut
“Ultimately, this is a complex story of extraordinary talent, missed chances, exotic highs and frightening lows… This comprehensive biography of Steve Marriott is as close as we’re going to get to extracting the truth about Britain’s finest white-soul exponent.” ***** Record Collector
“Compelling reading.” **** Mojo
- GenresMusicBiographyNonfiction
541 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2004
36 people are currently reading
142 people want to read
About the author
Paolo Hewitt
42 books31 followersPaolo Hewitt was born on July 11, 1958 in Redhill, Surrey, England.
Paolo Hewitt is a former NME journalist and author of over 20 books, including, with Mark Baxter, The Fashion of Football (Mainstream), Oasis... There and Then (1996), Outside Bet (2012) and Casuals: The Story of the Legendary Terrace Fashion (2011)
Paolo Hewitt is a former NME journalist and author of over 20 books, including, with Mark Baxter, The Fashion of Football (Mainstream), Oasis... There and Then (1996), Outside Bet (2012) and Casuals: The Story of the Legendary Terrace Fashion (2011)
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
April 17, 2019
I don't think you'll ever find a more thorough biography of Steve Marriott than "All Too Beautiful" by Paolo Hewitt. From his rough and humble youth to his horrible last day on Earth, the book gives us a complete picture of the man behind the Small Faces, Humble Pie, Packet of Three and many other musical incarnations. We get to see him kind and sober, mean and drunk, bored and crazed on cocaine. We even get to meet his evil alter-ego, Melvin the bald headed wrestler, whose appearance is an indication that Marriott is about to hit bottom, again. All of this is told in Marriott's own words and those of the dozens of people the author interviewed.
Throughout it all, Marriott seems to be his own worst enemy when it comes to fame and success. He consistently sabotages big deals and prefers to keep to smaller audiences, all the while seeming to be petty and jealous about the success of others. He does manage to have periods of sobriety and calm, usually due to a new love interest. However, when Marriott goes on the road to pay the rent, all good intentions go out the window (along with hotel furniture) and the familiar spiral begins. No relationship lasts long after Melvin rears his bald head.
Although there are moments of joy, hilarity and triumph, it is ultimately a sad story of what could have been. Note: If you are reading the e-book edition, keep going past the bibliography to get to some afterwords that were added in later printings.
Throughout it all, Marriott seems to be his own worst enemy when it comes to fame and success. He consistently sabotages big deals and prefers to keep to smaller audiences, all the while seeming to be petty and jealous about the success of others. He does manage to have periods of sobriety and calm, usually due to a new love interest. However, when Marriott goes on the road to pay the rent, all good intentions go out the window (along with hotel furniture) and the familiar spiral begins. No relationship lasts long after Melvin rears his bald head.
Although there are moments of joy, hilarity and triumph, it is ultimately a sad story of what could have been. Note: If you are reading the e-book edition, keep going past the bibliography to get to some afterwords that were added in later printings.
February 21, 2008
He had a face like the Artful Dodger, dressed like the coolest psych-Mod ever, wrote songs that rivaled Ray Davies and Pete Townsend at their peak, and sang like a fiery soul singer. Steve Marriott had it all and threw it all away almost as quickly.
This book would make a fine companion piece to "Moon" the Keith Moon biography. Both books painfully show innocence lost to excess and decadence. It's an old story with different players but few showed less respect for their talent than Steve Marriott. A great book.
This book would make a fine companion piece to "Moon" the Keith Moon biography. Both books painfully show innocence lost to excess and decadence. It's an old story with different players but few showed less respect for their talent than Steve Marriott. A great book.
June 14, 2019
This might be the most detailed biography you will ever read about Steve Marriott. Much of it was new to me because there had not been too much available about the Small Faces, or any of the group, until the late 1990s.
It seems Steve was a child prodigy who, despite growing up in the East End of London, was able to accomplish almost anything he set out to do, instantly, and with no effort. He earned a fairly decent living early on as a child actor in various theater productions and films (the fees paid for a prestigious drama school in Soho). Later he was chosen to sing on the Oliver soundtrack album as the Artful Dodger. It seemed he was on a path to glory when, one day, he came home and announced to his parents that he was sick of acting and wanted to be pop star (much to their initial horror and disappointment). Then, a week later, he got a record deal (a one-off with Decca).
The book goes into a lot of details about the glory years (one of the only bands to actually live the fans' pop star, party-pad, fantasy ala the Beatles in Help). Again, success came almost too easily, even if they were hoodwinked out of the financial reward they deserved. Unfortunately, Marriott, who was always hyper and loved to "perform," claimed he didn't care about the money; while at the same would lament that, considering all the huge hits his band had in England, he should have been bigger than Rod Stewart.
However, in the early days it all seemed to work out. As long as band had all the Mod clothes they wanted, and a chauffeur-driven car at their disposal, they were happy. The only downside was having to record "teeny bopper" songs like "Sha La La La Lee" which Marriott hated. Later, after their contract was sold to Andrew Loog Oldham's Immediate Records, they found a more kindred spirit artistically, but were still out the money they deserved because of the label's financial problems.
The first missed opportunity was the Small Faces' failure to get to America (which the band blames on Don Arden dropping the ball). Later, Humble Pie, though initially hugely successful, devolved into a revolving lineup that reformed whenever Steve was desperate for money. At one point, in the 1980s, he was playing about 200 shows a year in the "pub circuit" with various players who would either get sacked if they said the wrong thing in an interview, or leave in frustration after Marriott would deliberately sabotage a deal that would allow them to play better venues. The reason? He did not want money men telling him what to play or what to wear?
Then there was the whole aspect of his split personality which, though substance abuse was a large contributing factor, seemed to only surface late in his relationships with his various wives. Perhaps that is the only part of the book I wish I could "unread" as it was kind of depressing. On his very last day in April of 1991, Melvin the Bald Wrestler (his alter-ego) was in residence as he berated his fourth wife on a flight from Los Angeles to Heathrow, upsetting the other passengers, and garnering reprimands from the flight crew. Hours after they landed, Marriott finally went home alone and - probably - fell asleep with a cigarette, sparking the fire that killed him.
The author feels that Marriott might have gotten the financial rewards he deserved, if he had lived into the '90s, as a result of people like Paul Weller, Noel Gallagher, and the whole Britpop crowd, citing him as the "Modfather." (And yes, there is new material at the very end of the eBook. A tribute written by Ron Wood, and an interview with Marriott's long lost illegitimate daughter from an early fling, who was given up for adoption in 1966.)
It seems Steve was a child prodigy who, despite growing up in the East End of London, was able to accomplish almost anything he set out to do, instantly, and with no effort. He earned a fairly decent living early on as a child actor in various theater productions and films (the fees paid for a prestigious drama school in Soho). Later he was chosen to sing on the Oliver soundtrack album as the Artful Dodger. It seemed he was on a path to glory when, one day, he came home and announced to his parents that he was sick of acting and wanted to be pop star (much to their initial horror and disappointment). Then, a week later, he got a record deal (a one-off with Decca).
The book goes into a lot of details about the glory years (one of the only bands to actually live the fans' pop star, party-pad, fantasy ala the Beatles in Help). Again, success came almost too easily, even if they were hoodwinked out of the financial reward they deserved. Unfortunately, Marriott, who was always hyper and loved to "perform," claimed he didn't care about the money; while at the same would lament that, considering all the huge hits his band had in England, he should have been bigger than Rod Stewart.
However, in the early days it all seemed to work out. As long as band had all the Mod clothes they wanted, and a chauffeur-driven car at their disposal, they were happy. The only downside was having to record "teeny bopper" songs like "Sha La La La Lee" which Marriott hated. Later, after their contract was sold to Andrew Loog Oldham's Immediate Records, they found a more kindred spirit artistically, but were still out the money they deserved because of the label's financial problems.
The first missed opportunity was the Small Faces' failure to get to America (which the band blames on Don Arden dropping the ball). Later, Humble Pie, though initially hugely successful, devolved into a revolving lineup that reformed whenever Steve was desperate for money. At one point, in the 1980s, he was playing about 200 shows a year in the "pub circuit" with various players who would either get sacked if they said the wrong thing in an interview, or leave in frustration after Marriott would deliberately sabotage a deal that would allow them to play better venues. The reason? He did not want money men telling him what to play or what to wear?
Then there was the whole aspect of his split personality which, though substance abuse was a large contributing factor, seemed to only surface late in his relationships with his various wives. Perhaps that is the only part of the book I wish I could "unread" as it was kind of depressing. On his very last day in April of 1991, Melvin the Bald Wrestler (his alter-ego) was in residence as he berated his fourth wife on a flight from Los Angeles to Heathrow, upsetting the other passengers, and garnering reprimands from the flight crew. Hours after they landed, Marriott finally went home alone and - probably - fell asleep with a cigarette, sparking the fire that killed him.
The author feels that Marriott might have gotten the financial rewards he deserved, if he had lived into the '90s, as a result of people like Paul Weller, Noel Gallagher, and the whole Britpop crowd, citing him as the "Modfather." (And yes, there is new material at the very end of the eBook. A tribute written by Ron Wood, and an interview with Marriott's long lost illegitimate daughter from an early fling, who was given up for adoption in 1966.)
March 12, 2021
Marriott is one of my very favorite white blues singers. This biography is extremely well researched and documented - includes several interviews and quotes from Steve's family, friends, work associates, managers, fans. I commend Paolo Hewitt for his passion and dedication in wanting to make sure that this Artist is not forgotten or overlooked as he has been in life (it must be said that often the choices he made did not help him get back into the top music circuit). I wish that this volume had expanded more about his issues with mental health, which could have partly explained why he constantly sabotaged his career when he could have easily been at the top in all the three decades when he was active.
His legacy limited him to a niche, as many of his associates, who were equally talented and fully understood and appreciated by people in the business and his ardent, devoted following.
A true Londoner, an authentic Mod and then a more-than-enthusiastic rhythm and blues artist. Steve Marriott was never, ever fake. When I think of such mediocre "artists" that have obtained worldwide success without a smidgen of his talent - only by great marketing to the most gullible public - it makes me very sad. But he was unique and will remain always at the top in my personal charts.
His legacy limited him to a niche, as many of his associates, who were equally talented and fully understood and appreciated by people in the business and his ardent, devoted following.
A true Londoner, an authentic Mod and then a more-than-enthusiastic rhythm and blues artist. Steve Marriott was never, ever fake. When I think of such mediocre "artists" that have obtained worldwide success without a smidgen of his talent - only by great marketing to the most gullible public - it makes me very sad. But he was unique and will remain always at the top in my personal charts.
February 8, 2009
Love the Small Faces. From child star in the West End stage production of Lionel Bart's 'Oliver', Steve the dodger returned in triunph, via Itchycoo Park, to packed houses with his swinging sixties band. Another hell raiser, rocker, who met a tragic premature end.
October 25, 2011
A wonderfully written account of one of rock's great genuises! A musician,songwriter & singer who excelled at all 3. A warts and all biography that is very readable. It tarnished my view of Steve but I still can't help liking the man and his music.
April 15, 2008
do you even know how much i love the small faces? SO MUCH. this book is great. and sad.
April 4, 2015
Good story about steve Marriott,the small faces, humble pie, A good read if your into the man and the bands
December 23, 2018
I hunted this book down (and found it at Stratford library) after discovering that my new neighbourhood is Small Faces country par excellence, and that Steve Marriott was born and grew up a few doors down from our house. Renee - in the song about the prostitute - lived at number two hundred and something.
Quite the archetypal rock tragedy, in many ways - and grimly readable for that. This is rock stardom in an age when young stars were brazenly exploited by assorted crooks (included Sharon Osborne's thieving father, Don Arden), gigged more in two weeks than most bands in a year and had all the self control of kids in a candy shop - only that's not candy, it's cocaine and booze, and boy did Marriott like that .
It's a pretty fascinating story: working class talent from a rough part of town, rises to fame way too young and is dead by forty something. What stands out is how young they were, how much they drank (I mean, does anyone drink brandy like that anymore?) and how commercially naive they were. I was also reminded of how much rockers of a certain age love their blues / R&B - something which I eternally struggle with (it's fucking boring, right) - I remember reading in Simon Reynolds's Retromania about John Lennon going through a second adolescence in the early seventies and wanting to just play blues and drawing a cultural blank - or maybe that was just the lyric of Jimmy T. Chaps 'Rhythm and Blues is Fucking Tedious', itself a close borrowing the riff from Chappy T. Jimm's 'Can We Get Some (More Chords In?)'.
Naturally, you find yourself rooting for Marriott, while realising as the years pass by that he's a pretty broken, desperate case and was probably a nightmare to be around . After a while, the walk-outs and strops go well past Spinal Tap levels and he just sounds like an arse... that thing he said in Germany about Hitler and a gas bill probably the final wince. But amazing voice, you have to agree...and evidently a force of nature. As a piece of writing, it's a little bit clunky, but well meant. I'm just disappointed that Lazy Sunday Afternoon was seen as a bit of a liability. The line ''ello Mrs Jones: how's your Bert's lumbago?' (apparently overheard in a stairwell) is priceless.
Quite the archetypal rock tragedy, in many ways - and grimly readable for that. This is rock stardom in an age when young stars were brazenly exploited by assorted crooks (included Sharon Osborne's thieving father, Don Arden), gigged more in two weeks than most bands in a year and had all the self control of kids in a candy shop - only that's not candy, it's cocaine and booze, and boy did Marriott like that .
It's a pretty fascinating story: working class talent from a rough part of town, rises to fame way too young and is dead by forty something. What stands out is how young they were, how much they drank (I mean, does anyone drink brandy like that anymore?) and how commercially naive they were. I was also reminded of how much rockers of a certain age love their blues / R&B - something which I eternally struggle with (it's fucking boring, right) - I remember reading in Simon Reynolds's Retromania about John Lennon going through a second adolescence in the early seventies and wanting to just play blues and drawing a cultural blank - or maybe that was just the lyric of Jimmy T. Chaps 'Rhythm and Blues is Fucking Tedious', itself a close borrowing the riff from Chappy T. Jimm's 'Can We Get Some (More Chords In?)'.
Naturally, you find yourself rooting for Marriott, while realising as the years pass by that he's a pretty broken, desperate case and was probably a nightmare to be around . After a while, the walk-outs and strops go well past Spinal Tap levels and he just sounds like an arse... that thing he said in Germany about Hitler and a gas bill probably the final wince. But amazing voice, you have to agree...and evidently a force of nature. As a piece of writing, it's a little bit clunky, but well meant. I'm just disappointed that Lazy Sunday Afternoon was seen as a bit of a liability. The line ''ello Mrs Jones: how's your Bert's lumbago?' (apparently overheard in a stairwell) is priceless.
August 11, 2023
I read this on holiday, was totally in it and found this biography 'unputdownable'. Thoroughly enjoyed it. It succeeded in its number one job: I feel like I really got to know the great Steve Marriott (1947-1991) and can now really understand the difficult man that he was.
This biography is incredibly detailed yet it never gets dull, it is lively, Marriott's story told with empathy. On the book cover John Hellier (probably the #1 Small Faces connaisseur) is credited as a co-author, which is slightly odd: the narrator is very clearly Paolo Hewitt, Hellier actually makes third person appearances in the story. It feels very much like a book written by Hewitt, but I get the impression that Hellier (who runs a Small Faces fanzine) conducted many of the interviews over the years, with Marriott's parents, wives, children and many, many friends and musicians. All of these people tell their Marriott stories, which makes this book as valuable as it is.
When I started reading I feared that I was going to enjoy the Small Faces part (because I'm a huge fan). Humble Pie's music doesn't mean much to me and I hardly knew anything about Marriott's solo gigging 'under the radar', so I somehow expected to lose interest a bit, but this wasn't the case at all. This biography is about Steve Marriott as a man (his kindness, his humour, his obnoxiousness, his demons, his many problems) and I was totally in it until the (very sad) end.
My only criticism has to do with the writing: Hewitt repeats himself every once in while and his jumps between present and past tense don't always make sense. Some of the longer quotes are very literal transcripts, which gives some of the interviews a bit of a 'fanzine feel'. Which makes sense: Hellier conducted many of them for his fanzine, I think.
Very good. Definitely recommend.
This biography is incredibly detailed yet it never gets dull, it is lively, Marriott's story told with empathy. On the book cover John Hellier (probably the #1 Small Faces connaisseur) is credited as a co-author, which is slightly odd: the narrator is very clearly Paolo Hewitt, Hellier actually makes third person appearances in the story. It feels very much like a book written by Hewitt, but I get the impression that Hellier (who runs a Small Faces fanzine) conducted many of the interviews over the years, with Marriott's parents, wives, children and many, many friends and musicians. All of these people tell their Marriott stories, which makes this book as valuable as it is.
When I started reading I feared that I was going to enjoy the Small Faces part (because I'm a huge fan). Humble Pie's music doesn't mean much to me and I hardly knew anything about Marriott's solo gigging 'under the radar', so I somehow expected to lose interest a bit, but this wasn't the case at all. This biography is about Steve Marriott as a man (his kindness, his humour, his obnoxiousness, his demons, his many problems) and I was totally in it until the (very sad) end.
My only criticism has to do with the writing: Hewitt repeats himself every once in while and his jumps between present and past tense don't always make sense. Some of the longer quotes are very literal transcripts, which gives some of the interviews a bit of a 'fanzine feel'. Which makes sense: Hellier conducted many of them for his fanzine, I think.
Very good. Definitely recommend.
December 20, 2018
Steve Marriott had a voice like no other - and in the same vein, a life like no other. He was a talent I can't even begin to describe, and reading his life story was entertaining and heartbreaking. Hewitt and Hellier's writing style is like listening to a documentary... I could almost hear the narrator's voice while reading. The Small Faces were a force to be reckoned with in the music world, yet never seemed to get the recognition or true break they deserved. They seemed to get involved with all the wrong people, and were sadly taken advantage of. Marriott was a tortured soul and troubled genius... someone who made so many people happy through his music, his antics, and even his mod style in the early days. I loved reading about the history of the songs and albums, and how they all came to be. I want to believe he was truly happy, because he deserved better than the cards he was played at times, and his tragic death only seemed to exacerbate that point. A brutally honest read for all music fans, not just fans of Steve Marriott.
February 5, 2021
I've been curious about Steve Marriott's short life and why a man with so much talent, who had such a huge following and was so famous died broke at 44. Now I know. This is a detailed and fascinating story of a child actor turned rock god who was lured in by excesses that are stereotypical of that lifestyle. But there was more to Steve. He was unlike anyone else I've read about. And that led to him playing a 250 seat club on the night of Live Aid, when his contemporaries were beamed around the world. He could have had it all but when it was offered, he didn't want it. I gave it only 3 stars because of the writing. The author is apparently an expert on Small Faces (one of Marriott's best-known bands) and felt the need to inject things into the text that actually made me mad! For example, I don't believe that the author should ever follow a quote by his subject with a snarky, negative reaction to it. Not in a biography. It just doesn't belong.
July 26, 2023
I loved Ogden's and The Autumn Stone when I was a young man, when Britpop was at its height. Those Small Faces records sort of fit in with the spirit of '94 / '95 somehow. Not sure why I've had Marriott in my head of late, maybe to see if I'd missed out on something by never giving Humble Pie a go. Anyway, I thought this might fill in some blanks. As a result of All Too Beautiful, I'm looking forward to getting well acquainted with Small Faces' first two albums which, by the sound of it, could well be much overlooked. When this book was covering the height of the Small Faces' fame, I was a little disappointed there was not more time spent on the music and incidents from that era, but the coverage from thereon in is very good. An inevitably sad ending to the book, which I guess only listening to Steve's music can rectify. A very well put together, respectful, labour of love music biog.
March 7, 2021
Interesting account of a complex character, flawed & driven.
No denying the talent, but the uncompromising nature of his personality is hard to fathom. He was as hard on himself as he was on others.
This book documents his early life really well & in great detail, as it does for his years with the Small Faces. I can't help feeling it skipped over parts of his life from Humble pie to his untimely death.
This may be because this is a biography rather than an autobiography.
I am looking forward to reading the new 'authorised' biography 'All or Nothing' & as with most books it will be fascinating to see how the story matches & diverges with this book along the way. It still won't be a first hand account but it will provide more insight into the genius that was Steve Marriott.
No denying the talent, but the uncompromising nature of his personality is hard to fathom. He was as hard on himself as he was on others.
This book documents his early life really well & in great detail, as it does for his years with the Small Faces. I can't help feeling it skipped over parts of his life from Humble pie to his untimely death.
This may be because this is a biography rather than an autobiography.
I am looking forward to reading the new 'authorised' biography 'All or Nothing' & as with most books it will be fascinating to see how the story matches & diverges with this book along the way. It still won't be a first hand account but it will provide more insight into the genius that was Steve Marriott.
May 9, 2021
Sex and drugs and what really happened
This is a pretty decent account that allows fantastic glimpses into the life of one great British musician who lets face it got a raw deal as they mostly did,but who soldiered on doing what he loved all the same, following the creative spark to the butter end, and I feed the end was rather bitter wasn't it.Not the first and not the last though.....
This is a pretty decent account that allows fantastic glimpses into the life of one great British musician who lets face it got a raw deal as they mostly did,but who soldiered on doing what he loved all the same, following the creative spark to the butter end, and I feed the end was rather bitter wasn't it.Not the first and not the last though.....
July 12, 2019
It took me a long time to read this book. I am not sure why. But now that I am done, I am glad to have read it. I think the writing style just didn’t gel with m6 reading style. The subject matter, Steve Marriott, was not boring at all. Maybe sad, but not boring
February 5, 2024
Fascinating story awfully written.
July 28, 2015
The Small Faces were one of the most successful groups of the sixties, and their influence is still felt today with such people as Paul Weller, The Gallagher Brothers to name but a few. This book is about the singer of the group Steve Marriott. He played the Artful Dodger in Lionel Bart’s Oliver on stage for about 2 years. He had attended the Italian Conte drama school. One day he announced to his family he was no longer interested in acting he was going g to be a pop star .... And he was. Along with Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones, and Ian Mclaggan these boys made history. . In his day he was one of the most beautiful men with cheek bones that could cut glass and glossy hair, sharp suits an engaging personality and sense of humour. You have to remember how young these boys were probably not even in their 20’s and fame came quickly, signed with Don Arden, record deals followed. Unfortunately despite several hit records, like so many stars of the 60’s and 70’s they suddenly find there is no money and that they have been ripped off by their management. The boys enjoyed the high life and as was common at that time were into drinking and drugs. A change of management followed but unfortunately was later found to be no better. Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane had an amazing writing partnership, Steve Marriott’s voice was exceptional he was a blues man with an amazing voice, even today I don’t think many people can rival him. He also had a touch of the old music hall about him and wrote such songs as “Lazy Sunday”, as a joke but which sadly overshadowed later records. Steve wanted to play heavier music and one day just walked out of the group leaving the rest of the boys to form the Faces with a new lead singer Rod Stewart. Steve formed the group Humble Pie with Peter Frampton, despite great success in the USA again due to bad management and a mad lifestyle there was no money. This book follows him through varies groups he came up with, through his turbulent marriages and relationships. He ends up doing what he likes best playing local clubs and pubs with his group. No doubt he was a nightmare to work with and live with as drinking and drugs took their toll on him. Such was Steve’s talent he was approached by Led Zeppelin and at one stage the Rolling Stones, he died in a tragic house fire in 1991 and you read this book with a sense of sadness and what if......that such a talent could end up like this. However his songs live on and there are still many fans to keep his memory alive.
September 21, 2016
I have never heard much Small Faces music, but am, coincidentally, reading Ian McLagan's autobiography. I started it before I started this, and won't finish for some time.
Marriott seemed like a real lunatic. I'm glad I never met him, he sounds like a loaded cannon. It's interesting to see how popular they were in England, funny how they never made it to the U.S. in original form. I was never a fan of Humble Pie, but it sounds like Marriott had a great voice. I was surprised to see how he died.
Marriott seemed like a real lunatic. I'm glad I never met him, he sounds like a loaded cannon. It's interesting to see how popular they were in England, funny how they never made it to the U.S. in original form. I was never a fan of Humble Pie, but it sounds like Marriott had a great voice. I was surprised to see how he died.
July 24, 2019
An in depth look at a singing legend
I found this to be a well researched and entertaining look at the life and times of one of rock's unsung heroes. Never afforded the respect for his talent and incredible voice in his lifetime his legend has grown in the years since his untimely death. It's an honest account that highlights how Marriott was frequently his own worst enemy who thwarted himself often in the times where he was on track to take his career to the next level.
I found this to be a well researched and entertaining look at the life and times of one of rock's unsung heroes. Never afforded the respect for his talent and incredible voice in his lifetime his legend has grown in the years since his untimely death. It's an honest account that highlights how Marriott was frequently his own worst enemy who thwarted himself often in the times where he was on track to take his career to the next level.
July 24, 2015
A sad story. How a very talented man was robbed and robbed himself of what he richly deserved.
Showing the pressures of being in the music business and to initially feel that pressure to come up with the goods the hit songs, the hit albums. He had it all, lost it all and threw a lot of it away.
Thankfully we have his records to continually remind ourselves of the great legacy he left.
Showing the pressures of being in the music business and to initially feel that pressure to come up with the goods the hit songs, the hit albums. He had it all, lost it all and threw a lot of it away.
Thankfully we have his records to continually remind ourselves of the great legacy he left.
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