All Or Nothing The Authorised Story Of Steve Marriott

Simon Spence OMNIBUS. £20

No holds barred oral history reveals immense talent with a flawed personality.

One hundred and twenty-five different, sometimes conflicting, voices narrate the life story of the Small Faces and Humble Pie singer/ guitarist from his early days as a child actor in Oliver! to his tragic death in a house fire aged 44 in 1991. It’s authorised by his family but pulls no punches, his abusive behaviour towards wives and girlfriends and his alcoholism and drug abuse laid bare. Pam Marriott Land, his second wife, believes it was always going to end badly, Marriott destined to kill himself had he not gone the way he did. Author Spence has done a great job interviewing, then editing together the story strands, with drummer Jerry Shirley especially authoritative on the music – he also writes the foreword. What emerges is a troubled and troubling figure driven by insecurity in his talent but finding happiness and release through it.