Last
Saturday, the 30th January, saw the anniversary of the birth of Steve Marriott.
Mod legend and greatest voice of his and perhaps any other generation. His
powerful voice belied his small stature. (He stood a mere 5ft 5.5ins). Born at
East Ham Hospital to parents Kay and Bill Marriott he was three weeks premature
he weighed just 4lb 4oz.
In
1960, aged thirteen, Marriott auditioned for the role of 'The Artful Dodger' in
'Oliver' and was quickly given the part. He played the role for 12 months for
£8 a week. He was also chosen to provide lead vocals for the Artful Dodger
songs "Consider Yourself" "Be Back Soon," and "I'd Do
Anything," recorded Abbey Road Studios. He was influenced from an early
age by his heroes including Buddy Holly, Booker T & the MG's, Otis Redding
and Bobby 'Blue' Bland.
After
developing his voice in a series of bands Steve met Small Faces partners,
Ronnie Lane and 16-year-old drummer Kenney Jones and with their shared love of
R&B the trio were soon firm friends. Marriott's friend Annabel, an
ex-student from the Italia Conti, came up with the band's distinctive name
after commenting that they all had "Small faces"; the name stuck in
part because they were all small (none being over
5 ft 6 in tall), and the term "face" in English mod culture was
the name given to a well-known and respected mod.
Small Faces were signed to Don Arden within six weeks
of forming and quickly became a successful mod band highly regarded by the
youth cult's followers when their debut single "Whatcha Gonna Do About
It" hit the UK singles chart. Marriott was just 18 years old.
Marriott wrote or co-wrote most of Small Faces' hit
singles. In an interview in 1984, Marriott was asked what his best Small Faces
songs were: "I think 'All or Nothing', that I wrote, takes a lot of
beating. To me, if there's a song that typifies that era, then that might be
it. Words regardless, cos it's only a silly love song, but the actual feel and
arrangement of the thing, and maybe 'Tin Soldier'’.
In 1967, after a dispute over unpaid royalties,
relations between the Small Faces and Don Arden broke down and Arden sold them
on to Andrew Loog Oldham, who owned the Immediate Records label. After the success of the group's number one hit concept album
Ogden's Nut Gone Flake Marriott was keen for the group to evolve and wanted to
bring in ex-Herd frontman Peter Frampton, but McLagan, Jones and Lane refused.
Marriott quit the group, storming off stage during a
disastrous live performance on New Year's Eve, 1968.
Shortly after leaving Small Faces, Marriott joined Humble Pie with Peter Frampton.
Touring constantly over the next three years, the
band's next album releases, Humble Pie and Rock On, benefited from their
touring. Their live album Performance Rockin' the Fillmore (1971) became the
band's most successful release to date.
Some close to Marriott would say that his personality
would change for the worse when he toured America. Eventually, possibly as a
result of excessive alcohol and drug use, Marriott started showing signs of
mild schizophrenia. He had regularly taken amphetamines (speed) and smoked
cannabis in his days in The Small Faces. He
also experimented with LSD. But towards the end of his Small Faces career and in
Humble Pie, Marriott allegedly developed a destructive cocaine and alcohol
addiction.
By 1990 Marriott was playing an average 200 gigs a
year. On Friday 19 April 1991, Marriott and flew back to England from America.
At approximately 6:30 am on 20 April, a passing motorist saw the roof of
Marriott's cottage ablaze and called the fire brigade. It was reported that
four fire engines were needed to put out the fire. Steve was pronounced dead at
the scene.
Small Faces song "All or Nothing" was
played as the requiem at Marriott's funeral held on 30 April 1991.
Marking the 10th anniversary of Marriott's death, a
tribute concert was held at the London Astoria. Guest appearances included original Small Faces, Kenney Jones and
Ian McLagan plus Paul Weller, Noel Gallagher and Bobby Tench, The proceeds of
the concert were donated to The Small Faces Charitable Trust set up by Kenney
Jones in memory of Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane.
In September 2007 Marriott, along with the other members
of the Small Faces and manager Don Arden were honoured with a plaque unveiled
in Carnaby Street, on the site of Don Arden's offices, the spiritual home of
the band in the 1960s.
RIP Steve Marriott - Mod Legend - Voice of a generation
I'm the face
