All Or Nothing: The Story of Steve Marriott

by Simon Spence

Authorised by the Marriott family. Steve Marriott, lead singer of the Small Faces and Humble Pie, had a voice coveted by Bob Dylan, Robert Plant, Roger Daltrey, and David Bowie, amongst many others. All or Nothing, Simon Spence's oral history biography, is drawn from over 125 interviews with those who knew Marriott his wives, children, bandmates, and closest friends, managers, record producers, record label bosses, and his fellow musicians. Included are scores of people who have never told their story before.

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction, History

460 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 18, 2021

Reviews

[Anders Olow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good, open and ”no-covering-up” read. Everybody agree; he was a truly musical genius with a voice that made him ”The best vocalist that this country has ever produced”. (Bowie).
But he was also too much to be around, double natured persona, yes sometimes nice but to often a drinking, cokesnorting genuine bastard. Today he would probably have had a 15 letter diagnos.
I loved The Small Faces, I loved his voice and got to interview him in his later days. A big fan and this book gives me the intimate story.
The format, oral biography, where you draw from hundreds of interviews, quote them and mix them in a strict cronological order is such an interesting format and really keeps the reading a non-stop experience.

[Patrick Macke · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's not a bad book, just a sad depressing one ... The interview style of the book (quotes interspersed with italic narrative) can be a challenge ... The book can almost feel like a parody of every rock-n-roll book ever written - booze and drugs and debauchery sabotaging the otherwise bright career of the poor rocker - although this time the self-destructive behavior of the rock star borders on too much to take ... Steve Marriott the spectacle overshadows Steve Marriott musician here, and I guess if the story is to be told accurately, maybe that needs to be the case ... In the end, there's a ton of love on these pages for a one-of-a-kind rock voice, we all miss you Stevie

[Per-Olof · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simon Spence has written books about Don Arden and Andrew Loog Oldham and the input from them in this book lifts it. Not only do we get to know about Steve Marriott's life but we get to know more about the music business as well. The first half of the book is a joy to read but the second half is more depressing - it feels rather sad to realize that your idol has turned into self-serving asshole. I guess I'd better remember him as one of the best rock-singers ever!

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Living hard and dying young, Steve Marriott went from child actor to forming the Small Faces only to see him quit to form Humble Pie with Peter Frampton.
He goes solo and forms short lived bands and never reaches the heights he had. Marriott was constantly living the rock and roll life to the extreme with multiple wives, sex, drugs and harder drugs. He made more enemies than friends and usually was his own worst enemy. But he was talented and for a shorter than average man he could belt out the songs with emotion and energy.
I was not keen on how the book was set up with quotes from many different people including Marriott himself, but it was truthful, informative and eye opening.

[Allan Heron · Rating 4 out of 5]

The word "authorised" on a biography usually indicates that rough edges have been smoothed or, worse, that the book is a total whitewash.

Not on this occasion. As talented as he was, Marriott wasn't a great example of a human being.

A compelling read.

[Elleanor Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

A vile person in a vile music world

Well this big read has been almost addictive and I really feel Simon has written the true story about Steve and the band having devoured this in just over 2 days. I have deleted the John Hellier book also claiming the same dubious truths and amended my review to 2 stars which is being generous. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THAT BOOK AT ALL. Quotes in this book from same people same period are NOT the same and having read this and learned what a lowlife John Hellier is perceived and written and quoted since Steve Marriott's death with his greedy grasping and especially the treatment of the Marriott children, he's not someone I'm prepared to finance and I can't help hoping others feel the same and boycott his version called "All too Beautiful" and also claimed as official autobiography. It clearly isn't anything of the kind and the bin is the best place for it

So to this one. Well as I said I think this is as good as your gonna get and Steve Marriott was a clearly egotistical, narcissist, jealous,selfish, indulged and spoilt and who did not deserve the nice people he abused. In fact he was vile as a person and personality from these comments and memories of those closest to him. That said very few of those included would be considered nice people anyway in the truest definition of what a nice person is and it's amazing his children seem balanced and rational given what they have been through. As for the ghastly Toni the less said. She appears to have reaped what was sewn however so I hope her karma and suffering continues to her last breath. She won't be missed.

This book takes no prisoners about the man, the Small Faces, the sharks in the music business and the drugs and alcohol and makes a very interesting read. I've been around musicians for a lot of my younger life and nothing I read surprised me but it was at times very entertaining and I found myself nodding and smiling ruefully; other times shaking my head. The only thing I question in All or Nothing is a picture claimed to be the house after the fire - it has a thatched roof when also in same book it states categorically more than once that the house was not thatched and another house nearby that also caught fire was the thatched one but that was burned to the ground. Whether that is a publishing or writer error I'm not sure but it's the only thing I have picked up. Of course there are discrepancies in people comments and memories but that is usual and to be expected when it's comments and personalities and especially given the amount of Charlie and booze being consumed along with the Mandrax. I do question that Steve Marriott was the greatest white soul singer however. What about R Dean Taylor and Mitch Ryder? Interestingly Mitch also was abusive and very nasty to his women,. He also took masses of Charlie and Mandrax or Quaaludes if you prefer, was a massive hitmaker in the 60's with the Detroit Wheels and he was a dream pin up in looks. He and the wheels were also financially seriously ripped off. He also had a serious personality change when drugged up and didn't have much to show at the end of his big time period. Makes you wonder.

I think Ronnie Lane was very short changed by Steve and that really shows his true colours and his personality and just how vile the man really was no matter how many sugar coated comments about him are made. I've seen the ARMS Concert and have the album and Ronnie was every bit as talented as Steve but not really credited in the same way and that to me is criminal. He deserves every bit as much of the accolades given to the Small Faces as Steve Marriott did. On the whole though very few people come out of any of this business and music period smelling of roses, least of all Steve and Toni.

Do I recommend this as a read? Yes I do. You get the whole picture and whilst it's not an easy read and often not a pleasant one either it's as close as you'll get to knowing. I will be reading this one again but not for a while. I need something lighter next read.

[Linda Edmonds Cerullo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steve Marriott was incredibly talented. A child actor (he appeared in the stage version of "Oliver" in the UK and on television in the UK), an accomplished musician (outstanding guitarist) and had a voice that convinced people they were listening to a black bluesman. He was admired by fellow musicians and singers and adored by fans. So what happened? I often wondered. He hit his prime in the mid-60s when I was just a child but was still making good music by the time I became a teen. Having performed with the Small Faces and then with Humble Pie which included Peter Frampton he seemed to have it all. He wrote great songs, was by all accounts incredible in concert and, according to this book, was even a pretty decent cook! But like so many artists before him, he became addicted to drugs and alcohol and due to bad judgment calls, unreliability and a self-destructive streak, he went down a road that lead nowhere. This book is endorsed by friends and family and consists of interviews with ex-wives, Steve's children, family members and friends like Kenney Jones, Peter Frampton and others who worked with him through the years. It is set up in an interview-like format and is very easy to read. Some moments of humor, more of sadness especially when the accounts of his death are described (which like everything about this unusual man, can be a bit confusing). I was surprised that there are still some discrepancies about the nature of his death, although there is no question he perished in a fire at his home. Another of those books that leave you wishing things had been different and Steve was still here and had overcome his demons. But then, those of us who love rock and roll recognize that sometimes these stories go with the territory. At least he has left a legacy of music that will live on forever as new fans come to hear it and fall in love as we did. May he rest in the peace that so eluded him in life.

[Jenny O'Shea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sad demise of a potentially great musician and singer.

I personally liked the journalistic, interview-style format of this book, as it allows you an insight into the many influential people, in Marriott's life.

In part, an unpleasant and depressing read, due to the realities of the sordid underbelly of a rock'n'roll lifestyle of self delusion and excess.

The misuse of so many women made me cringe; and highlighted the ugly outcomes of Promiscuity.

However, despite the many negative revelations, portraying him as violent, nasty, mean, silly etc; I never once lost track of the finer side of Steve Marriott. And given all the drink and drugs he was taking; it was remarkable that it existed at all

I saw a highly talented young singer and musician, put on a treadmill by exploitative people; wanting to squeeze as much money as possible out of him.

He worked extremely hard; doused in the Working Class ethic of providing for family. I don't think 'Fame' was a huge part of his agenda; though drink/drugs were, which affected his ego and fragile mental health (probably, self medicating).

He definitely suffered from low self esteem and would have been pure magic; if only he'd been rehabilitated.

A wonderful man may have emerged; creating a beautiful life for himself and his offsprings; who deserved so much more

I recommend this book as a warning to the mythical life of self destruction as glamorous. It isn't.

I hope some of the proceeds of this book, go to his children; who like children of all alcoholics and drug users; suffer a lot of neglect and unhappiness.

[Steve M · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have wanted to read a biography about Steve Marriott for a long time. I found this one and was glad I found it. I really don't like the writing style in this book.....I read a biography about Edie Sedgewick that was written in the same style and didn't like it then, either. Both biographies are written in the form of "interviews" with the people in their lives rather than in a narrative format. I suppose both authors wrote this way because of the different feelings all the people had of them and this allows the author to remain neutral about their own personal feelings.
That said, I was very happy to read that everyone who heard Marriott sing praised and raved about his vocals. The man was AMAZING and I always felt that he had the best rock voice ever. Everyone that was interviewed shared this opinion with me.
It's sad that he lived his life like so many rock stars from that era. He died so young from a life driven by drugs and alcohol. Despite his inability to stay away from the drugs and drinking, he still was driven by his music. He was an influence on everyone who played music with him and performed with him. I was lucky to see Humble Pie on tour, headlining with Jo Jo Gunne and Foghat as open acts. I remember the stage was first covered with a tarp before Humble Pie came on. Steve kept spitting during their performance and reading in the book about his habit of spitting, I understand why they put the tarp down now.
I do recommend this book, especially for rock/blues fans. It gives you a better insight to the man who was a rock legend that died before his time.

[Richard Francis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'All or Nothing' - for a whole variety of reasons. First, it's meticulously well researched - and I can never resist that. Second, I like the presentation style of chapters with people speaking in paragraphs lifted from relevant interviews. It's devoid of any author 'clutter' and really easy to become very absorbed into. Three - it's an astonishingly human read - and through the style - it gives a fair voice to those who really knew him (the good, the bad and the ugly). It's like being in a room full of the living and the dead and listening to them all talk amongst themselves. Last - it's a real trip down memory lane for me. Me and my best friend at school used to visit our nearest city and 'have a rummage' through all the second hand record shops at various watering holes scattered about Nottingham. Obsessed with 60's music as a teenager - I have those 7" singles and demo records from the labels he recorded under - and those artists who worked closely with him. Those that have survived parties and house moves I still love giving an occasional airing. Marriott was a force of nature - and like all forces of nature - as wilfully destructive as spectacularly creative. It's a great read. Nice work Simon Spence.

[Christine Busuttil · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short life and long tale of possibilities and instabilities.
Initially found the succession of quotes difficult to weave into a traditional biography style which typical read like a novel. Having become more accustomed to reading in this style, the quotes found their own pattern and connections.
Given that the extracts and quotes from multi individuals give a deep insight and stark portrait of a complex human being. There is a balance and coherence in this telling of Steve Marriott’s life. Despite the seemingly see saw situations which were his life he rocked not just in his music but in the life of those around him.
A read that reflects creativeness and destruction, a fairy tale and morality tale all in one. A powerful and moving stare into a music world too often romanticised for public consumption.

[Mari Sussex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well worth the read.

Any body looking for the truth of the man will find it all in this unputdownable read.. He became horrendous bad tempered and unreliable with drink,drugs,lies and women. But..his amazing voice and stage presence lives on. His widow of only 20 months has refused to give his only son Toby his guitars or any personal effects from Steve's estate..nor to his 3 daughters..Such a sad story..A film needed but not to swell Toni's coffers...

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hope he enjoyed his life, but don't know how much he would have remembered.
Love you Steve Marriott.