''Steve Marriott: All Too Beautiful'' is the official

biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curri ...

of English musician

Steve Marriott Stephen Peter Marriott (30 January 1947 – 20 April 1991) was an English actor, musician, guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a student at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in London and appeared in the West End, before taking a r ...

, who co-founded and played in the rock bands

Small Faces Small Faces were an English Rock music, rock band from London, founded in 1965. The group originally consisted of Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones and Jimmy Winston, with Ian McLagan replacing Winston as the band's keyboardist in 1966 ...

(1965–1969) and

Humble Pie Humble Pie are an English Rock music, rock band formed by Steve Marriott and Peter Frampton in Moreton, Essex, in 1969. They are known as one of the first Supergroup (music), supergroups of the late 1960s and enjoyed success in the early 1970s ...

(1969–1975). The book was written by

Paolo Hewitt Paolo Hewitt is a music journalist and writer from Woking in Surrey. Biography Hewitt was placed in care at a very early age, and went to live with a foster family. Following years of abuse he was sent to Burbank children's home in Woking at t ...

, a former ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' journalist and music critic, and John Hellier, a Steve Marriott fan and webmaster of The Darlings of Wapping Wharf Laundrette website. The hardback edition was first published in the UK by Helter Skelter in 2004 and has since been available in a paperback edition .

Overview

''All Too Beautiful'' is a biography that provides in-depth detail and analysis on all aspects of Steve Marriott's life, both professional and personal. From his family's working-class background, the circumstances surrounding his premature birth in East Ham Hospital,

East London East London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...

on 30 January 1947, the biography documents the many twists and turns of his life until his death on 20 April 1991. The hardback edition contains published black and white photographs, many of which come from his family's private collection, including Marriott seen as a baby, toddler, teenager, and also during his time in Small Faces and Humble Pie. There are also images of his childhood homes in Strone Road and Daines Close, the hospital where he was born, his school report from Monega Junior School in Manor Park, and his family, his children, wives, and bands. The back of the book also catalogs all the known song releases and re-releases ever recorded by Marriott, including guest appearances and collaborations.

Reception

Gary Crowley Gary Crowley (born 8 October 1961), is an English broadcaster, TV presenter and DJ.Burrell, Ian (2009), ''The Independent'', 9 November 2009, retrieved 2 November 2010 While still at Rutherford School, Paddington, in the late 1970s Gary Crowley ...

BBC London BBC London is the BBC English Region producing local radio, television, teletext and online services in London, Surrey and parts of the surrounding areas of the Home Counties. Its output includes the daily '' BBC London'' news bulletin and w ...

reviewed the biography, which they felt "captures him perfectly. A right riveting read as they say."

Jah Wobble John Joseph Wardle (born 11 August 1958), known by the stage name Jah Wobble, is an English bass guitarist and singer. He became known to a wider audience as the original bass player in Public Image Ltd (PiL) in the late 1970s and early 1980s; ...

reviewed the book for ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', calling it "nothing if not a labour of love." Pete Clark of the ''

Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free newspaper, free of charge in London, Engl ...

'' called the book "ably constructed" while also stating that the authors are "unable to dispel the sense that this baby-faced man with an evil tongue was a bit of a sod." Steven Macbri of ''

'' criticized the work for containing some mistakes and inaccuracies, and for taking some of Marriott's own jokes about his life as fact.Steven Macbri. 24 August 2004. ''

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

''.

Notes

External links

*
The Darlings of Wapping Wharf Laundrette website (run by John Hellier)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steve Marriott - All Too Beautiful... Biographies about musicians 2004 non-fiction books 2005 non-fiction books British biographies Small Faces

Overview

Reception

See also

Notes

External links