Wednesday 20 April 2011

STEVE MARRIOTT: LONG AGOS AND WORLDS APART


Steve Marriott died twenty years ago today after tragically demonstrating the dangers of drinking, smoking and poor fire safety awareness.

I clearly remember seeing Paul Weller at Brixton Academy that night and being told of Marriott's death outside the venue beforehand. It felt more a rumour than fact and Weller opening his set with "Tin Soldier" (which he often played anyway) only added to the nagging was he/wasn't he feeling.

At the time I thought, as much as I loved the Small Faces, he was ancient yet he was only 44, which makes his death more upsetting for me today than it did in 1991. Rest easy little fella.

5 comments:

  1. Hi Mark

    I was there with Darren B that night, we were late and missed Tin Soldier. Never knew he did it until we bought the video six months later.

    Keep up the good work, love reading your blog.

    Richie Wilson

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  2. Great words Mark.Will be playing aload of Marriott related music today.
    Did you know Steve's last ever gig with The Packet of 3,was in Derby!!It was at a pub called The Duke of York.I only found that out about 10 years ago when my band at the time rehearsed at the said pub.When the landlord looked at us,he wasn't long in telling us the story!As he seemed to recognise our look.......!
    From then on,rehearsing at that pub became almost like going to church ,for me.
    Unfortunately,the pub like many in the UK is now boarded up.......

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  3. Steve died while I was on active duty in the army because of some little oil based war. I returned from my 12 hour duty shift to find my room-mate had left about a dozen post it notes with messages from numerous friends that had ctried to reach me, all of whom had called to tell me Steve Marriott died. Odd to realize he was the age I am now when he went. As you said, it seemed really old then, not now.

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  4. Cheers for memories.

    Not listened to the Small Faces properly for years, tend to take them for granted, but spent today playing everything (bar the 70s - which don't count) and they really were something special. Fave song - "Autumn Stone".

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  5. Likewise. Not listened to them for ages but have had a good SF sesh today. It's nice to revisit old friends after a while away...

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