Rockapaedia Obituaries
Steve Marriott
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Steve Marriott died aged forty-four on 2
0th April 1991 in a house-fire in Arkesden, Essex, U.K. He was survived by his third wife Toni, his son, Toby and his daughters: Lesley, Tanya and Mollie Mae.
On 19th April 1991, Steve and Toni had flown home from the U.S.A., where Steve had recorded songs for a future album with Peter Frampton. During the flight, according to Toni, Steve had been drinking heavily, was in a foul mood, and they had argued constantly. After arriving in the UK, a mutual friend met them and they all went to one of Steve's favourite restaurants; The Straw Hat in the village of Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, England, for dinner, where Steve continued to drink. After dinner, they returned to their friend's house and decided to stay overnight. Toni fell asleep and later woke to discover that Steve had taken a taxi to his home in the nearby village of Arkesden.
At around 6:30am on 20th April, a passing motorist saw the roof of Steve Marriott's cottage ablaze and called the fire brigade. It was reported that four fire engines were needed to put out the fire. In newspaper interviews, Assistant Divisional Fire Officer Keith Dunatis, who found Steve Marriott, said that it was a tough fight getting upstairs and they searched the bedroom areas where it was very hot and they knew immediately that no-one could have survived the fire. They then felt around the walls and discovered Steve Marriott's body lying on the floor between the bed and the wall.
investigators concluded that Steve had tried unsuccessfully to escape after being awakened by the blaze. Disoriented and confused after inhaling large amounts of thick smoke, he had turned left instead of right towards the bedroom door and safety and had been unable to rectify his mistake before being overcome with smoke. At the inquest, a verdict of accidental death by smoke inhalation was recorded. Steve Marriott's blood was found to contain quantities of Valium, alcohol and cocaine.
The Small Faces song "All or Nothing" was played as the requiem at Steve Marriott's funeral held on 30th April 1991, at the Harlow Crematorium. Amongst the mourners, noted attendees included ex-Small Faces drummer Kenney Jones, as well as Peter Frampton, Joe Brown, PP Arnold, Terence Stamp, Jerry Shirley and Greg Ridley. Among those who sent wreaths were David Gilmour, of Pink Floyd, and Rod Stewart.
Steve Marriott was born Stephen Peter Marriott on 30th January nineteen forty-seven in
Manor Park, London, U.K.
Steve had four known children with four of his known partners. His first wife was model Jenny Rylance. He met American air hostess, Pam Stephens in 1975 and their son Toby was born in 1976. They married after Toby was born. His third wife was Toni Poulton. They were married until Steve Marriott's death. He also had three daughters. The first, Lesley, was conceived to fellow teen Sally Foulger before Steve became famous. She was originally known as Sarah Lisa Foulger (born 9 June 1966). She was adopted out, but later found out who her father was and has been accepted by her siblings. The second was Tonya, with Canadian Terri Elias in 1984. His third daughter Mollie Mae was born in 1985 when Steve was with his childhood friend Manon Piercey.
Steve Marriott was born on 30th January 1947 at East Ham Memorial Hospital, Plashet, East Ham, London, E7 , England, UK to parents Kay and Bill Marriott who lived at Strone Road, Manor Park. Born three weeks premature and weighing just 4 lb 4 oz (1.9 kg), he developed jaundice and was kept in hospital for four weeks before being well enough to go home. Steve Marriott came from a working-class background and attended Monega Junior School. His father Bill worked as a printer and later owned a jellied eels stall. Steve Marriott showed an early interest in singing and performing, busking at local bus-stops for extra pocket money and winning talent contests during the family's annual holiday to Jaywick Holiday camp near Clacton-on-Sea.
In 1959 at the age of twelve, Steve Marriott formed his first band with school friends Nigel Chapin and Robin Andrews. They were called 'The Wheels', later the 'Coronation Kids', and finally 'Mississippi Five'. They later added Simon Simkins and Vic Dixon to their line-up. From a young age, Steve Marriott was a huge fan of American singer Buddy Holly and would mimic his hero by wearing large-rimmed spectacles with the lenses removed. They would play the local coffee bars in East Ham and perform Saturday morning gigs at the Essoldo Cinema in Manor Park. SteveMarriott was a cheeky, hyperactive child, according to his mother Kay, and well known by his neighbours in Strone Road for playing pranks and practical jokes.
In the year 1960, Bill Marriott spotted an advertisement in a London newspaper for a new Artful Dodger replacement to appear in Lionel Bart's popular musical Oliver!, based on the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, at the New Theatre (now called the Noël Coward Theatre) in London's West End. Without telling his son, he applied for him to audition. At the age of thirteen, Steve Marriott auditioned for the role. He sang two songs, "Who's Sorry Now" by Connie Francis, and "Oh, Boy!" by Buddy Holly. Bart was impressed with Steve Marriott's vocal abilities and hired him. Steve Marriott stayed with the show for twelve months, playing various boys' roles during that time, for which he was paid £8 a week. Steve Marriott was also chosen to provide lead vocals for the Artful Dodger songs "Consider Yourself", "Be Back Soon", and "I'd Do Anything", which appear on the official album to the stage show, released by World Record Club and recorded at the famous Abbey Road Studios. In 1961 the Marriott family moved from Strone Road to a brand new council flat in Daines Close, Manor Park.
Following Steve Marriott's successful acting debut in Oliver!, his family encouraged him to pursue an acting career. In 1961 he auditioned and was accepted as a student at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in London. Because his family were unable to afford the private school fees, it was mutually agreed the fees would be deducted from any acting work the school found him. After Steve Marriott's enrolment at the Italia Conti Academy, he quickly gained acting roles, working consistently in film, television and radio, often typecast as the energetic Cockney kid. Later Steve lost interest in acting and reversed his attention to his first love, music. His parents were devastated and his decision to give up acting caused a family rift. As a result, he left the family home for a short period to stay with friends.
In 1963, Steve Marriott wrote the song "Imaginary Love" and touted it around the big record labels in London. On the strength of "Imaginary Love", he secured a Decca Records deal as a solo artist with Dick Reagan who was also an agent for Cliff Richard. Steve Marriott's first single was a song written by Kenny Lynch, called "Give Her My Regards", with Steve's self-penned song as the B-side. The single was released in July 1963 but quickly vanished. In the same year Marriott formed 'The Frantiks', who recorded a cover version of Cliff Richard's song "Move It" with ex-Shadows drummer Tony Meehan, who was brought in to help with production. Despite the single being hawked around the major record companies, no one was interested and the song was never released. The band then changed their name to 'The Moments'. They played support for artists such as The Nashville Teens, The Animals, Georgie Fame and John Mayall, playing venues including the 100 Club in London's Soho, and the Crawdaddy Club in Richmond, South West London. The group was asked to record a single for the U.S. market, a cover version of The Kinks' UK hit song "You Really Got Me", released on the World Artists record label in 1964).When The Moment's version of the song failed to gather attention, Steve Marriott was dropped from the band, with members claiming that he was too young to be a lead singer.
Between leaving the Moments and joining The Small Faces, Steve Marriott joined an band called the Checkpoints.
On 28th July 1964, Steve Marriott first saw his future Small Faces partners, Ronnie Lane and 16-year-old drummer Kenney Jones. They were all performing at the Albion in Rainham, with their bands. Ronnie Lane and Steve met again by chance in the J60 Music Bar, a music shop in High Street North, Manor Park, where Steve was working after his recent departure from the Moments. Ronnie came in looking to buy a bass guitar, and afterwards was invited to Steve Marriott's home to listen to his extensive collection of rare American R&B import records. With their shared love of Rythm & Blues the trio were soon firm friends. Steve Marriott was invited by Ronnie Lane and Kenny Jones to perform with "the Outlaws",previously called "the Pioneers", at the band's regular gig the Earl of Derby in Bermondsey, South London. They then decided to form their own group which was later joined by Ian McLagan on organ. The 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" got into the UK singles chart. 
Steve Marriott co-wrote most of Small Faces' hit singles and he wrote t
he evocative rock-ballad "Tin Soldier" to woo model Jenny Rylance. They first met in 1966 and Steve was immediately smitten, but Rylance was dating up-and-coming singer Rod Stewart and so the two just became friends. She later broke up with Rod Stewart and had a brief romantic liaison with Steve, but much to his disappointment broke it off to return to Rod. Jenny and Rod later split for good after a rocky four-year relationship. When Steve Marriott heard he then pursued her with passion, leading him to write "Tin Soldier". The song was a hit for the band in 1967 and for Steve Marriott a personal triumph. He and Jenny Rylance were married at Kensington Register Office, London, on 29th May 1968.
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