FINEARTS
All Or Nothing
Chris Simmons feature – June 9-11
T
hey are the band responsible for a large part of the soundtrack of the Mod era and enjoyed a rollercoaster ride through the perils of the music world. Now the story of The Small Faces is being immortalised in a new musical which proved a hit in London and is on its way to Norwich. John Bultitude met Chris Simmons, who takes on the role of the band’s troubled lead-singer Steve Marriott. The Small Faces certainly packed a musical punch helping to give a generation of young people a voice and encouraging them to rebel against the stuffier side of Sixties society. They also helped create and define a whole genre of music and fashion shaping Mod culture and being responsible for a host of big hits including Whatcha Gonna Do About It, Itchycoo Park, Tin Soldier and All Or Nothing. 40 | June 2016
And it is that latter song which is also the title of a gritty and edgy new musical which aims to recapture the era and tell the story of four ordinary working-class East End lads who become a pop phenomenon while also facing the perils of unscrupulous management, women, alcohol and drugs. A huge hit in London where its run was extended due to popular demand, the production is now heading to Norwich Theatre Royal on June 9-11 as part of its first UK tour. The production is a labour of love for its writer, co-producer (and one of its stars) Carol Harrison, a hugely-respected stage, film and TV actress who had known The Small Faces lead singer, the late Steve Marriott, since the age of eight and wanted to bring the story to the stage. And it was an initial run of the show down on the South Coast which saw Chris come on board. Carol had secured Simon Rouse, best known as DCI Jack Meadows
in The Bill, to play tough music manager Don Arden and Simon knew Chris from their time sharing the small-screen at Sun Hill nick in the popular police drama. Chris, who played big-hearted CID officer Mickey Webb, saw the script and decided he had to be involved. “I read it and said to my agent,’ I have got to have this part.’ It sort of snowballed from there really. I fell in love with the way it was written, the narration, and I knew about Steve Marriott. It really is a wonderful, fantastic, ballsy, edgy, funny, dark, emotional piece and Carol’s writing is very funny.” He takes on the role of the older Steve Marriot who acts as the narrator for the show taking the audience through the story as well as helping to map the life of his troubled character. “Steve is a bit Jekyll and Hyde. His energy is off the scale. My character also deteriorates in the second act which I have to plot carefully. It is the rise and fall of this band. In the first half he is hyper and watches them make it before reality kicks in
during the second act. The journey is fantastic. My character is the ghost. Nobody sees me or knows I am there. The only time I speak to anyone is at the end but I won’t give that away as it is a lovely touching scene.” While there is no doubting Chris’s dedication, energy and passion for the project, he was also conscious that he was playing a real person and Steve’s daughter Mollie was taking a keen interest in the show. He said: “What is nice is that word got back to me in the interval at an early show that Mollie was watching and she thought I reminded her of her dad and had captured his essence. I did a lot of reading and watched his interviews and performances but, in the end, you do the best you can. You just hold your breath and leap, so for Mollie to say that without having met her and spoken to her a couple of times, it was great.” Alongside Chris are four hugelytalented actor-musicians who play the band, Carol Harrison herself www.finecity.co.uk