All Or Nothing

Not to be confused with a later song of the same title, "All Or Nothing" was recorded by the Small Faces in 1966. In his 2004 autobiography Mr Big, their manager at the time, Don Arden, said this was "top-drawer...[and] still gets played on the radio today." Arden produced the record. Co-written by guitarist Steve Marriott and bass player Ronnie Lane, it was backed by "Understanding" and was written either about Marriott's breakup with his with ex-fiancée Sue Oliver, or for his first wife who once dated Rod Stewart. It is possible that both these explanations may be true. For Marriott it was very much all or nothing; he married three times and appears to have sired at least two children out of wedlock. He died in a fire in April 1991, apparently after lighting a cigarette in bed and falling asleep. Prior to his death, he had taken cocaine as well as Valium and alcohol.

Here are two quotes about the song from 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh. Drummer Kenney Jones: "It was us getting to where we wanted to be musically. It wasn't as poppy as our previous hits, but still commercial enough and better than anything we'd done before." Steve Marriott in 1984 said: "I think 'All Or Nothing' takes a lot of beating. To me, if there's a song that typifies that era, then that might be it."

Kenney Jones recalled to Uncut magazine: "We were on tour and staying in the Station Hotel, Leeds, when Steve suddenly run down the corridor screaming, 'I've got it! I've just written our next hit!"'