IN 1964, something new and exciting burst onto Britain's streets, turning them from black and white to colour.

It was cool, stylish, and it stuck two fingers up at the class-ridden society. It was Mod.

Mods were working-class free spirits who rode sexy streamlined Italian Vespas and Lambrettas. The sharpest Mod of all was as a ‘face’. And the Small Faces encapsulated the look and sound of the movement, with their own blend of taste, testosterone, streetwise style and hard-edged Rhythm and Blues.

"We get the best-dressed audiences. We have scooter clubs turning up, stopping the traffic and lining up outside theatres. It's a great endorsement that Mods love the show," says Carol Harrison, whose musical All or Nothing tells the eventful and bittersweet tale of Kenney Jones, Ian McLagan, Ronnie Lane and Steve Marriott - four kids with attitude from East London who became The Small Faces. They were only together four years from but left a remarkable legacy; influencing acts like The Jam, The Verve and Blur. The show traces their journey to fame, and the exploitation, betrayal and tragedy that came with it.

As an actress, Carol has enjoyed a career on stage and screen, appearing in TV comedies and dramas such as Brushstrokes, London's Burning and EastEnders, which saw her at the centre of an explosive storyline as Tiffany Mitchell's glamorous mother. Carol is also an accomplished writer, with an MA in screenwriting, and is creative director of Brighton Film School where she lectures in acting and screenwriting.

She wrote All or Nothing to pay tribute to the Mod culture she grew up with. "My cousin was in a Mod group and knew Steve Marriott, he used to come round our house when I was about eight," says Carol. "He was a fantastic character and one of the best singers we've had. He was an idol to Paul Weller.

"I wanted to write about the 60s, when I grew up. It was a time when working-class people became artists in their own right, with their own style. Mod was the essence of cool - it felt like the sun had come out. The Small Faces were Mods before they were a band.

"It wasn't just a look, it was a way of life. And it stays with you - once a Mod, always a Mod."

The show, packed with hits such as Whatcha Gonna Do About It, Lazy Sunday, Itchycoo Park and All or Nothing, captures the cheeky, irreverent nature of the time. "It's funny, poignant and gritty," says Carol. "It celebrates the language of London, my language. To me it's like poetry. It has live music, all the excitement of a live gig. Music is as powerful as live theatre, it can transport you back to a place in your life.

"Even if you don't know the Small Faces, it's a good story in itself. We're getting younger audiences coming along as well as those who remember it. It's great to introduce the Mod culture to a new generation.

"The response has been wonderful. The audiences are brilliant, they're coming back again and again. It has a cult appeal which has really taken off; we have a loyal fanbase. It's a trans-generational music experience for people aged 17 to 70. "

The show sees an older Steve Marriott looking back at his life, lived by his younger self. "Like all geniuses, he self-destructs," says Carol. "You see him disintegrate, it's his rise and demise. The show is endorsed by many people who feature in its story, including Steve's daughter Mollie Marriott, who's our vocal coach."

Carol plays Steve's mother, Kay. "I knew her, but I've taken dramatic licence. It's an interesting, volatile relationship. I had to fight to get this show on, and it wasn't an easy show to cast. I needed actors who could sing and play music, and who looked the part. The Small Faces were scrawny lads, as working-class kids were back then, born in that post-war period when rationing was still a way of life. These actors work so hard, and we have fun too."

Carol began her career in the 1970s and was a founder member of the Half Moon theatre company. She later joined the Royal National Theatre Company and worked with Arthur Miller on Death of a Salesman.

Her TV credits include Kavanagh QC, Perfect Scoundrels, Get Back opposite Ray Winstone and TV movie Martha Jac and Sianco, which won six Welsh BAFTAs, and she has appeared in films such as The Elephant Man, Quadrophenia and Human Traffic.

Friendly and chatty, Carol is looking forward to returning to Bradford, where she had her first professional acting job. "I was in a touring theatre company based in Bradford, I started my career there," she says. "It was 1973. I remember going out for a curry with the others, I was the only girl in the company and my experience of dining out was dressing up and ordering a bottle of Mateus Blanc. We went to this curry house on Lumb Lane and I was going: 'Where's the cutlery?' They had to explain that you ate with chapatis," she laughs.

"I had a fabulous time, I have fond memories of Bradford and am so looking forward to seeing it again. Where's the best place to go for a curry?"

* All or Nothing runs at the Alhambra from May 18-20. Call (01274) 432000.