"Assassing" is a song by the British

neo-progressive rock Neo-progressive rock (also known as neo-prog) is a subgenre of progressive rock which developed in the UK in the early 1980s. The genre's most popular band, Marillion, achieved mainstream success in the decade. Several bands from the genre have c ...

band Marillion. It was the second single from their second studio album, '' Fugazi'' (1984). The single reached no. 22 on the

UK singles charts The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top- ...

in May 1984. The 7" single's title track is a heavily edited version of the first track on ''Fugazi'', with a length of 03:39 as opposed to the album version with 07:01. The B-side is the non-album track "Cinderella Search". The lyrics of the song, which feature a narrator-character describing himself as an

assassin Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...

, appear to concern character assassination. The lyrics are full of metaphors alluding to verbal fighting, for example, "unsheath the blade within the voice." The lyrics are generally interpreted as a reference to the verbal arguments that preceded band founder and drummer

Mick Pointer Michael Pointer (born 22 July 1956) is an English drummer. He is known for his work in the neo-progressive rock bands Marillion and Arena. Away from music, he has also worked as a kitchen designer. Career Pointer was the original drummer and a ...

's departure from the band. However, in the track by track breakdown of each song on the Blu Ray portion of the 2021 Deluxe Remastered Edition of the Fugazi album, Fish stated the lyrics were directed at Marillion's bass player in the band's first stable line up, Diz Minnitt. The international 12" version contains both the full album version and the edited version of the title track; the latter is missing from the UK release. The b-side also appears in a significantly longer version. As with all Marillion albums and singles of the Fish period, the cover art was created by

Mark Wilkinson Mark Wilkinson (born 3 October 1952) is an English illustrator. He is best known for the detailed surrealistic cover art he created for a number of British bands. Wilkinson's breakthrough came through his association with the neo-progressive r ...

. A CD replica of the single was also part of a collectors box-set released in July 2000 which contained Marillion's first twelve singles and was re-issued as a 3-CD set in 2009 (see '' The Singles '82–'88'').

Track listing

7" versions

Side 1

#"Assassing" dited version– 3:39

Side 2

#"Cinderella Search" dited version– 4:19

12" versions

Side 1

#"Assassing" ull version – 7:01

Side 2

#"Cinderella Search" ull version– 5:24 #"Assassing" dited version– 3:38 (not on UK version)

Personnel

Fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...

– vocals *

Steve Rothery Steven Rothery (born 25 November 1959) is an English musician. He is the original guitarist and the longest continuous member of the British rock band Marillion. Outside Marillion, Rothery has recorded two albums as part of the duo the Wishing ...

- guitars * Mark Kelly - keyboards *

Pete Trewavas Peter Trewavas (born 15 January 1959) is an English musician, known as the bassist of Marillion. He joined in 1982, replacing Diz Minnitt, while acting occasionally as a backing vocalist and acoustic guitarist. Trewavas was born in Middlesbroug ...

- bass *

Ian Mosley Ian F. Mosley (born 16 June 1953, Paddington, London, England) is an English drummer. He is best known for his long-time membership of the neo-progressive rock band Marillion, which he joined for their second album, ''Fugazi'', released in 19 ...

- drums

References

{{authority control 1984 singles Marillion songs 1984 songs EMI Records singles Songs written by Fish (singer) Songs written by Pete Trewavas Songs written by Mark Kelly (keyboardist) Songs written by Steve Rothery