"Heart of Lothian" is a song by British

neo-progressive rock Neo-progressive rock (also known as neo-prog) is a genre, 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 ...

band

Marillion Marillion are a British rock music, rock band, formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, in 1979. They emerged from the post-punk music scene in Britain and existed as a bridge between the styles of punk rock and classic progressive rock, becomin ...

. It is the fifth track on the 1985

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

Misplaced Childhood ''Misplaced Childhood'' is the third studio album by the British neo-progressive rock band Marillion, released in 1985. It is a concept album loosely based on the childhood of Marillion's lead singer, Fish (singer), Fish, who was inspired by a ...

''. The song was released as the third single from ''Misplaced Childhood'' on 18 November 1985 in the UK, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

(on

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. "Heart of Lothian" became the third Top 30 UK single from ''Misplaced Childhood'', peaking at number 29. The song also peaked at number 51 on the

German singles chart The GfK Entertainment charts are the official music charts in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindust ...

. The single version of Heart of Lothian actually begins with the last two sections of Bitter Suite: part d, Misplaced Rendezvous (minus the vocals that appear on the album) and part e, Windswept Thumb, before segueing into part a of Heart of Lothian, Wide Boy, but ends without including part b, Curtain Call. The 7" and 12" formats of the single both featured a live version of "Chelsea Monday", originally a track from Marillion's debut 1983 album ''

Script for a Jester's Tear ''Script for a Jester's Tear'' is the debut studio album by British neo-progressive rock band Marillion, released in the United Kingdom on 14 March 1983 by EMI Records. The album reached number seven and spent 31 weeks in the UK Albums Chart ...

'' as the b-side. This was recorded at the

Muziekcentrum Vredenburg Muziekcentrum Vredenburg was a music venue in Utrecht, Netherlands with a capacity of 5,000 people. It was designed by Dutch architect Herman Hertzberger. The venue hosted concerts by many famous artists, spanning many different genres. The old bu ...

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

on 15 October 1985. The 12" also includes the extended album version of "Heart of Lothian" as well as the single edit. In the US, the song was first used as the b-side for "

Kayleigh "Kayleigh" is a song by the British neo-progressive rock band Marillion. It was released as the first single from the concept album '' Misplaced Childhood''. It was the band's most successful single in the UK, where it peaked at number-two an ...

", the band's European hit single. In 1986, "Heart of Lothian" reappeared as a b-side to the US-only single release "

Lady Nina Lady Nina is a song by the British neo-progressive rock band Marillion. First released in 1985 on the B-side to the #2 UK hit single "Kayleigh", it was the only single from the Extended Play, EP ''Brief Encounter (album), Brief Encounter'' releas ...

", which had in turn appeared as a b-side on the European release of the lead single from ''Misplaced Childhood'', "

". As all of ''Misplaced Childhood'', the title track was produced by

Chris Kimsey Christopher Kenneth Kimsey (born 3 December 1951 in Battersea, London, England) is an English record producer, mixer and musician most famous for having co-produced The Rolling Stones' ''Undercover'' and '' Steel Wheels'' albums. He was also an ...

, while the live recording of "Chelsea Monday" was mixed by

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. The cover art was designed 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 ...

and in the background features the

Dugald Stewart Monument The Dugald Stewart Monument is a memorial to the Scottish philosopher Dugald Stewart (1753–1828). It is situated on Calton Hill overlooking the city of Edinburgh and was designed by Scottish architect William Henry Playfair. Background Duga ...

, a well-known

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

landmark. There are other references to Edinburgh in the song— the title itself refers to the Heart of Midlothian, one line reads ''"And anarchy smiles on the

Royal Mile The Royal Mile () is a succession of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland. The term was first used descriptively in W. M. Gilbert's ''Edinburgh in the Nineteenth Century'' (1901), des ...

"''. 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 ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'').

Track listing

7" Single

Side A

#"Heart of Lothian"—03:49 (Dick/Rothery/Kelly/Trewavas/Mosley)

Side B

#"Chelsea Monday" (Live Version)—07:21 (Dick/Rothery/Kelly/Trewavas/ Pointer)

12" Single

Side A

#"Heart of Lothian" (Full version)—05:43

Side B

#"Chelsea Monday" (Live Version)—07:23 #"Heart of Lothian"—03:40

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 li ...

– 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 Mark Edward Kelly (born February 21, 1964) is an American politician, former astronaut, and United States Navy captain who has served as the junior United States senator from Arizona since 2020. A member of the Democratic Party, he was electe ...

– 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 1985 singles Marillion songs Song recordings produced by Chris Kimsey Songs written by Steve Rothery Songs written by Mark Kelly (keyboardist) Songs written by Ian Mosley Songs written by Pete Trewavas Songs written by Fish (singer) 1985 songs EMI Records singles