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Marillion are a British
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band, formed in
Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, South East England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery, David Tugwell`s house on Watermead and the Waterside Theatre. It is in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wy ...
, Buckinghamshire, in 1979. They emerged from the
post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...
music scene in Britain and existed as a bridge between the styles of punk rock and classic
progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...
, becoming the most commercially successful
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 of the 1980s. Marillion's recorded studio output since 1982 is composed of twenty albums and generally regarded in two distinct eras, delineated by the departure of original lead singer
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 ...
in late 1988 and the subsequent arrival of replacement
Steve Hogarth Steve Hogarth (born Ronald Stephen Hoggarth, 14 May 1956 in Kendal, Westmorland) also known as "h", is an English singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Since 1989 he has been the lead singer of the British rock band Marillion, for which ...
in early 1989. The band achieved eight Top Ten UK albums between 1983 and 1994, including a
number one Number One most commonly refers to: * 1 (number) Number One, No. 1, or #1 may also refer to: Music Albums * ''Number 1'' (Big Bang album), and the title song * ''No. 1'' (BoA album), and the title song * ''No.1'' (EP), by CLC * ''n.1 ...
album in 1985 with ''
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 ...
'', and during the period the band were fronted by Fish they had eleven Top 40 hits on the
UK Singles Chart 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-s ...
. They are best known for the 1985 singles "
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 ...
" and "
Lavender ''Lavandula'' (common name lavender) is a genus of 47 known species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is native to the Old World and is found in Cape Verde and the Canary Islands, and from Europe across to northern and easte ...
", which reached number two and number five respectively, with "Kayleigh" also entering the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United States. Marillion's first album released with Hogarth, 1989's ''
Seasons End ''Seasons End'' is the fifth studio album by British neo-progressive rock band Marillion, released in 1989. The album was the first to feature current lead vocalist Steve Hogarth, following the departure of former vocalist Fish in late 1988. ...
'', was another Top Ten hit, and albums continued to chart well until their departure from
EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company of the same name in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succ ...
following the release of their 1996 live album ''
Made Again ''Made Again'' is a 1996 double live album by Marillion, their first live recording with singer Steve Hogarth. The first disc contains material recorded in London on the ''Holidays in Eden'' tour (1991) and in Rotterdam on the '' Afraid of Sunl ...
'' and the dissipation of the band's mainstream popularity in the late 1990s; save for a resurgence in the mid- to late-2000s, they have essentially been a cult act since then. Marillion have achieved a further twelve Top 40 hit singles in the UK with Hogarth, including 2004's " You're Gone", which charted at No. 7 and is the biggest hit of his tenure. Marillion continue to tour internationally, becoming ranked 38th in ''Classic Rock'''s "50 Best Live Acts of All Time" in 2008. In 2016, they returned to the UK Albums Chart Top Ten for the first time in 22 years with their highest chart placing since 1987. Despite unpopularity in the mainstream media and a consistently unfashionable status within the British music industry, Marillion have maintained a very loyal international fanbase, becoming widely acknowledged as playing a pioneering role in the development of
crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...
and
fan-funded music Fan-funded music is crowdfunding for music. Often, fan-funded music occurs in conjunction with direct-to-fan marketing. Fans of music have the option to donate and collectively raise money with the goal of jump-starting the career of a given musica ...
. They have sold over 15 million albums worldwide.


History


The Fish era


Formation and early years (1978–1982)

In 1977, Mick Pointer joined Electric Gypsy, which also included Doug Irvine on bass, Alan King on vocals and Andy Glass (later of
Solstice A solstice is an event that occurs when the Sun appears to reach its most northerly or southerly excursion relative to the celestial equator on the celestial sphere. Two solstices occur annually, around June 21 and December 21. In many countr ...
) on guitar. Pointer and Irvine left to form their own band, Silmarillion, named after
J.R.R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...
's book ''
The Silmarillion ''The Silmarillion'' () is a collection of myths and stories in varying styles by the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien. It was edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, assisted by the fantasy author Guy Gavriel ...
'', in late 1978. They played one London show as an instrumental band with Neal Cockle (keys) and Martin Jenner (guitar). 1979 saw a new line-up of Mick Pointer, Steve Rothery, Doug Irvine and Brian Jelliman. They played their first concert at
Berkhamsted Civic Centre Berkhamsted Civic Centre is a municipal building in the High Street in Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire, England. The structure accommodates the offices and meeting place of Berkhamsted Town Council. History In the 19th century, the main municipal ...
,
Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...
, on 1 March 1980. According to Pointer, it was at this stage that the name was shortened to Marillion. Other sources have that the band name was shortened to Marillion in 1981 to avoid potential copyright conflicts, at the same time as Fish and bassist William 'Diz' Minnitt replaced original bassist/vocalist Doug Irvine following an audition at Leyland Farm Studios in Buckinghamshire on 2 January 1981. Rothery, drummer Mick Pointer, and keyboardist Brian Jelliman completed this line-up; the first gig with this line-up was at the Red Lion Pub at 35 Market Square in
Bicester Bicester ( ) is a historical market towngarden town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Cherwell (district), Cherwell district of northeastern Oxfordshire in Southern England that also comprises an Eco-towns, eco town at North Wes ...
on 14 March 1981. Many years after his departure from Marillion, Irvine eventually joined the band Steam Shed. By the end of 1981, Kelly had replaced Jelliman, with Trewavas replacing Minnitt in 1982. Minnitt later formed Pride of Passion and went on to perform with Zealey and Moore. Marillion's first recordings were two demos recorded in March and the summer of 1980, before Fish and Minnitt joined the band. Two versions of the Spring demo circulate amongst collectors; the first has four tracks; "The Haunting of Gill House", "Herne the Hunter", an untitled track known as "Scott's Porridge", and "Alice". The second version has an instrumental version of "Alice" in place of "Scott's Porridge". All tracks are instrumental apart from "Alice", with vocals by Doug Irvine. The summer demo has three tracks; "Close" (parts of which were later rewritten into "The Web", "He Knows You Know" and "Chelsea Monday"), "Lady Fantasy" (an original based on an earlier Electric Gypsy song), and another version of "Alice". Both were recorded at
The Enid The Enid are a British progressive rock band founded by keyboardist and composer Robert John Godfrey. Godfrey received his main musical education from The Royal College of Music. He is previously known for his work with Barclay James Harvest, ...
's studio in Hertfordshire. Following Irvine's departure and replacement by Fish and Minnitt, the band recorded another demo tape, produced by Les Payne, in July 1981 that included early versions of "He Knows You Know", "Garden Party", and "Charting the Single". The group attracted attention with a three-track session for the ''
Friday Rock Show The ''Friday Rock Show'' was a radio show in the United Kingdom that was broadcast on BBC Radio 1 from 10pm to midnight on Friday nights, from 17 November 1978 until 2 April 1993. For most of its existence, it was hosted by Tommy Vance. Vance ...
'' (early versions of "The Web", "Three Boats Down from The Candy", and "Forgotten Sons"). They were subsequently signed by
EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company of the same name in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succ ...
. They released their first single, "
Market Square Heroes "Market Square Heroes" is the debut single by the British neo-progressive rock band Marillion, released in 1982 with "Three Boats Down from the Candy" as the B-side. The 12-inch single included an additional track, the 17:15-minute-long "Grend ...
", in 1982, with the epic song "Grendel" on the B-side of the 12" version. Following the single, the band released their first full-length album in 1983.


''Script for a Jester's Tear'' and ''Fugazi'' (1983–1984)

The music on their debut 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 ...
'', was born out of the intensive performances of the previous years. Although it had some progressive rock stylings, it also had a darker edge. The album was a commercial success, peaking at number seven on the UK album chart and producing the singles "
He Knows You Know "He Knows You Know" is a song by the British neo-progressive rock band Marillion. It was their second single, with "Charting the Single" as the B-side. It was released from their first album, ''Script for a Jester's Tear'', and peaked at number ...
" (number 35) and "
Garden Party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...
" (number 16). Although they were accused of being
Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
soundalikes, the album reached the
Platinum certification Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...
and has been credited with giving a second life to progressive rock bands from the previous era. Following the UK tour to promote ''Script for a Jester's Tear'', Mick Pointer was dismissed due to Fish's dissatisfaction with what he later described as the drummer's "awful" timing and failure to develop as a musician with the rest of the band.
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 ...
, who had played for acts including Darryl Way's Wolf and the
Gordon Giltrap Gordon Giltrap, MBE (born 6 April 1948) is an English guitarist and composer. His music crosses several genres. He has been described as "one of the most revered guitarists of his generation", and has drawn praise from fellow musicians including S ...
band, was eventually secured as Pointer's replacement after a series of other drummers, including Andy Ward and
Jonathan Mover Jonathan Mover a.k.a. "Mover" is an American drummer, engineer and producer. He is a former member of the bands Marillion and GTR. Early life and career Mover was raised in the Boston area and began playing drums at age thirteen. Primarily s ...
, were short-lived. Despite the numerous production problems encountered during this period, the second album, ''
Fugazi Fugazi (; ) is an American post-hardcore band that formed in Washington, D.C., in 1986. The band consists of guitarists and vocalists Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto, bassist Joe Lally, and drummer Brendan Canty. They are noted for their style-tr ...
'', built upon the success of the first album with a more streamlined
hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...
sound. It improved on the chart placing of its predecessor by reaching the top five and produced the singles "
Punch and Judy Punch and Judy is a traditional puppet show featuring Mr. Punch and his wife Judy. The performance consists of a sequence of short scenes, each depicting an interaction between two characters, most typically Mr. Punch and one other character w ...
" (number 29) and "
Assassing "Assassing" is a song by the British neo-progressive rock band Marillion. It was the second single from their second studio album, '' Fugazi'' (1984). The single reached no. 22 on the UK singles charts in May 1984. The 7" single's title track ...
" (number 22). In November 1984, Marillion then released their first live album, '' Real to Reel'', featuring songs from ''Fugazi'' and ''Script for a Jester's Tear'', as well as "Cinderella Search" (B-side to 'Assassing') and the debut single "Market Square Heroes", which had not been available on album until that point. The album entered the UK album charts at No. 8.


''Misplaced Childhood'' and international success (1985–1986)

Their third and commercially most successful studio album was ''
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 ...
'', which had a more mainstream sound. The lead single from the album, "
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 ...
", received major promotion by EMI and gained heavy rotation on
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
and
Independent Local Radio Independent Local Radio is the collective name given to commercial radio stations in the United Kingdom. As a result of the buyouts and mergers permitted by the Broadcasting Act 1990, and deregulation resulting from the Communications Act 2003, ...
stations as well as television appearances, bringing the band to the attention of a much wider audience. "Kayleigh" reached number two in the UK and "
Lavender ''Lavandula'' (common name lavender) is a genus of 47 known species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is native to the Old World and is found in Cape Verde and the Canary Islands, and from Europe across to northern and easte ...
" reached number five; these remain the only singles by the band to enter the top five. Following the exposure given to "Kayleigh" and its subsequent chart success, the album became their only
number one Number One most commonly refers to: * 1 (number) Number One, No. 1, or #1 may also refer to: Music Albums * ''Number 1'' (Big Bang album), and the title song * ''No. 1'' (BoA album), and the title song * ''No.1'' (EP), by CLC * ''n.1 ...
in the UK, knocking
Bryan Ferry Bryan Ferry Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 26 September 1945) is an English singer and songwriter. His voice has been described as an "elegant, seductive croon". He also established a distinctive image and sartorial style: according to ' ...
's '' Boys and Girls'' off the top spot and holding off a challenge from
Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-eart ...
, whose first solo album, ''
The Dream of the Blue Turtles ''The Dream of the Blue Turtles'' is the first solo album by English musician Sting, released in June 1985. The album reached number three on the UK Albums Chart and number two on the US ''Billboard'' 200. Five singles were released from the ...
'', entered the chart in the same week. The third single from the album, "
Heart of Lothian "Heart of Lothian" is a song by British neo-progressive rock band Marillion. It is the fifth track on the 1985 concept album ''Misplaced Childhood''. The song was released as the third single from ''Misplaced Childhood'' on 18 November 1985 in ...
", became another top-thirty hit for the band, reaching No. 29. The album came sixth in ''
Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...
'' magazine's "Albums of the Year" in 1985. "Kayleigh" also gave Marillion its sole entry on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, reaching No. 74. In the summer of 1986, the band played to their biggest ever audience as special guests to
Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
at a festival in Germany attended by a crowd of over 150,000 people. They were also offered the '' Highlander'' soundtrack but turned it down because of their world tour, a missed opportunity which Rothery later said he regretted.


''Clutching at Straws'' and the departure of Fish (1987–1988)

The fourth studio album, '' Clutching at Straws'', shed some of its predecessor's pop stylings and retreated into a darker exploration of excess, alcoholism, and life on the road, representing the strains of constant touring that would result in the departure of Fish to pursue a solo career. It did continue the group's commercial success, however; lead single "
Incommunicado Incommunicado, from the Spanish incomunicado, means "cut off from contact", "impossible to reach". It may also refer to: *''Incommunicado'', an album by Alex Smoke * "Incommunicado" (song), a 1987 single by Marillion * Solitary confinement, one o ...
" charted at No. 6 in the UK charts gaining the band an appearance on ''
Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...
'', and the album entered the UK album chart at No. 2, Marillion's second highest placing. "
Sugar Mice Sugar mice are a traditional sugar candy popular in the United Kingdom, especially during the Christmas season. They traditionally consist of a boiled fondant formed from sugar and water. A modern non-cooked variation for children to make at hom ...
" and "
Warm Wet Circles Warm Wet Circles is a song by the British neo-progressive rock band Marillion. It was the third single from their fourth studio album ''Clutching at Straws'', released on 26 October 1987. "Warm Wet Circles" peaked at number 22 in the UK Singl ...
" also became hit singles, both reaching No. 22. Fish has also stated in interviews since that he believes this was the best album he made with the band. The album came sixth in ''
Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...
'' magazine's "Albums of the Year" in 1987, equalling the ranking given to ''Misplaced Childhood''. It was also included in '' Q'' magazine's "50 Best Recordings of the Year". Fish explained his reasons for leaving in an interview in 2003:
"By 1987 we were over-playing live because the manager was on 20 per cent of the gross. He was making a fantastic amount of money while we were working our asses off. Then I found a bit of paper proposing an American tour. At the end of the day the band would have needed a £14,000 loan from EMI as tour support to do it. That was when I knew that, if I stayed with the band, I'd probably end up a raging alcoholic and be found overdosed and dying in a big house in Oxford with Irish wolfhounds at the bottom of my bed."
Fish gave the band a choice to continue with either him or the manager,
John Arnison Marillion are a British 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, becoming the most ...
. They sided with the manager and Fish left for a solo career. His last live performance with Marillion was at
Craigtoun Country Park Craigtoun Country Park is a country park located approximately 4 miles to the south-west of St Andrews in the county of Fife, Scotland. The site is currently owned by Fife Council, with park amenities being operated as of 2012 by the charitable org ...
on 23 July 1988. Owing to lengthy legal battles, informal contact between Fish and the other four band members apparently did not resume until 1999. Fish would later disclose in the liner notes to the 2-CD reissue of ''Clutching at Straws'' that he and his former bandmates had met up and discussed the demise of the band and renewed their friendship, and had come to the consensus that an excessive touring schedule and too much pressure from the band's management led to the rift. Although reportedly now on good personal terms, both camps had always made it very clear that the oft-speculated-upon reunion would never happen. However, when Fish headlined the 'Hobble on the Cobbles' free concert in Aylesbury's Market Square on 26 August 2007, the attraction of playing their debut single in its spiritual home proved strong enough to overcome any lingering bad feeling between the former band members, and Kelly, Mosley, Rothery, and Trewavas replaced Fish's backing band for an emotional encore of "Market Square Heroes". In a press interview following the event, Fish denied this would lead to a full reunion, saying that: " Hogarth does a great job with the band. We forged different paths over the 19 years."


The Steve Hogarth era


''Seasons End'' and ''Holidays in Eden'' (1989–1992)

After the split, the band found Steve Hogarth, the former keyboardist and vocalist of
the Europeans ''The Europeans: A sketch'' is a short novel by Henry James, published in 1878. It is essentially a comedy contrasting the behaviour and attitudes of two visitors from Europe with those of their relatives living in the "new" world of New England ...
and the duo How We Live. Hogarth first stepped into Pete Trewavas garage 24 January 1989 and got the job three months later on April 25, as the group had already recorded some demos of the next studio album, which eventually would have become ''
Seasons End ''Seasons End'' is the fifth studio album by British neo-progressive rock band Marillion, released in 1989. The album was the first to feature current lead vocalist Steve Hogarth, following the departure of former vocalist Fish in late 1988. ...
''. Hogarth was a significant contrast to Fish, coming from a new wave musical background instead of progressive rock. He had also never owned a Marillion album before joining the band. After Fish left the group (taking his lyrics with him), Hogarth set to work crafting new lyrics to existing songs with lyricist and author John Helmer. The demo sessions of the songs from ''Seasons End'' with Fish vocals and lyrics can be found on the bonus disc of the remastered version of ''Clutching at Straws'', while the lyrics found their way into various Fish solo albums such as his first solo album, ''
Vigil in a Wilderness of Mirrors ''Vigil in a Wilderness of Mirrors'' is the debut solo album by Scottish neo-progressive rock singer Fish, released in 1990. Fish had departed Marillion in 1988. Although the recordings for this album finished as early as June 1989, EMI Recor ...
'', some snippets on his second, '' Internal Exile'' and even a line or two found its way to his third album, '' Suits''. The first time Marillion would appear in public with Steve Hogarth as the new singer was, under the banner of Low Fat Youghurts, at the Crooked Billet pub in Stoke Row, on 8 June 1989. Only about 100 fans attended that Crooked Billet show, considerably more at Hogarths official introduction to fans at the recording of the promo video for '' Hooks in You'' at London's
Brixton Academy Brixton Academy (originally known as the Astoria Variety Cinema, previously known as Carling Academy Brixton, currently named O2 Academy Brixton as part of a sponsorship deal with the O2 brand) is a mid-sized concert venue located in South Wes ...
on 1 August that year, and even more at the Palais des Sports in Besançon, France on 5 October following the release of ''Seasons End''. Marillion ended 1989 with their traditional Christmas show at London's
Hammersmith Odeon The Hammersmith Apollo, currently called the Eventim Apollo for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the Hammersmith Odeon, is a live entertainment performance venue, originally built as a cinema called the Gaumont Palace. Located in Ha ...
, and kicked off 26 January 1990 with the ''Seasons End'' world tour, in front of 180,000 people at
Hollywood Rock Hollywood Rock was a music festival which took place in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, from 1988 to 1996, featuring both Brazilian and international acts. The festival was sponsored and organised by the Souza Cruz tobacco company, owne ...
Festival in Rio de Janeiro, then rolling through Canada and North America before returning to Europe. The tour would prove to be the longest that Hogarth has thus far undertaken with Marillion. Although the tour wouldn't end in the UK until July, that Marillion ended the ''Seasons End'' tour in the UK at
Wembley Arena Wembley Arena (originally the Empire Pool, now known as OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London, England, used for music, comedy, family entertainment and sport. The 12,500-sea ...
highlighted how successful the shift from Fish to the new frontman Hogarth had been. Hogarth's second album with the band, ''
Holidays in Eden ''Holidays in Eden'' is the sixth studio album by the British neo-progressive rock band Marillion, released in 1991. Recorded at Hook End Manor in Oxfordshire and Westside Studios in London, it was the band's second album with vocalist Steve ...
'', was the first he wrote in partnership with the band from the beginning, and includes the song "Dry Land", which Hogarth had written and recorded with his earlier duo, How We Live. As quoted from Steve Hogarth, "''Holidays in Eden'' was to become Marillion's "pop"est album ever, and was greeted with delight by many, and dismay by some of the hardcore fans". EMI also wanted Marillon to deliver three hit singles from the album. Marillion returned to their pseudonym Low Fat Youghurts in December 1990 to preview their forthcoming album at the Moles club in Bath. ''Holidays in Eden'' wouldn't be released until June 1991, and was followed by a headlining appearance at the second and final Cumbria Rock Festival at
Derwent Park Derwent Park is a Speedway and Rugby League Stadium in Workington, England situated beside the Cumbrian River Derwent. It is used mostly for rugby league matches and is the home stadium of Workington Town who play in League 1 the 3rd tier ...
in Workington 13 July 1991. The Cumbria appearance kick-started another lengthy world tour that would see the band course through the UK, before venturing through Europe and returning to the UK for some Christmas shows. In the beginning of 1992 the band built their own recording and rehearsal studio, The Racket Club, in Buckinghamshire. March and April 1992 saw Marillion back out across Canada and America. They returned to UK for an exclusive, intimate show at London's Borderline for members of their The Web fan club to celebrate the band's 10th Anniversary on 9 May 1992. This show was the first 'official bootleg' live-CD released in August on their own new started Racket Records label, a limited edition of 2000 copies, before venturing off again through Europe. EMI also released the compilation album ''
A Singles Collection ''A Singles Collection'' (released as ''Six of One, Half-Dozen of the Other'' in the U.S.) is a compilation album of Marillion singles from both the Fish era and the Steve Hogarth era, celebrating the band's ten-year jubilee (taking 1982, when ...
- Six of One, Half A Dozen of the Other'' to celebrate the band's tenth anniversary with the label. It also included two new recordings, a cover of
Rare Birds ''Rare Birds'' is a 2001 Canadian comedy/drama film. It was directed by Sturla Gunnarsson and written by Edward Riche based on his novel. The film features spectacular scenery from Cape Spear, Newfoundland, Canada. It also features music by The P ...
''
Sympathy Sympathy is the perception of, understanding of, and reaction to the distress or need of another life form. According to David Hume, this sympathetic concern is driven by a switch in viewpoint from a personal perspective to the perspective of ano ...
'' and ''I Will Walk on Water''. ''Sympathy'' was also released as a single and it reached No.17 in the UK charts, the first time the band had been inside the top 20 since ''Incommunicado''. Marillon returned to the UK to headline the Wembley Arena on 5 September 1992, for what would be the final time for the band. The 1992 tour wound up in Baltimore, USA on 23 October. Marillion would only play just one gig in 1993, a fan club gig at Tivoli Theatre in Utrecht on 19 June, as a duo with only Hogarth and Trewavas. Marillion were busy readying what might become one of the most important albums of their career.


''Brave'', ''Afraid of Sunlight'' and split with EMI Records (1993–1995)

''Holidays in Eden'' was followed by '' Brave'', a dark and richly complex
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 ...
that took the band 18 months to write and record. The album also marked the start of the band's longtime relationship with producer
Dave Meegan Dave Meegan is a record producer. He trained under Trevor Horn and is best known for his work with Marillion. Marillion guitarist Steve Rothery has said he admires Meegan's work so much he considers him to be "a sixth member of the band". He also ...
. ''Brave'' was released on 7 February 1994. Some of the material had been aired at that sole 1993 show in Utrecht, and was also previewed at low-key gigs in the Netherlands, Italy, and Germany before Marillion kicked off the ''Brave'' world tour at Liverpool's
Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, Englan ...
on 20 February. The ''Brave'' tour was another lengthy one, and the band undertook the move to perform the whole of their new album in its entirety (as they had done with ''Misplaced Childhood'' just under a decade earlier). However, this meant the inevitable relegating of some Fish-era songs from the set. After a series of summer shows in Japan, the ''Brave'' tour wound its way down to Mexico in September. An independent
film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
based on the album, which featured the band, was also released in February 1995. The film was directed by Richard Stanley. The band had already returned to studio work on what would become their next studio album released in the summer of 1995. ''
Afraid of Sunlight ''Afraid of Sunlight'' is Marillion's eighth studio album, released in 1995. It was their last for EMI (who would, however, continue to release back-catalogue material on compilations and re-issues, as well as distribute some later recordings). ...
'' would be the band's last album with record label EMI Records. Once again, it received limited promotion, no mainstream radio airplay and its sales were disappointing for the band. Despite this, it was one of their most critically acclaimed albums and was included in '' Qs 50 Best Albums of 1995. One track of note on the album is ''Out of This World'', a song about
Donald Campbell Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the ...
, who died while trying to set a speed record on water. The song inspired an effort to recover both Campbell's body and the "Bluebird K7," the boat which Campbell crashed in, from the water. The recovery was finally undertaken in 2001, and both Steve Hogarth and Steve Rothery were invited. In 1998, Steve Hogarth said this was the best album he had made with the band. On 2 August 1995, Marillion began their ''Afraid of Sunlight'' tour in USA at the Bayou in Washington DC. They returned to the UK and Europe and ended the tour in Krakow,
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
on 21 November 1995.


''This Strange Engine'', ''Radiation'' and ''marillion.com'' (1996–1999)

The band's independent status was confirmed with signing a deal to the UK-based
Castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
. The first album to be released through Castle was the live double CD ''
Made Again ''Made Again'' is a 1996 double live album by Marillion, their first live recording with singer Steve Hogarth. The first disc contains material recorded in London on the ''Holidays in Eden'' tour (1991) and in Rotterdam on the '' Afraid of Sunl ...
''. Not only did it release Marillion from its obligations with EMI (as the fifth album in a five-album deal), as well as paying off the debts without creating new ones, it marked a certain symmetry with the first seven years of the band. Mark Kelly noted: "Our first four studio albums were followed by a double live album that signalled the end of a chapter. Now, after another four studio albums, followed by a live album, we move from EMI." Featuring ''Brave'' in its entirety, ''Made Again'' was released 25 March 1996 as the final EMI-era Marillion release in the UK, with Castle handling the release in mainland Europe and the US. The release was followed by a brief tour with four dates in Europe at the end of April. In the months prior, Rothery, Hogarth and Mosley used the break from Marillion to record separate solo projects. Mosley's project, IRIS, with French guitarist Sylvian Gouvernaire and Trewavas, released ''Crossing the Desert,'' on 22 April 1996. Rothery's project with the female singer Hannah Stobart, drummer Paul Craddick (from Enchant) and Trewavas, called The Wishing Tree, released their album ''
Carnival of Souls ''Carnival of Souls'' is a 1962 American independent horror film produced and directed by Herk Harvey and written by John Clifford from a story by Clifford and Harvey, and starring Candace Hilligoss. Its plot follows Mary Henry, a young wo ...
'' in September 1996. Hogarth released his solo album ''
Ice Cream Genius ''Ice Cream Genius'' is the title of the first solo album by Steve Hogarth, singer of Marillion. It was originally released in 1997 on When! Recordings. It was released in North America in August 1998 with a different artwork and with the extra t ...
'' in February 1997. ''
This Strange Engine ''This Strange Engine'' is the ninth studio album by the British neo-progressive rock band Marillion, released in April 1997 by the Castle Communications imprint Raw Power. It was the first of the three recordings that Marillion made on a cont ...
'' was the following Marillion album released in April 1997 in the UK, and in October in the US, with limited promotion from their new label Castle. Marillion could not afford to make tour stops in the United States. Their dedicated US fan base decided to solve the problem by raising some $60,000 themselves online to give to the band to come to the US. The band's loyal fanbase (combined with the Internet) would eventually become vital to their existence. Following the completion of the extensive 1997 tour (including Marillion's one-thousandth gig, on 27 October at the Amsterdam Paradiso), the band returned to their own studio, The Racket Club, in November. The band's tenth album, ''
Radiation In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or through a material medium. This includes: * ''electromagnetic radiation'', such as radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visi ...
,'' released on 21 September 1998'','' saw them taking a different approach and was received by fans with mixed reactions. The short Radiation tour, with only dates in the UK and mainland Europe, ended on 18 November 1998 at the
Élysée Montmartre Élysée Montmartre (french: L'Élysée Montmartre) is a music venue located at 72 Boulevard de Rochechouart, Paris, France. It opened in 1807, burned down in 2011, reopened in 2016, and has a capacity of 1,380 patrons. The nearest métro statio ...
in Paris. '' marillion.com'' was the follow-up, released on 18 October 1999, and showed progression in a new musical direction. However, the band were still unhappy with their record label situation. Under the terms of the deal, this was to be the third and final album distributed on the Castle label. The Dot Com tour, again with dates only in the UK and mainland Europe, started on 13 October at the MCM Cafe in Paris, and ended with a special Christmas show for the Web fanclubs worldwide in Aachen, Germany on 5 December 1999. For the whole of 2000, the band were writing the next album at the Racket Club and in November 2000 they played 2 Charity gigs at Bass Museum in Burton-on-Trent, before playing some more Christmas shows for their European fan clubs. Marillion needed a new strategy, and following the release of three albums via Castle, they came up with a novel approach for their next album.


''Anoraknophobia'' and ''Marbles'' (2000–2006)

The band decided that they would try a radical experiment by asking their fans if they would help fund the recording of the next album by pre-ordering it before recording even started. The result was 12,674 pre-orders which raised enough money to record and release ''
Anoraknophobia ''Anoraknophobia'' is the 12th studio album, by the British rock band Marillion, released in 2001. It is regarded as the first instance of a music recording completely financed by fans in a then-unique fundraising campaign, 12,674 copies were p ...
'' in the beginning of May 2001. As a 'thank-you' gesture to the fans who pre-ordered it, their names were credited in the sleeve notes and the pre-order "Special Edition" came in a deluxe 48-page hard-bound case with an extra enhanced CD. The band was able to strike a deal with EMI to also help distribute the album. This allowed Marillion to retain all the rights to their music while enjoying commercial distribution. The band went on tour which started in May 2001. A second leg of the tour (with a setlist largely decided by a poll of the fans) reached places that had never been played before, such as in the Azores at
Ponta Delgada Ponta Delgada (; ) is the largest municipality (''concelho'') and economic capital of the Autonomous Region of the Azores in Portugal. It is located on São Miguel Island, the largest and most populous in the archipelago. As of 2021, it has 67,28 ...
22 September 2001. A US Tour was still not a possibility. A 4-part BBC documentary 'The Future Just Happened' aired in the UK on BBC2 in the Summer 2001. Featured in Episode 3 was Marillion's revolutionary internet pre-order campaign for Anoraknophobia. In April 2002 marked a new era of Marillion fandom. The band decided to book out a holiday camp and invite their fanbase to enjoy three entire days of Marillion with three concerts, signing sessions, and more. The hallmark of the weekend was the first night which hosts the entire rendition of an album of Marillion's choice. The Marillion weekends began at Pontin's Holiday Park, Brean Sands in the West Country, to which fans would fly in from all over the world. In March 2003 they continued and held the Marillion weekend at
Butlin's Minehead Butlins Resort Minehead is a holiday camp operated by Butlins, located in Minehead in Somerset, England. It opened in 1962 and remains in use today. It was known as Butlin's Minehead until 1987, and as Somerwest World from then until 1999, wh ...
. The success of ''Anoraknophobia'' allowed the band to start recording their next album, but they decided to leverage their fanbase once again to help raise money towards marketing and promotion of a new album. The band put up the album for pre-order in mid-production. This time fans responded by pre-ordering 18,000 copies. ''
Marbles A marble is a small spherical object often made from glass, clay, steel, plastic, or agate. They vary in size, and most commonly are about in diameter. These toys can be used for a variety of games called ''marbles'', as well being placed in mar ...
'' was released in the end of April 2004 with a 2-CD version that was only available at Marillion's website. The pre-order version (known as the Deluxe Campaign Edition) of Marbles was packaged as a 128-page hard-bound book, packed in a rigid slip case. Those who purchased the Deluxe Campaign Edition by the end of 31 December 2003 were directly helping the Campaign Fund, and as a "Thank You" their name was printed in the album credits (like with the previous album, ''Anoraknophobia''). The band's management organised the biggest promotional schedule since they had left EMI and Steve Hogarth secured interviews with prominent broadcasters on
BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...
, including Matthew Wright, Bob Harris,
Stuart Maconie Stuart Maconie (born 13 August 1961) is an English radio DJ and television presenter, writer, journalist, and critic working in the field of pop music and popular culture. He is currently a presenter on BBC Radio 6 Music where, alongside Mark ...
,
Simon Mayo Simon Andrew Hicks Mayo (born 21 September 1958) is an English radio presenter and author who worked for BBC Radio from 1982 until 2022. Mayo has presented across three BBC stations for extended periods. From 1986 to 2001 he worked for Radio ...
and
Mark Lawson Mark Gerard Lawson is an English journalist, broadcaster and author. Specialising in culture and the arts, he is best known for presenting the flagship BBC Radio 4 arts programme ''Front Row (radio programme), Front Row'' between 1998 and 2014. ...
. ''Marbles'' also became the band's most critically acclaimed album since ''Afraid of Sunlight'', prompting many positive reviews in the press.Jon Hotten ''Classic Rock'', May 2004, Issue 66. The band released " You're Gone" as the lead single from the album. Aware that it was unlikely to gain much mainstream radio airplay, the band released the single in three separate formats and encouraged fans to buy a copy of each to get the single into the UK Top Ten. The single reached No. 7, making it the first Marillion song to reach the UK Top Ten since "
Incommunicado Incommunicado, from the Spanish incomunicado, means "cut off from contact", "impossible to reach". It may also refer to: *''Incommunicado'', an album by Alex Smoke * "Incommunicado" (song), a 1987 single by Marillion * Solitary confinement, one o ...
" in 1987 and the band's first Top 40 entry since "Beautiful" in 1995. The second single from the album, "Don't Hurt Yourself", reached No. 16. Following this, they released a download-only single, "The Damage (live)", recorded at the band's sell-out gig at the
London Astoria The London Astoria was a music venue at 157 Charing Cross Road, in London, England. Originally a warehouse during the 1920s, the building became a cinema and ballroom. It was converted for use as a theatre in the 1970s. After further developme ...
. All of this succeeded in putting the band back in the public consciousness, making the campaign a success. In September 2004 Marillion returned for shows in Mexico, USA and ended in Canada Quebec City on 13 October 2004. Marillion continued to tour throughout 2005 playing several summer festivals and embarking on acoustic tours of both Europe and the United States, followed up by the "Not Quite Christmas Tour" of Europe throughout the end of 2005. A new DVD, ''Colours and Sound'', was released in Feb 2006, documenting the creation, promotion, release, and subsequent European tour in support of the album ''Marbles''.


''Somewhere Else'' and ''Happiness is the Road'' (2007–2008)

In February 2007 the Marillion weekend was held abroad for the first time in the Netherlands at
Center Parcs Center Parcs may refer to: * Center Parcs UK and Ireland Center Parcs UK and Ireland (formerly Center Parcs UK) is a short-break holiday company that operates six holiday villages in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, with each cover ...
, Port Zélande. April 2007 saw Marillion release their fourteenth studio album '' Somewhere Else'', their first album in 10 years to make the UK Top No. 30. The success of the album was further underscored by that of the download-only single "See it Like a Baby", making UK No. 45 (March 2007) and the traditional CD release of " Thankyou Whoever You Are / Most Toys", which made UK No. 15 and No. 6 in the Netherlands during June 2007. The ''Somewhere Else'' tour started in Gibraltar 14 April 2007, and they also played in some places they had never been before like Bratislava. In July 2008 the band posted a contest for fans to create a music video for the soon-to-be released single "Whatever is Wrong with You", and post it on YouTube. The winner would win £5,000. ''
Happiness Is the Road ''Happiness Is the Road'' is Marillion's 15th studio album, released in 2008 as two separate album-length volumes respectively titled ''Essence'' and ''The Hard Shoulder''. The overall playing time is 110 minutes (116 including a hidden track), ...
'', released in October 2008, again featured a pre-order "deluxe edition" with a list of the fans who bought in advance, and a more straightforward regular release. It is another double album, with one disc based on a concept and the second containing the other songs that are not a part of the theme. Before the album's release, on 9 September 2008, Marillion pre-released their album via p2p networks themselves. Upon attempting to play the downloaded files, users were shown a video from the band explaining why they had taken this route. Downloaders were then able to opt to purchase the album at a user-defined price or select to receive DRM-free files for free, in exchange for an email address. The band explained that although they do not support piracy, they realised their music would inevitably be distributed online anyway, and wanted to attempt to engage with p2p users and make the best of the situation.


''Less is More'' and ''Sounds That Can't Be Made'' (2009–2014)

In April 2009 they took their Marillion weekend to Montreal for the first time. The band's sixteenth studio album (released 2 October 2009) was an acoustic album featuring new arrangements of previously released tracks (except one, the new track: "It's Not Your Fault") entitled '' Less Is More''. In October Marillion started an acoustic European tour which ended with a show in Istanbul 4 March 2010. Their seventeenth studio album, titled '' Sounds That Can't Be Made'', was released in September 2012. Two versions of the album were released: A 2-disc 'deluxe' version that included a DVD with 'making-of' features and sound-check recordings and a single CD jewel case version. The 'deluxe' version also included a 128-page book that incorporated lyrics, artwork and, as was the case with ''
Anoraknophobia ''Anoraknophobia'' is the 12th studio album, by the British rock band Marillion, released in 2001. It is regarded as the first instance of a music recording completely financed by fans in a then-unique fundraising campaign, 12,674 copies were p ...
'', ''
Marbles A marble is a small spherical object often made from glass, clay, steel, plastic, or agate. They vary in size, and most commonly are about in diameter. These toys can be used for a variety of games called ''marbles'', as well being placed in mar ...
'' and ''
Happiness is the Road ''Happiness Is the Road'' is Marillion's 15th studio album, released in 2008 as two separate album-length volumes respectively titled ''Essence'' and ''The Hard Shoulder''. The overall playing time is 110 minutes (116 including a hidden track), ...
'', the names of people who pre-ordered the album. Parts of the album were recorded at Peter Gabriel's
Real World Studios Real World Studios is a residential recording studio complex founded by Peter Gabriel and situated in the village of Box, Wiltshire, England, near to the city of Bath. It is closely associated with the Real World Records record label, Real Wor ...
in 2011. Marillion were awarded "Band of the Year" at the annual Progressive Music Awards in 2013.


''Fuck Everyone And Run (F E A R)'' and ''An Hour Before It's Dark'' (2015–present)

In September 2015, Marillion announced that they were working on a new album, provisionally titled ''M18'' and later confirmed as '' Fuck Everyone And Run (F E A R)''. As with several of their previous releases, the recording of the album was to be funded by fan pre-orders, this time through direct-to-fan website
PledgeMusic PledgeMusic was an online direct-to-fan music platform, launched in August 2009. It was started to facilitate musicians looking to pre-sell, market, and distribute projects; such as recordings and concerts. It bore similarities to other artist p ...
. The album was released on 23 September 2016 debuting at number 4 in the official UK charts of 30 September 2016, their highest placing since '' Clutching at Straws'' nearly three decades earlier. In November 2016, they announced their first ever show at the
Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...
in London, in October 2017. The gig sold out in just 4 minutes and was filmed for DVD release. They also won "UK Band of the Year" at the 2017 Progressive Music Awards. In May 2017 Marillion took their Marillion Weekend to Santiago, Chile for the first time. In February 2018 Marillion returned to tour in the US and also played shows in Japan in September. In March 2018, the film of the Royal Albert Hall gig was premiered at cinemas around the UK, before the DVD launch, with the band attending the showing in London. On 6 April the concert was released as ''All One Tonight – Live at the Royal Albert Hall''. In March 2018, Hogarth was involved with fellow musician Howard Jones in helping to unveil a memorial to
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
, which is situated close to
Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, South East England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery, David Tugwell`s house on Watermead and the Waterside Theatre. It is in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wy ...
's Market Square. The memorial was the inspiration of promoter David Stopps, who booked Bowie to appear at the
Friars Aylesbury Friars Aylesbury is a music club that runs in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England. It opened in 1969 but closed down twice, once in 1970 for a period of nine months and again in 1984 for a period of twenty-five years. Friars Aylesbury reopene ...
where he debuted his Ziggy Stardust persona. The bulk of the funds for the memorial were raised at a gig held at the
Waterside Theatre The Waterside Theatre was an independent theatre/arts venue overlooking the Stratford Canal in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. It was bankrupted after flood damage and the building has been taken over by the Royal Shakespeare Company, ...
in Aylesbury on the evening of the unveiling which Marillion headlined, alongside Jones,
John Otway John Otway (born 2 October 1952) is an English singer-songwriter who has built a cult audience through extensive touring. Biography 1970s and 1980s Otway was born in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. Although his first single, "Gypsy"/"Misty Mounta ...
and the Dung Beatles, all of whom have close association to Aylesbury and in particular, the Friars. In early 2019, Marillion entered the studio with the intention to record songs from their catalogue with friends from the orchestra, who played with the band at the Royal Albert Hall shows in 2017. ''With Friends from the Orchestra'' was recorded at The Racket Club and
Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...
's Real World Studios and features reimagined versions of songs accompanied by the In Praise of Folly String Quartet with Sam Morris on French horn and Emma Halnan on flute. The album was released 29 November 2019. In November and December 2019, the orchestra followed Marillion on tour in the UK, returning for two nights at the Royal Albert Hall, and they also played shows in the Netherlands, France, Italy and Germany. On 3 August 2021, Marillion announced their new pre-order campaign for a new studio album, entitled '' An Hour Before It's Dark''. The album was released on 4 March 2022. In 2021, Marillion asked their fans to insure their 10-date Light at the End of the Tunnel Tour in November. Manager Lucy Jordache said: "We're asking our fans to pledge money that will be held in escrow and if it all goes Covid free, it will be returned to them at the end of the tour. But if we do have to cancel, then their money will be used to pay the band's unavoidable expenses." The band had already invested more than £150,000 on preparations, but risked losing it all if just one member tested positive for COVID-19 and was forced to isolate. The tour was a success, and the donations were refunded to the fans who were named "Lightsavers".


Line-up, influences and sound changes

Marillion's music has changed stylistically throughout their career. The band themselves stated that each new album tends to represent a reaction to the preceding one, and for this reason their output is difficult to 'pigeonhole'. Although the band has featured two very distinct and different vocalists, the core instrumental line-up of
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 ...
(lead guitar, and the sole 'pre-
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 ...
' original member),
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),
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) and
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) has been unchanged since 1984. Their 1980s sound (with Fish on vocals) was guitar and keyboard-led
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 ...
. They have been described at their outset as "a bridge between
punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
and classic
progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...
". Guitarist Steve Rothery wrote most of the music during the period Fish was in the band.
Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...
guitarist
Janick Gers Janick Robert Gers (; born 27 January 1957) is an English musician who is best known as one of the three guitarists in heavy metal band Iron Maiden. He initially joined to replace Adrian Smith, but remained in the band after Smith rejoined. G ...
commented, "What I love so much about Marillion is that they could be very strong and powerful and have very quiet passages, but the powerful stuff was really edgy and heavy... I just thought he (Fish) wrote good lyrics, and they wrote good music, and it fit together effortlessly." They were often compared unfavourably by critics during the Fish era with the
Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...
era of
Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
, although the band had many other influences. Fish was influenced by a wide range of artists and his favourite albums were by artists such as
Van der Graaf Generator Van der Graaf Generator are an English progressive rock band, formed in 1967 in Manchester by singer-songwriters Peter Hammill and Judge Smith, Chris Judge Smith and the first act signed by Charisma Records. They did not experience much commerc ...
,
Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...
,
the Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...
,
Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...
,
John Martyn Iain David McGeachy (11 September 1948 – 29 January 2009), known professionally as John Martyn, was a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Over a 40-year career, he released 23 studio albums, and received frequent critical acclaim. ...
, Yes,
Lowell George Lowell Thomas George (April 13, 1945 – June 29, 1979) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer, who was the primary guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and founder/leader for the rock band Little Feat. Earl ...
,
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
, Roy Harper, the
Faces The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may affe ...
,
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
and
Supertramp Supertramp were an English rock band that formed in London in 1969. Marked by the individual songwriting of founders Roger Hodgson (vocals, keyboards, and guitars) and Rick Davies (vocals and keyboards), they are distinguished for blending pro ...
. Rothery's main influences were
Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
,
Carlos Santana Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist who rose to fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band Santana, which pioneered a fusion of Rock and roll and Latin American jazz. Its sound featured ...
,
David Gilmour David Jon Gilmour ( ; born 6 March 1946) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and member of the rock band Pink Floyd. He joined as guitarist and co-lead vocalist in 1967, shortly before the departure of founding member Syd Barrett. P ...
,
Andrew Latimer Andrew Latimer (born 17 May 1949) is an English musician and composer. He is a founding member of the progressive rock band Camel and the only member who has been with them since their formation in 1971. Best known as a guitarist and singer, L ...
of
Camel A camel (from: la, camelus and grc-gre, κάμηλος (''kamēlos'') from Hebrew or Phoenician: גָמָל ''gāmāl''.) is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. C ...
,
Steve Hackett Stephen Richard Hackett (born 12 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who gained prominence as the lead guitarist of the progressive rock band Genesis from 1971 to 1977. Hackett contributed to six Genesis ...
,
Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He rose to prominence with the Yardbirds and after fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to a mainly instrumental style, with a focus ...
and Joni Mitchell, with
Gordon Giltrap Gordon Giltrap, MBE (born 6 April 1948) is an English guitarist and composer. His music crosses several genres. He has been described as "one of the most revered guitarists of his generation", and has drawn praise from fellow musicians including S ...
also an early influence on the development of his playing style. Kelly's biggest inspiration was Yes keyboardist
Rick Wakeman Richard Christopher Wakeman (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboardist best known as a former member of the progressive rock band Yes across five tenures between 1971 and 2004, and for his solo albums released in the 1970s. Born and raised ...
, and Trewavas' favourite bass player was
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
. Original 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 ...
was a huge fan of
Neil Peart Neil Ellwood Peart OC (; September 12, 1952 – January 7, 2020) was a Canadian-American musician, best known as the drummer and primary lyricist of the rock band Rush. Peart earned numerous awards for his musical performances, including an ...
's drumming in his favourite band, Rush. During the Steve Hogarth era, their sound has been compared, on various albums, to more contemporary acts such as U2,
Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...
,
Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University Col ...
,
Muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...
,
Talk Talk Talk Talk were an English band formed in 1981, led by Mark Hollis (vocals, guitar, piano), Lee Harris (drummer), Lee Harris (drums), and Paul Webb (bass). The group achieved early chart success with the synth-pop singles "Talk Talk (Talk Talk s ...
,
Elbow The elbow is the region between the arm and the forearm that surrounds the elbow joint. The elbow includes prominent landmarks such as the olecranon, the cubital fossa (also called the chelidon, or the elbow pit), and the lateral and the media ...
, and
Massive Attack Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol by Robert "3D" Del Naja, Adrian "Tricky" Thaws, Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. The debut Massive Attack album ''Blue Lines'' was release ...
. In 2016, Hogarth himself was quoted as describing the band: "If Pink Floyd and Radiohead had a love child that was in touch with their feminine side, they would be us." According to an interview with Rothery in 2016, many of their later albums with Hogarth had been written by jamming.


In the media

The chief music critic of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'',
Alexis Petridis Alexis Petridis ( el, Αλέξης Πετρίδης; born 13 September 1971) is a British journalist, head rock and pop critic for the UK newspaper ''The Guardian'', as well as a regular contributor to the magazine '' GQ''. In addition to his mus ...
, has described Marillion as "perennially unfashionable prog-rockers". On the subject of joining the band in 1989, Steve Hogarth said in a 2001 interview: "At about the same time, Matt Johnson of
The The () are an English post-punk band. They have been active in various forms since 1979, with singer-songwriter Matt Johnson being the only constant band member. achieved critical acclaim and commercial success in the UK, with 15 chart singles ...
asked me to play piano on his tour. I always say I had to make a choice between the most
hip In vertebrate anatomy, hip (or "coxa"Latin ''coxa'' was used by Celsus in the sense "hip", but by Pliny the Elder in the sense "hip bone" (Diab, p 77) in medical terminology) refers to either an anatomical region or a joint. The hip region is ...
band in the world, and the least." In the same conversation, he said: "We're just tired of the opinions of people who haven't heard anything we've done in ten years. A lot of what's spread about this band is laughable."Dave Ling (May 2001

''Classic Rock Magazine''
Much of the band's enduring and unfashionable reputation stems from their emergence in the early 1980s as the most commercially successful band of the
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 ...
movement, an unexpected revival of the
progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...
musical style that had fallen out of critical favour in the mid-1970s. Some early critics were quick to dismiss the band as clones of
Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...
-era
Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
due to musical similarities, such as their extended songs, a prominent and
Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. A ...
-influenced keyboard sound, vivid and fantastical lyrics and the equally vivid and fantastical artwork 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 ...
used for the sleeves of their albums and singles. Lead singer Fish was also often compared with Gabriel due to his early vocal style and theatrical stage performances, which in the early years included wearing face paint. As Jon Wilde summarised in ''
Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...
'' in 1989:
At the end of a strange year for pop music, Marillion appeared in November 1982 with "
Market Square Heroes "Market Square Heroes" is the debut single by the British neo-progressive rock band Marillion, released in 1982 with "Three Boats Down from the Candy" as the B-side. The 12-inch single included an additional track, the 17:15-minute-long "Grend ...
". There were many strange things about 1982, but Marillion were the strangest of them all. For six years, they stood out of time. Marillion were the unhippest group going. As
punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
was becoming a distant echo, they appeared with a sound and an attitude that gazed back longingly to the age of Seventies pomp. When compared to Yes,
Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
and ELP, they would take it as a compliment. The Eighties have seen some odd phenomena. But none quite as odd as Marillion. Along the way, as if by glorious fluke, they turned out some singles that everybody quietly liked – "
Garden Party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...
", "
Punch and Judy Punch and Judy is a traditional puppet show featuring Mr. Punch and his wife Judy. The performance consists of a sequence of short scenes, each depicting an interaction between two characters, most typically Mr. Punch and one other character w ...
" and "
Incommunicado Incommunicado, from the Spanish incomunicado, means "cut off from contact", "impossible to reach". It may also refer to: *''Incommunicado'', an album by Alex Smoke * "Incommunicado" (song), a 1987 single by Marillion * Solitary confinement, one o ...
". By this time, Marillion did not need the support of the hip-conscious. They were massive. Perhaps the oddest thing about Marillion was that they became one of the biggest groups of the decade. They might have been an anomaly but they were monstrously effective.
The band's unfashionable reputation and image has often been mentioned in the media, even in otherwise positive reviews. In '' Q'' in 1987,
David Hepworth David Hepworth (born 27 July 1950) is a British music journalist, writer and publishing industry analyst who was instrumental in the foundation of a number of popular magazines in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. Along with the journalist, editor and b ...
wrote: "Marillion may represent the inelegant, unglamorous, public bar end of the current Rock Renaissance but they are no less part of it for that. '' Clutching at Straws'' suggests that they may be finally coming in from the cold." In the same magazine in 1995, Dave Henderson wrote: "It's not yet possible to be sacked for showing an affinity for Marillion, but has there ever been a band with a larger stigma attached?" He also argued that if the album ''
Afraid of Sunlight ''Afraid of Sunlight'' is Marillion's eighth studio album, released in 1995. It was their last for EMI (who would, however, continue to release back-catalogue material on compilations and re-issues, as well as distribute some later recordings). ...
'' "had been made by a new, no baggage-of-the-past combo, it would be greeted with open arms, hailed as virtual genius." In ''
Record Collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine. It was founded in 1980 and distributes worldwide. History The early years The first standalone issue of ''Record Collector'' was published in March 1980, though its history stretches ba ...
'' in 2002, Tim Jones argued they were "one of the most unfairly berated bands in Britain" and "one of its best live rock acts." In 2004, ''
Classic Rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...
s Jon Hotten wrote: "That genre thing has been a bugbear of Marillion's, but it no longer seems relevant. What are
Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...
if not a progressive band?" and said Marillion were "making strong, singular music with the courage of their convictions, and we should treasure them more than we do." In the '' Q'' & ''
Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * ' ...
'' Classic Special Edition ''
Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...
& The Story of Prog Rock'', an article on Marillion written by
Mick Wall Mick Wall (born 23 June 1958) is a British music journalist, author, and radio and TV presenter. He has been described as "the world's leading rock and metal writer". Career Wall began his career contributing to the music weekly ''Sounds'' in 197 ...
described them as "probably the most misunderstood band in the world". In 2007, Stephen Dalton of ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' stated:
The band have just released their 14th album, '' Somewhere Else'', which is really rather good. Containing tracks that shimmer like
Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University Col ...
, ache like
Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...
and thunder like
Muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...
, it is better than 80 per cent of this month's releases. But you are unlikely to hear Marillion on British radio, read about them in the music press or see them play a major festival. This is largely because Marillion have – how can we put this kindly? – an image problem. Their music is still perceived as bloated, bombastic mullet-haired prog-rock, even by people who have never heard it. In fairness, they did once release an album called ''
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 ...
''. But, come on, we all had bad hair days in the 1980s.
Despite publishing a very good review for their 1995 album ''
Afraid of Sunlight ''Afraid of Sunlight'' is Marillion's eighth studio album, released in 1995. It was their last for EMI (who would, however, continue to release back-catalogue material on compilations and re-issues, as well as distribute some later recordings). ...
'' and including it in their 50 Best Albums of 1995, '' Q'' refused to interview the band or write a feature on them. Steve Hogarth later said: "How can they say, this is an amazing record... no, we don't want to talk to you? It's hard to take when they say, here's a very average record... we'll put you on the front cover." In 2001, the television critic of ''The Guardian'',
Gareth McLean Gareth McLean (born c.1975) is a Scottish journalist and screenwriter who has written for ''The Guardian'' newspaper and on soap operas for the '' Radio Times'' magazine. McLean graduated with an MA (Hons) in English from the University of Aberd ...
, used his review of the
Michael Lewis Michael Monroe Lewis (born October 15, 1960) Gale Biography In Context. is an American author and financial journalist. He has also been a contributing editor to '' Vanity Fair'' since 2009, writing mostly on business, finance, and economics. H ...
BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
documentary, '' Next: The Future Just Happened'', to concentrate on launching a scathing attack on the band, whose appearance only constituted one segment of the programme. He described them as "once dodgy and now completely rubbish" and he characterised their fans as "slightly simple folks". He also dismissed the band's efforts to continue their career without a label by dealing directly with their fans on the Internet, writing: "One suspects that their decision occurred round about the time that the record industry decided to shun Marillion."
Rachel Cooke Rachel Cooke (born 1969) is a British journalist and writer. Early life Cooke was born in Sheffield, and is the daughter of a university lecturer. She went to school in Jaffa, Israel, until she was 11, before returning to Sheffield, and atten ...
, a writer for ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...
'' and ''
New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...
'', has repeatedly referred negatively to the band and insulted their fans in her articles. In an interview in 2000, Hogarth expressed regret about the band retaining their name after he joined:
If we had known when I joined Marillion what we know now, we'd have changed the name and been a new band. It was a mistake to keep the name, because what it represented in the mid-Eighties is a millstone we now carry. If we'd changed it, I think we would have been better off. We would have been judged for our music. It's such a grave injustice that the media constantly calls us a 'dinosaur prog band'. They only say that out of ignorance because they haven't listened to anything we've done for the last 15 bloody years. If you hear anything we've done in the last five or six years, that description is totally irrelevant... It's a massive frustration that no-one will play our stuff. If we send our single to
Radio 1 Radio 1 or Radio One most commonly refers to: *BBC Radio 1, a music radio station from the BBC ** BBC Radio 1Xtra, a digital radio station broadcasting black music *CBC Radio One, a talk radio station operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporatio ...
they say: 'Sorry, we don't play music by bands who are over so-many years old... and here's the new U2 single.' I suppose it's something everyone has to cope with – every band are remembered for their big hit single, irrespective of how much they change over the years. But you can only transcend that by continuing to have hits. It's Catch 22. You know, at some stage, someone has to notice that we're doing interesting things. Someday someone will take a retrospective look at us and be surprised.
The 2013 film '' Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa'' includes a joke reference to a former drummer of the band. The band were quoted: "We know Marillion are seen as 'uncool' but we were delighted to be a part of it."


Crowdfunding pioneers

Marillion are widely considered to have been one of the first mainstream acts to have fully recognised and tapped the potential for commercial musicians to interact with their fans via the internet, starting in around 1996, and are nowadays often characterised as a rock & roll 'Web Cottage Industry'. The history of the band's use of the Internet is described by
Michael Lewis Michael Monroe Lewis (born October 15, 1960) Gale Biography In Context. is an American author and financial journalist. He has also been a contributing editor to '' Vanity Fair'' since 2009, writing mostly on business, finance, and economics. H ...
in the book '' Next: The Future Just Happened'' as an example of how the Internet is shifting power away from established elites, such as multinational
record labels A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produc ...
and
record producers A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
. The band are renowned for having an extremely dedicated following (often self-termed 'Freaks'), with some fans regularly travelling significant distances to attend single gigs, driven in large part by the close fan base involvement which the band cultivate via their website, podcasts, biennial conventions and regular fanclub publications. The release of their 2001 album ''
Anoraknophobia ''Anoraknophobia'' is the 12th studio album, by the British rock band Marillion, released in 2001. It is regarded as the first instance of a music recording completely financed by fans in a then-unique fundraising campaign, 12,674 copies were p ...
'', which was funded by their fans through advance orders instead of by the band signing to a record company, gained significant attention and was called "a unique funding campaign" by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. Writing for ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'',
Alexis Petridis Alexis Petridis ( el, Αλέξης Πετρίδης; born 13 September 1971) is a British journalist, head rock and pop critic for the UK newspaper ''The Guardian'', as well as a regular contributor to the magazine '' GQ''. In addition to his mus ...
described Marillion as "the undisputed pioneers" of
fan-funded music Fan-funded music is crowdfunding for music. Often, fan-funded music occurs in conjunction with direct-to-fan marketing. Fans of music have the option to donate and collectively raise money with the goal of jump-starting the career of a given musica ...
.


Personnel


Members

;Current members *
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 ...
– electric guitars, acoustic guitars (1979–present) *
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, samples and effects, backing vocals, programming (1981–present) *
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 guitars, backing vocals, additional studio guitars, additional studio samples and effects (1982–present) *
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, percussion (1984–present) *
Steve Hogarth Steve Hogarth (born Ronald Stephen Hoggarth, 14 May 1956 in Kendal, Westmorland) also known as "h", is an English singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Since 1989 he has been the lead singer of the British rock band Marillion, for which ...
– lead vocals, additional keyboards, additional live guitars, percussion (1989–present) ;Former members *
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 ...
– drums, percussion (1979–1983) *Brian Jelliman – keyboards (1979–1981) *Doug 'Rastus' Irvine – bass guitar, lead vocals (1979–1981) *
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 ...
– lead vocals, percussion (1981–1988) *Diz Minnitt – bass guitars (1981–1982) * Andy Ward – drums, percussion (1983) *John 'Martyr' Marter – drums (1983) *
Jonathan Mover Jonathan Mover a.k.a. "Mover" is an American drummer, engineer and producer. He is a former member of the bands Marillion and GTR. Early life and career Mover was raised in the Boston area and began playing drums at age thirteen. Primarily s ...
– drums (1983–1984)


Line-ups


Timeline


Discography

;Studio Albums *''
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 ...
'' (1983) *''
Fugazi Fugazi (; ) is an American post-hardcore band that formed in Washington, D.C., in 1986. The band consists of guitarists and vocalists Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto, bassist Joe Lally, and drummer Brendan Canty. They are noted for their style-tr ...
'' (1984) *''
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 ...
'' (1985) *'' Clutching at Straws'' (1987) *''
Seasons End ''Seasons End'' is the fifth studio album by British neo-progressive rock band Marillion, released in 1989. The album was the first to feature current lead vocalist Steve Hogarth, following the departure of former vocalist Fish in late 1988. ...
'' (1989) *''
Holidays in Eden ''Holidays in Eden'' is the sixth studio album by the British neo-progressive rock band Marillion, released in 1991. Recorded at Hook End Manor in Oxfordshire and Westside Studios in London, it was the band's second album with vocalist Steve ...
'' (1991) *'' Brave'' (1994) *''
Afraid of Sunlight ''Afraid of Sunlight'' is Marillion's eighth studio album, released in 1995. It was their last for EMI (who would, however, continue to release back-catalogue material on compilations and re-issues, as well as distribute some later recordings). ...
'' (1995) *''
This Strange Engine ''This Strange Engine'' is the ninth studio album by the British neo-progressive rock band Marillion, released in April 1997 by the Castle Communications imprint Raw Power. It was the first of the three recordings that Marillion made on a cont ...
'' (1997) *''
Radiation In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or through a material medium. This includes: * ''electromagnetic radiation'', such as radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visi ...
'' (1998) *'' marillion.com'' (1999) *''
Anoraknophobia ''Anoraknophobia'' is the 12th studio album, by the British rock band Marillion, released in 2001. It is regarded as the first instance of a music recording completely financed by fans in a then-unique fundraising campaign, 12,674 copies were p ...
'' (2001) *''
Marbles A marble is a small spherical object often made from glass, clay, steel, plastic, or agate. They vary in size, and most commonly are about in diameter. These toys can be used for a variety of games called ''marbles'', as well being placed in mar ...
'' (2004) *'' Somewhere Else'' (2007) *''
Happiness Is the Road ''Happiness Is the Road'' is Marillion's 15th studio album, released in 2008 as two separate album-length volumes respectively titled ''Essence'' and ''The Hard Shoulder''. The overall playing time is 110 minutes (116 including a hidden track), ...
'' (2008) *'' Less Is More'' (2009) *'' Sounds That Can't Be Made'' (2012) *'' Fuck Everyone and Run (F E A R)'' (2016) *'' With Friends from the Orchestra'' (2019) *'' An Hour Before It's Dark'' (2022)


References


External links

* {{Authority control Articles which contain graphical timelines British art rock groups British post-punk music groups British progressive rock groups Musical groups established in 1979 Musical groups from Buckinghamshire Things named after Tolkien works