''Afraid of Sunlight'' is

Marillion 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 mos ...

'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). ''Afraid of Sunlight'' was the first Marillion studio album to fail to reach the Top 10 in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

, peaking at number 16 and falling out of the Top 75 after two weeks. Despite this, ''Afraid of Sunlight'' became one of the band's most critically acclaimed albums and was included in '' ''Q'' magazines "Recordings of the Year" for 1995. It was retrospectively described by Jeri Montesano of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

as "the peak of Marillion's growing, impressive body of work" and by colleague Jason Ankeny as "the most consistent Marillion release to date".

Concept

Although not a

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. So ...

as such, ''Afraid of Sunlight'' repeatedly examines the destructive side of celebrity. In particular, "Gazpacho" lampoons the

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

lifestyle and seems to refer to O. J. Simpson. "Cannibal Surf Babe" is a

Beach Boys A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shell ...

pastiche inspired by late-night horror movies. "Out of This World" is dedicated to world land and water speed record holder

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 th ...

, killed in 1967, and inspired diver Bill Smith to look for the wreck. The main wreckage of Campbell's ''

Bluebird K7 ''Bluebird K7'' is a jet engined hydroplane which Britain's Donald Campbell set seven world water speed records between 1955 and 1967. ''K7'' was the first successful jet-powered hydroplane, and was considered revolutionary when launched i ...

'' hydroplane was recovered from

Coniston Water Coniston Water in the English county of Cumbria is the third-largest lake in the Lake District by volume (after Windermere and Ullswater), and the fifth-largest by area. It is five miles long by half a mile wide (8 km by 800 m), ha ...

on 8 March 2001. Both

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 whi ...

and

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 ...

were present at the raising. The title track refers to self-destructive thrill-seekers such as

James Dean James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He is remembered as a cultural icon of teenage disillusionment and social estrangement, as expressed in the title of his most celebrated film, ''Rebel Without a Cause' ...

, while "King" is about

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

, Kurt Cobain and

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

. "Beyond You" is reminiscent of

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...

Wall of Sound The Wall of Sound (also called the Spector Sound) is a music production formula developed by American record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios, in the 1960s, with assistance from engineer Larry Levine and the conglomerate of sessio ...

productions and was mixed in mono. One reviewer noted the 1980

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, incl ...

film ''

Raging Bull ''Raging Bull'' is a 1980 American Biographical film, biographical Sports film, sports Drama (film and television), drama film directed by Martin Scorsese, produced by Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler and adapted by Paul Schrader and Mardik ...

'', about a boxer's inability to deal with fame, as a strong influence on the album. He also cited O. J. Simpson, on trial for murder at the time ''Afraid of Sunlight'' was recorded, as another influence on its concept; the wind-down of "Gazpacho" ends with a sample from a news report on Simpson's infamous flight from the police.

Release

''Afraid of Sunlight'' was released in Europe on 24 June 1995 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 ...

on CD, LP and cassette, and in the U.S. on 4 July 1995 by El Dorado, a subsidiary label of

I.R.S. Records I.R.S. Records was an American record label founded by Miles Copeland III, Jay Boberg, and Carl Grasso in 1979. I.R.S. produced some of the most popular bands of the 1980s, and was particularly known for issuing records by college rock, new w ...

. It climbed to number 16 in the UK and spent only three weeks in the charts, the shortest chart residency of any Marillion studio album by then. The only single from the album, "Beautiful", peaked at number 29 in 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 ...

. ''Afraid of Sunlight'' reached number 8 in the Netherlands, the country where the band has one of their largest fanbases. As part of a series of Marillion's first eight studio albums, EMI Records re-released ''Afraid of Sunlight'' on 22 March 1999 with 24-bit digital remastered sound and a second disc containing bonus tracks. A new 180g heavy weight vinyl pressing identical to the original 1995 edition was released in 2013.

Critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

critic Alex S. Garcia has retrospectively given ''Afraid of Sunlight'' a four-out-of-five star rating. He noted that the album has "some very beautiful melodic moments and perhaps a better mix between calm and melodies than on previous albums made with Steve Hogarth". Jeri Montesano called it "the peak of Marillion's growing, impressive body of work" while reviewing '' Seasons End'' (1989). His colleague Dale Jensen has named the album "the most consistent Marillion release to date". In a review from '' Q'' magazine, ''Afraid of Sunlight'' has been described as "a 40-minute journey that touches on the legacy of

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and m ...

Todd Rundgren Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, multimedia artist, sound engineer and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the band U ...

and

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

, while hinting at the experimental trivialities of

Jellyfish Jellyfish and sea jellies are the informal common names given to the medusa-phase of certain gelatinous members of the subphylum Medusozoa, a major part of the phylum Cnidaria. Jellyfish are mainly free-swimming marine animals with umbrella- ...

Split Enz Split Enz were a New Zealand rock band formed in Auckland in 1972 by Tim Finn and Phil Judd and had a variety of other members during its existence. Originally started as a folk-oriented group with quirky art rock stylings, the band bui ...

Track listing

*Tracks 3-9 of the 1999 remastered edition bonus disc had previously been unreleased.

4-CD + Blu-ray Disc, 2019, Remixed, Digi-Book

CD 1 Michael Hunter 2019 Remix CD 2 Original 1995 Dave Meegan Mix Tracklisting for discs 1 and 2 as above CD 3 Live At The Ahoy, Rotterdam (29 September 1995) * Intro (Skater's Waltz) 0:47 * Incommunicado 4:56 * Hooks In You 2:59 * Gazpacho 6:16 * Icon 1:11 * Beautiful 5:33 * Hotel Hobbies 2:04 * White Russian 7:09 * Easter 6:11 * Mad 2:52 * The Opium Den 3:48 * Hard As Love 6:34 * The Hollow Man 5:14 CD 4 Live At The Ahoy, Rotterdam (29 September 1995) * Kayleigh 4:09 * Lavender 4:19 * Afraid Of Sunlight 6:57 * Cannibal Surf Babe 4:51 * Cover My Eyes 4:15 * Slainte Mhath 4:45 * King 7:20 * Splintering Heart 7:20 * No One Can 5:36 * The Great Escape 5:46 * Uninvited Guest 4:27 * Garden Party 7:38 Blu-ray Disc 2019 Michael Hunter remix in stereo and 5.1 surround * Gazpacho * Cannibal Surf Babe * Beautiful * Afraid Of Sunrise * Out Of This World * Afraid Of Sunlight * Beyond You * King Bonus Tracks * Ascending Synth Groove * Velvet Lawn * Building Guitar * Band Of Gold * Gazpacho arly Version * Sufer Bass * Cannibal Surf arly Version * Beautiful arly Version * Kd Lang * Out Of This World arly Version * Afraid Of Sunlight arly Version * Beyond You arly Version * Crunchy Guitar Idea * Deep Purple Vibe * Watery Guitar * King arly Version * Happy Accidents * Afraid Of Sunlight * Beautiful * Icon * Live Forever * Second Chance * Beyond You

emo Emo is a rock music genre characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of and hardcore punk from the Washington D.C. hardcore punk scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore and pioneered b ...

* Cannibal Surf Babe * Out Of This World * Bass Frenzy * Mirages

* Afraid Of Sunlight coustic Demo

Personnel

;Marillion *

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or witho ...

, additional keyboards and

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

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 elect ...

– keyboards *

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

–

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gu ...

and

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are u ...

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 and percussion ;Additional musicians *Barbara Lezmy – additional backing vocals (on "Cannibal Surf Babe") *Wendy Paige – additional backing vocals (on "Cannibal Surf Babe") *Hannah Stobart – additional backing vocals (on "Beautiful") ;Technical personnel * Dave Meegan – production, engineering and mixing (at Parr Street Studios,

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

) * Nick Davis – mixing ("Cannibal Surf Babe") (at

Rockfield Studios Rockfield Studios is a residential recording studio located in the Wye Valley just outside the village of Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales. It was originally founded in 1963 by brothers Kingsley and Charles Ward. Facilities Rockfield is a two- ...

, Monmouthshire,

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

) *

Michael Brauer Michael Brauer is a New York-based mix engineer. He received a Grammy for "Best Pop Vocal Album" for his work on John Mayer's ''Continuum'', "Best Alternative Album" for Coldplay's '' Parachutes'', and also "Best Rock Album" for Coldplay's '' Viv ...

– mixing ("Beautiful") (at

Sony Music Studios Sony Music Studios was an American music recording and mastering facility in New York City. The five-story building was a music and broadcasting complex located at 460 W. 54th Street, at 10th Avenue, in the Hell's Kitchen section of Manhattan. ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

) * Peter Mew – 1999 digital remastering (January 1999 at Abbey Road Studios,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

) *Bill Smith Studio – design *Paul Cox – front cover photography

Charts

References

;Notes ;Citations

External links

The Official Marillion Website
{{Authority control Marillion albums 1995 albums EMI Records albums Albums produced by Dave Meegan