"Freaks" is a song by British

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

band

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

. First released in 1985 on the B-side to the number five UK hit single "

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 ...

", in November 1988 it was released in a live version on a

double A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

single together with the band's 1985 number two hit, "

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

". The single was intended to promote the forthcoming double-live album ''

The Thieving Magpie ''La gazza ladra'' (, ''The Thieving Magpie'') is a ''melodramma'' or opera semiseria in two acts by Gioachino Rossini, with a libretto by Giovanni Gherardini based on ''La pie voleuse'' by Théodore Baudouin d'Aubigny and Louis-Charles Caigni ...

'', which documents the band's history with 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 ...

, who had left the band in October 1988; as such, this was Marillion's last single to feature Fish on vocals and cover art 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 ...

, who would go on to collaborate with Fish. The single peaked at no. 24 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 ...

, becoming their eleventh consecutive UK Top 40 hit. Marillion Fish OpenAir Mannheim Maimarktgelaende 1986 06 21

The track "Freaks" (recorded at an open-air concert at the May Market Fairground in

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...

, Germany, on 21 June 1986) was only included on the CD and cassette versions of ''The Thieving Magpie'', "Kayleigh" (recorded at London

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 ...

on 9 or 10 January 1986) was also available on the vinyl edition, which only featured the first half of the ''Misplaced Childhood'' album. The 12" version contained an additional two tracks from the second half of ''Misplaced Childhood'', which are also not found on the vinyl version of ''The Thieving Magpie''. A CD replica of the single was also part of a collectors box-set released in July 2000 which contained Marillion's first twelve singles and was re-issued as a 3-CD set in 2009 (see '' The Singles '82–'88'').

Track listing

7" Single* / Cut-out picture disc

Side A

#"Freaks (Live)" — 4:12

Side B

#"Kayleigh (Live)" — 4:08 *On the Dutch version of the 7" single, which was re-released in January 1989, "Kayleigh" and "Freaks" are reversed.

12" Single

Side A

#"Freaks (Live)" — 4:12 #"Kayleigh (Live)" — 4:08

Side B

#"Childhoods End? (Live)" — 3:10 #"White Feather(Live)" — 4:00

5" CD Single

#"Freaks (Live)" — 4:12 #"Kayleigh (Live)" — 4:08 #"Childhoods End? (Live)" — 3:10 #"White Feather(Live)" — 4:00

Personnel

– vocals *

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

– guitars *

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

– keyboards *

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

– bass *

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

– drums

References

{{authority control 1988 singles Marillion songs 1986 songs EMI Records singles Songs written by Steve Rothery Songs written by Mark Kelly (keyboardist) Songs written by Ian Mosley Songs written by Pete Trewavas Songs written by Fish (singer)