Marillion are a British neo-prog 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 commercially successful neo-prog band of the 1980s.
Marillion released their debut single "Market Square Heroes" in 1982, followed a year later by their first album Script for a Jester's Tear. They have released 20 studio albums in total. The band achieved eight Top 10 UK albums between 1983 and 1994, including a No. 1 album in 1985 with Misplaced Childhood. The album also produced two UK Top 10 singles in "Kayleigh" (No. 2) and "Lavender" (No. 5), while the follow-up album, 1987's Clutching at Straws, included another UK Top 10 single "Incommunicado" (No. 6). Clutching at Straws was the band's last studio album with their original lead singer, Fish, who left for a solo career in late 1988. Altogether, during the Fish era, Marillion had 11 Top 40 hits on the UK singles chart. "Kayleigh" also entered the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States.
In early 1989, Marillion announced Steve Hogarth as their new lead singer. The first album with him, Seasons End, was another Top 10 hit, and albums continued to chart well until their departure from EMI Records, following the release of their 1996 live album Made Again, and the dissipation of the band's mainstream popularity in the late 1990s; save for a resurgence in the mid- to late-2000s,[ AllMusic review of Marbles] they have essentially been a cult act since then.[ AllMusic review of Marbles Live] Since the arrival of Hogarth, Marillion have achieved a further 12 Top 40 hit singles in the UK, including 2004's "You're Gone" from the album Marbles, which charted at No. 7 and is the biggest hit of the Hogarth era. In 2016, the album Fuck Everyone and Run (F E A R) returned them to the UK Albums Chart Top 10 for the first time since 1994's Brave. Their most recent album, 2022's An Hour Before It's Dark, entered the UK Albums Chart at No. 2, their highest chart position since Clutching at Straws in 1987. Marillion continue to tour internationally, ranked 38th in Classic Rock's "50 Best Live Acts of All Time" in 2008.. Classic Rock Magazine. Retrieved 18 April 2010.
Although unpopular in the mainstream media and unfashionable within the British music industry, Marillion have maintained a loyal international fanbase. The band have been acknowledged as pioneers in the development of crowdfunding and fan-funded music, and have sold over 15 million albums worldwide.
History The Fish era Formation and early years (1978–1982)
In 1977, drummer Mick Pointer joined Electric Gypsy, which also included Doug Irvine on bass, Alan King on vocals and Andy Glass (later of Solstice) on guitar. Pointer and Irvine left to form their own band, Silmarillion, named after J.R.R. Tolkien's book The Silmarillion, in late 1978. They played one London show as an instrumental band with Neil Cockle (keys) and Martin Jenner (guitar). 1979 saw a new line-up of Mick Pointer, Steve Rothery (guitar), Doug Irvine (bass/vocals) and Brian Jelliman (keys). They played their first concert at Berkhamsted Civic Centre, Hertfordshire, on 1 March 1980. According to Pointer, it was at this stage that the name was shortened to Marillion.Carol Clarke, "Marillion In Words & Pictures" (1985)
Other sources have that the band name was shortened to Marillion in 1981 to avoid potential copyright conflicts, at the same time as singer 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. The line-up of Rothery, Pointer, Jelliman, Fish, and Minnitt performed their first gig at the Red Lion Pub at 35 Market Square in Bicester on 14 March 1981. Many years after his departure from Marillion, Irvine eventually joined the band Steam Shed.
By the end of 1981, Mark Kelly had replaced Jelliman on keyboards, with Pete Trewavas replacing Minnitt on bass in 1982. Minnitt later formed Pride of Passion"Record News", Sounds, 14 December 1985, p. 6 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'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 radio session for the Friday Rock Show. They were subsequently signed by EMI Records. They released their first single, "Market Square Heroes", in 1982, with the 17-minute epic "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, was born out of the intensive performances of the previous years. Featuring a dark progressive rock sound, the album was a commercial success, peaking at No. 7 on the UK album chart and producing the singles "He Knows You Know" (No. 35) and "Garden Party" (No. 16). Although they were accused of being Genesis soundalikes, the album reached the Platinum certification and has been credited with giving a second life to progressive rock bands from the previous era.
In April 1983, 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. Over the next six months, three drummers passed through the band - original Camel drummer Andy Ward, followed by John 'Martyr' Marter and Jonathan Mover - before Ian Mosley, who had played for acts including Darryl Way's Wolf, Trace, Gordon Giltrap, and Steve Hackett, was secured in October 1983. Despite being beset by production problems, the band's second album Fugazi, released in early 1984, built upon the success of Script for a Jester's Tear, with a more streamlined hard rock sound. It improved on the chart placing of its predecessor by reaching the Top 5 and produced the singles "Punch and Judy" (No. 29) and "Assassing" (No. 22).
In November 1984, Marillion 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. Real to Reel 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, which had a more mainstream sound. The lead single from the album, "Kayleigh", received major promotion by EMI and gained heavy rotation on BBC Radio 1 and Independent Local Radio stations as well as television appearances, bringing the band to the attention of a much wider audience. "Kayleigh" reached No. 2 in the UK and "Lavender" reached No. 5; these remain the only singles by the band to enter the Top 5.
Following the exposure given to "Kayleigh" and its subsequent chart success, the album became their only No. 1 in the UK, knocking Bryan Ferry's Boys and Girls off the top spot and holding off a challenge from Sting, whose first solo album, The Dream of the Blue Turtles, entered the chart in the same week. The third single from the album, "Heart of Lothian", became another Top 30 hit for the band, reaching No. 29. The album came sixth in Kerrang! 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 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" charted at No. 6 in the UK, gaining the band an appearance on Top of the Pops, and the album entered the UK album chart at No. 2. "Sugar Mice" and "Warm Wet Circles" 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! 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 made the decision to leave the group after this tour, explaining his reasons for departing in a 2003 interview:
"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."Edinburgh Evening News, 29 May 2003.
Fish gave the band a choice to continue with either him or the manager, John Arnison. They sided with the manager and Fish left for a solo career. His last live performance with Marillion was at Craigtoun Country Park on 23 July 1988. The band's final album with Fish was a second live album, The Thieving Magpie, released in late 1988.
Aftermath Owing to lengthy legal battles, informal contact between Fish and the other four band members apparently did not resume until 1999. Fish would disclose in the liner notes to the remastered edition of Clutching at Straws that he and his former bandmates had met up, discussed the demise of the band and renewed their friendship. They 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. 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 bandmates, and Kelly, Mosley, Rothery, and Trewavas replaced Fish's backing band for an emotional encore of "Market Square Heroes".