Marillion

Marillion first appeared in a recognisable form in early 1982, when the line-up of Fish (vocals), Steve Rothery (guitar), Mark Kelly (keyboards), Pete Trewavas (bass) and Mick Pointer (drummer) began exhaustively touring around the Aylesbury and London area. The combination of imaginative, enthralling music and image-filled lyrics soon found favour amongst their expanding fan base and journalists who had tired of some of the more formulaic music that dogged the live scene of the time. Several sold out nights at the legendary Marquee Club forced the record labels to recognise the impact of their music and a deal with EMI was quickly signed.

The release of such classic albums as Script For A Jester’s Tear (1983) and Fugazi (1984) bolstered their reputation, and their lineup was further strengthened when drummer Ian Mosley replaced Pointer in 1984. Misplaced Childhood followed in 1985 (which included the hit singles "Kayleigh" and "Lavender") and promptly hit the coveted number one slot. But, following the tour to support 1987's Clutching At Straws, Fish suddenly and unexpectedly quit the band to pursue a solo career. He was replaced by the equally imposing figure of Steve Hogarth, whose input helped to freshen and augment their sound.

The resulting albums of Season’s End (1989), Holidays In Eden (1991), Brave (1994), Afraid Of Sunlight (1995), This Strange Engine (1997), and Radiation (1998) proved Marillion’s continued determination to release inventive and emotional music, irrespective of whether their music was picked up by radio stations or made an impact on the charts.

By 1997, Marillion had realised that the Internet provided an ideal opportunity to nurture a closer contact with the fans, and a fan-instigated whip round on their e-mailing list produced enough funds to allow the band to tour the USA. The release of the album Marillion.com in 1999 flagged their newly launched website and record label, but it was the revolutionary concept of asking their fans to pre-order and pay for the recording costs of an album some 12 months in advance of its release that hit the headlines in 2001. Astonishingly, over 12,000 of their fans pre-ordered and an additional deal was struck with EMI to market the resulting Anoraknophobia album. A similar campaign was also launched to fund the band’s latest release, Marbles, but this time all the money raised is going into a campaign fund to promote the album. In terms of fan loyalty, it can be said that Marillion have an international underground following to rival the mainstream.

Their new album Marbles is a CD packed full of atmospheric and stirring songs. Intense, deep-seated and musically rewarding - you'll either "get it" or you won't!

Marillion emerged from the short-lived progressive rock revival of the early '80s to become one of the most enduring cult acts of the era. The group formed in Aylesbury, England, in 1979, and adopted its original name, Silmarillion, from the title of a J.R.R. Tolkien novel. Initially, Marillion were comprised of guitarist Steve Rothery, bassist Doug Irvine, keyboardist Brian Jelliman, and drummer Mick Pointer, but after recording "The Web," an instrumental demo, they recruited vocalist Fish (born Derek Dick) and bassist Diz Minnitt. Prior to recording their debut single, "Market Square Heroes," keyboardist Mark Kelly and bassist Pete Trewavas replaced Jelliman and Minnitt.

Marillion issued their debut album, Script for a Jester's Tear, in 1983, and on the strength of a relentless touring schedule they won a loyal following. With new drummer Ian Mosley (formerly of Curved Air) firmly in place, they returned to the studio for 1984's Fugazi, which streamlined the intricacies of the group's prog rock leanings in favor of a more straight-ahead hard rock identity; the refinements paid off, and both "Assassin" and "Punch and Judy" became British hits. With 1985's Misplaced Childhood, an elaborate conceptual album reflecting Fish's formative experiences, Marillion earned their greatest success to date; the lush ballad "Kayleigh" reached the number two position on the U.K. charts, and became a hit in the U.S. as well. The follow-up, "Lavender," was also a smash, but the group began crumbling: Fish developed alcohol and drug problems, and egos ran rampant. After 1987's Clutching at Straws (and the 1988 live effort The Thieving Magpie), Fish left the band for a solo career.

The initial release of post-Fish Marillion did not substantially alter the sound the band had displayed on Misplaced Childhood and Clutching at Straws. The addition of lyricist John Helmer and lyricist/vocalist Steve Hogarth came after the band had developed much of the musical material for Season's End, and few alterations in style were made. The follow-up, Holidays in Eden, was intended as a more mainstream rock album but failed to attract a wider audience. Marillion's record label, EMI, gave the band a higher budget for the next album and the result of 15 months labor was Brave, a concept album that mixed classic symphonic progressive rock with standard rock. The following release, Afraid of Sunlight, considerably altered the band's approach with great success -- it is the most consistent Marillion release to date.

Following Afraid of Sunlight, the bandmembers split up briefly to record side projects. Hogarth released Ice Cream Genius under the name H, Rothery formed the Wishing Tree (which produced Carnival of Souls), and Mosley and Trewavas joined Iris for Crossing the Desert. The Rothery and Hogarth projects were both very acoustic in nature, and when the band re-formed for This Strange Engine in 1997, Marillion's style changed again to a softer sound.

After the release of This Strange Engine, Marillion scheduled a European tour, but keyboardist Kelly posted an Internet message stating that the band would not tour the United States due to a lack of record company support. Fans of the band worldwide joined forces to raise over $60,000 to underwrite the tour, and the band undertook its largest North American tour since Holidays in Eden. In 1998, the band returned to the studio to record its tenth album, Radiation. Again changing styles, the effort showed the influences of the Beatles and Radiohead, specifically OK Computer. Marillion.com followed in 1999, and the 2000s have thus far seen the release of two additional studio albums, 2001's Anoraknophobia and 2004's Marbles, the latter displaying the influences of both U2 and Pink Floyd. ~ Jason Ankeny & Dale Jensen, All Music Guide