Concerning Marillion: A Legacy

This week, we celebrate the 30-year legacy of British progressive rockers Marillion, a band with an insanely loyal fanbase (that call themselves "Freaks") and an almost total lack of success in the North American market.

• Ask a New York music fan what he thinks of Marillion, and they'll probably remember the band getting booed off the stage at Radio City Music Hall (in 1982) by a force of notoriously intolerant Rush fans.
  
• Ask if they've heard anything recorded by the band since the departure of vocalist Fish: the answer is usually "They're still around?"
  
• Ask if they've heard any of Fish's thirteen solo records: they'll probably think you're talking about a jam band from Vermont.
  

Such is life. However, a better way of life can be found in the remarkable spread of 16 studio records, including the band's latest release Less Is More and a bevy of live DVDs chronicling several different eras in the history of the little band from Aylesbury. However, before we get to the reviews (and oh yes, there are reviews coming) some history.


Marillion, circa 1982. (l.r.: Mark Kelly, Steve Rothery, Fish, Mick Pointer, Pete Trewavas)
Guitarist Steve Rothery founded the band in 1979 as Silmarillion, part of a second generation of British progressive rock groups that appeared right around the time the first prog wave discovered four-minute singles, MTV and Armani. As the '80s dawned, Yes gave way to Asia and Genesis replaced Peter Gabriel with Phil Collins. Starting in British clubs and later theaters, Marillion found an audience with their complex ten-minute songs, the wild, yet commanding stage presence of 6'5" Scottish lead singer Fish, and the powerhouse trio of Rothery, bassist Pete Trewavas, and keyboardist Mark Kelly. Drummer Ian Mosely joined in 1983, finalizing the lineup a. Their third album, Misplaced Childhood was a cocktail of Fish's childhood memories and his shattered love life, triggered by an acid trip. It spawned two huge hits: "Kayleigh" and "Lavender."

Marilion hit the rocks following the 1987 tour for Clutching At Straws, a complex, dark record dealing with the horrors of Fish's alcoholism. The burly singer quit during sessions for the fifth record, and was ultimately replaced by singer Steve Hogarth, formerly of Europeans. Starting with Season's End, the Hogarth version of the band has evolved and changed from album to album. The poppy Holidays in Eden was followed by the epic Brave. Afraid of Sunlight dealt with celebrity, featuring character studies of O.J. Simpson, Kurt Cobain and Elvis Presley, among others.


Marillion, circa 2009. (l.r.: Mark Kelly, Ian Mosely, Steve Hogarthm Steve Rothery, Pete Trewavas)

In the 21st century, the band grew even closer with its fanbase. 12,764 fans ordered advance copies of 2001's Anoraknophobia--before the album was recorded! (In gratitude, our names appear in the album booklet). The band took a similar approach with two recent double albums: Marbles and Happiness Is The Road. Marillion have absorbed many influences, played many shows, staged six successful Marillion Weekend conventions, and have served as sort of spiritual godfathers to experimental British bands like Radiohead and Porcupine Tree.

Twenty years after Fish's departure, Marillion fans remain divided as to their choice of singer. Steve Hogarth has been with the band through eleven albums, three record labels, and many ups and downs. He is the face and voice of Marillion, yet many old-school fans long for the old days with Fish. Fish, on the other hand, has a successful solo career--he has released 13 studio albums and tours Europe frequently. Neither camp has ever really cracked the American market, but both have done short, occasional tours, playing to packed houses full of hungry Marillion fans who want every show to end with "Easter" and "Garden Party."

OK. Now you know who Marillion are, so now I can write about them properly in the next couple of posts.

All the best freaks are here.

The anoraks, too.