| B i o g r a p h y |
Marillion first appeared in a recognisable form in early 1982, when the line-up of Fish - aka. Derek W. Dick (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!
Official Site: www.marillion.com