Marillion (prog rock / UK)

Marillion are a British rock band, formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England, in 1979. Their recorded studio output since 1982 is composed of seventeen albums generally regarded in two distinct eras, delineated by the departure of original frontman Fish in late 1988, and the subsequent arrival of replacement Steve Hogarth in early 1989. All four albums released with Fish were commercial successes, and the band released eleven Top 40 hits on the UK Singles Chart, including 1985's "Kayleigh", which reached No. 2 and became their biggest hit single.


The core line-up of Steve Rothery (lead guitar, and the sole 'pre-Fish' original member), Pete Trewavas (bass), Mark Kelly (keyboards) and Ian Mosley (drums) has been unchanged since 1984. The band has enjoyed commercial success with 23 UK Top 40 hits spanning their career and 14 million albums sold by 2000.
Marillion's music has changed stylistically throughout their career. The band themselves stated that each new album tends to represent a reaction to the preceding one, and for this reason their output is difficult to 'pigeonhole'. Their original sound (with Fish on vocals) is best described as guitar and keyboard led progressive rock or "neo-prog", and would be sometimes compared with Gabriel-era Genesis.

More recently, their sound has been compared, on successive albums, to that of Radiohead, Massive Attack, Keane, Crowded House, The Blue Nile and Talk Talk, although not consistently comparable sonically with any of these acts. The band themselves in 2007, tongue-in-cheek, described their own output merely as: "Songs about Death and Water since 1979..."


Formation and early years (1979–1982):

Marillion was formed in 1979 as Silmarillion, after J.R.R. Tolkien's book The Silmarillion, by Mick Pointer, Steve Rothery, and others. They played their first gig at Berkhamsted Civic Centre, Hertfordshire, on 1 March 1980.
The band name was shortened to Marillion in 1981 to avoid potential copyright conflicts at the same time as Fish and bassist Diz Minnett joined after an audition at Leyland Farm Studios in Buckinghamshire on 2 January 1981. Rothery and keyboardist Brian Jelliman completed the first line-up; the first gig with this line-up was at the Red Lion Pub in Bicester, Oxfordshire, on 14 March 1981. By the end of 1981, Kelly had replaced Jelliman, with Trewavas replacing Minnett in 1982.
The early works of Marillion contained Fish's poetic and introspective lyrics melded with a complex and subtle musical tapestry to create a sound that reflected the band's influences, notably Queen, early Genesis, Pink Floyd, Van der Graaf Generator, Rush (specifically from the late 1970s), and Yes. Marillion's first recording was a 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 three-track session for the Friday Rock Show (early versions of "The Web", "Three Boats Down from The Candy", and "Forgotten Sons") and were subsequently signed by EMI. They released their first single, "Market Square Heroes", in 1982, with the epic song "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 gigging of the previous years. Although it had some progressive rock stylings, it also had a darker edge, suggested by the bedsit squalour on the album's cover. During the tour to promote Script for a Jester's Tear, Mick Pointer was dismissed from the band. The second album, Fugazi, built upon the success of the first album with a more electronic sound and produced the single 'Assassing', although the band encountered numerous production problems.


Script for a Jester's Tear (1983) Full Album: https://youtu.be/UXeTcpskPi4 

Current members:

Steve Rothery – electric guitars, acoustic guitars (1979–present)
Mark Kelly – keyboards, samples and effects, backing vocals, programming (1981–present)
Pete Trewavas – bass guitars, backing vocals, additional guitars, samples and effects (1982–present)
Ian Mosley – drums, percussion (1984–present)
Steve Hogarth (aka "h") – lead vocals, lyrics, keyboards, guitars, percussion (1989–present)

Former members:

Mick Pointer – drums (1979–1983)
Brian Jelliman – keyboards (1979–1981)
Doug 'Rastus' Irvine – bass guitars, lead vocals (1979–1980)
Fish (Derek W. Dick) – lead vocals, lyrics, percussion (1981–1988)
Diz Minnitt – bass guitars (1981–1982)
Andy Ward – drums, percussion (1983)
John Marter (aka Martyr) – drums (1983)
Jonathan Mover – drums (1983)



Read more about the band: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marillion & 

Discography: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marillion_discography