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.
Derek William Dick, better known by his stage name Fish, is a Scottish singer, songwriter and occasional actor. He was the lead singer and lyricist of the neo-prog band Marillion from 1981 until 1988. He released 11 UK Top 40 singles with the band, including the Top Ten singles "Kayleigh", "Lavender" and "Incommunicado", and five Top Ten albums, including a number one with Misplaced Childhood. In his solo career, Fish explored contemporary pop and traditional folk, and released a further five Top 40 singles and a Top 10 album.
Michael Pointer is an English drummer. He is known for his work in the neo-prog bands Marillion and Arena.
Fugazi is the second studio album by the British neo-prog band Marillion, released in 1984. Produced by Nick Tauber, it was recorded between November 1983 and February 1984 at various studios and was the first to feature drummer Ian Mosley, following the dismissal of the band's original drummer Mick Pointer.
Script for a Jester's Tear is the debut studio album by British neo-prog band Marillion, released in the United Kingdom on 14 March 1983 by EMI Records. The album reached number seven and spent 31 weeks in the UK Albums Chart, eventually achieving a platinum certificate, and produced the top 40 single "He Knows You Know" and the top 20 single "Garden Party".
"Market Square Heroes" is the debut single by the British neo-prog band Marillion, released in October 1982 with "Three Boats Down from the Candy" as the B-side. The 12-inch single included an additional track, the 17:15-minute-long "Grendel".
Mark Wilkinson is an English illustrator. He is best known for the detailed surrealistic cover art he created for a number of British bands.
Seasons End is the fifth studio album by British neo-prog band Marillion, released in 1989. The album was the first to feature current lead vocalist Steve Hogarth, following the departure of former vocalist Fish in late 1988. It reached number 7 on the UK Albums Chart.
Best of Both Worlds is a two-disc compilation album by British neo-prog band Marillion released in 1997 by EMI Records, who the band had been signed to from their debut in 1982 until being dropped in 1995. The title refers to Marillion's two distinct "eras" with lead singers Fish (1980—1988) and Steve Hogarth. By the time this compilation was released, both line-ups had recorded four studio albums each. The second best-of since the 14-track one-disc compilation A Singles Collection from 1992, this one additionally contains material from Brave (1994) and Afraid of Sunlight (1996). Two different covers were created for the compilation, one by Mark Wilkinson, who had worked for the band during the Fish years, and one by Bill Smith Studio, who took over after Fish's and Wilkinson's departure. The booklet was printed so that either of the covers could be displayed in the jewel case according to personal preference. The track list, comprising 29 songs, was put together by Lucy Jordache, then the manager responsible for the band in EMI, in close collaboration with the band's fans' mailing list, "Freaks". Jordache also motivated singers Fish and Hogarth to contribute liner notes—at a time when both camps were not yet on friendly terms again—by telling each of them the other had already agreed to do so.
B'Sides Themselves is a compilation of single B-sides by the British neo-prog band Marillion, which was released on CD only in January 1988. This was the first time that those B-sides were made available in the then still relatively new Compact Disc format. However, vinyl LP and cassette versions were issued in June 1988.
The Thieving Magpie (La Gazza Ladra) is a double live album by the British neo-prog band Marillion. It was named after the introductory piece of classical music the band used before coming on stage during the Clutching at Straws tour 1987–1988, the overture to Rossini's opera La gazza ladra, which translates as "The Thieving Magpie". The album was released shortly after singer Fish's departure from the band (and before Steve Hogarth's arrival) and was intended to document the "Fish years". It complements the band's first live album Real to Reel insofar as there are no overlaps. The Thieving Magpie is not a continuous live recording, but a compilation of tracks recorded at different times and places, with audible gaps between them and different moods on the individual tracks. However, the double vinyl version does include the first side of the UK number one concept album Misplaced Childhood (1985). The CD and cassette version includes the full album, as well as the track "Freaks" – originally the b-side to "Lavender", it was used as the lead single for The Thieving Magpie peaking at no. 18 in the UK.
"He Knows You Know" is a song by the British neo-prog band Marillion. It was their second single, with "Charting the Single" as the B-side. It was released from their first album, Script for a Jester's Tear, and peaked at number 35 on the UK Singles Chart. The song's theme is drug abuse, and alludes particularly to intravenous drug use. In concert, lead vocalist Fish would often introduce it as "The Drug Song" and state that it was inspired by drug use while he was working at the Job/Benefits centre in Aylesbury.
"Garden Party (The Great Cucumber Massacre)" is a song by the British neo-prog band Marillion. It was the second single released from their debut album Script for a Jester's Tear. It reached number 16 in the UK Singles Chart in 1983, the band's biggest singles chart success prior to 1985. The song is a parody of social elitism and snobbery. The B-side is a live version of "Margaret" (recorded at Edinburgh Playhouse, 7 April 1983). The 12" single includes a live version of "Charting The Single" (recorded at Hammersmith Odeon, 18 April 1983).
Real to Reel is the first live album by the British neo-prog band Marillion, released in November 1984. It was co-produced by Simon Hanhart who had mixed the first two studio albums and co-produced the studio version of "Cinderella Search".
Brief Encounter is a compilation EP by the British neo-prog band Marillion. It contains two studio and three live tracks that EMI's American label Capitol Records released there in 1986, coinciding with the band's tour of the U.S. and Canada that year.
This is the discography of the British rock band Marillion. Mostly associated with the progressive rock genre, they emerged as the most successful band of its second wave, neo-prog, but they have also achieved over 20 UK Top 40 singles, including four which reached the Top 10. They have released nine albums which reached the Top 10 of the UK Albums Chart. Their discography includes two albums which have been Platinum-certified by the British Phonographic Industry and five which have achieved Gold status, all of which were released during their commercial peak in the 1980s.
Live from Loreley is a live album by the British neo-prog band Marillion, recorded at a concert at the Freilichtbühne Loreley Loreley, St. Goarshausen, Germany on 18 July 1987. The recording, made during the first leg of the 1987 Clutching at Straws tour, documents the band at the peak of their commercial success in the 1980s when they had original frontman Fish on vocals. The show was attended by an audience of 20,000; support acts were Magnum, The Cult (cancelled), and It Bites. It comprises songs from the four studio albums they released up to that point, i.e. Script for a Jester's Tear (1983), Fugazi (1984), Misplaced Childhood (1985), and Clutching at Straws (1987). The non-album debut single "Market Square Heroes" is also included.
Early Stages is a box set containing live recordings of Marillion with their former singer Fish. The recordings were made by the BBC for radio broadcast, and are from five concerts performed by the band in the UK between 1982 and 1987. The packaging was designed by Mark Wilkinson, who had designed all Marillion covers of the 1980s and went on to work with Fish after his departure. The set was released to retail by EMI on 17 November 2008.
The Singles '82–88' is a three-CD box set containing the first twelve singles by the British neo-prog band Marillion, all from the period they were fronted by Fish. It was released by EMI Records on 16 October 2009. The musical contents is identical to the 2000 box set of the same title, which contained 12 individually packaged CD singles in "replica" mini-slip covers, each with the original cover art by Mark Wilkinson. This set re-uses a part of Wilkinson's contribution to the 1995 compilation The Best of Both Worlds for its front cover.
"Welcome to the ‚Garden Party‘" is a 1986 single by British neo-prog band Marillion released exclusively in West Germany to accompany a series of concerts the band played at festivals in that country as second bill to Queen, following their commercial breakthrough with the album Misplaced Childhood and the hit singles "Kayleigh" and "Lavender" the year before. The single was released on 7" and 12" vinyl; neither version contained any new or previously unreleased material. The 7" and 12" versions contained completely different recordings from each other. The A-side, "Garden Party", originally the second single from the band's debut album, Script for a Jester's Tear, had reached #16 on the UK Singles Chart in 1983, but—like all Marillion singles before "Kayleigh"—had failed to chart in Germany. However, the single received little airplay and failed to enter the German top 100.
