Marillion Tickets

Short Biography
Marillion are one of the UK music scene's best kept secrets; purveyors of soulful, powerful, and often deeply-moving music, with a long-standing reputation for blistering live shows which have earned them an impressive and faithful global fanbase.

Steve "h" Hogarth fronts the band (original lead-singer, "Fish", having departed in 1988).and brought a new heart and energy to the band when arriving in 1989 and becoming lead-vocal/lyricist.Predictions of doom were swiftly dispelled, as across a further TWELVE albums, Hogarth - along with existing members Steve Rothery (guitar), Mark Kelly(keyboards), Pete Trewavas (bass), and Ian Mosley (drums) - reinvigorated and constantly red...

Short Biography
Marillion are one of the UK music scene's best kept secrets; purveyors of soulful, powerful, and often deeply-moving music, with a long-standing reputation for blistering live shows which have earned them an impressive and faithful global fanbase.

Steve "h" Hogarth fronts the band (original lead-singer, "Fish", having departed in 1988).and brought a new heart and energy to the band when arriving in 1989 and becoming lead-vocal/lyricist.Predictions of doom were swiftly dispelled, as across a further TWELVE albums, Hogarth - along with existing members Steve Rothery (guitar), Mark Kelly(keyboards), Pete Trewavas (bass), and Ian Mosley (drums) - reinvigorated and constantly redefined Marillion's sound. They forged into new musical territories with a succession of inventive, emotional albums, displaying little regard to the vagaries of the musical "Fashion Police", or radio playlists. The line-up remains unchanged to this day.After the release of 1999's ‘marillion.com' the band banished the spectre of record company pressure once and for all by launching their own record label (the aptly-named Intact imprint) and freeing themselves up to produce some of the finest music of their career.

Thanks to their much lauded (and much copied) pioneering Internet-based rock n'roll business model, Marillion have developed a unique and intimate relationship with their fans. From sponsoring entire tours of the USA to funding the recording of recent albums, Marillion's global fan-base is unique in its affection and dedication.

As a result, such passionate, wholesale support has allowed Marillion to step outside of the conventional music industry and find their own path.In 2001 ‘Anoraknophobia' saw Marillion take the groundbreaking step of asking fans to pre-order an album 12 months before release. An amazing 12,000 people signed up, helping to finance the recording. The band once again took pre-orders for the 2004 masterpiece ‘Marbles,' but this time the money was channelled into a campaign fund to promote its launch.

When singles ‘Don't Hurt Yourself' and ‘You're Gone‘ breached the UK top 20 - the latter making it all the way to number 7 - jaws dropped right across the music world.

Not bad going for a band without major label backing.But it was merely the latest twist in the history of a group who have held on to the conviction that what they're doing MEANS something more than entertainment or selling records.

The band has evolved into a vibrant musical force - to those who already love Marillion, they're something special; to everyone else they're a love affair waiting to happen. 

During 2012 the band will be continuing the writing and recording of the new (yet to be titled) 17th studio album which will be released late in the year and performing a string of gigs in North and South America and all over Europe.

In-depth Biography
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, Rovi