Kayleigh

Released by Disky Communications Europe B.V.: 27-MAY-96

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Marillion's eight golden years with Fish as their frontman ended in 1988, after the group and their charismatic vocalist had disagreed over plans for future progress. Since that split, neither he nor they has achieved the commercial success they enjoyed together, seemingly making this a perfect example of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts - the magic and chemistry which existed when he and they were together largely evaporated when they separated. The roots of Marillion were in Silmarillion, an instrumental group from Aylesbury, who took their name from the fantasy story by Tolkien, creator of 'The Hobbit'. The only early members of the group to survive the five years until 1982 when the group signed to EMI Records were drummer Mick Pointer and guitarist Steve Rothery, as various personnel changes occurred in 1979, the year when the band shortened its name to Marillion, and 1980, but the crucial recruitment was of Scottish singer and lyricist Derek Dick in 1981. He had been in various bands after working for the Forestry Commission, and he and his friend Diz Minnitt answered an advertisement in a magazine for a bass player and vocalist. Dick, nicknamed Fish, auditioned for the job of vocalist by singing along to a Genesis LP, and sounding convincingly like Peter Gabriel, and both he and Minnitt joined the band.

By the time Marillion signed with EMI in the autumn of 1982, there had been even more personnel changes, and the line-up which recorded the group's debut hit single, 'Market Square Heroes', was Fish (vocals), Steve Rothery (guitar), Mark Kelly (keyboards, who was born in Dublin), Peter Trewavas (bass) and Nick Pointer (drums, and the only survivor from the group's early days). The B-side of the 12'' version of that single, ,Grendel', is the earliest recording on this retrospective col- lection. The next single was 'He Knows You Know', which became the group's first UK Top 40 hit, and was also included on the group's debut LP, 'Script For A Jester's Tear', which reached the Top 10 of the UK album chart in the spring of 1983. Soon after its release, Pointer was replaced by Andy Ward (ex-Camel), leaving Rothery as the final survivor of the Silmarillion days. The first single of 1984 was 'Punch And Judy', which was a UK Top 30 hit, and along with 'Jigsaw', was also included on the group's second album. 'Fugazi', which reached the Top 5 of the UK chart that year. The next single, 'Assassing', was also released in a 12'' version with 'Cinderella Search' as its B-side, and the group's next album, 'Real To Reel', was recorded live and designed to combat the fast-growing num- ber of bootleg recordings which testified that Marillion had become a very popular band indeed. 1985 was the group's biggest year, with a UK Number One album, 'Misplaced Childhood', which also became by far their biggest hit in America, peaking inside the US Top 50, and featured three UK hits, including 'Kayleigh' (their first UK Top 3 single and their first US chart single), and 'Lavender', which made the UK Top 5. Both tracks are included here, along with 'Lady Nina', the B-side of 'Kayleigh'. 1986 found the band headlining concerts on both sides of the Atlantic, and Fish working with Tony Banks of Genesis on a minor hit single. All this activity left little time for Marillion to return to the recording studio, and it was a year which brought no new releases. 1987 finally produced 'Clutching At Straws', Marillion's second consecutive UK Top 3 album, which included 'Torch Song' along with three more hit singles, and also reached the US album chart. However, by the middle of 1988, after the release of a compilation of rarities and tracks which had only appeared as singles, , 'B-Sides Themselves' (which included 'Grendel', 'Cinderella Search' and 'Lady Nina'), it was no secret that Fish was unhappy with the group's direction, and in the autumn of 1988, he left for a solo career, efectively ending the period which had seen the group rise from 'Market Square Heroes' in Aylesbury to internationally acclaimed hit- makers.

The group recruited a new vocalist, but from a commercial viewpoint, and while their records still charted, the magic had left with Fish, who started his solo career with a UK Top 5 album, but was then involved in a major disagreement which led to him changing record labels - eventually, he launched his own independent label, and is no doubt now in complete command of his own destiny. This collection assembles many of the highlights from the period when Marillion were one of the fastest-rising bands in the world, before an internal conflict tore them apart -
they were a fine band, as this album demonstrates.


John Phillips, 1996

Tracks licenced from EMI Int. Records Ltd.
(p) & © 1996 Disky Communications Europe B.V.
Marketed and distributed by Disky Communications Europe B.V.
Verlengde Lageweg 19, 1628 PM Hoorn, The Netherlands.
Cover disign: Van Dijken Enschede.
Printed in Holland

Copyright © 1996, 2000 Bert ter Steege.
Last Modified: 30 Oct 2001