Equal parts Genesis, Electric Light Orchestra, Moody Blues, Pink Floyd, and Queen with enough twists and turns to keep it interesting, Marillion is a lushly orchestrated music machine that has been cranking out professional, gorgeous music for over 3 decades.

Original core members were Mick Pointer and Steve Rothery formed .Marillion in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England in 1979 as Silmarillion, after J.R.R. Tolkien’s book of the same name. As the band’s popularity grew, the name was shortened to avoid any potential lawsuits. Front man Fish and bassist Diz Minnett joined also joined about the same time.

Over the decades, Marillion went through several personnel shifts, but the major change came in late 1988 when Fish departed and was replaced by Steve Hogarth. It ended up being a successful match-up, with the band going on to release another twelve albums for a whopping total of sixteen. Fans who have had the pleasure of listening to Marillion over the years are not only fiercely loyal, they are perplexed as to why the band did not enjoy the wild success that their influential contemporaries did. They definitely had the polish, talent, and tenacity to become worldwide household names.

According to Wikipedia:

The core lineup 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 critical and commercial success with a string of UK Top Ten hits spanning their career, an estimated fifteen million total worldwide album sales and even an entry into the Guinness Book of World Records.

It’s not easy to define Marillion’s style and sound, other than big and beautiful. They have tended to evolve from LP to LP, keeping their sound fresh and contemporary. They have also maintained their most recent popularity by leveraging use of the Internet. For whatever reason, no matter how hard they have tried to prove themselves, Marillion was not well-received by the media. Despite that, they have outlived many of their contemporaries, and continue to be a strong and vital musical presence to this day.

Visit Marillion’s official site.

View the entire Marillion discography here.

Purchase Marillion music here.

“Lavender” via YouTube user Francescodraghi1989:

“Beautiful” via YouTube user tonijua73:

“Out Of This World” via YouTube user AmarokUK:

“These Chains” via YouTube user cannibalsurfboy:

“Sympathy” via YouTube user WallPinkPulse: