Marillion
The band get ready to put some wind in their sails and add more strings to their bow.
Marillion’s 2017 show at the Royal Albert Hall in London was the fastest-selling gig in the band’s then-37-year career. Guitarist Steve Rothery sets the scene for a pair of return visits to the same legendary venue.
Why is this thirteen-date tour being billed as Marillion With Friends From The Orchestra? Well, we’re working again with the same additional musicians from last time at the Royal Albert Hall, a string quartet and two wind players. It’s a semiorchestral addition to what we do, but not a fullblown symphonic show.
How does the addition of the strings, a French horn player and a flautist change the dynamic of the performance? The textures of those songs are altered, but it’s hard to describe. I usually point people towards the YouTube of the last gig at the Albert Hall, or maybe to the DVD that was released [All One Tonight]. I suppose the bottom line is that there’s even more light and shade.
This time you’re playing just two nights at the Royal Albert Hall. The last show you did there sold out amazingly quickly. Yeah, all of the tickets went in five minutes. And as the DVD reflects, that show was among the very best that we’ve ever done. This being singer Steve Hogarth’s thirtieth anniversary year with the band, will the set include material from the albums recorded with Steve, with no Fish-era songs? With the orchestral arrangements in mind, we haven’t yet decided upon any of those details. The strange thing is that besides Steve’s thirtieth anniversary with Marillion it’s also my own fortieth year in the band. That’s pretty amazing to consider.
Talking in Classic Rock, Steve Hogarth claimed credit for “flying that banner” of a Marillion gig at the RAH, adding: “The other guys just didn’t get why I was so passionate about the idea.” Yeah, that’s true. Steve had had a bee in his bonnet about it for quite a while. What we didn’t anticipate was how much it would mean to the fans. From the moment we walked on stage, the energy and passion they put out was just incredible.
Back when Steve joined, could you ever have foreseen the band surviving the ups and downs that have taken you to where you are in 2019? No. Bands just look to their next record. To still be doing this so many years later is quite surreal.
Upon joining, Steve Hogarth said: “Throughout the history of rock, every band has sold themselves on their sexuality. With the exception of Marillion.”
Yeah, but sex appeal and being fashionable don’t last forever. All of those things – along with hairlines – dwindle with advancing years. It’s all about the passion in the music, and that’s one of the reasons we are still able to earn a living from doing this. Which makes us extremely grateful.
After an impressive three decades of line-up consistency, if somebody were to leave now would that spell the end of the band? I honestly can’t say for sure. I don’t think any of us are planning on walking away just yet. There’s something unique about the five of us working together – it’s what we are. Retirement really isn’t on the agenda, and whatever difficulties life may throw at us I’m sure we are all determined to find a way of carrying on.
How far down the line are you with a follow-up to 2016’s Fuck Everyone And Run (FEAR)? Oh, we’re a while away. This is a band that works slowly. We’re still jamming and cataloguing ideas, and we’ve put aside much of next year for writing and recording, with a view to a release in 2021.
Marillion’s tour begins in Liverpool on November 1.