1983

First TV Appearance

• January1 Show

  • Info

    • Express And Star, 08.01.1983: Fish Nets Fame Over The Border
    • MS London, 24.01.1983: Fishy Story by Sarah Gristwood

  • 21.01.1983 – New Broadcasting House, Manchester (Oxford Road Show)

    He Knows You Know (Live)

    • The only TV appearance with original Marillion drummer Mick Pointer
    • Unknown recording date, aired 21.01.1983 by BBC 2

    • Line-up

      Mick Pointer – Drums
      Steve Rothery – Guitar
      Fish – Vocals
      Mark Kelly – Keyboards
      Pete Trewavas – Bass, Backing Vocals

  • 31.01.1983 – He Knows You Know (Single/Maxi)

    • He Knows You Know released by EMI Records
    • Tapecase from Marquee Studios – 23.12.1982

    Marillion/Separated Out – The Complete History 1979-2002

    Before the release of Script For A Jester’s Tear, EMI planned a second single as a taster, this time to be taken from the album. The single was He Knows You Know, with the initial idea for the cover coming primarily from Mark Kelly. Mark Wilkinson was brought back to do the artwork, getting a chance to meet with the band for the first time. He recalls, “I’d heard the first single by then, it sounded tinny on the radio and the vocals were trebly and light, so I assumed the singer was a small guy!” Little did he know, as his first meeting with Fish illustrated, “Wearing a leather tasselled jacket, boots with strides tucked in, clanking silverware, studiously positioned kerchiefs hanging every-which-way, every inch the perfect model of the perfect Scottish rock star. He was huge in every way, exuded bonhomie, and grabbed my hand to shake the bejeezus out of me!”

    With significant support from EMI, as anyone who can remember the massive posters will testify, He Knows You Know entered the UK charts at No.35 and was also released in the US, the first time that Marillion’s sound left the UK. It achieved instant recognition and a transatlantic fan base. “I was hooked on Marillion when I first heard He Knows You Know on KSHE-95,” remarks US fan John Chudy. “This was, at the time, the premier rock station in St Louis.” Oh, the advantages of major label backing!

    Not everyone liked it- of He Knows You Know, Edwin Pouncey in Sounds declared, “The pomposity on this record is astounding! Marillion think the Peter Gabriel incarnation of Genesis was shit hot, so much so that they feel compelled to hobble into a recording studio to transfer their necromantic urges to record.” Careful now, Edwin … you never know what might be around the corner!

    Poor Edwin was forced to eat his own words on 19th February 1983, when Sound‘s readers voted Marillion the Best New Act. In an interview in the same mag, Edwin assented to interview Fish and Mick, understandably hesitant as his previous reviews had been far from generous. In a later piece, Edwin admitted he didn’t have a clue what Gabriel-era Genesis sounded like. Sounds was not the only rag to recant on its opinions, as Fish remarked, “I can see we’re going to start getting hip now, the NME want to do us now! They’re apologizing practically for ignoring us, it’s hysterically funny: we’re going to make this unfashionable music become so sickeningly fashionable no one will believe it!”

    The Genesis comparisons may have filled column inches, but they didn’t fool anyone who had actually listened to the band. To admit influences was in no way unique to Marillion, besides which there was already a sound that was distinctly their own and a vocal and lyrical angst that was unmistakably Fish.
    (Jon Collins: Marillion/Separated Out – The Complete History 1979-2002)

Script Tour ’83 – Warm-Up

• February – March5 Shows

  • Info

    • January 1983: Marillion On The Move (report with tour dates)
    • January 1983: Fishy Business (report with tour dates)
    • January 1983: He Knows You Know (EMI advertising poster)
    • February 1983: He Knows You Know (ad with tour dates) – Thanks to Walter Dijkers
    • Sounds, 19.02.1983 – We Are The Lost Generation – Thanks to Walter Dijkers

  • 10.02.1983 – Winter Gardens, Cleethorpes (cancelled show)(canc.)

    • Ticket – Thanks to Marko’s Marillion Museum

  • 19.02.1983 – Loughborough University, Loughborough

    01 Script For A Jester’s Tear
    02 Garden Party
    03 Three Boats Down From The Candy
    04 The Web
    05 Chelsea Monday
    06 He Knows You Know
    07 Forgotten Sons
    08 Market Square Heroes
    09 Margaret

    • Flyer – Thanks to Andy Ravenscroft
    • Flyer – Thanks to Andy Ravenscroft
    • Concert Poster – Thanks to Andy Ravenscroft
    • "Pete Trewavas played the wrong intro for Three Boats… instead he played the intro to Chelsea Monday, so the song had to be restarted to the amusement of the rest of the band!! The first album was completed just the day before this gig"
      (Steve McNeish)
    • "For non-English fans, many bands working their way up the ladder would play universities and the Student’s Union would put on the show. A Rag Ball was a fundraiser for charity. Most Student’s Unions would have a week of fundraising called Rag and Charities and the “ball” was a gig where all the profits went to charities."
      (Andy Ravenscroft)

    • Line-up

      Mick Pointer – Drums
      Steve Rothery – Guitar
      Fish – Vocals
      Mark Kelly – Keyboards
      Pete Trewavas – Bass, Backing Vocals

  • 24.02.1983 – Eliot College (University Of Kent), Canterbury

    01 Script For A Jesters Tear
    02 Garden Party
    03 Three Boats Down From The Candy
    04 The Web
    05 Chelsea Monday
    06 He Knows You Know
    07 Forgotten Sons
    08 Market Square Heroes
    09 Margaret

    • Setlist by Mark Gregory
    • Review by Carl Mellors, taken from Incant (UKC student magazine) from March 1983 – Thanks to Mark Gregory

    "The price of this gig was £3.50, five times the price of the Keynes gig in November 1982!"
    (Mark Gregory)

    • Line-up

      Mick Pointer – Drums
      Steve Rothery – Guitar
      Fish – Vocals
      Mark Kelly – Keyboards
      Pete Trewavas – Bass, Backing Vocals

  • 25.02.1983 – Brunel Rooms, Swindon

    01 Script For A Jesters Tear
    02 Garden Party
    03 Three Boats Down From The Candy
    04 The Web
    05 Chelsea Monday
    06 He Knows You Know
    07 Forgotten Sons
    08 Market Square Heroes

    • Ad

    • Line-up

      Mick Pointer – Drums
      Steve Rothery – Guitar
      Fish – Vocals
      Mark Kelly – Keyboards
      Pete Trewavas – Bass, Backing Vocals

  • 26.02.1983 – Polytechnic, Plymouth

    01 Script For A Jester’s Tear
    02 Garden Party
    03 Three Boats Down From The Candy
    04 The Web
    05 Chelsea Monday
    06 He Knows You Know
    07 Forgotten Sons
    08 Market Square Heroes
    09 Margaret

    • Concert Poster – Thanks to Denis Thomas
    • Photo by Chris Puttock

    

    • Line-up

      Mick Pointer – Drums
      Steve Rothery – Guitar
      Fish – Vocals
      Mark Kelly – Keyboards
      Pete Trewavas – Bass, Backing Vocals

  • Info

    • 27.02.1983: Script For A Jester’s Tear (tape reel) – Thanks to Denis Thomas

  • 09.03.1983 – College, Chelsea

    01 Script For A Jester’s Tear
    02 Garden Party
    03 Three Boats Down From The Candy
    04 The Web
    05 Chelsea Monday
    06 He Knows You Know
    07 Forgotten Sons
    08 Market Square Heroes
    09 Margaret

    • Concert Poster – Thanks to Stuart Walsh
    • "A warm-up gig for Marillion at Chelsea College – not sure which one – Imperial? It was along the King’s Road anyway. We got in for free – all you needed was a flyer, which we photocopied a few times, and we were in. It was a fun gig. I recall Fish trying some early bodysurfing, which didn’t quite come off. The crowd just got out of the way when they saw this massive Scot hurtling towards them."
      (Sput)

    • Line-up

      Mick Pointer – Drums
      Steve Rothery – Guitar
      Fish – Vocals
      Mark Kelly – Keyboards
      Pete Trewavas – Bass, Backing Vocals

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  Photos by Sput

Script Tour ’83

• March – April29 Shows

  • 14.03.1983 – Script For A Jester’s Tear (Studio Album)

    • Script For A Jester’s Tear released by EMI Records
    • Script For A Jester’s Tear (LP): German Inlay
    • Louder: How Marillion Made Script For A Jester’s Tear by Jerry Ewing (14.03.2020)
    • Script For A Jester’s Tear (Remaster 1997) – Sleeve Notes

    We’d chosen the songs from the current set, apart from the title track, which was written relatively close to the album recording and previewed for the first time toward the end of our 13 gig marathon in 1982 at The Marquee Club.

    With the upheaval of egos and the demands of studio work, combined with my always fragmenting relationships, EMI had rented us a flat, yards from St. Steven’s Hospital. It was a bohemian den and images from that epoch revolve around heavy drug and drinking sessions, Israeli melon, scratches on backs and accusations of infidelity (most proven), late night cafés and house specials of teapots filled with cheap wine, cloudy mirrors, bloodied streets, murmuring telephone receivers and sustained diplomacy intertwined with dynamic hedonism. A truly wonderful epoch. It spawned not only confrontation and condemnation from some quarters, but also another album track, Chelsea Monday. Early morning walkabouts in the areas with mind on records gave me examples of so many wannabees and couldbees and I wrapped them all up in a female character drowning in romanticism, unable to cope with reality. Read into it what you will.

    The intro to the track was taken from the SFX library at Abbey Road Studios where Mark and I spent a day sifting through sound samples to link all the tracks. One we did record at about 4am one morning was the pre Web telephone conversation where we completely freaked out a Marquee office secretary. Apologies were necessary the next morning. We also tried to get Trevor Macdonald, the ITN newsreader, to narrate the section in Forgotten Sons, but the recording budget was tight, and we had to settle for a regular voice-over artist instead. Garden Party included the “partying” SFX we’d practised at demo stage in Roxon Studios – all members of the band indulging in clinking glasses, popping corks and with outrageous accents.

    Mark Wilkinson who’d created the E.P. cover was kept on to build the album cover. Out of a number of portfolios given to EMI for us to consider. Mark’s artistic style paralleled our musical and lyrical vision and like our fellow stable mates at EMI, Iron Maiden, we decided to utilise a central image in the artwork which would be easily identifiable and carried over into merchandise.

    The jester introduced in malevolent form on Market Square Heroes was to be portrayed in a classic bed sitting room setting with subtle acidic undertones. I wanted to recreate the environment in which the music was born, and working with Mark was the beginning of a new creative relationship containing a magic that would endure throughout the next 6 years of that Marillion era. On the sleeve, pointers were given to the next batch of evolving songs, namely Punch And Judy and She Chameleon – the chameleon about to begin a long run on album covers.

    An album collection on the floor containing Pink Floyd’s Saucerful Of Secrets and a Bill Nelson album, as well as Market Square Heroes and the first single from Script He Knows You Know. The lyric in the violin case seemed appropriate “Yesterday all my troubles seemed so far way”. The cover needs a whole book itself to explain all the imagery.

    As a debut it was powerful, and I can still remember the playback at the Marquee Studios after we’d finally mixed the album. I found it difficult to listen to in particular, which held too many memories. One EMI Executive was actually in tears at the end of the playback, and I remember thinking that we had captured what we set out to do. It seemed so simple and so pure back then. Little did we know what was going to unfold and that this script was for the beginning of a much bigger drama that was going to develop on a world stage.
    (Fish: Sleeve Notes in Script For A Jester’s Tear – Remaster 1997)

    Marillion/Separated Out – The Complete History 1979-2002

    In November [1982] it was back to business again. The band members moved into an EMl-rented flat in Fulham, ready to record an album at the Marquee studios on Wardour Street, Soho, London. The first practicality resulted from David [Hitchcock]’s ill-concealed sacking as producer. “We thought shit!” remarked Fish at the time. “We had to start looking for producers again to do the album in December!” Finally, the band settled on Nick Tauber – once again a rushed
    decision. Nick had previously produced Anthem by Toyah Wilcox, as well as albums by Thin Lizzy and Girl. The boys hit it off immediately. “He was cynical and sarcastic enough to be another member of the band!” commented Fish at the time.

    Nick had a methodical approach to recording, capturing the drums first and layering the other instruments and vocals on top. “I’d spent a fair amount of time in studios, but I’d never given this much attention to detail,” comments Pete in the sleeve notes to the remaster. Having said this, it was not an unpleasant experience, since all were keen to make a good impression. “It was immensely pleasurable and uplifting,” remarks Mark, “It was an amazing experience,” adds Steve, “Being in London, working in Soho, going next door to watch bands at the Marquee Club, there was never a dull moment!” Simon Hanhart, who was brought in as sound engineer, had the time of his life. “I was in a similar band when I was a teenager,” says Simon. “I’d only been engineering for eight months, it was a big break for me!”

    Some of the best material had already been used on the album-sized single which had just been released, so the band found themselves a bit short in the sessions. By the time the band arrived at the recording studios, the title track still lacked several sections, a particular problem because it was intended to set the scene for the whole album, linking what had been a number of pieces developed over many years into a coherent whole. A couple of the sections were written relatively quickly, while the band was in the studio. “It’s amazing what a bit of pressure can do for the creative juices,” Mark Kelly commented on the sleeve notes to the remaster. The opening section was written on the last day of recording, with a to-the-wire thought process that had the added benefit of keeping the final result simple. “If I’d had a bit more time to play with it, I probably would have made it more complicated and ruined the atmosphere,” said Mark. It was this song that
    became the title track to the album, trialled at some of the band’s 13 dates at the Marquee, in late ’82.

    At the end of recording and mixing, both band and management knew that it had all been worthwhile. For Mick, it was the culmination of “Five years work, finally realised with the release of an album.” Recalls Fish on the sleeve notes to the remaster, “One EMI executive was actually in tears
    at the end of the playback.” So much for cool, calculating record execs!

    Ambitious, varied, moody, dramatic, lyrical, accomplished…

    People weren’t meant to be making debut albums like Script at the time it was released. Later described by Fish as an album of bed-sit thoughts, it recounted a series of stories “relating to a character in a particular situation, and reflecting the different moods that the character will go through.” Though never mentioned explicitly, the character was the jester, representing the hedonistic alter-ego of Derek Dick, or, as we would come to know it, “Fish”. The conceptual costume was one the big man had grown accustomed to pulling on, originally to protect against the taunts of the school yard and latterly to enable a stage presence that Derek could not sustain by himself.

    “So here I am once more…” a whispered, attention-grabbing vocal line, trailed by a solitary piano, and slowly we’re drawn into the depths of the song. Introspection gives way to anger, and frustration boils over as the band soar into a show-piece of Marillion musicianship. Of the meaning behind the title track, Fish confessed, “Only one person has ever truly understood.” Its origins lie in the first song that he ever wrote, The Crying Jester. “It was a total rip-off of a Jon Anderson song. It was written on the night that Keith Moon died; he was a jester, the crying jester.” Consider the line: “Yet another emotional suicide, overdosed on sentiment and pride.” There were other influences; “The Script referred not only to the album itself, but also harked back to the album Over by Peter Hammill – the song Lost and Found appears to inspire many of the lyrics. Additional emotional input was Fish’s break-up with Kay – it is no wonder that he remarked, “When I was doing the vocals I actually cried in the studio, it hit me that bad. It’s probably the heaviest song we’ve ever done.”

    The second track would offer little respite. He Knows, You Know was, “about someone who went from nervous exhaustion, through depression then full-scale drug abuse,” explained Fish, who witnessed the experience through his own excesses and through a friend of his. “He ends up in a hospital bed and someone comes up to him and says, “I told you so.” which helps him damn all.”

    One of Marillion’s oldest performance pieces, the maudlin, and brooding The Web, started life as an instrumental, way before most of the line-up had even heard of Marillion. Fish’s tale of ambition vs. creature comforts, took some of its lyrical inspiration from the tale of Penelope, wife of Odysseus. Claiming she would choose a new husband once she had finished making a death shroud for Odysseus, she would unpick her work at night, allowing her more time to
    procrastinate. Fish’s take on the song sees him assume the role of the jester once more. Mark Kelly would also offer some considerable assistance in the arrangement of the song. The mid-section of the song is worthy of comment, contrasting as it does Pete Trewavas’s underpinning of the song with fluid bass work, compared with the drumming limitations of the hapless Mick Pointer.

    Side Two opened with the upbeat Garden Party, a spiritual kin of Market Square Heroes. With biting, satirical lyrics originating from Fish and Diz’s Cambridge days in the winter of 1980, Garden Party upset many of the people it was written about – after all, it’s an attack on the class system of hereditary privilege, encapsulated in a Cambridge University Garden Party. “It’s our most Genesis-y song!” Fish was later to comment. Nevertheless, this Kelly-led rocker was a huge live favourite for many years. Unlike the delicately sung version on the LP, crowds delighted in screaming “I’m fucking!” at the tops of their voices.

    Chelsea Monday was a product of the bohemian days spent at the flat in Fulham. “Early morning walkabouts gave me examples of so many wannabes and could-be’s, and I wrapped them all up in a female character drowning in romanticism, unable to cope with reality.” Not only about the dreams of the band, it concerned “the fear of failure I went through,” remarks Fish. The fear was manifested through a girl performing an outrageous and deadly act in order to achieve some recognition. It asks, “How far would you go to achieve fame?” How far, indeed? As Fish screams the words Chelsea Monday, Steve Rothery launches into a long guitar interlude, and as he does so, seals his reputation as a top guitarist.

    To close the debut, Forgotten Sons was a masterpiece, a grand finale that transcended its subject matter. “It’s about government manipulation,” remarked Fish. Set in Northern Ireland, it was based on Fish’s experiences of how his cousin was injured in a riot. “I realised no one really cared,” he commented in the sleeve notes for the remaster. “News of his plight was difficult to extract from the Army, and the Irish situation had lowered in the agenda of the media.” With its fierce reworking of the Lord’s Prayer for the middle section, and Mark Kelly evoking church choirs during the coda, the song is almost a religious experience. Fish summed up the album saying, “We would never sound so innocent again…”

    Mark Wilkinson’s work on Market Square Heroes was more than enough to ensure he was brought in for the cover of the album, although it was still not certain he would have a long-term relationship with the band. The portents were good, however – as Fish would write, “Mark’s style paralleled our musical and lyrical vision.” As with the lyrical and conceptual content, it was agreed early on that there would be a central character whose story would also be told on the sleeves. This would be Fish’s crying jester, his childhood alter ego, and a powerful symbol of love and loss. This was to be no one-shot wonder – indications of themes and concepts, such as the chameleon and the Punch on the TV set, were introduced, to be developed on later albums.

    Script was released on 14 March 1983. Its chart position exceeded all expectations, as the album climbed to No.7 in the first week of release. It received many excellent reviews, especially from Phil Bell of Sounds who gave the album five stars, a genuine accolade as this was the first time he had ever given such a seal of approval. The press were not unanimous in their praise – another Sounds reviewer declared the album to be “a clichéd load of humbug.” Much of the negative press reaction was down to Marillion being perceived as unfashionable (which they were) and unoriginal (which they weren’t). Comments Peter Gee of Pendragon, which suffered similar criticisms, “Not many of the press took them seriously. There was this big Gabriel/face paint/voice rip-off thing levelled at Fish most of the time. Many journalists’ attitude was, we buried all that Genesis stuff in the ’70s, the last thing we want is for it to come back. There was the anti-long song lobby, and the fact that Marillion were themselves and not trying to be overly commercial.”

    Fans far and wide were delighted with the debut. “In those days you’d see people walking around at school with an album under their arm, Script was one of those,” says fan Simon Clarke. “It created a bit of a buzz!” Recalls Dan Sherman, “I checked out Script For A Jesters Tear because I was intrigued by the artwork and loved it immediately. I was a big Rush and Jethro Tull fan at the time and thought it had elements of both, punchy rhythms, skilful keyboard and guitars, and interesting lyrics.”

    As fan Tony Wood recalls, “I loved all of it – Fish was without doubt the most passionate vocalist that I’d heard, the guitar tone was great, and the music was intelligently put together. It tugged at the heart strings (Script, The Web), it made you laugh (Garden Party), and it made you angry (Forgotten Sons).” Some fans saw very little association between the two bands [Marillion and Genesis]. “I liked Peter Gabriel’s voice but didn’t like Genesis,” says fan Jonathan Mock. “Enter Marillion. The singer sounded similar to Gabriel, but the music was more modern and just so different to everything else out there. I was hooked in an instant. Script was a revelation to me, and I still maintain it’s one of the best albums ever recorded by anyone.”
    (Jon Collins: Marillion/Separated Out – The Complete History 1979-2002)

  • Info

    • March 1983: Script For A Jester’s Tear (EMI advertising poster)
    • March 1983: Script For A Jester’s Tear 83 (Pin) – Thanks to Enric Pascual Poy
    • March 1983: Jest’er Fish Out Of Water – Photo by Odgen Spice
    • T-Shirt: Script Tour ’83 – Thanks to Mark Willcocks
    • Fish on stage

    Marillion/Separated Out – The Complete History 1979-2002

    In early 1983 the band returned to what it was best at, and went on tour. In place as tour manager was Paul Lewis, a colleague of John’s who used to do the sound for Nutz and who had just returned from a two-year stint with Van Halen; production manager was Gary Townsend; and Mick’s drum roadie was Andy Field, who would later become production manager. On the mixing desk was the unstoppable Priv. “Gary and Andy taught us young lads so much,” he says. Patient, charming gentlemen. I was more than happy to take any advice offered, particularly by Gary, who was a fine sound engineer himself.” Touring started as it was to go on – with barely a pause for breath after the release of the album.

    “I felt we had to keep working to increase the fan base, after Script came out,” explains John Arnison. Indeed – the band’s devotion to live duty ensured a constant stream of new fans, not to mention starting a pattern that continued, virtually unbroken, for the next four years. It also ensured a certain constancy of adrenalin, fatigue, distance from loved ones, alcohol and various other things… but that’s getting ahead of ourselves…
    (Jon Collins: Marillion/Separated Out – The Complete History 1979-2002)

  

  

  

  

  

  

  Photos by Mark Drake and Chris Phillips

  • 15.03.1983 – University Of East Anglia, Norwich

    01 Script For A Jester’s Tear
    02 Garden Party
    03 Three Boats Down From The Candy
    04 The Web
    05 Charting The Single
    06 Chelsea Monday
    07 He Knows You Know
    08 Forgotten Sons
    09 Market Square Heroes

    • Concert Poster
    • Ticket
    • Support Act: Peter Hamill

    • Line-up

      Mick Pointer – Drums
      Steve Rothery – Guitar
      Fish – Vocals
      Mark Kelly – Keyboards
      Pete Trewavas – Bass, Backing Vocals

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  Photos by Mark Drake and Robert Lagunas Rovira

  • 16.03.1983 – Top Rank Suite, Reading

    No valid informations available, these songs were most likely played:

    01 Script For A Jester’s Tear
    02 Garden Party
    03 Three Boats Down From The Candy
    04 The Web
    05 Charting The Single
    06 Chelsea Monday
    07 He Knows You Know
    08 Forgotten Sons
    09 Market Square Heroes
    10 Margaret

    • Ad
    • Ad
    • Concert Poster – Thanks to Denis Thomas
    • Support Act: Peter Hammill

    Marillion/Separated Out – The Complete History 1979-2002

    One occasion indicated all too clearly a weakness in the line-up. On 16th March 1983 at the Reading Top Rank, the band launched into Charting The Single, but somehow it didn’t seem quite right: it transpired that Mick was playing the beats the wrong way round. “Nobody changed, Fish couldn’t work out what was wrong but got increasingly frustrated as he couldn’t work out where to come in!” recalls Mark. An honest mistake, maybe, but Mick’s days were numbered from that point on.
    (Jon Collins: Marillion/Separated Out – The Complete History 1979-2002)

    • Line-up

      Mick Pointer – Drums
      Steve Rothery – Guitar
      Fish – Vocals
      Mark Kelly – Keyboards
      Pete Trewavas – Bass, Backing Vocals

  • 17.03.1983 – Civic Hall, Guildford

    No valid informations available, these songs were most likely played:

    01 Script For A Jester’s Tear
    02 Garden Party
    03 Three Boats Down From The Candy
    04 The Web
    05 Charting The Single
    06 Chelsea Monday
    07 He Knows You Know
    08 Forgotten Sons
    09 Market Square Heroes
    10 Margaret

    • Concert Poster – Thanks to Denis Thomas
    • Ticket
    • Announcement: Signing Session – Thanks to Andre Rostek
    • Support Act: Pendragon
    • Review by Hugh Fielder – Thanks to AJ Samuels
    • "Like many in the audience, I was disappointed by this but, after many shouts of "Grendel!" from the crowd, Fish finally said "that particular gentleman has now retired". It’s amazing the things one remembers after 40 years! I should add that at the Surrey gig the support band was Pendragon and I must confess that I liked them much more, musically, than Marillion. Having a charismatic front man rather than a passable vocalist who plays great guitar makes all the difference when it comes to success though."
      (Eric Savory )
    • 
    • Photo by Robert Ellis

    • Line-up

      Mick Pointer – Drums
      Steve Rothery – Guitar
      Fish – Vocals
      Mark Kelly – Keyboards
      Pete Trewavas – Bass, Backing Vocals

  • 18.03.1983 – Maxwell Hall, Aylesbury (Friars)

    01 Script For A Jester’s Tear
    02 Garden Party
    03 Three Boats Down From The Candy
    04 The Web
    05 Charting The Single
    06 Chelsea Monday
    07 He Knows You Know
    08 Forgotten Sons
    09 Market Square Heroes
    10 Margaret

    • Flyer – Thanks to Andy Ravenscroft
    • Ticket – Thanks to Nigel Todhunter
    • Announcement: Signing Session – Thanks to Andre Rostek
    • Marillion in Market Square, Aylesbury – Photo by Andy Phillips
    • Marillion Sign In (report)
    • Support Act: Peter Hammill
    • Fish on stage – Photo by Andy Phillips
    • More infos about the show at Friars Aylesbury Online
    • 
    • Photos by Andy Phillips

    • Line-up

      Mick Pointer – Drums
      Steve Rothery – Guitar
      Fish – Vocals
      Mark Kelly – Keyboards
      Pete Trewavas – Bass, Backing Vocals

  • 19.03.1983 – Lees Cliffe Hall, Folkestone

    01 Script For A Jester’s Tear
    02 Garden Party
    03 Three Boats Down From The Candy
    04 The Web
    05 Charting The Single
    06 Chelsea Monday
    07 He Knows You Know
    08 Forgotten Sons
    09 Market Square Heroes
    10 Margaret

    • Announcement: Signing Session – Thanks to Andre Rostek
    • Support Act: Peter Hammill

    • Line-up

      Mick Pointer – Drums
      Steve Rothery – Guitar
      Fish – Vocals
      Mark Kelly – Keyboards
      Pete Trewavas – Bass, Backing Vocals

  • 20.03.1983 – Guildhall, Portsmouth

    No valid informations available, these songs were most likely played:

    01 Script For A Jester’s Tear
    02 Garden Party
    03 Three Boats Down From The Candy
    04 The Web
    05 Charting The Single
    06 Chelsea Monday
    07 He Knows You Know
    08 Forgotten Sons
    09 Market Square Heroes
    10 Margaret

    • Ticket
    • Announcement: Signing Session – Thanks to Andre Rostek
    • Support Act: Peter Hammill

    • Line-up

      Mick Pointer – Drums
      Steve Rothery – Guitar
      Fish – Vocals
      Mark Kelly – Keyboards
      Pete Trewavas – Bass, Backing Vocals

  • 22.03.1983 – Top Rank Suite, Cardiff

    01 Script For A Jester’s Tear
    02 Garden Party
    03 Three Boats Down From The Candy
    04 The Web
    05 Charting The Single
    06 Chelsea Monday
    07 He Knows You Know
    08 Forgotten Sons
    09 Market Square Heroes
    10 Margaret

    • Ad
    • Announcement: Signing Session – Thanks to Andre Rostek
    • Support Act: Peter Hammill

    • Line-up

      Mick Pointer – Drums
      Steve Rothery – Guitar
      Fish – Vocals
      Mark Kelly – Keyboards
      Pete Trewavas – Bass, Backing Vocals

  

  

  

  

  Photos by Martin Davies

  • 23.03.1983 – Winter Gardens, Malvern

    01 Script For A Jester’s Tear
    02 Garden Party
    03 Three Boats Down From The Candy
    04 The Web
    05 Charting The Single
    06 Chelsea Monday
    07 He Knows You Know
    08 Forgotten Sons
    09 Market Square Heroes
    10 Margaret

    • Ticket
    • Ticket – Thanks to Andre Rostek
    • Announcement: Signing Session – Thanks to Andre Rostek
    • Support Act: Peter Hammill
    • Setlist provided by René Romswinckel

    • Line-up

      Mick Pointer – Drums
      Steve Rothery – Guitar
      Fish – Vocals
      Mark Kelly – Keyboards
      Pete Trewavas – Bass, Backing Vocals

  • 24.03.1983 – Caesar’s, Bradford

    01 Script For A Jester’s Tear
    02 Garden Party
    03 Three Boats Down From The Candy
    04 The Web
    05 Charting The Single
    06 Chelsea Monday
    07 He Knows You Know
    08 Forgotten Sons
    09 Market Square Heroes
    10 Margaret

    • Concert Poster – Thanks to Marko’s Marillion Museum
    • Flyer
    • Ticket
    • Ticket – Thanks to Denis Thomas
    • Support Act: Peter Hammill

    • Line-up

      Mick Pointer – Drums
      Steve Rothery – Guitar
      Fish – Vocals
      Mark Kelly – Keyboards
      Pete Trewavas – Bass, Backing Vocals

  • 25.03.1983 – Mayfair Ballroom, Newcastle

    01 Script For A Jester’s Tear
    02 Garden Party
    03 Three Boats Down From The Candy
    04 The Web
    05 Charting The Single
    06 Chelsea Monday
    07 He Knows You Know
    08 Forgotten Sons
    09 Market Square Heroes
    10 Margaret

    • Setlist correction by Kenny Matthew
    • Ticket – Thanks to Ian Rendall
    • Support Act: Peter Hammill
    • 
    • Photo by Ian Rendall

    • Line-up

      Mick Pointer – Drums
      Steve Rothery – Guitar
      Fish – Vocals
      Mark Kelly – Keyboards
      Pete Trewavas – Bass, Backing Vocals

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  Photos by martopolo and Ian Rendall

  • Info

    • Unknown newspaper, 26.03.1983: Star Choice – Fish of Marillion

  • 27.03.1983 – Winter Gardens, Bournemouth

    01 Garden Party
    02 Three Boats Down From The Candy
    03 Script For A Jester’s Tear
    04 The Web
    05 Chelsea Monday
    06 He Knows You Know
    07 Forgotten Sons
    08 Market Square Heroes
    09 Margaret

    • Concert Poster – Thanks to Denis Thomas
    • Ticket
    • Review by Lucy OBrien
    • Support Act: Peter Hammill

    • Line-up

      Mick Pointer – Drums
      Steve Rothery – Guitar
      Fish – Vocals
      Mark Kelly – Keyboards
      Pete Trewavas – Bass, Backing Vocals

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  Photos by Gary Player

  • 28.03.1983 – Colston Hall, Bristol

    01 Script For A Jester’s Tear
    02 Garden Party
    03 Three Boats Down From The Candy
    04 The Web
    05 Charting The Single
    06 Chelsea Monday
    07 He Knows You Know
    08 Forgotten Sons
    09 Market Square Heroes
    10 Margaret

    • Concert Poster
    • Ticket
    • Support Act: Peter Hammill

    Marillion/Separated Out – The Complete History 1979-2002

    One attendee was fan Kim Waring, who went along to see Marillion play at Bristol’s Colston Hall on 28th March 1983. “My boyfriend dragged me along,” says Kim. “It was very loud, and there were an awful lot of strange people! At first, it was quite daunting. At the end I was overwhelmed, by the show, the sound, the atmosphere… I went to as many concerts as I could after that!”
    (Jon Collins: Marillion/Separated Out – The Complete History 1979-2002)

    • Line-up

      Mick Pointer – Drums
      Steve Rothery – Guitar
      Fish – Vocals
      Mark Kelly – Keyboards
      Pete Trewavas – Bass, Backing Vocals

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  Photos by AJ Samuels

  • 29.03.1983 – Victoria Hall, Hanley

    01 Script For A Jester’s Tear
    02 Garden Party
    03 Three Boats Down From The Candy
    04 The Web
    05 Charting The Single
    06 Chelsea Monday
    07 He Knows You Know
    08 Forgotten Sons
    09 Market Square Heroes
    10 Margaret

    • Concert Poster – Thanks to Denis Thomas
    • Ticket
    • Support Act: Peter Hammill

    • Line-up

      Mick Pointer – Drums
      Steve Rothery – Guitar
      Fish – Vocals
      Mark Kelly – Keyboards
      Pete Trewavas – Bass, Backing Vocals

  • 30.03.1983 – Rock City, Nottingham

    01 Script For A Jester’s Tear
    02 Garden Party
    03 Three Boats Down From The Candy
    04 The Web
    05 Charting The Single
    06 Chelsea Monday
    07 He Knows You Know
    08 Forgotten Sons
    09 Market Square Heroes
    10 Margaret

    • NME: Ad – Thanks to Guy Tkach
    • Evening Post: Ad – Thanks to Andre Rostek
    • Flyer – Thanks to Andre Rostek
    • Ticket – Thanks to Jon Dunnington
    • Announcement: Signing Session – Thanks to Andre Rostek
    • Support Act: Peter Hammill
    • Evening Post, 31.03.1983: Marillion – Set For Stardom? (review) by R.T. – Thanks to Andre Rostek
    • Review by Hugh Fielder – Thanks to AJ Samuels
    • 
    • Thanks to Andre Rostek

    • Line-up

      Mick Pointer – Drums
      Steve Rothery – Guitar
      Fish – Vocals
      Mark Kelly – Keyboards
      Pete Trewavas – Bass, Backing Vocals

  • 31.03.1983 – Odeon Theatre, Birmingham

    01 Script For A Jester’s Tear
    02 Garden Party
    03 Three Boats Down From The Candy
    04 The Web
    05 Charting The Single
    06 Chelsea Monday
    07 He Knows You Know
    08 Forgotten Sons
    09 Market Square Heroes
    10 Margaret

    • Concert Poster
    • Ticket
    • Announcement: Signing Session – Thanks to Andre Rostek
    • Support Act: Peter Hammill
    • The Odeon Theatre, Birmingham is a cinema today. Thanks to Steve Mobley

    • Line-up

      Mick Pointer – Drums
      Steve Rothery – Guitar
      Fish – Vocals
      Mark Kelly – Keyboards
      Pete Trewavas – Bass, Backing Vocals

  • 01.04.1983 – Gaumont Theatre, Ipswich

    01 Script For A Jester’s Tear
    02 Garden Party
    03 Three Boats Down From The Candy
    04 The Web
    05 Charting The Single
    06 Chelsea Monday
    07 He Knows You Know
    08 Forgotten Sons
    09 Market Square Heroes
    10 Margaret

    • Concert Poster
    • Ticket
    • Announcement: Signing Session – Thanks to Andre Rostek
    • Support Act: Peter Hammill

    • Line-up

      Mick Pointer – Drums
      Steve Rothery – Guitar
      Fish – Vocals
      Mark Kelly – Keyboards
      Pete Trewavas – Bass, Backing Vocals

  • 02.04.1983 – City Hall, St. Albans

    01 Script For A Jester’s Tear
    02 Garden Party
    03 Three Boats Down From The Candy
    04 The Web
    05 Charting The Single
    06 Chelsea Monday
    07 He Knows You Know
    08 Forgotten Sons
    09 Market Square Heroes
    10 Margaret

    • Concert Poster
    • Announcement: Signing Session – Thanks to Andre Rostek
    • Support Act: Peter Hammill
    • Fish on stage

    • Line-up

      Mick Pointer – Drums
      Steve Rothery – Guitar
      Fish – Vocals
      Mark Kelly – Keyboards
      Pete Trewavas – Bass, Backing Vocals

  • 05.04.1983 – City Hall, Hull

    01 Script For A Jester’s Tear
    02 Garden Party
    03 Three Boats Down From The Candy
    04 The Web
    05 Charting The Single
    06 Chelsea Monday
    07 He Knows You Know
    08 Forgotten Sons
    09 Market Square Heroes
    10 Margaret

    • Flyer – Thanks to Marko’s Marillion Museum
    • Ticket
    • Ticket by P J Bryant
    • Ad and Review by David Blows – Thanks to Dave Pashby
    • Support Act: Peter Hamill
    • "Saw this and went back to the hotel with the band afterwards. I was the nominated driver so not drinking. Remember getting autographs and some free gear."
      (Dave Pashby)

    • Line-up

      Mick Pointer – Drums
      Steve Rothery – Guitar
      Fish – Vocals
      Mark Kelly – Keyboards
      Pete Trewavas – Bass, Backing Vocals

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  Photos by P J Bryant

  • 06.04.1983 – Town Hall, Middlesbrough

    01 Script For A Jester’s Tear
    02 Garden Party
    03 Three Boats Down From The Candy
    04 The Web
    05 Charting The Single
    06 Chelsea Monday
    07 He Knows You Know
    08 Forgotten Sons
    09 Market Square Heroes
    10 Margaret

    • Tickets – Thanks to Denis Thomas
    • Support Act: Peter Hammill

    • Line-up

      Mick Pointer – Drums
      Steve Rothery – Guitar
      Fish – Vocals
      Mark Kelly – Keyboards
      Pete Trewavas – Bass, Backing Vocals

  • 07.04.1983 – The Playhouse Theatre, Edinburgh

    01 Script For A Jester’s Tear
    02 Garden Party
    03 Three Boats Down From The Candy
    04 The Web
    05 Charting The Single
    06 Chelsea Monday
    07 He Knows You Know
    08 Forgotten Sons
    09 Market Square Heroes
    10 Margaret
    11 Grendel

    • Ticket – Thanks to Pete Forster
    • Ticket – Thanks to Denis Thomas
    • Announcement: Signing Session – Thanks to Andre Rostek
    • Backstage Pass – Thanks to Gary Townsend Archive and Marko’s Marillion Museum
    • T-Shirt: Script For Scotland ’83
    • Support Act: Peter Hammill
    • For the first time on this tour, Grendel was in the set
    • Margaret was recorded for the B-side of Garden Party
    • 
    • Photo by Scot Mathieson

    • Line-up

      Mick Pointer – Drums
      Steve Rothery – Guitar
      Fish – Vocals
      Mark Kelly – Keyboards
      Pete Trewavas – Bass, Backing Vocals

  • 08.04.1983 – Pavilion, Glasgow

    01 Script For A Jester’s Tear
    02 Garden Party
    03 Three Boats Down From The Candy
    04 The Web
    05 Charting The Single
    06 Chelsea Monday
    07 He Knows You Know
    08 Forgotten Sons
    09 Market Square Heroes
    10 Margaret

    • Ticket – Thanks to Pete Forster
    • Tickets – Thanks to Denis Thomas
    • Ticket – Thanks to Enric Pascual Poy
    • Ticket, signed by the band – Thanks to Stuart Davidson
    • Announcement: Signing Session – Thanks to Andre Rostek
    • T-Shirt: Script For Scotland ’83
    • Spelling mistake on tickets (Merillion)
    • Support Act: Peter Hammill

    Marillion/Separated Out – The Complete History 1979-2002

    By the Scottish dates a month later, things came to a head: “Fish and I had our first blazing row in a hotel in Glasgow,” recalls John Arnison. “He told me the band thought Mick had to go, but I felt he still needed a chance to grow; I was worried as Mick had formed the band, and because his wife, Stef was running the fan club.” Despite such hiccups, the larger gigs didn’t cause the band too many problems, particularly Fish, who was riding a wave of adrenalin.
    (Jon Collins: Marillion/Separated Out – The Complete History 1979-2002)

    • Line-up

      Mick Pointer – Drums
      Steve Rothery – Guitar
      Fish – Vocals
      Mark Kelly – Keyboards
      Pete Trewavas – Bass, Backing Vocals

  • 09.04.1983 – Caird Hall, Dundee

    01 Script For A Jester’s Tear
    02 Garden Party
    03 Three Boats Down From The Candy
    04 The Web
    05 Charting The Single
    06 Chelsea Monday
    07 He Knows You Know
    08 Forgotten Sons
    09 Market Square Heroes
    10 Margaret

    • Ticket
    • T-Shirt: Script For Scotland ’83
    • Support Act: Peter Hammill

    • Line-up

      Mick Pointer – Drums
      Steve Rothery – Guitar
      Fish – Vocals
      Mark Kelly – Keyboards
      Pete Trewavas – Bass, Backing Vocals

  • 11.04.1983 – Capitol Theatre, Aberdeen

    01 Script For A Jester’s Tear
    02 Garden Party
    03 Three Boats Down From The Candy
    04 The Web
    05 Charting The Single
    06 Chelsea Monday
    07 He Knows You Know
    08 Forgotten Sons
    09 Market Square Heroes
    10 Margaret

    • Ticket
    • Announcement: Signing Session – Thanks to Andre Rostek
    • T-Shirt: Script For Scotland ’83
    • Support Act: Peter Hammill
    • Setlist by Peter Goodfield and Mark Abbott

    

    

    Photos by Kevin Mackenzie

    Marillion/Separated Out – The Complete History 1979-2002

    A couple of weeks later, fan Chris Lewington (who had just relocated to Aberdeen) had his first opportunity to see the band. “I was staying in a hotel called The Treetops. I was looking for something to do when what was obviously a band checked into the hotel. I asked at reception who they were, and was told they were playing at the Capitol Theatre on Union Street that night. I called the venue, and they had a few tickets, so off I went. They were Marillion and they were bloody brilliant!”

    As Chris was staying in the same hotel, he found himself in the same bar as the after-show party. “I remember a couple of the roadies taking bets on whether the barmaid was wearing stockings or not, and a serious cocktail drinking competition when one of the band took on a bet that he couldn’t drink 10 blue bombers. I gather he was sick down the corridor later on that night! John Arnison was obviously in a good mood, as he was buying Champagne and Guinness for everyone.” What an introduction!
    (Jon Collins: Marillion/Separated Out – The Complete History 1979-2002)

    • Line-up

      Mick Pointer – Drums
      Steve Rothery – Guitar
      Fish – Vocals
      Mark Kelly – Keyboards
      Pete Trewavas – Bass, Backing Vocals

  • 12.04.1983 – The Sugarhouse, Lancaster

    01 Script For A Jester’s Tear
    02 Garden Party
    03 Three Boats Down From The Candy
    04 The Web
    05 Charting The Single
    06 Chelsea Monday
    07 He Knows You Know
    08 Forgotten Sons
    09 Market Square Heroes

    • Ticket – Thanks to Gary Gordon
    • Support Act: Peter Hammill
    • Setlist by Andrew Murphy
    • "Marillion played at The Sugarhouse on 12th April 1983, not Lancaster Unversity as it was shut for half-term (?) holidays. Setlist as Shefield 13th April 1983. Support Peter Hamill. I was there! I’m sad to say I haven’t got a ticket for this or the following year’s gig at Lancaster University as the staff took them off us when we went in. I remember at the Sugarhouse gig that Steve R. kept playing Country & Western riffs between songs. Fish told the crowd that Steve had recently bought a Country & Western songbook and was learning the songs. At one point during the gig, the band sat in a circle around Steve and clapped in time whilst he played a tune."
      (Andrew Murphy)

    • Line-up

      Mick Pointer – Drums
      Steve Rothery – Guitar
      Fish – Vocals
      Mark Kelly – Keyboards
      Pete Trewavas – Bass, Backing Vocals

  • 
  • Photos by Gary Gordon

  • 13.04.1983 – City Hall, Sheffield

    01 Script For A Jester’s Tear
    02 Garden Party
    03 Three Boats Down From The Candy
    04 The Web
    05 Charting The Single
    06 Chelsea Monday
    07 He Knows You Know
    08 Forgotten Sons
    09 Market Square Heroes

    • Concert Poster
    • Ticket
    • Ticket – Thanks to Denis Thomas
    • Signing Session – Thanks to Andre Rostek
    • Support Act: Peter Hammill

    

    Photo by John Hirst

    • Line-up

      Mick Pointer – Drums
      Steve Rothery – Guitar
      Fish – Vocals
      Mark Kelly – Keyboards
      Pete Trewavas – Bass, Backing Vocals

  • 14.04.1983 – Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool

    01 Script For A Jester’s Tear
    02 Garden Party
    03 Three Boats Down From The Candy
    04 The Web
    05 Charting The Single
    06 Chelsea Monday
    07 He Knows You Know
    08 Forgotten Sons
    09 Market Square Heroes
    10 Margaret

    • Tickets – Thanks to Denis Thomas
    • Announcement: Signing Session – Thanks to Andre Rostek
    • Support Act: Peter Hammill

    • Line-up

      Mick Pointer – Drums
      Steve Rothery – Guitar
      Fish – Vocals
      Mark Kelly – Keyboards
      Pete Trewavas – Bass, Backing Vocals

  • 15.04.1983 – The Apollo Theatre, Manchester

    01 Script For A Jester’s Tear
    02 Garden Party
    03 Three Boats Down From The Candy
    04 The Web
    05 Charting The Single
    06 Chelsea Monday
    07 He Knows You Know
    08 Forgotten Sons
    09 Market Square Heroes
    10 Margaret

    • Concert Poster
    • Ticket – Thanks to Enric Pascual Poy
    • Ticket – Thanks to Nigel Todhunter
    • Announcement: Signing Session – Thanks to Andre Rostek
    • Guest Pass
    • Autographs – Thanks to Andre Rostek
    • Support Act: Peter Hammill

    Marillion/Separated Out – The Complete History 1979-2002

    On 15th April 1983 it was fan Peter Gifford’s turn. He recalls, “My first gig was at Manchester Apollo. I was absolutely blown away. Fish made his entrance through the crowd, which I thought was fantastic. I’ve got a tape of the show somewhere; the highlight is hearing myself shout for Grendel only to be shot down by Fish!”
    (Jon Collins: Marillion/Separated Out – The Complete History 1979-2002)

    • Line-up

      Mick Pointer – Drums
      Steve Rothery – Guitar
      Fish – Vocals
      Mark Kelly – Keyboards
      Pete Trewavas – Bass, Backing Vocals

  • Info

    • 
    • Hammersmith Odeon, London – April 1983

  • 17.04.1983 – Hammersmith Odeon, London

    01 Script For A Jester’s Tear
    02 Garden Party
    03 Three Boats Down From The Candy
    04 The Web
    05 Charting The Single
    06 Chelsea Monday
    07 He Knows You Know
    08 Forgotten Sons
    09 Market Square Heroes
    10 Grendel
    11 Margaret

    • Ad
    • Concert Poster
    • Ticket
    • Review by Matthew Kettle – Thanks to Guy Tkach
    • Photo by Pete Still Photography
    • Photos in The Web – Issue No. 17
    • Support Act: Peter Hammill

    • Line-up

      Mick Pointer – Drums
      Steve Rothery – Guitar
      Fish – Vocals
      Mark Kelly – Keyboards
      Pete Trewavas – Bass, Backing Vocals

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  Photos by Pete Still Photography @ Claude Micallef Attard Archive

  • 18.04.1983 – Hammersmith Odeon, London

    01 Script For A Jester’s Tear
    02 Garden Party
    03 Three Boats Down From The Candy
    04 The Web
    05 Charting The Single
    06 Chelsea Monday
    07 He Knows You Know
    08 Forgotten Sons
    09 Market Square Heroes
    10 Margaret
    11 Grendel

    • Ad
    • Concert Poster
    • Ticket
    • Announcement: Signing Session – Thanks to Andre Rostek
    • Script Signing Session – Thanks to Marko’s Marillion Museum
    • Backstage Pass – Thanks to Jacek Bejer
    • Support Act: Peter Hammill
    • Recorded for Recital Of The Script
    • Japanese Ad: Recital Of The Script – Thanks to Andre Rostek
    • No. 05 recorded for B-side of Garden Party
    • Last show with Mick Pointer

    Marillion/Separated Out – The Complete History 1979-2002

    The tour closed at the end of April with a number of sold-out dates at the Hammersmith Odeon. It came as a surprise to some journalists, how the band managed to fill such a theatre after only one single: Fish patiently reminded them of the 200 gigs that had gone previously. “I took a gamble,” remembers John Arnison. “I wanted to get out of clubs and into theatres as soon as possible.” The gamble paid off – Marillion remains one of the few bands that has sold out the Odeon before releasing an album. Despite the potential to lose sight of the fans, Fish was in no doubt of their importance and would make frequent forays into the audience. He explained in an interview that, “to communicate with the audience on an eye-to-eye level, you have to be prepared to go out on a limb now and again, just to see what happens.”

    As the tour came to an end, so did an era, as band and management decided to part with its remaining founder member.

    While Fish cheerfully admits his role as knife-wielder-in-chief, the decision was not his alone. “The person I went to for 100% confirmation was Steve Rothery,” says John Arnison. “He told me, sorry, he’s going to have to go.” This was not only following the incident at Reading: while the others had all improved substantially over the months since, in their eyes Mick had not. Comments Pete, “Fingers were pointing at the rhythm section, but Diz had been a better bassist than Mick was a drummer, and Diz had already been sacked, so it was only a matter of time.” It was all a bit messy – Mick wasn’t the lie-down-and-accept type, and Fish did not let him down gently. “Mick thought Fish had joined his band as a singer,” remarks Steve. “Fish vented his anger, he ripped into him!” recalls John. “It was just unnecessary, he didn’t want to sack him, he wanted to destroy him!” comments Steve.

    The situation was difficult for all members of the band: Mark had been rooming with Mick on tour, so Mick thought Mark was conspiring against him; meanwhile, Steve, who had been closer to Mick than Fish, felt betrayed. “It ended up a fait accompli that Mick was being sacked, I was very angry at the time as it had all happened behind my back. In a band, you have a camaraderie, a family feeling, but there were too many things happening for me to call Fish a friend,” remarks Steve. “I could never really relax with him after all that.”

    Mick’s feelings were of shock and disbelief. “I was playing Hammersmith Odeon one night and two weeks later I was standing in the dole queue,” says Mick. “It took me an incredibly long time to realise how much of an effect it had on me. I had my dream taken away from me, then I watched them go on and achieve more.”
    (Jon Collins: Marillion/Separated Out – The Complete History 1979-2002)

    • Line-up

      Mick Pointer – Drums
      Steve Rothery – Guitar
      Fish – Vocals
      Mark Kelly – Keyboards
      Pete Trewavas – Bass, Backing Vocals

  

  

  

  

  

  Photos taken from Recital Of The Script (DVD)

Introducing Andy Ward

• May2 Shows

  • Info

    Marillion/Separated Out – The Complete History 1979-2002

    A second album is never a straightforward affair, particularly if the first is a success. In Marillion’s case, there was pressure from EMI to build on the reputation of Script, and demonstrate that this band was no one-disc wonder. This was exacerbated by the reasonably fundamental lack of a band member, and to cap it all Marillion had used up most of their material on the debut album, singles and B-sides and now they had to develop something new.

    Following some time off at the end of the tour, the band locked themselves away at Mountain Rehearsal Studios in Monmouth, Wales – “Not a professional recording studio, more a hippie commune!” laughs Mark. Attempts to generate some new material were not, initially, a pleasant experience. “I thought the game was up,” recalls Mark on the Fugazi remaster sleeve notes. “We only really had one song written!” Fortunately, as Mark and the others were to discover, some sort of hiatus would always be necessary before the ideas started to flow. Meanwhile, the band had to find a new drummer.

    Mick’s sacking was a break with tradition, in that no replacement had been found prior to his departure. Following adverts and a number of dead-end trial runs, the first to sit on the vacated stool was ex-Camel stickman, Andy Ward. It was clear from the outset he was a good fit with the rest of the band, and as such as virtually given the job without interview. “Andy was one of my favourite drummers, when we bumped into him, it was like manna from heaven!” Andy joined in May 1983 and joined the others in Wales to help develop the ideas for the next album.

    Andy’s first contribution to Marillion history was on 29 May, with the video for Garden Party in which “the band members dress up as 1950s schoolboys and play some hilarious pranks on unsuspecting garden party revellers.”
    (Jon Collins: Marillion/Separated Out – The Complete History 1979-2002)

    
    Marillion with Andy Ward (second from right) – May 1983

  • 12.05.1983 – The Marquee Club, London (Marillion as Skyline Drifters)

    01 He Knows You Know
    02 Garden Party
    03 Three Boats Down From The Candy
    04 The Web
    05 Script For A Jester’s Tear
    06 Chelsea Monday
    07 Charting The Single
    08 Forgotten Sons
    09 Market Square Heroes
    10 I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrope)
    11 Margaret

    • Ticket
    • Ad – Thanks to Jeff Edmunds
    • Ad and Review by Paul Strange – Thanks to Julian Hulse
    • T-Shirt: Skyline Drifters – Marquee 12th May ’83
    • First show with Andy Ward
    • 
    • Photo by Justin Thomas

    • Line-up

      Steve Rothery – Guitar
      Fish – Vocals
      Mark Kelly – Keyboards
      Pete Trewavas – Bass, Backing Vocals
      Andy Ward – Drums

  

  

  

  

  

  Photos by Julian Hulse

  • 20.05.1983 – BBC Television Centre, London (The Old Grey Whistle Test)

    Forgotten Sons (Live)

    • Ticket, provided by Marko’s Marillion Museum
    • First TV appearance with Andy Ward

    "Remember this well. Absolutely shat it before we went on to play live at the Beeb for the first time. So fired up and edgy, it made for a great performance that took us higher up the ladder and definitely more visible. Just had taken on Andy Ward on drums and had North America in our sights. We didn’t realise that the events that followed would misfire so badly. Losing Andy mid-tour and thus the rest of the first drive down to the Southern States and beyond was a derailment of ambitions that hampered us in later years as we didn’t put the foundations in place to build on in the few tours that followed. I’ve still never played Texas :-("
    (Fish @ Facebook – 07.05.2013)

    • Line-up

      Steve Rothery – Guitar
      Fish – Vocals
      Mark Kelly – Keyboards
      Pete Trewavas – Bass, Backing Vocals
      Andy Ward – Drums

  • Info

    • May 1983: Bill from EMI (video dept.) – Thanks to Denis Thomas

Summer Festivals

• May – July6 Shows

  • Info

    Marillion/Separated Out – The Complete History 1979-2002

    Meanwhile, back with Mr Ward, all was going well as Marillion departed on its first foray across the channel, with a series of festivals in Germany, Denmark and The Netherlands, as well as a few dates in the UK, including on 17 June 1983, the CND Festival at Glastonbury.

    “We were hip for an instant!” chuckled Fish on the Fugazi sleeve notes. As the band travelled together, it started to become apparent that Andy liked his drink a bit more than was strictly appropriate. This issue seemed to be exacerbated by the demanding life on the road, but he was likeable and a good drummer… and besides, who didn’t like a drink? So he stayed.
    (Jon Collins: Marillion/Separated Out – The Complete History 1979-2002)

  • 21.05.1983 – Rhein-Neckar Stadion, Mannheim (Open Air Festival 83)

    01 Script For A Jester’s Tear
    02 He Knows You Know

    • Ticket
    • Backstage Pass – Thanks to Gary Townsend Archive and Marko’s Marillion Museum
    • Setlist obviously incomplete!
    • First show outside the UK
    • 
    • Scarf by Holger Korinth

    • Line-up

      Steve Rothery – Guitar
      Fish – Vocals
      Mark Kelly – Keyboards
      Pete Trewavas – Bass, Backing Vocals
      Andy Ward – Drums

  • 22.05.1983 – Talavera Messegelände, Würzburg (Open Air Festival 83)

    01 He Knows You Know
    02 Garden Party
    03 Three Boats Down From The Candy
    04 Script For A Jester’s Tear
    05 Charting The Single
    06 Market Square Heroes
    07 Forgotten Sons

    • Ticket
    • Backstage Pass – Thanks to Gary Townsend Archive and Marko’s Marillion Museum
    • Fachblatt Musikmagazin, June 1983: Marillion and Fish (on stage)
    • Setlist correction by Strusiu
    • 
    • Scarf by Holger Korinth

    • Line-up

      Steve Rothery – Guitar
      Fish – Vocals
      Mark Kelly – Keyboards
      Pete Trewavas – Bass, Backing Vocals
      Andy Ward – Drums

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  Photos by unknown photographer

  • 06.06.1983 – Garden Party (Single/Maxi)

    • Garden Party released by EMI Records

    "The original lyrics for Garden Party predated Marillion (but were after Stone Dome Band). The Garden Party lyrics were written when Fish and I were living in Ettrickbridge in a five bedroom holiday cottage called "Hawkshaw". We managed to live there after Fish had convinced the estate agency to open the cottage over the winter and that we were a band called Sirius (cue "you can’t be Sirius" joke here) who needed somewhere to write over the winter. The pre-Marillion version of Garden Party (just bass and vocals and very different to the later Marillion version – it sounded as good as this description of it sounds 🙂) was from memory included on the demo that we sent to the band prior to moving down to Aston Clinton on 1st Jan 1981."
    (Diz Minnitt @ Facebook – 01.10.2020)

    Marillion/Separated Out – The Complete History 1979-2002

    Released in June, it reached No.16 and stayed in the Top 40 for four weeks. The UK music journos did not want to be caught out again, as illustrated by top write-ups in a number of rags (including Sounds referring to Garden Party as “the classic single”).

    This time, it was the TV stations’ turn to resolve the paradox. Here was a band that was clearly popular, yet so totally out of synch with what fashion was dictating should be popular. Commented Fish, “We’re supposed to be Genesis clones, yet we’ve had three hits. How come? People get annoyed…”

    The result was that Marillion’s appearances were begrudged rather than welcomed. The band were introduced with a sneer on The Old Grey Whistle Test (20th May 1983), and cold-shouldered by other “pop” acts on Top Of The Pops (16th June 1983). “The thing is, we don’t change our style or our image to accommodate those programmes,” Fish remarked. “We look the same on TOTP as we do the next night at Bradford City Hall, or at Glastonbury.”

    At least the audiences appreciated the band – fan Judith Mitchell, for example. “I was into The Police and ELO at the time when I saw Marillion play Garden Party on TOTP,” recalls Judith. “They kept getting chart hits after that, so I started to follow them.”

    TV and radio appearances were happening outside the UK as well. Recalls fan Rod Taylor, “I can remember watching The New Music, at the time Canada’s one-and-only music program, and hearing “This is the first video from a new UK band called Marillion, and the song is called Garden Party.” And the rest, as they say…”

    Dutch fan Jolijne Viergever remembers the first time she heard the band. “I heard some tracks – Market Square Heroes, Garden Party and part of Script – on a radio programme, and it just gave me the shivers!” she recalls. “They were introduced as a very promising band that had released a single last year.”
    (Jon Collins: Marillion/Separated Out – The Complete History 1979-2002)

  • Info

    • Sounds, 11.06.1983: Garden Party (Ad) – Thanks to Walter Dijkers
    • Kerrang!, June 1983: Photo of Marillion in Monmouth by Paul Slattery

  • 16.06.1983 – Lime Grove Studios, London (Top Of The Pops)

    Garden Party (Lipsync)

    • First Top Of The Pops appearance with a radio/TV-friendly “I’m miming”-version
    • Fish shut his mouth and merely pointed at his lips as these words came over the PA
    • Garden Party at No. 24 in the UK single charts (12.06.-18.06.1983)
    • Unknown recording date, aired 16.06.1983 by BBC 1

    • Line-up

      Steve Rothery – Guitar
      Fish – Vocals
      Mark Kelly – Keyboards
      Pete Trewavas – Bass, Backing Vocals
      Andy Ward – Drums

  • 16.06.1983 – Penyrheol Leisure Centre, Swansea