I’d been told a few times that it was a good thing that I had never really heard of Marillion.  This band that has had many notable accolades in the UK, a fierce following and a reputation for pushing the boundaries of genres would get the benefit of my open mind when attending this pre-Christmas performance in Birmingham.

Hours before the show, I was initially impressed with the queue forming outside the venue in what is officially very cold winter weather.  Next, I was flummoxed by the beautiful interior of the HMV Institute main room – not a bad position in the house, architecturally striking and extremely made for live music as I was to find out.  So, in the first instance I must say that if you do get presented with the opportunity to see a gig at this venue, rest assured you won’t walk away with ringing in your ears.

Opening act was a Swindon-based, overtly prog band called Tin Spirits, featuring XTC member, Dave Gregory on guitar. Currently, the band is flogging a new album Wired to Earth of which they featured a couple of songs mixed in between a series of fitting covers from Genesis, Edgar Winter, Rush and XTC.  The band on the whole was extremely versatile and although people would think a warm up band just playing covers a bit cheesy, the approach worked very well.

Marillion appeared on stage to strong beams of cascading light and applause. Steve Hogarth was handed a novelty cricket bat guitar and the opening song was the emotional, Splintering Heart. 

Hogarth addressed the crowd with sincere utterings of “love you…” and led the fans in a sing-a-long of Cover of My Eyes intro.  At this early stage in the performance, I was awed by the massive response of the audience and Hogarth’s vocals seem to be in fantastic shape in comparison to some of his contemporaries.

Next, the band nearly gave me a heart attack as Hogarth shaking, held a Rickenbacker above his head for the dramatic intro of King.  This song had more of a 90s feel coming from critically acclaimed, Afraid of the Sunlight.

Some technical hitches with the keyboard caused a little improvisation in the set list but as you’d expect from a true professional band, they handled it with a cheeky one liner.  An intricate and playful, Fantastic Place was followed by what would be the first song that actually reminded me of a neo-progressive sounding Genesis – the band that Marillion are historically, often compared to.

And this was the first time that I started to notice that the song was significantly enhanced by backing tracks – non-existent female backing vocals, guitar fills and strange MIDI type sounding drums. 

But the enhancements left the audience completely undeterred and to Marillion’s credit, they clearly have a loyal and appreciative fan base.  Generally, I preferred the late 90s tracks like Man of a 1000 Faces and This Strange Engine with the classically constructed melodies and melancholy lyrics.

Marillion rounded out the main set with the another epic, progressive synth laden, Neverland before appearing for a set of encores spanning from new to old with 2004’s release Invisible Man to 80s Kayleigh and to late 90s with a crowd pleasing Three Minute Boy.

In conclusion, this band is an acquired taste of which I didn’t get but despite all of that, they command an endearing audience demonstrated by its consistent sold out shows and this is most certainly, completely down to their lead man, Hogarth’s entertainment value and a repertoire of diverse, artistic tracks.

Photography by Stephen Turner

Full picture sets here:  Marillion   Tin Spirits