Marillion – B’Sides Themselves, The Thieving Magpie, Fish Splits and Tic-Tac-Toe
“The first best move I made in the music business was joining the band, the second best was leaving it.” Fish (1993 interview with Anil Prasad)
With the release of Clutching At Straws the band immediately set out on another massive tour lasting over 100 shows between June of 1987 and June 1988 throughout the EU, UK, USA and Canada. The setlist from these shows was a good mix of songs from the band’s catalog with the majority of them comprised of Clutching At Straws and side 1 of Misplaced Childhood, along with 4 or 5 from the Fugazi and Script era. At a select number of shows they also played Misplaced Childhood in its entirety. My first Marillion live show was on October 13 1987 at Massey Hall in Toronto. I sat with Daniel Veidlinger, my band Tempus Fugit’s pedantic bassist. We were stage right balcony with a great view and Rothery just below. Fish was dressed in a somewhat gaudy silk costume with a fire print representative of the Torch Character. It was an awe inspiring performance full of all the power and excitement I suspected they would exude in a live setting. It was a big moment for me as by this point they were already one of my favourite bands. This was the first of 29 live shows I’ve seen the band perform in the past 32 years but the only one I saw with Fish at the fore. It still stands as one of my favourite shows by the band, partly due to the fact that I feel lucky just to have seen this iteration of the band, but also due to the fact that many of the songs played would not be performed again live by the band once Steve Hogarth joined. So songs like Assassing, White Russian, Incubus, Fugazi, Bitter Suite, Hotel Hobbies and The Last Straw were all one offs for me, while others such as Sugar Mice, Warm Wet Circles, That Time Of The Night, Kayleigh, Lavender, Heart Of Lothian, Incommunicado, Garden Party and Market Square Heroes would all factor into their setlists over the years with varying degrees of regularity. Enough to keep the old guard sated at times…other times the lack of Fish era material would be a point of contention and something that plagues social media discussions to this day…much like Genesis…and Yes…and many other bands. It is the nature of the medium for people to complain. That’s why I’m actually writing all of this stuff, not just on Marillion but on all the music I love. I’m actually trying to do something new for me while providing a constructive, unfiltered, honest opinion of what I love about music instead of bouncing between my work chair and Netflix.
While touring the CAS album (an acronym I find immensely confusing due to the fact that my other favourite band Genesis, released their final studio album Calling All Stations aka CAS), EMI Records released a compilation album containing most of the choice b-sides the band had released over the years but had not been readily available everywhere. The deftly titled B’Sides Themselves was released in January of 1988 with a somewhat ghastly album cover containing components derived from the artwork of previous singles. I say ghastly but there is something hypnotically transfixing about it as well, though not in a pretty way. I actually like it a lot more now than I did then but it’s a harsh piece of art. Contained within are the various versions of the songs Grendel, Charting The Single, Market Square Heroes, Three Boats Down From The Candy, Cinderella Search, Lady Nina, Freaks , Tux On, and Margaret. This is by no means an entry point for new fans…more like an exit point for some old fans. It is by its very nature a mish mash of a set of songs but for fans of this era it is a fabulous gathering of the studio b-sides to date, which were previously scattered across singles. Missing were some alternate mixes and a few live cuts. Of note this is the only Marillion (non-hits compilation) album that contains contributions from all seven band members who had contributed to the Fish era studio output.
The Clutching At Straws tour ended on July 23 1988 at Fife Aid 2 in St. Andrews, Scotland which would end up being Fish’s last performance with the band until a one off event in 2007. The band reconvened shortly after the tour to begin working on material for their next album. Here is what I’ve pieced together from several interviews I’ve read (citations will be provided if I get published). During the writing process Bob Ezrin was brought into pre-production to see what the band had come up with, as he was slated to produce the record. Bob’s response was that they didn’t have any songs. They had song fragments that were being worked on with the intention of piecing them together…which isn’t much different than how they write to this day. Fish was already frustrated with the writing process as he felt it impossible to try to write lyrics, which he often worked on in isolation, without more structure to the songs. Feeling vindicated by Ezrin’s proclamation of lack of cohesion, Fish hoped it would change the band’s approach. However as soon as Ezrin was gone they went back to trying to piece together song fragments at which point Fish said “Fuck this” and walked out of the room. The band at this point was already suffering from the impact of many pressures. Family life, constant touring without much of a break, personality conflicts, management problems forcing infighting, egos and excesses. As well, the direction the band and singer were interested in going was diverging. Fish had felt alienated since Misplaced Childhood, but has also professed that he was an ass at the time and likely intolerable and egotistic. He mentioned in one interview, that the song That Time Of The Night is actually a letter of resignation. Skip forward a year, and about a week after the Ezrin visit, Fish drank a bottle of Jim Beam before passing out thinking he was on the verge of killing himself if things didn’t change. The next morning he hand wrote a three page letter which he photocopied and sent to the other members of the band via taxi. The essence of the ultimatum being either he goes or their manager goes. The next day he received a letter from their manager saying his services were no longer required. It was a very ugly and public divorce in the music media, which at the time was the only way fans could possibly keep up with music news. It stayed somewhat acrimonious in a John and Paul kind of way for the next 10 years but in the end both parties ended up moving on and flourishing beyond the change. But that was it. Fish was out to flounder on his own (sorry it won’t happen again) and Marillion were left at the Genesis of their own singer problem (again…sorry…last time). More on that in the next post. As far as fans were concerned the band very well might have been over. For some it was.
Ok I think it is time I explained something to those who may not be as familiar with Marillion but are still reading these posts. Everyone who has bailed at this point can fuck off 
. So, Marillion fans are a special breed. Yeah I know every band has the best fans and also the worst fans. The reality is true for Marillion as well, but even more so. Fish era fans LOVE Fish. I mean like crazy fanatical. I love the band and many would call me fanatical but I don’t feel like I am…though I probably am. Does cherishing a vial of Fish sweat and Rothery nail clippings qualify as fanatical? If so I’m guilty as charged. If not then I’m just a normal dude who likes a band, bottled sweat and human clippings. But honestly Marillion fans of the Fish era felt a kinship to them. They were THEIR band. The one with the giant Scotsman who wore face paint and costumes, who had artwork that was postered on their walls, and who knew ever note and every word from every song. Some of this group of fans would choose not to continue the journey and Fish leaving was a door they followed him through. Those who stayed and liked what the band would become would have many years of rewards ahead of them. I’m not judging either. It just is what it is. Some people only like Genesis with Peter Gabriel, some only with Phil Collins, some only with Steve Hackett. Some people think Floyd sucked after Syd Barrett was squeezed out. Some people think Cut The Crap is the only good Clash album…Ok that one’s a lie – no one in their right mind would consider it anything other than a shit Clash album. The point being everyone’s got something they like about music and it isn’t anyone’s place to judge their taste, one way or another. You like the Spice Girls? Good on you. I say Spice Up Your Life. If you say Girl You Know It’s True when I ask if you like Millie Vanilli…awesome. Music is a special gift that is supposed to elevate our lives. Who the fuck am I to judge why or what makes someone else love a song or a band? Why spend time trying to diminish that experience for others? What you love about music has as much to do with the song itself as it does with the memories it evokes. Music is a time machine much like smells. A sensory attachment to another time and place that is a truly unique experience. So I say love what you love and try not to ride on those who like what you hate. Wheh…I knew I’d find a place for that somewhere. Sorry I’m on a tangent…back to the story.
To capitalize on the success of the tour, and the news that Fish had left the band, EMI released the double live album The Thieving Magpie (La Gazza Ladra) in November 1988. It wasn’t exactly a tour document type of live album, though, more a representation of an amalgamation of a setlist that never existed. It draws from material played on both the Clutching tour as well as songs from the March 5-6 1984’s Sheffield City Hall shows on the Fugazi tour. None of the material on this album is found on Real To Real so it did a good job of fleshing out some gaps. The vinyl and cassette releases of the album contained Side 1 of Misplaced Childhood, whereas the double CD version contained the full album performance. The only other difference was the inclusion of the song Freaks on the cassette and CD versions, which was released in its live form, as a single to promote the album. One thing I want to mention about this album as well. I know I kind of stuck it to Chelsea Monday when I reviewed Script For A Jester’s Tear but the live version of this song really soars so I semi-retract my criticisms of the song. Actually I think that Jigsaw and Punch and Judy are also far better here than on the album. I’m not sure why other than maybe they sound a bit less harsh than on the studio release. Perhaps the forthcoming Fugazi reissue will find it worthy of reassessment by me. Unless they make it sound even more stark…if that’s even possible. Anyway The Thieving Magpie is a great live album…one of my favourites by any band, actually. It is also a great entry point to the band’s Fish era, much like Seconds Out by Genesis or Alchemy by Dire Straits or Peter Gabriel Plays Live. FYI a full proper live recording from the Clutching At Straws tour show at the Edinburgh Playhouse in 1987 was eventually released as part of the 4 disc reissue in 2018 albeit with the final song Market Square Heroes cut short. There is also a great video called Live From Loreley from July 18 1987 in Germany which captures the band at the end of this stage, much like Recital Of The Script captured them at the beginning. They make interesting bookends to watch in succession and they really convey the scope of change over that 5 year period, both in look and in size of audiences…and size of singers for that matter.
For many years fans never knew much about the sessions that preceded Fish’s departure. It was generally known they were working on new material, and Fish had mentioned it was all just fragments, as noted, but 11 years later in 1999 a remastered version of the album was released as part of a reissue campaign that found various demos, b-sides, and live versions of songs released on their respective CDs. The second disc of the Clutching at Straws album would turn out to be one of the most interesting releases fans could have wished for. The first three songs were standard for the reissues, being an alternate version of Incommunicado, the Tux On b-side and the long version of Going Under not found on the actual album. The last two songs were demos of White Russian and “Sugar Mice In The Rain”. Squashed in between these songs however, were seven songs that can only be described as the road not taken. They were fully formed studio demos of the material the band had been writing as a follow up to CAS prior to Fish’s exit. It is in some ways a lost Marillion album which I have deemed titled Tic-Tac-Toe, because it is a title that is so bad that it is good. The album never actually had a working title (Edit: I’ve been informed by Andy McIntosh who I’m considering hiring as my editor, that it actually had a working title of Vigil In A Wilderness Of Mirrors). So let’s walk through these seven curios. For context what happened was the band had written music and Fish was writing lyrics. The songs that we have here are like a mashup of music, which fans would hear on their follow up album Seasons End, combined with lyrics Fish would use on the first few solo albums he released. Trying to review these songs is a bizarre task as it is almost surreal hearing lyrics and melodies to songs you know with different music and at the same time music that you know but with different lyrics. It isn’t all that straightforward, but it is what the experience feels like. Imagine if today Genesis released an aborted follow up to The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway which consisted of the music from A Trick Of The Tail but with lyrics from Peter Gabriel’s first solo album and his first solo album contained lyrics from A Trick Of The Tail. That’s what this set of songs is like, and it is fascinatingly off putting. Like finding out your spouse had another family you didn’t know about. I’ll do my best here knowing I’m referring to some material that I haven’t discussed yet, but in the context of the chronology of the band I think it fits nicely here where it occurred. As an FYI I don’t actually listen to this material often so I’m not as familiar with it as the rest of the band’s output.
First up is Beaujolais Day which was actually a song from the Clutching sessions. It is a strange mix of the music from Warm Wet Circles and what would become Season’s End, with different lyrics and some melodies also from Warm Wet Circles. It works quite well though as stated it is hard to be objective with this stuff due to its very nature and my familiarity with the final material. Perhaps they are best described as curiosities.
Second song is Song From A Thin Wall. This song uses music that would end become the stellar highlight Berlin, from the band’s next album. The lyrics would find a home on the absolutely stunning song Family Business, about domestic violence on Fish’s first solo album Vigil In A Wilderness Of Mirrors. Despite the weirdness of this combo the song actually works really well for most of it, and might have been a highlight if the album had been completed. In the end both songs are actually better post separation. Family Business would end up with much more suitable music and Berlin would end up with a better suited lyric and a much more powerful ending.
Shadows On The Barley finds the music to the Marillion b-side The Bell In The Sea (one of the most popular Hogarth era non-album tracks), combined with a lyric not found elsewhere. This is probably the most confident, well realized and recorded song of the bunch. It is REALLY good and is one of the clear successes of these versions. It is the one that sounds the least strange to me.
The fourth song is Exile On Princes Street which for the life of me I can’t place where it ended up. I know it sounds very familiar but I’m not sure. I’ll replace this when someone points it out to me. The lyrics were partly transplanted onto Fish’s second solo album Internal Exile. This is a gorgeous song and the one with its own unique identity more so than any of the others.
Sunset Hill combines some of the music used for The King Of Sunset Town with what appears to be an earlier version of what would become the lyrics to A View From The Hill from Vigil. It all works remarkably well with some unique moments both lyrically and musically that would not progress past this version. Again both songs are better in their final forms.
Next is Tic-Tac-Toe aka the title that never was, that I have ascribed to the lost Marillion record. This one is a bit rougher in sound…clearly less polished than some of the others. Here we have the music for what would become the other non-album b-side from Marillion’s Seasons End album, The Release but this time set to a draft of the lyrics that would become State Of Mind on Fish’s Vigil album.
Last up is Voice In The Crowd. A slightly different rendition of this song would become the bonus track After Me on Marillion’s Season End. The lyrics ended up on Vigil but again I can’t place which song – could be the song Vigil itself. Sound wise this one is also a bit rough but it had potential.
These seven songs were a peek into a future for the band that wouldn’t come to pass, and a very important addition to the band’s history, as it is the dividing line between the music that the band would continue to make and the lyrics that their singer would take. It was also a wonderful gift for fans of the Fish era. One which no one saw coming but many have loved.
Recommended Listening: – Chelsea Monday (live), Jigsaw (live), Punch and Judy (live), Shadows On The Barley, Exile On Princes Street, Sunset Hill, Tic-Tac-Toe (cause it is the title track). Everything on B’Sides Themselves is worth checking out.
