Marillion

Britain’s Marillion led the resurgence of progressive rock—often called "Neo-Prog"—in the 1980s. Drawing on influences ranging from famous progressive heavyweights like Genesis, Yes, and Van Der Graaf Generator to post-punk explorers such as Talk Talk, Marillion combined a gift for memorable melodies with interesting lyrical to achieve considerable success across subsequent decades.

Frontman during their heyday was Derek W. Dick, aka Fish, who, at an imposing 195 cm, was able to project a huge presence during Marillion’s live shows. In true prog tradition, all key band members were impressive instrumentalists; Steve Rothery on guitars, bass player Pete Trewavas (later of progressive supergroup Transatlantic) and Mark Kelly on keyboards. They achieved an astonishing twenty UK Top 40 singles and no fewer than nine albums that made it to the Top 10 in Britain’s album charts.

Despite the major disruption of Fish’s departure in 1988 the band continued after recruiting Steve Hogarth for vocal duties. Without Fish’s theatrical presence, their sound and style changed, but Marillion continued to produce an ever-evolving stream of interesting and entertaining rock music.