The Fish era is often categorized as neo-progressive. They originally started as "Silmarillion" (from Tolkien's book) with heavy influences from classic Genesis but went on to develop their own distinctive sound. The band was formed in 1979 by Mick Pointer (drums), Steve Rothery (guitar), Doug 'Rastus' Irvine (bass), and others, soon adding vocalist Fish (real name Derek W. Dick), Diz Minitt (bass), and Brian Jelliman. By the time of their first album, 1983's Script for a Jester's Tear, the bass position had been taken over by Pete Trewavas and keyboards by Mark Kelly.
The studio albums Fugazi (1984), Misplaced Childhood (1985), and Clutching at Straws (1987), as well as the 1984 live album Real to Reel all sold respectably, and the band scored a hit single in Britain with Kayleigh in 1985.
When Fish left the band in 1988 after four albums he was replaced by Steve Hogarth. A former member of The Europeans and some-time collaborator with The The and Julian Cope, Hogarth brought a new energy to the band.
Across a further ten albums, Hogarth – along with existing members Rothery, Kelly, Trewavas, and Mosley – have reinvigorated and constantly redefined Marillion’s sound. They forged into new musical territories with a succession of inventive, emotional albums, displaying little regard to the vagaries of hit charts or radio playlists.
After the release of 1999’s marillion.com the band freed themselves from record company pressure once and for all by launching their own record label, the Intact imprint.
Thanks to their pioneering embrace of the Internet through their website http://marillion.com, Marillion have developed a unique and intimate relationship with their fans. From sponsoring entire tours of the USA to funding the recording of recent albums, Marillion’s global fan-base is unique in its affection and dedication. As a result, such passionate, wholesale support has allowed Marillion to step outside of the conventional music industry and find their own path.
In 2001 Anoraknophobia saw Marillion take the groundbreaking step of asking fans to pre-order an album 12 months before release. An amazing 12,000 people signed up, helping to finance the recording. The band once again took pre-orders for the 2004 release Marbles, but this time the money was channelled into a campaign fund to promote its launch. The success of singles Don't Hurt Yourself and You're Gone – the latter making it all the way to number 7 – vindicated the band's independent strategy.
Their 2007 album Somewhere Else reached number 24 in the UK album chart with their most recent single Thankyou Whoever You Are hitting the UK singles chart at number 15. The band shows no signs of fading away after more than 25 years of activity.
Their 15th album, "Happiness is the road", was physically released in October 2008 but was originally available exclusively from the band's website. It was released with little promotion and a deluxe pre-order package was made available as with Marbles. 'Happiness is the Road' is the second studio double album of a long career (2004's Marbles was the other). A UK and European tour followed the album's release, and the band is taking special effort to record every show in the "Happiness on the Road" tour, making the recordings available from the band's website.
Berlín
Marillion Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Rises at twilight, gets dressed in a daze
Black leather crackles and cold water runs
As she touches the walls of memory maze
And the shadows of men she has known fill her day
She's held half the world in her arms so they say
But she wakes up without them with a hole in her heart
The mascara'd blonde from the Berliner bar
Sighs at the skylight gets lost in the haze
Black leather crackles and cold water runs
As she touches the walls of her memory maze
Someone got stranded in no man's land
Dancing in the spotlight to the sound of clapping hands
Nobody knows who's side he was on
It's a risk that you take in no man's land
Nobody knows what made him decide
To run for freedom and to certain suicide
When they turn off the guns and his fingers uncurl
He's clutching a photograph of a Berlin party girl
Come in from your checkpoints on your lonely roads
Come in from your ditches in your silent fields
Where intensified light from a rifle sight
Makes the darkness day
And the day too bright,
And we wake up without you
We wake up without you
With a hole in our hearts
You mad dog shaven head bottle-boy freaks
In Martens and khaki, drunk on sake
You stare at yourself in the cruel flush of dawn
Terrified, sunken eyed, withered and drawn
The butcher, the baker, the munitions maker
The over-achiever, the armistice breaker
The freebase instructor, the lightning conductor
The psycho, the sailor, the tanker, the tailor
The black market mailer
The quick and the dead
The spotlight dancer
The quick and the dead
We wake up without you
With a hole in our hearts
The mascara'd blonde from the Berliner bar
Rises at twilight, gets dressed in a daze
The song "Berlin" by Marillion tells the story of a woman, known as the mascara'd blonde from the Berliner bar, who is haunted by her past. She dresses in black leather and touches the walls of her "memory maze," filled with shadows of men she has known. She is said to have held half the world in her arms, but wakes up with a hole in her heart and lives her life behind bars. The song also references a man who got stranded in no man's land, dancing in the spotlight to the sound of clapping hands. He runs for freedom and to certain suicide, clutching a photograph of the Berlin party girl. The song closes with a list of different people - the butcher, baker, munitions maker, etc. - all waking up without the person they miss, with a hole in their hearts.
The song was inspired by the band's time in Berlin during the Cold War, specifically the tension and divisions between East and West Berlin. The mascara'd blonde represents the women left behind when the Berlin Wall was built, and the man in no man's land represents those who attempted to cross the wall to freedom. The song can also be interpreted as a commentary on the toll that political divisions take on individuals and society as a whole.
Line by Line Meaning
The mascara'd blonde from the Berliner bar
The woman with makeup on from the Berlin bar
Rises at twilight, gets dressed in a daze
She wakes up at dusk and dresses in a state of confusion
Black leather crackles and cold water runs
She wears leather that makes noise and feels cold water
As she touches the walls of memory maze
She feels the walls of her mind's labyrinth
And the shadows of men she has known fill her day
Memories of men she's been with haunt her thoughts during the day
She's held half the world in her arms so they say
She's been with many men, as rumored
But she wakes up without them with a hole in her heart
She wakes up without those men and feels empty and alone
And she puts on her clothes lives her life behind bars
She dresses up and lives in a confined space or trapped lifestyle
Sighs at the skylight gets lost in the haze
She breathes out a deep breath and feels lost in the foggy sky
Someone got stranded in no man's land
A person is stuck between two opposing forces
Dancing in the spotlight to the sound of clapping hands
The person dances under bright lights with people applauding
Nobody knows who's side he was on
It's unclear which group the person belonged to
It's a risk that you take in no man's land
There are risks involved when caught in a neutral area
Nobody knows what made him decide
It's unknown why the person chose to do something
To run for freedom and to certain suicide
The person ran towards freedom despite the risk of death
When they turn off the guns and his fingers uncurl
When the shooting stops, the person's fingers loosen up
He's clutching a photograph of a Berlin party girl
The person holds onto a picture of a girl from a party in Berlin
Come in from your checkpoints on your lonely roads
People are asked to return from their isolated areas
Come in from your ditches in your silent fields
People are asked to leave the empty and quiet fields
Where intensified light from a rifle sight
Bright light shines from a gun's sight
Makes the darkness day
The light is so strong that it makes the night seem like day
And the day too bright,
The daylight is also too strong
You mad dog shaven head bottle-boy freaks
Referring to people with abnormal appearances or behaviors
In Martens and khaki, drunk on sake
The people wear a certain type of boots and clothing and are drunk on a particular type of alcohol
You stare at yourself in the cruel flush of dawn
The people look at themselves in the early morning light, which is harsh and unforgiving
Terrified, sunken eyed, withered and drawn
They look frightened, tired, and worn out
The butcher, the baker, the munitions maker
Referring to different occupations
The over-achiever, the armistice breaker
Referring to people who go above and beyond, and those who break agreements
The freebase instructor, the lightning conductor
Referring to someone who teaches drug use and someone who attracts attention
The psycho, the sailor, the tanker, the tailor
Referring to different professions
The black market mailer
Someone who illegally sells goods
The quick and the dead
Referring to people who are always on the move versus those who have already passed away
The spotlight dancer
Someone who dances under bright light and attention
We wake up without you
They wake up alone without other people around them
With a hole in our hearts
They feel empty and alone
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ANDY FRASER, BILLY LIESEGANG, NINA HAGEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@fabricioferreiraful
The mascara'd blonde from the Berliner bar
Rises at twilight, gets dressed in a daze
Black leather crackles and cold water runs
As she touches the walls of memory maze
And the shadows of men she has known fill her day
She's held half the world in her arms so they say
But she wakes up without them with a hole in her heart
And she puts on her clothes lives her life behind bars
The mascara'd blonde from the Berliner bar
Sighs at the skylight gets lost in the haze
Black leather crackles and cold water runs
As she touches the walls of her memory maze
Someone got stranded in no man's land
Dancing in the spotlight to the sound of clapping hands
Nobody knows who's side he was on
It's a risk that you take in no man's land
Nobody knows what made him decide
To run for freedom and to certain suicide
When they turn off the guns and his fingers uncurl
He's clutching a photograph of a Berlin party girl
Come in from your checkpoints on your lonely roads
Come in from your ditches in your silent fields
Where intensified light from a rifle sight
Makes the darkness day
And the day too bright,
And we wake up without you
We wake up without you
With a hole in our hearts
You mad dog shaven head bottle-boy freaks
In Martens and khaki, drunk on sake
You stare at yourself in the cruel flush of dawn
Terrified, sunken eyed, withered and drawn
The butcher, the baker, the munitions maker
The over-achiever, the armistice breaker
The freebase instructor, the lightning conductor
The psycho, the sailor, the tanker, the tailor
The black market mailer
The quick and the dead
The spotlight dancer
The quick and the dead
We wake up without you
With a hole in our hearts
The mascara'd blonde from the Berliner bar
Rises at twilight, gets dressed in a daze
@huguybear
Don't see how anybody could not love this song
@MrLJolley06
Huguyguy ikr. I don't even know what kind of music this is. But I freaking love this band. I think there great.
@greypilgrim2028
Huguyguy: Simple, they have no taste, musical or otherwise.
@vodka1233211
@@MrLJolley06progresive rock
@douglas70940
Wonderful guitar solo in the ending. Great Steve Rothery.
@SmokinLoon5150
I still get chills each and every time I hear the transition at 4:16 through 4:49. Wow.
@scottalan833
The Saxophone 🎷👍
@nikolaibaas2776
Forget the Saxophone! It‘s standard Rock-Saxophone playing, nothing special, I‘ m a sax player myself! I love the song in spite of the saxophone, Not because of it!
@scottalan7712
Marillion sings & performs from the Heart. You can tell in a second, gifted performers. ❤👍
@marcellomarcellino4679
Marillion's music is the voice of the soul. Wonderful colours everywhere around me.