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.
Hooks In You
Marillion Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You've got a problem that you can't see
But I've got a feeling that the rumours are true
I see the girl's go a hook in you
You carry on believing
That you can take or leave it
Now who are you deceiving
Cause when it's own up time
She's got her hooks in you
You said you'd never let it happen again
You spend your money and you're deeper in
Your fairweather friends call two by two
To let you know what's wrong with you
But now your heartbeat's thumpin'
You watch you nerve ends jumpin'
Well I can tell yo somethin'
When it's own up time
You're gonna toe the line
She's got her hooks in you
She's got her hooks in me too.
The lyrics of Marillion's song 'Hooks In You' depict the feeling of being trapped in a situation that you can't get out of. The song is narrated from the perspective of someone who witnesses their friend getting emotionally attached to a girl who may not have genuine feelings for him. The opening of the song reflects the confusion and unease of the singer who is unsure of what's happening to his friend. However, as the song progresses, he becomes more convinced that his friend is indeed being manipulated.
The phrase 'She's got her hooks in you' is repeated throughout the song, emphasizing the idea that the girl has gotten hold of the singer's friend and is not letting go. Even though the singer warns his friend about the situation, the friend chooses to ignore the warning and continues to believe that he has control over the situation. The lyrics 'You carry on believing that you can take or leave it, now who are you deceiving' highlight this sense of denial and self-deception.
Towards the end of the song, the singer confesses that he too has fallen under the girl's spell, indicating the universal nature of getting trapped in an unhealthy relationship. The song uses a catchy melody and upbeat tempo to convey the sense of being seduced and trapped by someone despite one's better judgement.
Line by Line Meaning
I feel so strange what's wrong with me
You're experiencing something unusual and you're unsure what's causing it
But I've got a feeling that the rumours are true
You suspect there's some truth in the rumors going around
I see the girl's go a hook in you
You're in a girl's clutches and it's quite apparent to me
You carry on believing
You keep pretending like everything's fine
That you can take or leave it
You think you have control over the situation
Now who are you deceiving
You're fooling yourself and not many others
Cause when it's own up time
When you're forced to admit the truth
She's in the back of you mind
The girl is constantly on your mind
You said you'd never let it happen again
You promised to yourself that you wouldn't let this happen again
You spend your money and you're deeper in
You keep wasting your money and you're getting drawn in further
Your fairweather friends call two by two
Your acquaintances are coming to you in pairs and sharing their concerns
To let you know what's wrong with you
They're trying to tell you what you're doing wrong
But now your heartbeat's thumpin'
You're starting to feel anxious
You watch you nerve ends jumpin'
You're feeling nervous and uncomfortable
Well I can tell yo somethin'
Let me give you some advice
When it's own up time
When you're forced to admit the truth
You're gonna toe the line
You're going to have to take responsibility for your actions
She's got her hooks in you
The girl has a significant amount of control over you
She's got her hooks in me too.
I'm also experiencing the same thing with this girl
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: STEVEN HOGARTH, JOHN PHILIP HELMER, MARK COLBERT KELLY, IAN FRANCESKO MOSLEY, STEVEN THOMAS ROTHERY, PETER JOHN TREWAVAS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
RadGigaChad
'I feel so strange what's wrong with me'
You've got a problem that you can't see
But I've got a feeling that the rumours are true
I see the girl's go a hook in you
You carry on believing
That you can take or leave it
Now who are you deceiving
Cause when it's own up time
She's in the back of you mind
She's got her hooks in you
You said you'd never let it happen again
You spend your money and you're deeper in
Your fairweather friends call two by two
To let you know what's wrong with you
But now your heartbeat's thumpin'
You watch you nerve ends jumpin'
Well I can tell yo somethin'
When it's own up time
You're gonna toe the line
She's got her hooks in you
She's got her hooks in me too
Donna McC
still an excellent song today 1989 the year of the BIG rock music
MrEdsonx
Música fantástica, lembra um dos melhores períodos de minha vida !!!
Gary Edgecombe
An underrated band!
Gary Edgecombe
@clan cunningham You met him! 👍
Like AC/DC & Bon, Marillion lost something (lost a lot!) when Fish quit!
pink floyd
@Gary Edgecombe I stay in Aberdeen and the next day after a fish gig(the misplaced childhood anniversary tour)while in town this monster sized guy came up to ask advice on b+b's.he said I was at the fish gig Lastingham.I said 'so was I' he said 'fish is my cousin' I automatically thought bullshit so asked him lots of questions a fish family member would know.what was his mum and dads name.he replied..Bert and isabelle.which is right,I bombarded him...he gave me fishes phone number...fish answered!! Being a massive fish freak I couldn't believe it.he ended up staying with my for six weeks!
Gary Edgecombe
@clan cunningham Yep! They drifted too.. into obscurity! They never topped their debut album 'Script For A Jesters Tear.' (with 'Fish')
pink floyd
The space is one of my favourites.I drifted away from them after this album.
Daraku
The most energetic song by hogarth Era.
richard windrose
I played this song for an old friend whose woman was 35 and heard her biological clock ticking....well, well, first comes love, then comes marriage then comes ...in a baby carriage. She got her hooks in him.
And several months later my ole buddy was a new father. She beat the clock. Great song.
David Banner
Great hard rock song which showed they still had it after Fish left.