Marillion With Friends From The Orchestra – Live at The Royal Albert Hall – 18/11/19

“Marillion, that’s that band with that Fish bloke in, did that song called Kayleigh…?”

If you’re a fan of the very long career of UK progressive band Marillion then you’ll have heard that question many a time. They have made it fashionable to be unfashionable in an ever changing industry that rewards the latest thing, in fact they’ve made a successful career out of it.

So then, how is it that a band most people seem to think ceased to exist in the mid 80’s can sell out the holy grail of live venues for two nights? There’s two reasons really, first because of a fan base that revere and love them (almost obsessively, if last night was anything to go by) and, secondly, because they are a live experience that should be on your bucket list!

Having played the RAH two years ago with a six piece orchestra, Marillion have decided to reinvent some of their tracks that they feel fit especially well in that format and are releasing an album (Marillion With Friends From The Orchestra) at the end of this month.

So it made sense to go out on a UK tour to promote the album and play in venues that would give the format some stunning backdrops? Of course it did!

The evening started with a short support set of cleverly crafted singer songwriter material from the talented Harry Pane, whose short but enjoyable acoustic guitar and double bass material was warmly received by the building audience.

Harry Pane

However it was the main event that everybody had come to see and as the six piece orchestra walked on to the stage, followed by the band, the anticipation of the audience could literally be felt.

Marillion launched into an intense version of Gaza with frontman Steve Hogarth prowling the stage like a tormented soul, his on stage persona and antics are always an integral part of the band’s superb live shows.

The light show and backdrop graphics added to the intensity of proceedings as the band played a set littered with their greatest songs, twenty minute plus tracks that flew by leaving the audience at times speechless and at others rapturous and raucous, the alcohol maybe giving vent to some 50 and 60 year old fan’s long years of admiration where normally they would be more reserved.

The orchestra fitted in seamlessly with the strings bringing a euphoric feel to the somber brilliance of Estonia and lifting my all time favourite Marillion track, Season’s End, to incredible new heights, Steve Rothery’s solo bringing a lump to my throat and I’m sure I had something in my eye…

A wonderfully theatrical version of The New Kings from the band’s latest album F.E.A.R had the audience hooked on every word, engrossed as Hogarth led us through the mire of the modern world and this was followed by a brilliantly spirited Man of a Thousand Faces that had the audience singing along.

This once in a lifetime experience was finished by a two piece encore starting with a rocking take on Seperated Out with an excerpt from Led Zep’s Kashmir that even had the orchestra rocking out.

Things finally came to a close with an emotive and tumultuous version of long time fan favourite This Strange Engine that ebbed and flowed superbly for over twenty minutes before bringing the house down with heartfelt applause and adulation.

Thirty years on from when Steve Hogarth joined the band, Marillion still do things there own way. They did crowd funding before it was fashionable and they put on a live experience like no other. On nights like these they are untouchable to their fans and long may it continue. Now, who’s that Fish bloke…?

18th November 2019

Set List

  1. Gaza
  2. Power
  3. Beyond You
  4. Seasons End
  5. Estonia
  6. A Collection
  7. The New Kings Parts I – IV
  8. Man Of A Thousand Faces
  9. The Space
  10. Encore 1 – Separated Out
  11. Encore 2 – This Strange Engine

Marillion with Friends from the Orchestra Live in 2019

Marillion have announced that they will return to the road in the UK and Europe in 2019 with an extended line up of musicians joining the band.

The shows will feature the In Praise of Folly String Quartet plus Sam Morris on French Horn and Emma Halnan on Flute, featured on select numbers throughout the show as on previous occasions. In December 2017, Marillion played a sold-out show at The Royal Albert Hall which was the fastest selling concert of the bands career and featured this same ensemble of musicians who also featured on the UK tour in the spring of 2018. The concert at the Royal Albert hall was hailed by the fans and critics alike as “one of the best concerts in Marillion’s history”.  The recording of the show, ‘All One Tonight’ has since been released on DVD, Blu-Ray, CD and vinyl and topped the charts in 5 countries. Marillion will be playing songs spanning their 14 album-career with Steve Hogarth, as 2019 celebrates 30 years of him joining the band.

Tour Dates are:
November 2019
Fri 01                     Liverpool Philharmonic
Sun 03                   Nottingham Royal Concert Hall
Mon 04                 Manchester Bridgewater Hall
Wed 06                 Birmingham Symphony Hall
Thur 07             Portsmouth Guildhall
Sat 09                   Bath The Forum
Sun 10                  Oxford New Theatre
Tue 12                  Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
Wed 13                Gateshead The Sage
Fri 15                    Southend Cliffs Pavilion
Sat 16                   Cardiff St David’s Hall
Mon 18                London Royal Albert Hall
Tue 19                  London Royal Albert Hall
Tickets available from https://myticket.co.uk/ and venue box offices.