That’s Malcolm Galloway of Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate FYI; a title that may run close to earning the ‘longest ATB feature title’ award. HOGIA has just released the excellent Parallel Lives album in the Progressive Rock vein. A band / duo / trio of Malcolm, Mark Gatland and Kathryn Thomas who bring elements of electronics, classical and minimalism to their songwriting often exploring scientific, sci-fi, and historical themes. Think Big Big Train and Public Service Broadcasting to set the ball rolling.
However, learning that Malcolm shares a passion for Marillion, we simply had to twist his arm to tell us about his appreciation for both the Fish and Hogarth eras of the band.
A HUGE INSPIRATION
Marillion have been a huge inspiration to me for many years. In my musically formative years, one of my most frequently played cassettes was Clutching At Straws. Released in 1987, the album ended up being the last studio album of the Fish era. There is something about the venom in Fish’s vocals that I love. I think Fish has described himself as a writer who sings, rather than as a singer who writes. The song-writing of the early Marillion albums is I think a virtuosic lyrical masterclass.
Clutching At Straws seems to have a self-lacerating awareness of the destructive tensions that would end that phase of the band’s life.
The album opens with Hotel Hobbies. A delicate but ominous atmospheric instrumental opens the track, which is then joined by a keyboard ostinato figure. Fish’s at first understated vocals paint a dark picture of a writer in a hotel, hiding behind addictive behaviours. The tension builds, until song explodes into life with the line “and a familiar craving, is crawling in his head“. The combination of Fish’s self-excoriating vocals and the intensity of Steve Rothery’s soaring lead guitar work is extraordinary.
MELODIC PHRASING
Steve Rothery’s guitar playing is one aspect of the music that keeps me coming back to listen to Marillion songs again and again. Like David Gilmour, Rothery is a guitarist who favours melodic phrasing over shredding. Both can say more with a handful of notes than seems possible. Their style of playing reminds me more of the approach a vocalist might take rather than that of a typical guitarist.
Take the guitar solo at around 3:00 in Warm Wet Circles (the second track on Clutching At Straws). So much is expressed with a small number of perfectly chosen notes. There are few instrumentalists who seem to communicate so directly through their playing.
EMOTIVE CONNECTIONS
It is difficult to distinguish between the intrinsic properties of a work of art, and the emotional connection we have with it given the time in our lives when we were discovering it. The early Marillion albums will always have a particular resonance for me, but I also greatly admire the many albums they have released in the decades after Fish left. I think Steve Hogarth is technically one of the best singers in rock music. They (and we) are fortunate to have had two excellent but very different vocalist/lyricists.
As an example of a Hogarth-era Marillion track that I love, I’d pick Splintering Heart from Holidays In Eden. Like Hotel Hobbies, it is an album opener with an ominous atmospheric instrumental opening. It also has an initially restrained vocal, that then explodes into life as the emotional shackles are unlocked. I think this track is a good example of the exquisite control Steve Hogarth has of his voice as an instrument. The track also has a couple of passionately intense Steve Rothery guitar solos.
SERVING THE SONG
As a vocalist and guitar enthusiast, I may be unfairly focusing on Steve Rothery and Steve Hogarth. The early Marillion albums show that Mark Kelly is just as capable of delivering a searing solo as any guitarist, though perhaps his arpeggiated supportive textures are an equally distinctive feature of his approach to the keyboard. Pete Trewavas is one of my favourite bass guitarists. He and drummer Ian Mosley seem to me to be players whose focus is on serving the song, ensuring the other elements have both the space and the support that they need to shine. There is a lot of detail to enjoy in their playing, but it never crowds out other elements of the music.
As much as I enjoy Marillion’s studio albums, there is something particularly special about their live performances, so as my last choice of their tracks I’ll pick the live version of 100 Nights from Holidays In Eden Live. Marillion are masters of dramatic shifts from quiet intensity to an explosive expression of emotion. The eruption of the guitar solo at about 3:15, followed by the interlacing passionate vocals and soaring sustained lead guitar, wrapped around enveloping arpeggiated synth parts is to me archetypal Marillion.
LIVE IN 2026
I had the pleasure of seeing Marillion at Hammersmith Apollo recently. The instrumental version of Hotel Hobbies they played there was spine-tingling. For not far off half a decade, Marillion have consistently produced emotionally powerful music, while continuing to develop and innovate. The reaction of the audience at the Hammersmith Apollo was a clear testament to the continuing importance of their music.
Our huge thanks to Malcom – I’m sure we could talk Marillion for some considerable length of time…
Here’s My Blistering Mind from Parallel Lives:
You can read more from our extensive archive of Why I Love pieces from a wide array of artists on an even wider array of subjects, here.
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