MARILLION – CLUTCHING AT STRAWS LP – Nr MINT A1/B1 UK 1987

Marillion – Misplaced Childhood
(EMI Records  1987  EMD1002)
Matrix No’s: A1/B1 – UK Pressing

Embossed Sleeve in nr MINT condition
Inner Sleeve in Nr MINT condition

Vinyl in Nr MINT condition
(there are some surface marks visible on the vinyl when held up to the light but they don’t affect the sound quality apart from a few light crackles on the fade in each side)

Marillion are a British rock band, formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England, in 1979. They emerged from the post-punk music scene in Britain and existed as a bridge between the styles of punk rock and classic progressive rock, becoming the most commercially successful neo-progressive rock band of the 1980s.

Marillion’s recorded studio output since 1982 is composed of eighteen albums, generally regarded in two distinct eras, delineated by the departure of original frontman Fish in late 1988 and the subsequent arrival of replacement Steve Hogarth in early 1989. The band achieved eight Top Ten UK albums between 1983 and 1994, including a number one album in 1985 with Misplaced Childhood, and during the period the band were fronted by Fish they scored eleven Top 40 hits on the UK Singles Chart. They are best known for the 1985 singles “Kayleigh” and “Lavender”, which reached number two and number five respectively.

Marillion’s first album released with Hogarth, 1989’s Seasons End, was another Top Ten hit, and albums continued to chart well until their departure from EMI following the release of their 1996 live album Made Again and the dissipation of the band’s mainstream popularity in the late 1990s; save for a resurgence in the mid- to late-2000s, they have essentially been a cult act since then. Marillion have achieved a further twelve Top 40 hit singles in the UK with Hogarth, including 2004’s “You’re Gone”, which charted at No. 7 and is the biggest hit of his tenure. The band continue to tour internationally, and were ranked 38th in Classic Rock‘s “50 Best Live Acts of All Time” in 2008. In 2016, they returned to the UK Albums Chart Top Ten for the first time in 22 years with their highest chart placing since 1987.

Despite much antipathy towards them in the mainstream media and a consistently unfashionable status within the British music industry, Marillion have maintained an extremely loyal international fanbase, as well as being widely acknowledged as playing a pioneering role in the development of crowdfunding and fan-funded music. They have sold more than 15 million albums.

Clutching at Straws is the fourth studio album by neo-progressive rock band Marillion, and is a concept album. Released in 1987, it was the last album with lead singer Fish who left the band in 1988. Although commercially not quite as successful as its 1985 predecessor Misplaced Childhood – Clutching at Straws spent 15 weeks on the UK album chart (the shortest chart residency of any of Marillion’s first four studio albums) – it still reached number two (the second highest chart placing for a Marillion album) and it is considered to be among the best work of Marillion’s “Fish era” by many fans and critics, and also Fish himself, as he has stated in several interviews.

Track listing

All songs were written by Fish, Mark Kelly, Ian Mosley, Steve Rothery and Pete Trewavas.

Side one

1. “Hotel Hobbies” – 3:35
2. “Warm Wet Circles” – 4:25
3. “That Time of the Night (The Short Straw)” – 6:00
4. “Going Under” – 2:47 (not on the original vinyl LP)
5. “Just for the Record” – 3:09
6. “White Russian” – 6:27

Side two

1. “Incommunicado” – 5:16
2. “Torch Song” – 4:05
3. “Slàinte Mhath” – 4:44
4. “Sugar Mice” – 5:46
5. “The Last Straw” – 5:58
6. “Happy Ending” – 0:00 (this is listed as a track on the back of the album, but in a statement of irony, it is not an actual track – it merely consists of someone yelling “No!”, then echoing muffled laughter from Fish, fading off into silence.)

Personnel

Band members

• Fish – vocals
• Steve Rothery – guitars
• Mark Kelly – keyboards
• Pete Trewavas – bass
• Ian Mosley – drums

Additional musicians

• Tessa Niles – backing vocals on “That Time of the Night” and “The Last Straw”
• Chris Kimsey (credited as “Christopher ‘Robbin’ Kimsey”) – backing vocals on “Incommunicado”
• John Cavanaugh – “Dr. Finlay” voice on “Torch Song”