Editing Marillion (section)

== Line-up, influences and sound changes ==
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| quote = "One of the reasons we're still together is because we're successful enough that we can still make a living, but we're not so successful that we can afford to do nothing."
| source = —Mark Kelly in 2016<ref>{{cite web | url= https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-rise-and-rise-of-marillion-the-band-that-refuses-to-die | title= The rise and rise of Marillion – the band that refuses to die | work=Louder | first=Paul | last=Lester | date=31 August 2016 | access-date=30 October 2019}}</ref>
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Marillion's music has changed stylistically throughout their career. The band themselves stated that each new album tends to represent a reaction to the preceding one, and for this reason their output is difficult to 'pigeonhole'. Although the band has featured two very distinct and different vocalists, the core instrumental line-up<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.separatedout.com/FTree.html |title=Marillion lineup |website=Separatedout.com |access-date=19 August 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070313205253/http://www.separatedout.com/FTree.html |archive-date=13 March 2007 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> of [[Steve Rothery]] (lead guitar, and the sole 'pre-[[Fish (singer)|Fish]]' original member), [[Pete Trewavas]] (bass), [[Mark Kelly (keyboardist)|Mark Kelly]] (keyboards) and [[Ian Mosley]] (drums) has been unchanged since 1984.

Their 1980s sound (with Fish on vocals) was guitar and keyboard-led [[neo-prog]]. They have been described at their outset as "a bridge between [[punk rock|punk]] and classic [[progressive rock]]".<ref name="romano"/> Guitarist Steve Rothery wrote most of the music during the period Fish was in the band.<ref name="dean">{{cite news|url=https://www.antiheromagazine.com/interview-steve-rothery-of-marillion/|title=Interview: Steve Rothery of MARILLION|website=AntiHero Magazine|first=Mark|last=Dean|date=10 December 2016|access-date=26 October 2019}}</ref> [[Iron Maiden]] guitarist [[Janick Gers]] commented, "What I love so much about Marillion is that they could be very strong and powerful and have very quiet passages, but the powerful stuff was really edgy and heavy... I just thought he (Fish) wrote good lyrics, and they wrote good music, and it fit together effortlessly."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bryanreesman.com/2010/08/17/iron-maidens-janick-gers-talks-festivals-fish-and-the-final-frontier/|title=Iron Maiden's Janick Gers Talks Festivals, Fish and The Final Frontier|first=Bryan|last=Reesman|work=bryanreesman.com|date=17 August 2010|access-date=23 August 2019}}</ref>

They were often compared unfavourably by critics during the Fish era with the [[Peter Gabriel]] era of [[Genesis (band)|Genesis]],<ref>{{cite web | url= http://innerviews.org/inner/fish.html | title= Fish: Mirroring influences | work=Innerviews | first=Anil | last=Prasad | access-date=20 August 2015}}</ref> although the band had many other influences. Fish was influenced by a wide range of artists and his favourite albums were by artists such as [[Van der Graaf Generator]], [[Joni Mitchell]], [[the Who]], [[Pink Floyd]], [[John Martyn]], [[Yes (band)|Yes]], [[Lowell George]], [[Led Zeppelin]], [[Roy Harper (singer)|Roy Harper]], the [[Faces (band)|Faces]], [[the Beatles]] and [[Supertramp]].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://thequietus.com/articles/12274-fish-marillion-favourite-albums?page=1|title=This Must Be The Plaice: Fish's Favourite Albums|first=Rachel|last=Mann|magazine=The Quietus|date=20 May 2013|access-date=20 August 2015}}</ref> Rothery's main influences were [[Jimi Hendrix]], [[Carlos Santana]], [[David Gilmour]], [[Andrew Latimer]] of [[Camel (band)|Camel]], [[Steve Hackett]], [[Jeff Beck]] and Joni Mitchell, with [[Gordon Giltrap]] also an early influence on the development of his playing style.<ref name="Steve Rothery Interview All Access">{{cite web | title = Steve Rothery Interview | publisher = All Access Magazine | url = http://allaccessmagazine.com/vol7/issue12/steve-rothery.html | date = 27 August 2009 | access-date = 24 March 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141006114324/http://allaccessmagazine.com/vol7/issue12/steve-rothery.html | archive-date = 6 October 2014 | url-status = usurped }}</ref> Kelly's biggest inspiration was Yes keyboardist [[Rick Wakeman]],<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.musicplayers.com/features/keyboards/2007/0407_Mark_Kelly.php | title= Marillion's Mark Kelly: Keyboards in Eden | website=Musicplayers.com | first=Scott | last=Kahn | access-date=20 August 2015}}</ref> and Trewavas' favourite bass player was [[Paul McCartney]].<ref>{{cite magazine | url= http://www.popmatters.com/feature/marillion-030610/ | title= Interview with Pete Trewavas of Marillion | magazine=[[PopMatters]] | first=Steven | last=Ward | access-date=20 August 2015}}</ref> Original drummer [[Mick Pointer]] was a huge fan of [[Neil Peart]]'s drumming in his favourite band, [[Rush (band)|Rush]].<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.elrose.co.uk/Interviews___Gigs/mick_pointer_interview.html | title= Mick Pointer interview | publisher= New Horizons | access-date= 20 August 2015 | url-status= dead | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150920112022/http://www.elrose.co.uk/Interviews___Gigs/mick_pointer_interview.html | archive-date= 20 September 2015 | df= dmy-all }}</ref>

During the Steve Hogarth era, their sound has been compared, on various albums, to more contemporary acts such as [[U2]],<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.marillion.com/news/newsitem.htm?id=5 | title= Anoraknophobia Pre-Order Press Release | website=Marillion.com | access-date=28 October 2016}}</ref> [[Radiohead]],<ref name=autogenerated2>{{cite web|url=http://www.marillion.com/music/albums/radiation.htm |title=MUSIC – Discography – Radiation |website=Marillion.com |date=15 October 1998 |access-date=19 August 2011}}</ref><ref name="Dalt2007"/> [[Coldplay]],<ref name="Dalt2007"/> [[Muse (band)|Muse]],<ref name="Dalt2007"/> [[Talk Talk]],<ref name="kirkley">{{cite news|title=From prog to a prince: how Marillion took on the music industry - and won |newspaper=[[Cambridge News]] |location=Cambridge |first=Paul |last=Kirkley |date=12 September 2012}}</ref> [[Elbow (band)|Elbow]],<ref name="kirkley"/> and [[Massive Attack]].<ref name="kirkley"/> In 2016, Hogarth himself was quoted as describing the band: "If Pink Floyd and Radiohead had a love child that was in touch with their feminine side, they would be us."<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2016/10/marlllon_survives_thanks_to_cl.html | title= Marillion survives, thanks to Clevelander and the Internet | work=cleveland.com | first=Peter | last=Chakerian | date=26 October 2016 | access-date=28 October 2016}}</ref> According to an interview with Rothery in 2016, many of their later albums with Hogarth had been written by [[Jam session|jamming]].<ref name="dean"/>