For many years Marillion have enjoyed a unique relationship with their fans. In the late 1990s Marillion’s US fans sponsored an entire US tour following an appeal and the band responded by creating the very first rock ‘n’ roll website in the UK, changing the musical landscape. The support of Marillion’s passionate fans enabled them to bypass music industry convention and take control of their own future. Away from record company pressure, Marillion launched its own record label and enjoyed the freedom to produce some of the finest music of its career.
In 2001 Marillion asked fans to pre-order their next album a full 12 months before release. Incredibly 12,000 people signed up to finance the recording, and launch of the album Anoraknophobia. Marillion thereby INVENTED crowdfunding as a business model, returning the fans faith with a specially packaged CD with each subscriber’s name included in the list of ‘thanks’.
The 2016 studio album F*** Everyone And Run (FEAR) was Marillion’s most successful for over 20 years reaching number 4 in the UK chart and was followed, in 2018, by their first-ever concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall, a show that sold out in just 4 minutes. Marillion returned to the RAH with their ‘With Friends From The Orchestra Tour’ for 2 more sold-out shows in November 2019.
This relationship with their family of fans has continued to grow and their hugely popular biennial conventions provide a marvellous opportunity for the band and fans to meet. With a catalogue of 18 albums, not only has Marillion’s music continued to progress and change with the times, but the band have led the way, adapting to the changing world around them while the loyalty of their fans remains undiminished.