Marillion Misplaced Childhood hit #1 in UK

Misplaced Childhood Marillion

Released: June 17, 1985 Charted: June 29, 1985 Peak: -- US, 0.3 UK, 1.4 world (includes US and UK) Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 47 US, 11 UK Genre: neo-progressive rock

Tracks: Click on a song titled for more details. Pseudo Silk Kimono [2:13] Kayleigh [3:54] (4/7/85, 74 US, 2 UK, 14 AR) Lavender [2:33] (8/27/85, 5 UK) Bitter Suite [7:53] i. Brief Encounter ii. Lost Weekend iii. Blue Angel iv. Misplaced Rendezvous v. Windswept Thumb Heart of Lothian [4:08] (11/18/85, 29 UK) i. Wide Boy ii. Curtain Call Waterhole (Expresso Bongo) [2:07] Lords of the Backstage [1:57] Blind Curve [9:29] i. Vocal Under a Bloodlight ii. Passing Strangers iii. Mylo iv. Perimeter Walk v. Threshold Childhood’s End? [4:32] White Feather [2:23] Total Running Time: 41:17 Other Songs from This Era: Song Title The Players: Derek Dick, aka “Fish” (vocals) Steve Rothery (guitars) Mark Kelly (keyboards) Pete Trewavas (bass) Ian Mosley (drums)

Rating: 4.395 out of 5.00 (average of 27 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album My favorite album of all time is Marillion’s Misplaced Childhood. Europeans who grew up in the 1980s may know the album. Fans of neo-prog rock may know the album. However, the general American public is clueless to its existence. On June 29, 1985, it debuted at #1 on the UK charts. It would be two more months before it even scraped the U.S. Billboard album charts, peaking at #47. Marillion had been pegged as a neo-prog band which couldn’t escape comparisons to Peter Gabriel-era Genesis. They were seemingly destined for a similar career path devoid of mainstream success. Their first single, “Market Square Heroes,” scraped the bottom of the British charts at an unforgettable #60 in October 1982. Their debut album, 1983’s Script for a Jester’s Tear, soared into the top ten, as with the follow-up album and a live album after that, but comparable success with singles alluded them. Taking a Risk on the Whole Album It grew on me and by Christmas I was geared up to plunge into the whole album. For you young’ns, music discovery in 1985 wasn’t as simple as pulling up a bands website or trolling YouTube for video clips. In pre-Internet days, I couldn’t listen to music before buying it. I was wary. Who was this group? Would I like their other songs? I’d never bought an album solely on the basis of one song. I had to take a leap of faith. Over Christmas break, I kept wandering into a Camelot music store to check out the album. Ah, yes. Once upon a time people actually bought music in stores – and in malls, no less! The cover art by Mark Wilkinson (who did all of the singles and albums during the Fish era) fascinated me. It looked like an album I wanted to hear. I’m pretty close to illiterate when it comes to grasping music theory, so I have no intelligent insight into why this album grabbed me instrumentally or vocally. I’ve just had to rely on gut instinct. Does the album’s overall sound work for me? It did here – in spades. What made Childhood a regular fixture in my tape deck was its overall concept and witty lyricism. Fish crafted a story which explored well-worn themes of a relationship gone sour, a country ravaged by war, a man dipping into the abyss, and the disappearance of self at the hands of the rock-n-roll lifestyle. Part of the uniqueness stemmed from the conceit of tackling all these ideas at once. The other surprise of the album, however, was its unexpectedly hopeful finale – drug-induced, no less – of recovery via a return to childhood innocence. The Dreaded Concept Album Childhood dares to traverse the dangerous ground of “concept album,” going so far as to not even insert breaks between songs. Like classic conceptual works such as The Who’s Tommy, Genesis’ The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway and Pink Floyd’s The Wall, the album can draw critical fire for sacrificing songs in favor of ideas. However, when it comes to art, critics be damned. Fall in love with whatever you like and don’t feel obligated to justify it to anyone. Misplaced Childhood is a cohesive, focused, and seemingly autobiographical effort that takes the listener on a rollercoaster ride through the initial depression of a breakup, struggles with fame, the subsequent acid-induced fall into the abyss, and the final realization that, as he sings in Childhood’s End?, “I can do anything and still the child/’cos the only thing misplaced was direction and I found direction/There is no childhood’s end.” In his book Separated Out, Jon Collins says Misplaced Childhood “established [itself] as part of the triology that saw a lovelorn jester [on 1983’s Script for a Jester’s Tear] go from grief, to anger [on 1984’s Fugazi], and now to reflection, acceptance and hope.” JC-63 The hopeful nature of this album is reflected in the artwork. “The cover sees the Jester, the symbol of heartache and disillusionment, disappearing through a window.” JC-64 “A rainbow gives us hope, and the magpie transmutates into a dove, the bird of peace…The image is the perfect metaphor for the music,” JC-64 which isn’t just more hopeful, but “more accessible than its predecessors.” JC-63 With Misplaced Childhood, Marillion not only pulls off their master stroke, but creates a classic that even the most celebrated bands would struggle to top. The Songs Here’s a breakdown of each of the individual songs.

Pseudo Silk Kimono Marillion

Writer(s): Derek Dick (Fish), Mark Kelly, Ian Mosley, Steve Rothery, Pete Trewavas Released: Misplaced Childhood (1985) Peak: 3 DF Click for codes to charts. Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 8.36 streaming About the Song: Once I’d liberated my wallet of a few dollars and brought the Misplaced critter home, I was immediately entranced. A room-filling keyboard sound opened the album, segueing into the intriguing words “huddled in the safety of a pseudo silk kimono…” half-sung and half-spoken by Fish. This purchase was one risk I would not regret. “From the opening notes of Pseudo Silk Kimono, it is clear that this is not going to be a selection of jingles.” JC-63

Kayleigh Marillion

Writer(s): Derek Dick (Fish), Mark Kelly, Ian Mosley, Steve Rothery, Pete Trewavas (see lyrics here) Released: 4/7/1985 as a single, Misplaced Childhood (1985) B-Side: “Lady Nina” Peak: 74 BB, 12 AR, 2 UK, 88 AU, 1 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 14.3 video, 112.33 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: Most posts on Dave’s Music Database are presented without personal commentary. This one is an exception. 1985 likely marked the most significant year of my life in terms of growth and discovery. I graduated from high school and headed to college. My sheltered upbringing was challenged as I learned to co-exist with people with vastly different backgrounds and lifestyles. I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Similarly, my musical tastes underwent a significant awakening. For my first 18 years I gravitated largely toward pop music. In grade school and middle school, I bought eight tracks of adult contemporary staples like Air Supply, John Denver, Neil Diamond, and Barry Manilow. By high school, my tastes leaned a bit more toward rock with Foreigner, Journey, REO Speedwagon, and Styx. However, in college I started listening to the heavier rock I’d previously snubbed my nose at – Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and Rush. In college, I soaked up the tastes of my peers and explored musical genres that moved beyond my Top 40-leaning tastes. In branching out to more album-oriented rock, I heard the song “Kayleigh” on KY102 out of Kansas City and was intrigued. Fish, the band’s singer and lyricist, penned what appeared to be an ironically bouncy pop ditty about lost love. The theme of remorse over splitting with an ex-lover made for a topic of widespread relatability. Its failed-love theme didn’t break any new ground, but these were some of the best lyrics I’d ever heard. Do you remember chalk hearts melting on a playground wall Do you remember dawn escapes from moon-washed college halls Do you remember the cherry blossom in the market square Do you remember I thought it was confetti in our hair By the way didn’t I break your heart? Please excuse me, I never meant to break your heart So sorry, I never meant to break your heart But you broke mine Fish did date a woman named Kay Lee, but said the song was a composite of several “deep and meaningful relationships that basically I’d wrecked because I was obsessed with the career and where I wanted to go.” WK It was an apology to some of the women he’d dated. WK While the song went largely unnoticed in the U.S., its #2 peak in the UK gave rise to the popularity of the name there. WK The song hit the UK singles chart in May and climbed to #2 the week ending June 15. It didn’t grace American charts until August when it hit the Billboard rock charts and peaked at #14. In October, the song reached the pop charts as well, hitting #74. It wasn’t enough to make Marillion a household name amongst my peers, but I loved the song. I knew nothing about the band but found myself poring over the cassette of the song’s parent album, Misplaced Childhood every time I was home and hit the Camelot music store at Metro North Mall. I pondered the fascinating cover art done by Mark Wilkinson of a young boy, barefoot and in a military uniform. Was it worth taking a risk? The answer was a resounding yes. “Kayleigh” was the centerpiece of a concept album about the downfall of the protagonist because of his failed relationship and difficulty in coping with fame. In the end, his rediscovery of the innocence of childhood leads to his rebound. I found out this was the third album by this neo-progressive rock band out of England, which led me to delve into their back catalog. “Kayleigh,” Misplaced Childhood, and Marillion became my all-time favorite song, album, and group. I didn’t “break up” with what some considered immature musical tastes; instead I celebrated the music of my childhood even as I discovered new directions in adulthood. It became the philosophy that has governed my music appreciation ever since.

Lavender Marillion

Writer(s): Derek Dick (Fish), Mark Kelly, Ian Mosley, Steve Rothery, Pete Trewavas Released: 8/27/1985 as a single, Misplaced Childhood (1985) B-Side: “Freaks” Peak: 5 UK, 5 DF Click for codes to charts. Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 9.60 video, 25.56 streaming About the Song: “Pseudo Silk Kimono” “glides smoothly into the opening notes of [“Kayleigh,”] a love song, a story of a girl, of many girls, of break-ups and breakdown.” JC-64 It is followed by Lavender, which was released as the album’s second single and hit the top 5 in the UK. Marillion’s new-found success gave them their best shot at stardom on American shores (alas, it didn’t happen) when they landed an opening stint for Rush. “’Lavender’ introduces the child to the tale, the boy in the man. As Fish wrote, ‘The guy’s looking back on childhood all the time. He looks on his childhood as being the ideal world, the simplicity of then. He can’t figure out at what point he stopped being a kid and became and adult.” JC-63 Of course, by the end of the album, he finds out he doesn’t need to abandon that youthful spirit; he finds out he's only misplaced his childhood.

Bitter Suite Marillion

Writer(s): Derek Dick (Fish), Mark Kelly, Ian Mosley, Steve Rothery, Pete Trewavas Released: Misplaced Childhood (1985) Peak: 3 DF Click for codes to charts. Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 4.3 streaming About the Song: At this point, the album’s protagonist has given up on rediscovering childhood. “The band lead us through several sections, memory snapshots of loves lost, climaxing with the return to the haunting themes of ‘Lavender’ in Blue Angel. This emotive sub-section of ‘Bitter Suite’ seeds Fish seeking solace in the arms of a lady of the night, although he has since admitted ‘[she] wasn’t a prostitute. That was a compounding of events made under poetic license.” JC-63 “Misplaced Rendezvous and Windswept Thumb sees the band drag us back into the present, Fish in the middle of writing his acid-fuelled memoirs, and then drops us under the spotlight in centre stage, for the first part of Heart of Lothian.” JC-63

Heart of Lothian Marillion

Writer(s): Derek Dick (Fish), Mark Kelly, Ian Mosley, Steve Rothery, Pete Trewavas Released: 11/18/1985 as a single, Misplaced Childhood (1985) B-Side: “Chelsea Monday” (live) Peak: 29 UK, 3 DF Click for codes to charts. Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 0.79 video, 4.54 streaming About the Song: Those last two parts of “Bitter Suite” and the first section of “Heart of Lothian” were released as the third single and hit the top 30 on the UK singles chart. That “gloriously-overblown first section” JC-63 (“Wide Boy”) “has the rock star in full flow, singing his heart out to his fans, whilst recalling his Scottish roots. The introspection of Curtain Call reveals the star desperate to go and live up to his hedonistic image, but hamstrung by the business of being a musician, the photo-calls, and listening back to the show.” JC-63 The single version of “Heart of Lothian” actually pulls together “Bitter Suite Part V: Windswept Thumb” and “Heart of Lothian Part I: Wide Boy.”

Waterhole (Expresso Bongo) Marillion

Writer(s): Derek Dick (Fish), Mark Kelly, Ian Mosley, Steve Rothery, Pete Trewavas Released: Misplaced Childhood (1985) Peak: 10 DF Click for codes to charts. Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 2.38 streaming About the Song: Here our lead character does, in fact, find an escape from the travails of fame – although not a healthy one. “The band evokes the rush…of hedonism. And Fish? He’s out of it; the girls, the booze, the powders, whist at the back of his head, there’s an incessant ticking that something isn’t quite right.” JC-63

Lords of the Backstage Marillion

Writer(s): Derek Dick (Fish), Mark Kelly, Ian Mosley, Steve Rothery, Pete Trewavas Released: Misplaced Childhood (1985) Peak: 5 DF Click for codes to charts. Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 2.78 streaming About the Song: In Lords of the Backstage, Fish explores the burden of maintaining a relationship under the stress of becoming a rock star, stating “a lifestyle with no simplicities, but I’m not asking for your sympathies/Talk, we never could talk, distanced by all that was between us/A lord of the backstage, a creature of language/I’m so far out and I’m too far in.” Fish looks back again at his relationship with Kayleigh, “realizing his desire for success outweighted his need for her.” JC-63

Blind Curve Marillion

Writer(s): Derek Dick (Fish), Mark Kelly, Ian Mosley, Steve Rothery, Pete Trewavas Released: Misplaced Childhood (1985) Peak: 3 DF Click for codes to charts. Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 3.22 streaming About the Song: This segues into the multi-part “Blind Curve,” which finds the protagonist at his lowest point. Fish sings, “it’s getting late for scribbling and scratching on the paper/Something’s gonna give under the pressure/And the cracks are already beginning to show/It’s too late.” “Steve Rothery string-bends to perfection as Vocal Under a Bloodlight revisits the fragmentation of a relationship.” JC-63 The song then reminisces about John Mylett , a friend of the band who died in a car crash in 1984, in the section entitled Mylo. The lyrics find “Fish cracking up under the strain.” JC-64 of fame. “In mourning and sick of his rootlessness, he endures another press interview; his only way of coping is retreating from life even further.” JC-64 “Immersed in the drug cocoon of Pete Trewavas’s ominous bass rumbles and Ian Mosley’s heartbeat drums, he has a sudden recollection of a time when life was less complicated, a time of innocence. Threshold seeds him dancing on the razor’s edge of insanity, as the cruelty of mdern life – loneliness, war, homelessness, emotionally damaged children – assault him.” JC-64

Childhood’s End? Marillion

Writer(s): Fish (lyrics), Mark Kelly, Ian Mosley, Steve Rothery, Pete Trewavas (music) (see lyrics here) Released: Misplaced Childhood (1985) Peak: 1 DF Click for codes to charts. Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 0.73 video, 4.23 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: My favorite group of all time is Marillion. My favorite album is their 1985 release Misplaced Childhood. My favorite song is “Kayleigh,” the lead single from that album. While the single was released in April 1985, it would be six more months before the group would enter my consciousness. At that time, I did a weekly personal chart and “Kayleigh” became my first entry for Marillion on October 5, 1985. The song reached #2 on my charts in January 1986. It was just the beginning. The song launched Marillion for me. I bought Misplaced Childhood on the basis of liking that song and the album cover but knowing nothing about the band. That week, three songs from the album debuted in my top 10 – “Childhood’s End?,” “Psuedo Silk Kimono,” and “Lavender.” Eventually every song from the album reached my personal top 10 – the first album to achieve such a feat. Over the 1986 calendar year, I dipped into the band’s catalog and bought their first two studio albums, 1983’s Script for a Jester’s Tear and 1984’s Fugazi. I also picked up their 1984 live release Real to Reel and the EP Brief Encounter. Every song from those releases also hit my top 10. As significant as “Kayleigh” was in launching Marillion for me, it was “Childhood’s End?” which became the first of the band’s songs to hit #1 on my personal chart. It accomplished the feat on January 25, 1986 – the third week I owned the Misplaced Childhood album. It would only hold the spot for one week but was the first of many of the band’s chart toppers for me. The song was arguably the climax in the album’s concept about trying to recover from a broken relationship and substance abuse. As the ninth of ten songs on the album, it takes on the roll of the narrator’s turning point. After a particularly rough drug-fueled night, the singer finds himself coming off his trip as the sun comes up. Initially he mourns the loss of a childhood he thought had disappeared before realizing that going back to Kayleigh would only have stirred up problems again. “We segue into the hopeful resolution of his dark trip” JC as he concludes in the lyrics, “Cause the only thing misplaced was direction / And I found direction/ There is no Childhood's End.” Musically, “the band create a bubbling, optimistic ode, tingled with Mark Kelly’s poignant keyboards of regret. Steve Rothery’s guitar squeals out with a heart-rush of excitement.” JC

White Feather Marillion

Writer(s): Derek Dick (Fish), Mark Kelly, Ian Mosley, Steve Rothery, Pete Trewavas Released: Misplaced Childhood (1985) Peak: 10 DF Click for codes to charts. Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 2.14 streaming About the Song: “Recalling the ‘where are the prophets, where are the visionaries?’ coda to Fugazi, Fish puts his faith in humanity. Together, he says, we can make it through, and to back him up, the music fizzles with thrilling elation. As the last notes fade out, the nightmare ends.” JC-64

Notes: A 1998 remaster added a second disc of demos and alternate mixes. In 2017, a box set was released which included two CDs of a live show at Utretcht in 1985 and a third disc of demos and B-sides. Marillion’s final album of the Fish era was 1988’s double-live collection called The Thieving Magpie which featured a full performance of Misplaced Childhood. In 2006, Fish released the live album Return to Childhood, in which he also performed the album in full. Resources/References: Jon Collins (2003). Separated Out. Helter Skelter Publishing: London, England. SF Songfacts page for “Kayleigh” UCR Ultimate Classic Rock (6/17/2015). “How Marillion Helped Resurrect Prog on ‘Misplaced Childhood’” by Ryan Reed WK Wikipedia page for Misplaced Childhood WK Wikipedia page for “Kayleigh” Related DMDB Pages: Last updated 8/5/2025.