Marillion and Fish: The Top 100 Songs/Top 20 Albums

Fish-era Marillion Steve Hogarth-era Marillion

Marillion & Fish Top 100 Songs/ Top 20 Albums

This list was originally posted on 4/25/2015 in honor of Fish’s birthday. He was born Derek Dick on April 25, 1958. From 1981 to 1988, he was the lead singer of British neo-progressive-rock group Marillion. They had their greatest success with 1985’s Misplaced Childhood, a #1 album in the UK. After the follow-up album, 1987’s Clutching at Straws and the live album The Thieving Magpie in 1988, Fish left the band for a solo career. Fish released 11 studio albums as a solo act from 1990 to 2020. He claimed that his 2020 album, Weltschmerz, would be his last solo effort. Meanwhile, Marillion replaced Fish with Steve Hogarth. From 1989 to 2016, they released thirteen studio albums. The first three, Seasons End (1989), Holidays in Eden (1991), and Brave (1994) were all top-10 albums in the UK. Both acts have built devoted fanbases by asking fans to pre-order releases as a means of financing studio albums. They’ve also both released multiple live albums through their websites that are not always available through convential retail outlets. Click here to see other best-of lists from performers and here to see other best-of lists from songwriters and/or producers. Spotify Podcast: Check out the Dave’s Music Database podcasts Marillion: The Best of the Fish Years, 1981-1988 (premiere: March 1, 2022 at 7pm CST) and Marillion: The Best of the Hogarth Years, 1989-2022 (premiere: March 8, 2022 at 7pm CST). Both are based on this list. Tune in every Tuesday at 7pm CST for a new episode based on the lists at Dave’s Music Database.

Awards for Marillion: Awards for Fish:

Top 100 Songs by Marillion and Fish Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists as well as chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards. Songs are by Marillion unless noted otherwise. DMDB Top 5%: 1. Kayleigh (1985) DMDB Top 20%: 2. Incommunicado (1987) 3. Script for a Jester’s Tear (1983) 4. Warm Wet Circles (1987) 5. He Knows You Know (1983) 6. Sugar Mice (1987) 7. Garden Party (1983) 8. Lavender (1985) 9. Heart of Lothian (1985) 10. Lady Nina (1985) 11. Shortcut to Somewhere (Fish with Tony Banks, 1986) 12. Freaks (1985) 13. A Gentleman’s Excuse Me (Fish, 1990) 14. Estonia (1997) 15. Market Square Heroes (1982) 16. Hooks in You (1989) Beyond the DMDB Top 20%: 17. Sympathy (1992) 18. The Hollow Man (1994) 19. Punch and Judy (1984) 20. Assassing (1984) 21. Childhood’s End? (1985) 22. Fugazi (1984) 23. Beautiful (1995) 24. Alone Again in the Lap of Luxury (1994) 25. Easter (1989) 26. The Uninvited Guest (1989) 27. She Chameleon (1984) 28. Forgotten Sons (1983) 29. Solo (Fish, 1993) 30. No One Can (1991) 31. After Me (1989) 32. Cliché (Fish, 1990) 33. Blind Curve (1985) 34. Cover My Eyes (1991) 35. Pseudo Silk Kimono (1985) 36. Big Wedge (Fish, 1989) 37. Chelsea Monday (1983) 38. Tux On (1987) 39. Bitter Suite (1985) 40. Credo (Fish, 1991) 41. That Time of the Night (1987) 42. Lords of the Backstage (1985) 43. A Collection (1991) 44. Another Murder of a Day (Fish with Tony Banks, 1991) 45. Cinderella Search (1984) 46. Just Good Friends (Fish, 1991) 47. Going Under (1987) 48. Hold Your Head Up (Fish, 1992) 49. The Web (1983) 50. Fortunes of War (Fish, 1994) 51. The Party (1991) 52. Incubus (1984) 53. Dry Land (1991) 54. The Last Straw (1987) 55. Internal Exile (Fish, 1991) 56. You’re Gone (2004) 57. This Party’s Over (Fish, 2020) 58. Don’t Hurt Yourself (2004) 59. Jigsaw (1984) 60. Slainte Mhath (1987) 61. Angel Face (Fish with Tony Banks, 1991) 62. Most Toys (2007) 63. White Russian (1987) 64. Just for the Record (1987) 65. White Feather (1985) 66. The King of Sunset Town (1989) 67. Waterhole (Expresso Bongo) (1985) 68. Living with the Big Lie (1994) 69. Torch Song (1987) 70. Hotel Hobbies (1987) 71. Question (Fish, 1992) 72. Made Again (1994) 73. Lady Let It Lie (Fish, 1994) 74. Something in the Air (Fish, 1991) 75. Man of a Thousand Faces (1997) 76. Grendel (1982) 77. State of Mind (Fish, 1989) 78. Half-Full Jam (2008) 79. The Voyeur (I Like to Watch) (Fish, 1989) 80. Vigil (Fish, 1990) 81. The Great Escape (1994) 82. Incomplete (Fish, 1999) 83. See It Like a Baby (2007) 84. The Company (Fish, 1990) 85. Lucky (Fish, 1991) 86. Margaret (1983) 87. Dear Friend (Fish, 1991) 88. Whatever Is Wrong with You? (2008) 89. Boston Tea Party (Fish, 1993) 90. Runaway (1994) 91. Cannibal Surf Babe (1995) 92. Apeman (Fish, 1993) 93. Berlin (1989) 94. Garden of Remembrance (Fish, 2020) 95. Family Business (Fish, 1990) 96. Emerald Lies (1984) 97. Thank You Whoever You Are (2007) 98. Three Boats Down from the Candy (1982) 99. Power (2012) 100. I Will Walk on Water (1992) Top 20 Studio Albums by Marillion and Fish Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by album’s appearances on best-of lists as well as chart success, sales, critics’ ratings, and awards. Albums are by Marillion unless noted otherwise. 1. Misplaced Childhood (1985) 2. Script for a Jester’s Tear (1983) 3. Clutching at Straws (1987) 4. Brave (1994) 5. Seasons End (1989) 6. Fugazi (1984) 7. Vigil in a Wilderness of Mirrors (Fish, 1990) 8. Marbles (2004) 9. Holidays in Eden (1991) 10. Internal Exile (Fish, 1991) 11. Afraid of Sunlight (1995) 12. Anoraknophobia (2001) 13. Raingods with Zippos (Fish, 1999) 14. Weltschmerz (Fish, 2020) 15. Songs from the Mirror (Fish, 1993) 16. This Strange Engine (1997) 17. Sunsets on Empire (Fish, 1997) 18. Field of Crows (Fish, 2004) 19. 13th Star (2007) 20. Happiness Is the Road (2008) Resources and Related Links: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Marillion DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Fish Dave’s Music Database: Marillion Singles Discography Dave’s Music Database: “Best-of Lists for Performers” Dave’s Music Database: “Best-of Lists for Songwriters and/or Producers First posted 4/25/2015; last updated 3/8/2022.

Fish released live album The Last Straw

The Last Straw Fish

Released: February 4, 2022 Recorded: December 13, 2018 Peak: -- Sales (in millions): -- Genre: neo-progressive rock

Tracks, Disc 1: Song Title (writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts. Slainte Mhath [6:25] Man with a Stick (Dick, Vantsis, Boult) [6:43] Hotel Hobbies [4:45] Warm Wet Circles [4:34] That Time of the Night (The Short Straw) [6:39] Little Man What Now? (Dick, Vantsis, Boult) [10:10] Torch Song [4:06] White Russian [6:54] Tracks, Disc 2: Just for the Record [5:12] C Song (Dick, Paterson, Boult) [10:57] Going Under [3:50] Sugar Mice [7:02] Waverly Steps (Dick, Vantsis, Boult) [13:55] The Last Straw [8:05] Tux On [5:24] Incommunicado [6:26] Total Running Time: 111: 56 The Players: Fish (vocals) Robin Boult (guitar) John Beck (keyboards) Steve Vantsis (bass) Gavin Griffiths (drums) Doris Brendel (backing vocals, whistles) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: This double live album was recorded at the final show of Fish’s Clutching at Straws/ Weltschmerz tour at the O2 in Glasgow, Scotland, on December 13, 2018. It features an entire performance of 1987’s Clutching at Straws, Fish’s fourth and final album with the band Marillion. Clutching at the Straws was the follow-up to Marillion’s Misplaced Childhood album, which hit #1 in the UK thanks to top 5 hits “Kayleigh” and “Lavender.” Straws delved into Fish’s struggles with fame on songs like the top-10 UK hit “Incommunicado” and his difficulties with alcoholism on songs like “Sugar Mice.” The show also features four songs from Weltschmerz, which Fish has said will be his last album. Interestingly, though, these recordings are from 2018 while the Weltschmerz album wasn’t released until 2020. However, three of the songs (“Man with a Stick,” “Waverly Steps,” “Little Man What Now”) had been previously released on Fish’s EP Parley with Angels. The album was produced by Steve Vantsis and mastered by Calum Malcolm. Notes: The release includes a bonus DVD featuring the entire August 10, 2018 performance at the Cropredy Festival. The 36-page color booklet includes sleeve notes by Fish as well as concert and backstage photographs from the tour. FM

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Fish DMDB encyclopedia entry for Marillion FM Prog Archives Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 2/23/2022; last updated 8/6/2025.

Marillion “Warm Wet Circles” tops my personal chart

Warm Wet Circles Marillion

Writer(s): Fish (lyrics), Mark Kelly, Ian Mosley, Steve Rothery, Pete Trewavas (music) (see lyrics here) Released: October 26, 1987 First Charted: November 7, 1987 Peak: 22 UK, 14 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 1.74 video, -- streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: June 19, 1987. Marillion released their fourth studio album, Clutching at Straws. I became a fan just a year and a half earlier when I took the plunge and bought the group’s previous album, Misplaced Childhood. In the year that followed, I dove in completely, buying the group’s first two studio albums, a live set, and the 1986 EP Brief Encounter. As a result, Clutching at Straws was set up as my most anticipated album ever. It didn’t disappoint. The first single, “Incommunicado,” was released in May 1987. It debuted at #1 on my personal chart and stayed there for 5 weeks. In that fifth week, the album accomplished the greatest dominance my personal chart ever witnessed. The entire top ten had been taken over by cuts from the Clutching at Straws album. The album would maintain its hold on the top ten for seven consecutive weeks. During that time, “Incommunicado” would cede the throne, letting “Warm Wet Circles” ascend to the top for four weeks. It was then supplanted by “Sugar Mice.” Those two songs ended up as the follow-up singles – “Sugar Mice” in July and “Warm Wet Circles” in October. Over time, “Warm Wet Circles” would triumph as my favorite song from the album. “The beautiful, emotive” JC song opens with the lines “On promenades where drunks propose to lonely arcade mannequins / Where ceremonies pause at the jeweler’s shop display Feigning casual silence in strained romantic interludes / Till they commit themselves to the muted journey home.” Not exactly your average toe-tapper. As if the lyrics weren’t powerful enough, the song is stuffed with “warm wet circle” imagery, including a wedding ring, the sweat left behind by a glass, and a bullet wound. The song finds the album’s narrator (Torch) at the local bar. Lead singer Fish explained that it’s about “the dangers of getting trapped in the 9-to-5 syndrome and then going down to the pub and talking about things you’ll never really do. The local hero’s the best darts player and you marry the girl you met in the pub at 16.” JC “As Torch recalls losing his virginity, [guitarist] Steve Rothery breaks into an aching solo, full of pathos and longing, and the band execute one of the finest wrought moments of their career. Ian Mosley’s snare cracks and we feel the first bullet smashing into John Lennon on the steps of the Dakota building.” JC Resources: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Marillion DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Fish JC Jon Collins (2003). Separated Out. Helter Skelter Publishing: London, England. Page 73. WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 7/3/2022; last updated 10/28/2022.

Marillion “Tux On” released as B-side to “Sugar Mice”

Tux On Marillion

Writer(s): Fish (lyrics), Mark Kelly, Ian Mosley, Steve Rothery, Pete Trewavas (music) (see lyrics here) Released: July 13, 1987 First Charted: -- Peak: 1 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 0.25 video, -- streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Marillion only released four studio albums with Fish on vocals. However, those four albums cemented the band as my favorite of all time. Thankfully, there were also enough B-sides from singles released from 1982 to 1987 to warrant the release of the B’Sides Themselves compilation in January 1988. The release of the double live album The Thieving Magpie in November of that year would then serve as the finale to the Fish era. As big as Marillion had become for me, the B’Sides Themselves collection introduced me to “new” Marillion songs. I already knew some of the material. “Market Square Heroes” and “Cinderella Search” were featured on the 1984 live album Real to Reel. “Lady Nina” and “Freaks” had been released on the 1986 EP Brief Encounter. The song that most captured my attention from the collection was “Tux On.” The song was initially released as the B-side of “Sugar Mice,” the second single from 1987’s Clutching at Straws album. The song uses the tuxedo as “the uniform that symbolizes the comfortable life,” taking the listener through various scenarios in which a man might wear a tuxedo, including him lying in state in a coffin. “’Tux On’ points the way towards the sort of music the band would be producing a couple of albums down the line and dispenses with the neo-prog sensibilities to embrace the poppier side of the band’s psyche. It is a catchy little number nonetheless and shows that Marillion had ambitions beyond their cult status which were finally realised when Misplaced Childhood broke them into the mainstream.” SM Resources: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Marillion DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Fish DMDB page for “Sugar Mice” SM SputnikMusic.com review of B-Sides Themselves Related Links: First posted 7/3/2022; last updated 10/28/2022.

Marillion “Sugar Mice” released

Sugar Mice Marillion

Writer(s): Fish (lyrics), Mark Kelly, Ian Mosley, Steve Rothery, Pete Trewavas (music) (see lyrics here) Released: July 13, 1987 First Charted: July 25, 1987 Peak: 22 UK, 13 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 2.735 video, 3.34 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: By the time Marillion released their fourth album, Clutching at Straws, they had risen to become one of my favorite bands of all time. Since then, they’ve been anointed as my favorite band of all time. This album cemented that legacy. I discovered the group in late 1985 because of the single “Kayleigh” and over the next year consumed everything the band had released. It set up monstrous expectations for the Clutching at Straws album. The lead single, “Incommunicado,” debuted at #1 on my charts and by the time it was dethroned five weeks later, Marillion had locked down the entire top 10. In that time, the slower tempo “Sugar Mice” was released as the second single from the album. It would reach #1 on my personal chart, but not quite yet. In between “Incommunicado” and “Sugar Mice,” the song “Warm Wet Circle” (which was eventually released as the third single) would reach the pinnacle for four weeks. All told, the three songs collectively logged twelve consecutive weeks at the top of my personal chart. The concept album dealt with a narrator named Torch struggling with alcohol. “Sugar Mice” “directly addresses the devastating effect unemployment can have on personal relationships.” WK The song captures the achingly painful moment when the main character talks to his kids on the phone and tries to explain why he left. Lead singer Fish said the song grew out of “a bad phone call home to a very upset girlfriend.” JC He was in a Holiday Inn and feeling down. After the call to his girlfriend, he ended up feeling even more depressed. WK The term “sugar mice” is a reference to a sugar candy popular in the United Kingdom, especially at Christmas time. The phrase “sugar mice in the rain” thus becomes an analogy for the fragility people have in their lives as sugar mice would disintegrate in the rain. Resources: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Marillion DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Fish DMDB page for “Warm Wet Circles” JC Jon Collins (2003). Separated Out. Helter Skelter Publishing: London, England. Page 74. WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 7/3/2022; last updated 10/28/2022.

Marillion released Clutching at Straws

Clutching at Straws Marillion

Released: June 19, 1987 Peak: 103 US, 2 UK, 81 CN, -- AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.1 UK, 0.35 world (includes US and UK) Genre: neo-progressive rock

Tracks: Click on a song titled for more details. Hotel Hobbies [3:35] Warm Wet Circles [4:25] That Time of the Night (The Short Straw) [6:00] Going Under [2:47] Just for the Record ]3:09] White Russian [6:27] Incommunicado [5:16] Torch Song [4:05] Slainte Mhath [4:44] Sugar Mice [5:46] The Last Straw [5:58] i. Happy Ending Total Running Time: 52:12 Other Songs from This Era: Tux On (B-side of “Sugar Mice”) The Players: Derek Dick, aka “Fish” (vocals) Steve Rothery (guitars) Mark Kelly (keyboards) Pete Trewavas (bass) Ian Mosley (drums)

Rating: 4.004 out of 5.00 (average of 24 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album I doubt I’ve anticipated an album more than Marillion’s Clutching at Straws. It followed the British progressive-rock group’s third release, Misplaced Childhood, a #1 album in the UK. That album’s lead single, “Kayleigh,” was my introduction to the band. After falling in love with the parent album, I spent the next year consuming everything the band had released. By the time Clutching was released in June 1987, I was primed for new product. While Misplace Childhood focused on the rediscovery of childhood, Clutching at Straws was a return to the abyss. Lead singer Fish’s lyrics explored themes about “the excesses of classic addiction, whether of alcohol, sex or power.” JC-73 It was “written in bars about the people who drink in them.” JC-73 To that end, the album cover depicted “’The Great Bar in the Sky,’ populated with various artists, writers, and poets” JC-74 with reputations for nipping at the bottle. The album is built around a central character, Torch, who struggles to find answers while drowning his sorrows in alcohol. One senses that the success of Misplaced Childhood was a blessing and a curse. The album displays lead singer Fish’s “growing sense of frustration with the constant album-tour-album way of life, and the viewpoint frequently appears autobiographical rather than character-led.” JC-73 It also seems the added stress of extra touring pushed Fish to alcohol abuse and a sense that maybe there aren’t answers to everything after all. Notes: The 1999 reissue features a second disc of bonus material, including an alternate version of “Incommunicado,” B-side “Tux On,” and previously unreleased versions of “White Russian” and “Sugar Mice.” Of significant fan interest are seven demos, most of which surfaced to some degree on future Marillion and/or Fish solo efforts. “Story from a Thin Wall” served as the lyrical base for Fish’s “Family Business” and musical jumping-off point for Marillion’s “Berlin.” “Shadows on the Barley” evolved into “The Bell in the Sea” while “Sunset Hill” became Fish’s “View from the Hill.” “Tic-Tac-Toe” lent its lyrics to Fish’s “State of Mind” and music to Marillion’s “The Release.” “Voice in the Crowd” evolved lyrically into Fish’s “Vigil” and musically became Marillion’s “After Me.” “Exile on Princes Street” grew into Fish’s “Internal Exile.” Only “Beaujolais Day” appears to have gone no farther than the demo. In 2022, Fish released a double live album called The Last Straw which featured a full performance of Clutching at Straws. The Songs Here’s a breakdown of each of the individual songs.

Hotel Hobbies Marillion

Writer(s): Derek Dick (Fish), Mark Kelly, Ian Mosley, Steve Rothery, Pete Trewavas Released: Clutching at Straws (1987), The Last Straw (Fish live, 2022) Peak: 8 DF Click for codes to charts. About the Song: “Bubbling eddies of keyboards introduce us to Hotel Hobbies and brings the curtain up on Torch, trapped by indecidsion, addiction, and self-loathing, in his hotel room. As he sits at his desk, desperately writing and knowing it’s worthless, the dawn, effortlessly conjured by the band, peeks through the cracks in the curtains, heralding another day.” JC-73

Warm Wet Circles Marillion

Writer(s): Derek Dick (Fish), Mark Kelly, Ian Mosley, Steve Rothery, Pete Trewavas (see lyrics here) Released: 10/26/1987 as a single, Clutching at Straws (1987), Six of One, Half Dozen of the Other (1992), Best of Both Worlds (1997), The Last Straw (Fish live, 2022) B-side: “White Russian (live)” First Charted: November 7, 1987 Peak: 22 UK, 14 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 1.74 video, -- streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: On my personal charts, “Warm Wet Circles” overtook “Incommunicado” as my favorite song after the latter held the pinnacle for five weeks. In that time, the entire album had supplanted itself into the top 10 and held it for an astonishing seven weeks, the greatest dominance my personal chart ever witnessed. “Warm Wet Circles” is the strongest and most interesting song on the Clutching at Straws album. “The beautiful, emotive” JC song opens with the lines “On promenades where drunks propose to lonely arcade mannequins / Where ceremonies pause at the jeweler’s shop display Feigning casual silence in strained romantic interludes / Till they commit themselves to the muted journey home.” Not exactly your average toe-tapper. As if the lyrics weren’t powerful enough, the song is stuffed with “warm wet circle” imagery, including a wedding ring, the sweat left behind by a glass, and a bullet wound. The song finds the album’s narrator (Torch) at the local bar. Lead singer Fish explained that it’s about “the dangers of getting trapped in the 9-to-5 syndrome and then going down to the pub and talking about things you’ll never really do. The local hero’s the best darts player and you marry the girl you met in the pub at 16.” JC “As Torch recalls losing his virginity, [guitarist] Steve Rothery breaks into an aching solo, full of pathos and longing, and the band execute one of the finest wrought moments of their career. Ian Mosley’s snare cracks and we feel the first bullet smashing into John Lennon on the steps of the Dakota building.” JC

That Time of the Night (The Short Straw) Marillion

Writer(s): Derek Dick (Fish), Mark Kelly, Ian Mosley, Steve Rothery, Pete Trewavas Released: Clutching at Straws (1987), Best of Both Worlds (1997), The Last Straw (Fish live, 2022) Peak: 3 DF Click for codes to charts. About the Song: On the next song, Torch sits alone at the bar, drkinking, “terrified by the thought he’s perilously close to being one of the hometown guys.” JC-73 “The band creates the perfect sense of tension to underline how close to breaking point Torch really is.” JC-73 Ian Mosley said, “The album reflects genuine camaraderie, yet exposed the decaying tethers that held us together.” JC-73

Going Under Marillion

Writer(s): Derek Dick (Fish), Mark Kelly, Ian Mosley, Steve Rothery, Pete Trewavas (see lyrics here) Released: 5/11/1987 as the B-side of “Incommunicado,” Clutching at Straws (1987), The Last Straw (Fish live, 2022) Peak: 1 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 0.23 video, -- streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: At the time of the release of Marillion’s fourth album, Clutching at Straws, it wasn’t uncommon to add a bonus track to the compact disc release to entice more CD buyers. In this case, the song “Going Under” was added to the album after the third cut, “That Time of the Night.” The song was also released as the B-side of “Incommunicado,” the album’s first single. I was still a cassette guy at the time. Of course I bought the tape as soon as possible, but it didn’t make much sense to get the CD when I didn’t own a CD player. However, the prospect of yet another Marillion song was too inviting. I was at college in the time and living in the dorm. My friend Steve, who lived across the hall, did have a CD player. I broke down and bought the CD more than six months after the album had been released and, whenever Steve would put up with it, invited myself into his room to put on the song. In the context of the album’s themes of a narrator struggling to deal with alcoholism and unemployment and being away from his family, the song finds Torch, the narrator, “languishing in the depths of his depression, close to giving up and taking the final way out.” JC The lyric was “written on the spur of the moment over a [Steve] Rothery guitar motif.” JC Keyboardist Mark Kelly said, it was “very much a snapshot of what was going on at the time.” JC

Just for the Record Marillion

Writer(s): Derek Dick (Fish), Mark Kelly, Ian Mosley, Steve Rothery, Pete Trewavas Released: Clutching at Straws (1987), The Last Straw (Fish live, 2022) Peak: 3 DF Click for codes to charts. About the Song: “Just as it all gets too dark, Just for the Record’s jaunty keyboard intro brings a note of hope to the album, albeit tinged with a note of self-deception.” JC-73 “The keyboard-led track has Torch cheer himself up with the thought that he could give it all up any time he wanted, the traditional excuse of the addict.” JC-74

White Russian Marillion

Writer(s): Derek Dick (Fish), Mark Kelly, Ian Mosley, Steve Rothery, Pete Trewavas Released: Clutching at Straws (1987), live: 10/26/1987 as B-side of “Warm Wet Circles,” The Thieving Magpie (live, 1988), The Last Straw (Fish live, 2022) Peak: 6 DF Click for codes to charts. About the Song: “The off-kilter rhythms” JC-74 of “the skull-crushingly dark White Russian” JC-74 “bring to mind wartime dance halls, but as ever on this album, there’s a Kelly-painted black cloud about to come down as Torch observes the rise of Neo-Nazism in Austria. Knowing he should make a stand and say something, Torch fails and runs away geographically and mentally [and] searches for a dealer with something for the pain.” JC-74

Incommunicado Marillion

Writer(s): Derek Dick (Fish), Mark Kelly, Ian Mosley, Steve Rothery, Pete Trewavas (see lyrics here) Released: 5/11/1987 as a single, Clutching at Straws (1987), The Thieving Magpie (live, 1988), Six of One, Half Dozen of the Other (1992), Best of Both Worlds (1997), Best of Marillion (2003), Return to Childhood (Fish live, 2005), The Last Straw (Fish live, 2022) B-side: “Going Under” First Charted: May 23, 1987 Peak: 6 UK, 24 AR, 15 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 0.81 video, -- streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: The lead single from Clutching at Straws “is a necessary mood-lifter” JC-74 although the band thought it sounded too much like the Who and considered leaving it off the album. However, producer Chris Kimsey insisted on keeping the “bouncy, up-tempo number.” JC-74 It debuted at #1 on my personal charts and stayed there for five weeks. In retrospect, with its nauseatingly fast pace, “Incommunicado” is the weakest song on the album although it was the logical choice for the first single. Music writer Paul Stenning took a very different stance, calling it “the most original commercial composition of all time.” WK In the context of the album, which explores a narrator named Torch as he struggles with alcoholism, the “fast, anthemic rock song” WK “is a necessary mood-lifter…[which] reveals Torch imagining himself as a ‘winner in the fame game.’” JC Chris Wilkinson, the band’s longtime artist for album covers and singles, depicted a “character standing at the door apart from the crowd…alluding to the song’s main topic, alienating artists from their fans and reality in general.” WK Adam Wakeman, the son of Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman and a keyboardist in his own right with Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath, has cited Mark Kelly’s keyboard solo in the song as an inspiration. WK

Torch Song Marillion

Writer(s): Derek Dick (Fish), Mark Kelly, Ian Mosley, Steve Rothery, Pete Trewavas Released: Clutching at Straws (1987), The Last Straw (Fish live, 2022) Peak: 5 DF Click for codes to charts. About the Song: These songs “document Torche’s growing realization that he’s killing himself, and the notion he doesn’t care, because it takes him away from the misery of real life. In arguably one of his best lyrics, Fish contrasts the wasted lives of World War I in the trenches with the Scottish shipbuilders seeing their livelihoods destroyed by Thatcherism, and the band pull out all the stops to conjure Torch’s helplessness.” JC-74

Slainte Mhath Marillion

Writer(s): Derek Dick (Fish), Mark Kelly, Ian Mosley, Steve Rothery, Pete Trewavas Released: Clutching at Straws (1987), The Thieving Magpie (live, 1988), The Last Straw (Fish live, 2022) Peak: 7 DF Click for codes to charts. About the Song: See “Torch Song.”

Sugar Mice Marillion

Writer(s): Derek Dick (Fish), Mark Kelly, Ian Mosley, Steve Rothery, Pete Trewavas (see lyrics here) Released: 7/13/1987 as a single, Clutching at Straws (1987), The Thieving Magpie (live, 1988), Best of Both Worlds (1997), Best of Marillion (2003), The Last Straw (Fish live, 2022) B-side: “Tux On” First Charted: July 25, 1987 Peak: 22 UK, 13 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 2.735 video, 3.34 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: The slower tempo “Sugar Mice” was released as the second single from Clutching at Straws. The term “sugar mice” is a reference to a sugar candy popular in the United Kingdom, especially at Christmas time. The phrase “sugar mice in the rain” thus becomes an analogy for the fragility people have in their lives as sugar mice would disintegrate in the rain. “Sugar Mice” memorably peeks into the into the mind of a man who leaves his family because he can’t beat the bottle. It “directly addresses the devastating effect unemployment can have on personal relationships.” WK The song captures the achingly painful moment when the main character talks to his kids on the phone and tries to explain why he left. Lead singer Fish said the song grew out of “a bad phone call home to a very upset girlfriend.” JC He was in a Holiday Inn and feeling down. After the call to his girlfriend, he ended up feeling even more depressed. WK On my personal charts, it would become the third song from the album to top my charts, following five weeks by the lead single “Incommunicado,” eventual third single “Warm Wet Circles” for four weeks, and then “Sugar Mice” for three weeks. All told, the three songs collectively locked down twelve consecutive weeks at the top of my personal chart. The song features “one of the purest guitar solos ever committed to tape” JC-74 by Steve Rothery.

The Last Straw Marillion

Writer(s): Derek Dick (Fish), Mark Kelly, Ian Mosley, Steve Rothery, Pete Trewavas Released: Clutching at Straws (1987), The Last Straw (Fish live, 2022) Peak: 2 DF Click for codes to charts. About the Song: This song “brings us back to Torch in his room…Hard at work, keys clattering against the paper, he muses on what he has seen, creating his masterpiece on the human condition. It’s too late and the damage is done.” JC-74 “The band turn savage…building to a desperate climax as Torch realizes it’s too late to change and his addictions have beaten him.” JC-74 Fish sings, “Those problems seem to arise / The ones you never really thought of / The feeling you get is similar to something like drowning.” He also proclaims, “We’re terminal cases that keep taking medicine / Pretending the end isn’t quite that near.” The lines were eerie foreshadowing to the end of an era; it would be Fish’s last album with the band.

Resources/References: JC Jon Collins (2003). Separated Out. Helter Skelter Publishing: London, England. WK Wikipedia page for Clutching at Straws WK Wikipedia page for “Incommunicado” WK Wikipedia page for “Sugar Mice” WK Wikipedia page for “Warm Wet Circles” Related DMDB Pages: First posted 3/14/2008; last updated 7/17/2026.