Market Square Heroes – Marillion (1982)

Description

Additional information about this Marillion vinyl art.

Marillion – The Artist

Marillion are a British rock band, formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, 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 lead singer 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 had eleven Top 40 hits on the UK Singles Chart. They are best known for the 1985 singles “Kayleigh” and “Lavender”.

Market Square Heroes – The Song

Market Square Heroes  is the debut single by the British neo-progressive rock band Marillion, released in 1982 with “Three Boats Down from the Candy” as the B-side. The A-side is an anthemic rock song whose lyric vaguely describes the rise of civil unrest under some charismatic leader in the face of increasing unemployment; the original title was “UB 2,000,001”. According to Marillion’s singer and lyricist Fish, the “market square hero” is a “would-be revolutionary with all the necessary charisma and presence of a leader without direction or goals, just a sense of frustration and anger”. Members of the band have attributed the inspiration behind the main character in the song lyrics to a person they knew in Aylesbury who went by the nickname of ‘Brick’.

The Jester – The Shape

This record has been modelled into the head of a medieval jester holding a mask as per the records picture sleeve. A jester, court jester, or fool, was historically an entertainer during the medieval and Renaissance eras who was a member of the household of a nobleman or a monarch employed to entertain him and his guests. A jester was also an itinerant performer who entertained common folk at fairs and markets. Jesters are also modern-day entertainers who resemble their historical counterparts.
Jesters in medieval times are often thought to have worn brightly coloured clothes and eccentric hats in a motley pattern and their modern counterparts usually mimic this costume. Jesters entertained with a wide variety of skills: principal among them were song, music, and storytelling, but many also employed acrobatics, juggling, telling jokes, such as puns, stereotypes, and imitation, and magic tricks. Much of the entertainment was performed in a comic style and many jesters made contemporary jokes in word or song about people or events well known to their audiences.

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