Band Member Journal : 

Today is my birthday. I can't believe I'm 40. I still feel the same as I did when I joined Marillion 20 years ago. They say time flies when you're having fun and I've had more than my fair share of fun. 2001 has always been a significant year for me, partly thanks to Arthur C Clarke's novel and Stanley Kubrick's film of the same name, but also because being born in 1961, I knew, in that distant year in the future, I would be 40. Since I was very small I used to wonder about 2001, what the world would be like. Would we all be hovering around in cars without wheels? Would we live in undersea cities because there wouldn't be enough room for everyone on land? Would there be a colony on Mars? It sounds ridiculous now but I wasn't the only one who looked forward to going into space.

 

As you have probably guessed I spent a too much time reading science fiction stories.

 

One thing that has taken everybody by surprise is the computer. Star Trek and 2001 both featured talking computers, something today's "Tefal heads" still haven't managed to do convincingly, but nobody predicted quite how ubiquitous the humble computer would become. Computers are everywhere and not just the ones with a screen to look at. I'm talking about the microchips hidden away in every household appliance. It is difficult to imagine life without them. Not everyone has welcomed the computer into their lives. The music industry in particular is going through major changes; most of them mean bad news for the industry. Now, before you jump to conclusions, I should explain what I mean when I use the label "music industry". To me, the music industry has got nothing to do with creating music, just the business of recording, distributing and selling it. Computers and the Internet in particular herald the end of the music industry. I don't know why people have become so attached to it, the industry as we know it has been around for less than 100 years. Before the 20th century people would write songs and if they wanted to make a living as a musician, they would have go out and perform them for money. I know this prospect may present a few problems for many "boy bands". Copyright is a recent development too. I'm not saying we shouldn't be rewarded for writing the songs you enjoy, just that a lot of the middlemen have or will become redundant. This is the 21st century.

 

Things have changed a lot in this business in the last 20 years. Being part of Marillion is still as creative and interesting as it was. We have made an album I'm proud of and I'm looking forward to the next 20 years.

 

I'm still having fun AND I'm still the youngest member of the band ;-)

 

Mark