MARILLION: Chippenham Goldiggers – 12th March 1984

A lot of great Marillion shows have been made available on video, DVD and blu ray over the years.  Dozens of shows from the 90s onward have been issued via the band’s official website, but fans of Marillion’s formative years have had to make do with just two shows – neither of which show the band at their best.

‘Recital of The Script’, filmed at Hammersmith Odeon in 1983, remains the definitive document of early Marillion despite being hampered by some painfully slow drumming.  At the other end of the “Fish Years”, the 1987 festival set ‘Live at Loreley’ shows Marillion seeming rather tired and in need of a little re-invention.

Some amazing shows from the ‘Fugazi’ and ‘Misplaced Childhood’ tours have been released in an audio format, but fans have been denied great video footage…at least as an official release.

The ‘Fugazi’ tour in 1984 saw Marillion play the Goldiggers venue in Chippenham.  Part of the gig was filmed for the much missed BBC ‘Sight & Sound’ show.  Like so much great BBC stuff, it has never been given a proper release and rarely been shown anywhere since its first transmission.  In an ideal world, it would be included on the blu ray disc with the upcoming ‘Fugazi’ deluxe box set, but as it remains part of the Beeb’s archive, you know it won’t be.

Here’s the footage for you to enjoy. Step back in time with the band as they play several classics, including a few numbers that have been absent from the live sets since 1988. Fish isn’t always in the strongest of voices – end of tour fatigue is setting in – and he looks a bit like The Hulk recovering from an all night drinking bender, but the highlights are superb. The version of ‘Fugazi’, in particular, is fantastic…

Sit back and enjoy…