The Freilichtbühne Loreley is one of the world’s great venues. Perched high on the Loreley, a 400-foot rock overlooking the Rhine Gorge in Western Germany, this open-air amphitheatre was originally built by the Nazis as a thingplatz – ashowcase venue for the Third Reich to stage displays of propaganda thinly disguised as drama.
Other, older myths surround the Loreley. According to local folklore, it was once the home of a siren, who would draw passing ships on to the rocks more than 400 feet below. This macabre legend has been referenced in music by everyone from German composer Felix Mendelssohn to Wishbone Ash.
On July 18, 1987, Marillion arrived at the Loreley to play one of the biggest headlining shows of their career yet. It was two years since the release of Misplaced Childhood, the album that turned this unfashionable prog band into the unlikeliest pop stars of the decade.
But success had brought unforeseen issues. The demands of constant touring were taking their toll, and the gang mentality that originally fuelled them was fracturing. This turbulence was captured on the band’s then most recent album, Clutching At Straws, a snapshot of a band struggling to keep their heads above water. In its central character, Torch, frontman Fish laid his own inner turmoil bare.
The 20,000 fans gathered at Loreley to see them might not have been aware, but Marillion were under a dark cloud. Behind the scenes, the band had split into two camps: Fish on one side, the rest on the other.
“Things were very miserable,” says guitarist Steve Rothery. “If you watch the Live From Loreley video you can see the mood. The unity had gone. You can blame many things, you can point the finger at people who were hanging round and aggravating the problem, whispering in ears. But whatever the reason, it reached critical mass. There was something fundamentally wrong with how things were.”
Their career wasn’t dashed on the rocks at Loreley, but they were listing badly. Within 18 months the Fish era had come crashing to an acrimonious end, leaving the wreckage of broken friendships in its wake. At the heart of it all was Clutching At Straws – Marillion’s dark masterpiece.
“Clutching is a brilliant album,” says Fish. “I prefer it to It’s very honest, very open, to the point
