The Tower (1979 Marillion Song)

Cult progressive rock band Marillion formed in December 1978 with founding members Mick Pointer (drummer), Brian Jelliman (keyboards), and Doug Irvine (bass and vocals).

In 1979, guitarist Steve Rothery joined the band and they recorded two demo tapes some time in 1979, including the only recording of an apparently lost song: "The Tower".

Many of the details about Doug Irvine and Marillion's early days in this article come from Claus Nygaard's excellent online biography of Marillion which, strangely enough, has disappeared from the internet rendering it also lost!

Background
In 1980, Doug Irvine, original vocalist and lyricist left Marillion (then known as Silmarillion which was changed due to copyright concerns), and when new singer Fish joined the band in 1981 they went on the enjoy a decade of success, the peak being 1985 UK number one album Misplaced Childhood.

When Fish joined the band as vocalist, along with new keyboardist Mark Kelly and soon afterwards bass player Pete Trewavas, they scrapped all of Irvine's old lyrics and, reworking some of the old songs, Fish, who is credited by critics with being one of rock's most accomplished writers, wrote new lyrics. The band also began focusing on new material such as their debut single "Market Square Heroes".

The Irvine-era tapes were never officially released, although versions of the songs' instrumentals would make their way into Fish-era Marillion songs.

The only recordings from the short and poorly-documented Doug Irvine era of Marillion are the two demo-tapes.

The tracks they recorded include the following. In brackets are the songs they developed into under Fish:
 * 1) Herne the Hunter (none)
 * 2) Alice (Forgotten Sons)
 * 3) Close (The Web)
 * 4) Lady Fantasy (Madcap's Embrace)
 * 5) The Haunting of Gill House (Skyline Drifter)
 * 6) Scott's Porridge (Margaret)
 * 7) The Tower (Grendel)

All of these songs except "The Tower" have been leaked online. They seem to have been taken from an 80's bootleg LP called Early Sessions and Demos 79-81 which also included early Fish demos such as "Madcap's Embrace" and a cover of Genesis's "I Know What I Like". The assumption is that one demo tape was retained, containing versions of the first six songs on the list, whilst the second demo tape containing other versions of some of the songs and the only recorded version of "The Tower" was lost.

The Song
"The Tower" was an early version of what came to be "Grendel", a b-side on their debut 12" single "Market Square Heroes", and a fan-favourite epic which has been orphaned by the band for at least 25 years. They have not played it live since 1984 and disregard the not-infrequent mentions of the song by fans.

In its original form, "The Tower" was an instrumental track that lasted around 21 minutes. It is assumed that it was the origin of many of the melodies and solos eventually featured on "Grendel", especially Steve Rothery's guitar parts, since he was in the band when "The Tower" was written. It is assumed to be dark in tone, like Grendel, and perhaps have echoes of dark, long-form instrumentals by earlier progressive rock acts like King Crimson's Larks' Tongues in Aspic. However, the changes to many of the original songs such as "Alice" during the Fish-era are significant, and since "The Tower" is at least five minutes longer than "Grendel", "The Tower" is reckoned to be very much a lost piece of music.

Status
At 21 minutes, it is by far the longest song of the Irvine era of Marillion and its unearthing would be a huge coup for Marillion fans. Marillion are well known for releasing large quantities of extra material to their fans. A glance at the discography page on their website reveals copious releases of live concerts, demos, unfinished material, b-sides, covers and alternative versions. Fans of Marillion have the opportunity to hear everything they've recorded and know the band's music inside-out. "The Tower" is the only exception.

It is assumed that the available demo tape (available for listening on YouTube) was leaked by someone who worked with the band. Fans continue to wait for an official, hopefully higher-quality, release of these demos and possibly of the second demo tape containing "The Tower".

If the tape does still exist, it is most likely in the possession of longest-serving band member and only member who was there during the Irvine era to still be in the band; Steve Rothery. Rothery is well known for his archiving and documentation of the band's music and affects. It also may be retained by original drummer and founding member Mick Pointer, latterly of Arena. The other possibility is that Doug Irvine possesses the tape.

Where is Doug Irvine?
According to Steve Rothery, in an interview for Claus Nygaards's Marillion biography, Doug Irvine left the band when he got married. He may have believed progressive rock to be a doomed venture as he went on to never work in music again, as far as is known.

Strangely, after he left the band, Irvine fell out of contact with them and was never heard from again. In Nygaard's biography, Rothery claims that the only time he has seen or heard from him since was a brief meeting completely by chance in a supermarket car park.

There is only one picture of Irvine available, released by Rothery on his website in 2011. It shows a very early gig in a village hall with Irvine and Rothery on stage and some children watching. Steven Wilson, progger extraordinaire and front-man of Porcupine Tree, claims to have attended one of these early gigs. He would have been 12 or 13 at the time this picture was taken. Could one of these children be a young Steven Wilson?

As for Doug Irvine, his whereabouts remain unknown, as does the location, and very existence, of the tape containing "The Tower".