Misplaced Childhood

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Misplaced Childhood
Studio album by Marillion
Released	June 1985 October 1998 (two-disc edition)
Recorded	Hansa Ton Studios, West Berlin, March - May 1985
Genre	Progressive Rock
Length	41:16 (single-disc edition) 1:42:44 (two-disc edition)
Label	EMI, Capitol (US/Canada)
Producer	Chris Kimsey for Wonderknob Ltd.
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link
Marillion chronology
Real to Reel (1984) Misplaced Childhood (1985) Clutching at Straws (1987)

Misplaced Childhood is the third studio album of the progressive rock band Marillion. It was released in 1985 and has been their most commercially successful album, reaching number one in the UK album charts in June 1985.

The album features the band's most successful single, "Kayleigh", which reached No. 2 in the UK and was a worldwide success. This name was devised by Fish to slightly obscure the name of a former girlfriend named "Kay Lee" (with "Lee" being the middle name), who the song was mostly about. Quite a few girls born in that time were given this name.^{[citation needed]}

Misplaced Childhood was the band's first full concept album, consisting of two contiguous pieces of music on the two sides of the vinyl. In live concerts previewing the album Fish had originally claimed (seriously or as a teaser) that there would only be two tracks, Side One and Side Two, but this idea was evidently dropped. During the Misplaced Childhood tour Fish did announce after playing various tracks culled from the first two albums "Now there is time for one more track <pause> The name of the track is Misplaced childhood" and the band then performed the entire album in sequence.

The story is essentially about lost love, sudden success, acceptance, lost childhood, with a surprisingly upbeat ending. As Fish explains, he perceived the concept during a 10-hour acid trip (see the external link below). Several of the songs and titles contain notable autobiographical references; for example, track 2 ("Kayleigh") references past girlfriends, while track 5 ("I was born with the heart of Lothian") is a reference to a traditional region of Scotland - Fish himself being Scottish - and a play on the name given to Edinburgh by Sir Walter Scott in his novel The Heart of Midlothian[1].

A 2-CD remastered version with additional B-sides and demos was released in 1998.

Contents 1 Track listing 1.1 Side one 1.2 Side two 2 Song references 3 External links

[edit] Track listing

[edit] Side one

1. "Pseudo Silk Kimono" – 2:14
2. "Kayleigh" – 4:03
3. "Lavender" – 2:25
4. "Bitter Suite" – 7:56
   1. "Brief Encounter"
   2. "Lost Weekend"
   3. "Blue Angel"
   4. "Misplaced Rendezvous"
   5. "Windswept Thumb"
5. "Heart of Lothian" – 4:02
   1. "Wide Boy"
   2. "Curtain Call"

[edit] Side two

1. "Waterhole (Expresso Bongo)" – 2:13
2. "Lords of the Backstage" – 1:52
3. "Blind Curve" – 9:29
   1. "Vocal Under a Bloodlight"
   2. "Passing Strangers"
   3. "Mylo"
   4. "Perimeter Walk"
   5. "Threshold"
4. "Childhood's End?" – 4:33
5. "White Feather" – 2:25

The 1998 remaster has the following additional tracks on the second CD:

1. "Lady Nina" (Extended 12" Version) – 5:50
2. "Freaks" (Single version) – 4:08
3. "Kayleigh" (Alternative Mix) – 4:03
4. "Lavender Blue" (Lavender Remix) – 4:22
5. "Heart of Lothian" (Extended Mix) – 5:54
6. "Pseudo Silk Kimono" (Demo) – 2:11
7. "Kayleigh" (Demo) – 4:06
8. "Lavender" (Demo) – 2:37
9. "Bitter Suite" (Demo) – 2:54
10. "Lords of the Backstage" (Demo) – 1:46
11. "Blue Angel" (Demo) – 1:46
12. "Misplaced Randezvous" (Demo) – 1:56
13. "Heart of Lothian" (Demo) – 3:49
14. "Waterhole (Expresso Bongo)" (Demo) – 2:00
15. "Passing Strangers" (Demo) – 9:17
16. "Childhood's End?" (Demo) – 2:23
17. "White Feather" (Demo) – 2:18

[edit] Song references

The album contains several references to song titles or lyrics by Marillion and other artists. These include:

• "Home Thoughts from Abroad" by Clifford T. Ward referenced in "Kayleigh" ("By the way, how's your broken heart"/"By the way, didn't I break your heart?")
• "Script for a Jester's Tear" by Marillion, referenced in "Kayleigh" ("I never did write that love song"/"I'm still trying to write that love song")
• "Love, Reign O'er Me" by The Who, referenced in "Windswept Thumb" ("Rain on me" - NB not in lyric sheet)
• "Ashes are Burning" by Renaissance, referenced in "Lords of the Backstage" ("Ashes are burning, burning")
• "A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers" by Van der Graaf Generator, referenced in "Lords of the Backstage" ("I'm so far out [and] I'm too far in")
• "Lavender Blue", originally an English folk song dating to the 17th century. This song became very popular during the 1950s rock and roll era, when it was sung by Solomon Burke. A hit version of the song, sung by Burl Ives, was featured in the Walt Disney movie "So Dear to My Heart."

[edit] External links

More information available (on the marillion.com album page ):

• Reflections from some of the band written in 1998
• More album details and song lyrics

v • d • e Marillion Steve Rothery · Mark Kelly · Pete Trewavas · Ian Mosley · Steve Hogarth Fish · Mick Pointer · Jonathan Mover · Doug Irvine · Brian Jelliman · Diz Minitt Studio albums Script for a Jester's Tear · Fugazi · Misplaced Childhood · Clutching at Straws · Seasons End · Holidays in Eden · Brave · Afraid of Sunlight · This Strange Engine · Radiation · Marillion.com · Anoraknophobia · Marbles · Somewhere Else · Happiness Is the Road Compilations B'Sides Themselves · A Singles Collection · The Best of Both Worlds Live albums Real to Reel · The Thieving Magpie · Made Again Singles "Market Square Heroes" · "He Knows You Know" · "Kayleigh" · "See It Like a Baby" · "Thank You Whoever You Are"