Misplaced Childhood

Concept

Misplaced Childhood was Marillion's first full concept album consisting of two continuous pieces of music on the two sides of the vinyl record. The story has thematic elements of lost love, sudden success, acceptance, and lost childhood, along with an upbeat ending. As Fish explains, he conceived the concept during a 10-hour acid trip.

Several of the songs and titles contain notable autobiographical references, for example, "Kayleigh" references breakdown of relationships as a whole but is centered around a Fish's past girlfriend named Kay Lee. The name Kayleigh was thought of by Fish to slightly obscure the original name due to the song being too personal. Another example is "Heart of Lothian" ("I was born with the heart of Lothian") which is a reference to a traditional region of Scotland – Fish himself being from Midlothian – and a reference to the Heart of Midlothian (Royal Mile) – a mosaic heart in the pavement of Edinburgh's Royal Mile.

The theme of childhood is developed in "Lavender" which is partly based on the traditional folk song "Lavender Blue". Like "Kayleigh" it is a love song, but whereas "Kayleigh" was about the failure of an adult relationship, "Lavender" recalls the innocence of childhood.

Packaging and cover art

Like Script for a Jester's Tear and Fugazi, the original vinyl edition of Misplaced Childhood was released in a gatefold sleeve. The artwork was created by Mark Wilkinson who was commissioned to the role on all Marillion albums and 12" singles of the Fish-era.

The front cover features a soldier drummer portrayed by Robert Mead, a then ten-year-old boy who lived next door to Wilkinson. Mead also appeared on the artwork of the album's three hit singles, "Kayleigh", "Lavender", and "Heart of Lothian", and can be seen in the music video for "Kayleigh". The Jester from the two previous studio albums is imagined escaping through the window on the back cover.

Release

Misplaced Childhood was released in the United Kingdom on 17 June 1985 by EMI Records on LP, 12" picture disc and cassette and went on to be the band's biggest selling album. It topped the UK Albums Chart, becoming the first and the only Marillion album to do so. It stayed on the charts for 41 weeks, the longest chart residency of any of the band's albums. Misplaced Childhood was certified Platinum by the BPI for sales in excess of 300.000 copies on 26 November 1985 just 5 months after the release. It was the 20th best selling album in the United Kingdom for 1985.

The album was also highly successful across mainland Europe reaching number 3 in Germany, number 6 in Switzerland and the Netherlands, the country where Marillion have one of their largest fanbases, number 10 in Norway. In the United States Misplaced Childhood came out on the Capitol Records label and reached number 47 on the Billboard 200 chart, the highest position the band has ever achieved.

Three singles, "Kayleigh", "Lavender", and "Heart of Lothian" were released, with the first preceding the album. "Kayleigh" peaked at number 2 in the UK Singles Chart turning out to be the biggest hit for Marillion and prompting the success of Misplaced Childhood. The two further singles were less successful but still ended up at high positions as "Lavender" reached number 5 and "Heart of Lothian" peaked at number 29.

Remastering and reissues

As part of a series of Marillion's first eight studio albums, EMI Records re-released Misplaced Childhood on 17 October 1998 with 24-bit digital remastered sound and a second disc containing bonus tracks. The remastered version was also made available without the bonus disc in 2000 and again in 2005 as a Japanese mini-LP replica.

A new 180g heavy weight vinyl pressing identical to the original 1985 edition was released in 2013.

Reception

John Franck of AllMusic gives the album a 4.5 star rating. He has retrospectively said that Misplaced Childhood was "not only the band's most accomplished release to date, but also its most streamlined... With its lush production and punchy mix, the album went on to become the band's greatest commercial triumph, especially in Europe where they would rise from theater attraction to bona fide stadium royalty". In 2015, Ryan Reed of Ultimate Classic Rock called the record "the cornerstone of the entire 'neo-prog' movement".

Accolades

Kerrang! listed the album the sixth best LP of 1985. Classic Rock placed Misplaced Childhood fourth on its list of "Rock's 30 Greatest Concept Albums" in 2003, and named it one of the top 10 essential progressive rock releases of the 1980s in 2016. In the special edition Pink Floyd & The Story of Prog Rock released by Q Classic and Mojo, the album was ranked number 17 in its list of "40 Cosmic Rock Albums".

Legacy

Misplaced Childhood was the inspiration for comedian Will Smith's Edinburgh Festival Fringe show of the same name in 2005, which also led to a successful tour in 2006. In April 2015, it was announced that Fish would be performing a 30th anniversary tour of Misplaced Childhood, playing the album in full for the very last time.

Promotion and tour

Marillion supported Misplaced Childhood with a one-year tour which began before the album was released. The band made two promotional appearances on BBC Television, firstly on the Wogan talk show on 20 May 1985 and then on Top of the Pops three days later, in both cases showcasing "Kayleigh". The tour consisted of European, Japanese and North American legs. In live performances preceding the album Fish claimed as a teaser that the next LP would consist of only two tracks, "Side 1" and "Side 2". After the album's release Fish announced, "Now there is time for one more track... the name of the track is 'Misplaced Childhood'", and the band performed the entire album in sequence.

Track listing

All lyrics written by Fish; all music composed by Mark Kelly, Ian Mosley, Steve Rothery and Pete Trewavas.