Misplaced Childhood

Misplaced Childhood
Studio album by Marillion
Released	17 June 1985
Recorded	Hansa Tonstudio, West Berlin, March - May 1985
Genre	Progressive rock, neo-progressive rock, pop rock
Length	41:16
Label	EMI UK Capitol U.S.
Producer	Chris Kimsey for Wonderknob Ltd.
Marillion chronology
Real to Reel (1984) Misplaced Childhood (1985) Brief Encounter (1986)
Singles from Misplaced Childhood
"Kayleigh" Released: 7 April 1985 "Lavender" Released: 27 August 1985 "Heart of Lothian" Released: 18 November 1985

Misplaced Childhood is the third studio album of the neo-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 and spending a total of 41 weeks on the chart, the longest chart residency of a Marillion album. ^[1]

The album features the band's two most successful singles, the guitar-led "Kayleigh", which reached No. 2 in the UK and was a worldwide success, and the piano-led "Lavender", which reached No. 5. The name Kayleigh was devised by Fish to slightly obscure the name of a former girlfriend named "Kay Lee" (with "Lee" being the middle name), whom the song was mostly about.

Misplaced Childhood was the band's first full concept album, consisting of two continuous pieces of music on the two sides of the vinyl. In live concerts preceding the album, Fish had originally claimed as a teaser that the next album would consist of only two tracks, 'Side One' and 'Side Two'. Then, during the Misplaced Childhood tour, Fish would announce "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.

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.^[2] Several of the songs and titles contain notable autobiographical references; one example is that track 2 ("Kayleigh") references past girlfriends. Another example is track 5 ("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.

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

Track listing

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"

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. "Childhoods End?" – 4:33
5. "White Feather" – 2:25

Remastered CD bonus tracks

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. "Childhoods End?" (Demo) – 2:23
17. "White Feather" (Demo) – 2:18

Formats and re-issues

The album was originally released on Cassette, vinyl LP, 12" Picture Disc and CD. In 1998, as part of a series of Marillion's first eight studio albums, EMI re-released Misplaced Childhood with remastered sound and a second disc containing bonus material, listed above. The remastered edition was later also made available without the bonus disc.

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".

Cover art

The boy on the front cover is Robert Mead, then a ten-year-old who lived next door to the sleeve artist Mark Wilkinson. Mead also appeared in the video for "Kayleigh" and was portrayed on the sleeves for all three of the singles taken from the album, "Kayleigh", "Lavender" and Heart of Lothian.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Q
Allmusic	[3]
Music Street Journal	(very favourable) link

The album topped the 1985 readers' poll for best album in Sounds magazine and came sixth in Kerrang! magazine's Albums Of The Year 1985.^[4] The album came fourth in Classic Rock's list of the 30 greatest concept albums of all time. ^[5] In the Q & Mojo Classic Special Edition Pink Floyd & The Story of Prog Rock, the album came #17 in its list of "40 Cosmic Rock Albums". ^[6]

Notes

The album was the inspiration for comedian Will Smith’s Edinburgh Fringe show “Misplaced Childhood” in 2005, which also led to a successful tour in 2006.

Personnel

• Fish – vocals
• Steve Rothery - guitars
• Mark Kelly - keyboards
• Pete Trewavas - bass
• Ian Mosley - drums

References

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
• Kayleigh on YouTube
• Lavender on YouTube
• Heart of Lothian on YouTube