Marillion, Misadventures & Marathons: The Life & Times Of Mad Jack

by Mark Kelly

“Much like finding yourself on the ninth storey window ledge of a Luxembourg hotel as the wind whips around you, as Mark Kelly once did, it’s not unusual to question your life choices sometimes.”

Marillion’s Mark Kelly has had six decades to consider a life less ordinary and the decisions he made that took him there.

From a dirt poor early childhood in Ireland to some of the biggest stages around the world, Kelly’s journey has described an arc that any fiction writer might blanch at.

The departure from the band of their singer at the height of their powers; reinventing the music industry wheel by pioneering crowdfunding to help his band survive; and going from club shows to arenas and almost all the way back again.

Written during 2021, Kelly’s autobiography charts the remarkable rise and fall and rise of one of rock music’s most enduring bands and the keyboard player at the heart of that journey.

Genres: Nonfiction, Music

320 pages, Hardcover

First published February 3, 2022

Reviews

[Kahn · Rating 4 out of 5]

While autobiographies are very much about the person writing them, you can often learn more by what the author chooses not to divulge.
Which is very much the case with Mark Kelly.
Keyboard player in that band who did that one song you liked ages ago that you're now shocked to discover are still going, he politely and discreetly brushes past his somewhat tumultuous love life.
Clearly affairs of the heart are a private matter.
But then there's the no small matter of his former lead singer. You know, the one who sang on that one song you liked ages ago.
Both Fish (for it is he) and Marillion seem to spend more time than necessary explaining to fans that they have been two separate entities for longer than they were ever in a band together.
And yet, in looking back over his career (which is still very much a thing, I should stress), Kelly gives up more than half of his book covering the ten years he was dealing with the towering Scotsman.
The 30+ years with h (the lack of capitalisation annoys throughout the book - singers, eh?) get shoe-horned into the final 100-odd pages.
Which seems a tad odd, given that in that time Kelly found himself without a record label, a manager, almost a singer, reinvented the way bands market themselves, kept an ailing band afloat, and now finds himself in one of the finest and most respected groups this country has produced.
Those first ten years really left a mark....
But that's not to say The Life & Times Of Mad Jack is a dreary wallow in nostalgia or a Father Ted-esque settling of scores.
While certainly being raw and honest about his recollections of the band's early days, Kelly proves himself to be a compelling storyteller.
Each chapter is warm, engaging, like having a chat with an old friend. Other projects were put back, TV shows not watched, because I was just enjoying this book too much.
I was even late for work one day.
Much like the band that has supported him for most of his life, Kelly's story is one of almost casual understatement. He's just gone about producing a quality piece of work, hoping people out there will like it.
And they will.
He's wrong about Most Toys though.

(Also, go and buy Marillion's new album, An Hour Before It's Dark. It's amazing. Then go and buy the one before that – F.E.A.R – and the one before that – Sounds That Can't Be Made. You can thank me later)

[Phil Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just a spectacular read.

I couldn't put this book down. He provides a fascinating look into so many things—the life of a rock star, the behind-the-scenes interactions with record companies, and so much more.

I could have read another 250 pages of insight, humor, and self-reflection from Mark. I enjoyed his perspective and humble writing style.

[Timo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty damn good biography of a keyboard player of a band I love before their original vocalist left and whose career I have only followed with one eye.
Very good and with a twink in the eye written although I'm not at all sure it is all to blame on the vocalist his depart. Also, what else did the bassist, guitarist and drummer did during those stormy days except got married.
Found it surprisingly interesting to read what has happened during all those years I have not followed Marillion. Helluva good book.

[Sean Little · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a Marillion fan like myself, this is mandatory reading.

For someone who has never heard of Marillion, you probably won't understand much of this book.

Mark Kelly is a lovely person and a tremendous musician, and as the keyboardist for Marillion, he is one-fifth of the greatest band on Earth (spoken with my deep bias as a slobbering, rabid fan of said band). However, so much of this book concerns Marillion lore that will only interest the slobbering, rabid fans.

Kelly is a solid writer, if a tad bit dry at times. His prose is workman like and professional. He does not have the lyricist's gift for writing, but he gets the job done well and even turns some profound phrases while delivering insights into the con game that is the music business.

I loved this book, but if you're not a Marillion fan you will not.

[Dancall · Rating 4 out of 5]

The rise, decline, and second coming of a rock band, including the invention of crowdfunding. Most band break-up stories are fascinating, and Kelly is pretty open about the reasons Fish left after 4 albums (money, ego, musical differences, reliability).
What comes across is how much fun it was in the early days, but also how many bad decisions were made, and how they managed to make better decisions when they got a bit older.
Basically bands need to sort the money stuff out, be as professional as possible (don’t cancel sold out tours because of 'exhaustion'), and don’t go into an expensive studio until you have at least partly written the songs.

[Jim Cassidy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mark Kelly is not known as "Mad Jack" for nothing, and this book, while not a "warts and all" expose, still covers enough ground to keep even the most dedicated fans of Marillion entertained. It could be far more detailed, more in depth, more sensational, but sometimes less is more.

I found it to be an enjoyable trip through Mark's memory lane, and I devoured every page. I would recommend reading this, and then going on to listen to Mark's "Prog & Progeny" podcast where he and his daughter Tallulah explore each chapter in turn, with tales which for one reason or another didn't make it into print.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a fan of the British progressive rock band, Marillion, you will love this book. Mark Kelly provides insight into the history of the band, the recordings, and his life woven throughout. Kelly provides a look behind the scenes providing the reader with often concealed Intel on the relationship between band and record labels, management, and producers.

This is a fast read. I really enjoyed the ride.

[Corey McKinnon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting memoir of the keyboard player in my favorite band, Marillion. I wish it had covered the later years in more detail but it was entertaining anyway.