Toon's Tunes : There is light at the end of the tunnel! Marillion at Hull City Hall, 14 November

Tuesday, November 16, 2021

There is light at the end of the tunnel! Marillion at Hull City Hall, 14 November

Marillion, Hull City Hall, 14 November 2021

Marillion opened their Light At The End Of The Tunnel tour on Sunday night at Hull City Hall. The happiness in performing live after more than 700 days was palpable - both from the band, and from the fans who had travelled from near and far for this first event of the tour - and for the first live playing of the new song, Be Hard on Yourself, from the upcoming studio album An Hour Before It's Dark.

Energetic, beautiful, inspiring performance from the band. A joyful event; people together in music after so very long in the dark.

Steve Hogarth, Marillion

Without sharing the setlist here - many who follow the band want to be surprised as the tour unfolds - it's a journey of memorable, favourite songs from the band's extensive catalog. All met by standing ovations, again and again.

Steve Rothery, Marillion

The tour - underwritten by fans through the Lightsavers campaign, a groundbreaking replacement for impossible-to-obtain tour insurance - continues until 27th November. There are a very few tickets left: catch one of these shows if you can, it's a wonderful experience and there are fans around the world who have contributed to making it happen, even knowing they cannot be here in the UK themselves.


Mark Kelly, Marillion

Ian Mosley and Mark Kelly, Marillion

Happy and moving music. A celebration of the return to live performance. There really is a light at the end of the tunnel that we've all been struggling through for the past two years.

Be Hard on Yourself's debut performance met by great appreciation from the audience; huge new song and now the anticipation for the new album grows. An Hour Before It's Dark will be released early in 2022: look out for updates here. And if you haven't already, place a pre-order to receive the album as soon as it's released. There are some cool bundles!

Pete Trewavas, Marillion

It's a new day for us all - a couple of very small bloopers during the show made the event so very human. People in the audience not knowing quite how to greet longtime friends, hugs or no hugs? Elbow bumps, fist bumps, waves and cheers and smiles; photographer-me no longer used to the weight of the kit when moving around the venue and rusty at just-about everything.

(Just to be silly, I clocked my activity on my sports watch: over a mile inside the venue, up and down, and that was taking it easy - yes, wearing a mask after climbing from the stalls to the top of the gallery felt tough, but it's part of the photo-ninja kit these days - and part of our responsibility, surely, to keeping everyone as safe as possible.)