On this day, 3 May 1997, English rock band Marillion played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall.
Following the departure of original lead singer Fish in late 1988 and the subsequent arrival of replacement Steve Hogarth in early 1989. The band achieved eight Top Ten UK albums between 1983 and 1994, including a number one album in 1985 with Misplaced Childhood, and during the period the band were fronted by Fish they had eleven Top 40 hits on the UK Singles Chart.
They are best known for the 1985 singles "Kayleigh" and "Lavender", which reached number two and number five respectively, with "Kayleigh" also entering the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States.
This Strange Engine was released in 1997 with little promotion from their new label Castle Records, and the band could not afford to make tour stops in the United States.
Their dedicated US fan base decided to solve the problem by raising some $60,000 themselves online to give to the band to come to the US.[48] The band's loyal fanbase (combined with the Internet) would eventually become vital to their existence.