"We were in a transitional phase as a band: from a bunch of kids in a van hunting for a record deal to a band that finally had that deal in their pockets and was now trying to record the follow-up to a successful debut album This is Fish's assessment of the situation Marillion found himself in a few months after the release of "Script For A Jester's Tear" in spring 1983.
In April 1983 Marillion and drummer Mick Pointer had sent the band founder into the desert almost overnight due to his blatant technical weaknesses. At the same time "Script For A Jester's Tear" had hit the somewhat dull rock scene of the early eighties like a bomb, and Marillion had become the spearhead of the still young neoprog scene, to which bands like IQ, Pendragon or Pallas gradually joined. After the expulsion of Pointers the search for a new drummer began. And this one turned out to be a real nightmare for the band.
