And today it's Mark Kelly's turn, the talented keyboardist of "Marillion".
(Photo: Will Ireland)
Let's read some interesting facts about him:
1. He was born in Dublin, Ireland, on April 9, 1961. His full name is Mark Colbert Kelly.
2. Mark grew up in Ireland until the age of 8, when his family moved to England.
3. The first musical influences on him were the "Glam Rock" bands from the early '70s, from there he switched to Rick Wakeman's album "Journey to the Center of the Earth" and was simply preceded by Wakeman's playing. This has already put him into Progressive Rock and from there he went on to the bands "Genesis", "Yes", "Pink Floyd" and more.
4. After graduating from high school, Kelly began studying electronics at university.
5. At the same time he performed in pubs and clubs with his first band "Chemical Alice", which operated in the Essex area of England.
6. In 1981 he released the mini-album "Curiouser and Curiouser", with "Chemical Alice".
7. One of the bands that warmed up "Chemical Alice" was "Marillion". After one of the performances, Kelly received an invitation from singer Fish and drummer Mick Pointer to join "Marillion" as a replacement for keyboardist Brian Jelliman.
(Photo: EMI)
8. His first appearance with the band was on December 1, 1981. It was held at the "Great Northern Pub" in Cambridge.
9. From the band's first album "Script For A Jester’s Tear" to their latest album "An Hour Before It's Dark" Kelly has participated in all 19 of "Marillion's" studio albums.
10. In 1994 Kelly produced and played on the album "Under the Red and White Sky", by musician John Wesley. Guitarist Steve Rothery and drummer Ian Mosley also participated in the album.
11. In 1995 he produced and played on the album "Myth of Independence", the fourth album of "Jump".
12. In 2011 he played on the album "In The Last Waking Moments ...", of "Edison's Children". The album also featured all the members of "Marillion": Steve Rothery, Steve Hogarth, Ian Mosley, and Pete Trewavas.
13. Mark came up with the idea of "mass funding", when in 1997 he asked the fans to fund the recording of the album "Anoraknophobia", which was released in 2001.
14. Kelly served as co-CEO of the "Featured Artists Coalition", which was designed to protect the copyright of artists in the digital age.
15. Since 2009 he has served as CEO of the organization "PPL" (Phonographic Performance Limited) - a British copyrighted music collective.
16. In 2016 Kelly was cast as a guest keyboardist on "Ayreon"'s 2017 album "The Source".
17. In 2020 he released his first solo album under the band "Mark Kelly's Marathon". The album includes the musical piece "Amelia" and also features guitarist Steve Rothery.
18. Not for nothing did Kelly call his lineup "Mark Kelly's Marathon." One of his favorite hobbies is running.
19. His "Marillion" favorite album is "Marbles", he thinks the band surpassed itself in terms of diversity and creative ability.
20. The "Marillion's" song that he most likes to play live is "This Strange Engine".
For listening to Mark Kelly's solo album: Spotify, Apple Music