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Marillion in £20,000 card game with England Footballers "But Who Won?" ask Silhobbit.com

An insider has revealed to Silhobbit.com the extent of ‘cardboy’ Steve Hogarth’s gambling addiction and reports that during the last World Cup members of Marillion played poker with footballers Michael Owen and Alan Shearer on the tour bus. It is common knowledge that whilst Marillion are on tour the boredom of traveling between gigs has led to a variety of ways to pass the time. Over the years the Aylesbury aces have been at the heart of various fads and whilst other bands on tour turn to drink and women, however, Marillion prefer to put their minds to something a bit more constructive.

During the ‘Clutching at Straws’ tour the band really got into Air-fix models. By the end of a six-month tour the band (between them) had completed a squadron of aircraft. Mark Kelly was the best at making the models because of his long fingers, whilst Steve Rothery struggled with the fiddley small parts.  It was also common knowledge that law-abiding Pete Trewavas enjoyed painting the aircraft. By the time the band was touring with ‘Holidays In Eden’ they had moved on to building battleships.

Missing Cards When the Pokemon craze hit the world Marillion were once again ahead of the masses. Such was the fanatical dedication of these highly sought-after assortment of popular Japanese trading cards that a rift began to take place after Ian Mosley enjoyed the success of owning his prized ‘Shiny Charzard’ – when the card went missing after a concert in Berlin, manager ‘John Arnison’ called in the police to find the thief and hopefully return the valuable card to the anxious drummer. Ian’s pride and joy was never found and the following dates were uncomfortable for Marillion as suspicious fingers were pointed towards the Manager who was sacked at the end of the tour. The shiny ‘Charzard’ (evolved from Charmander) has never been found.

Trading During the Afraid of Sunlight tour the band would trade anything. Pete Trewavas collected marbles and would swap them with fans at gigs.  Ian Mosley took a colouring-in book on the tour and during the long drives to concerts and waiting at airports he kept himself busy with his pens in order to relieve the boredom.

Skateboarding Producer Steven Wilson introduced the band to skateboarding whilst he was mixing ‘Radiation’. Once again the band had time on their hands and so they would use Steve Wilson’s ‘half-pipe’.  It is reputed that Steve Rothery can do a 360, although no video evidence is available. After the novelty of skateboarding had worn off a few of the guys turned to shop-fitting in order to get a thrill. Luckily none of them got caught!

In 2002 drummer Ian Mosley went to Walthamstow Dog-Track with Lucy Jordache, who was a keen breeder. Ian was thrilled at winning several races on that cold November north-London evening. It didn’t take long before Mosley invited Steve Hogarth to the races and soon they were hooked on gambling. For these guys it wasn’t all about winning, it was the thrill of the track and the smell of the dogs that they couldn’t resist. Ian loved the greyhounds and even went to see Lucy’s puppies.

During the Anoraknophobia Tour the band became friends with the England Football team who were also in Japan for the world cup. Alan Shearer, Michael Owen and Steve McManaman met the band in a bar and invited them onto the coach for a game of cards. Steve Rothery has a good poker-face, and he was able to whip their asses into small hours. That night everyone drank too much and the Marillion boys had made some good friends even though Rothery’s wallet was bulging… they agreed to meet the following evening after the England v Argentina game.

Big Money Michael Owen introduced footballer Gareth Southgate who is known for his card playing and his love of craps. England had beaten the dirty Argies, and they felt lucky. Marillion had played a great concert and they too were feeling good.  They sat around the table and dealt the cards. Marillion v England Football team - Both parties had more money to blow than sense! A journalist from The Sun newspaper informed us that £20,000 exchanged hands that night –

So Who Won ? Who won and who lost remains a mystery.  We can assume that Marillion did not win because Ian Mosley played the next gig with one less bass drum, probably now owned by striker Alan Shearer.

Editor's Comments As Marillion grow older their hobbies should reflect this. When they were in their teens it would have been appropriate for them to enjoy Playboy magazine on the coaches. Now they are older I would hope that 'Peoples Friend' with jam recipes and love stories from the trenches  would be better.