The Uninvited Guest (song)

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The Uninvited Guest (song) - Wikipedia

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"The Uninvited Guest"

Single by Marillion

from the album Seasons End

Released

27 November 1989 (UK)

Genre

Neo-prog

Length

3:52 (album version)
3:44 (7-inch version)
5:04 (12-inch version)

Nick Davis
Marillion

Marillion singles chronology

"Hooks In You"
(1989)

"The Uninvited Guest"
(1989)

"Easter"
(1989)

Audio sample

"The Uninvited Guest" is the second single from English band Marillion's fifth studio album Seasons End, released in 1989. It was the band's first single since their debut "Market Square Heroes" in 1982 that did not enter the UK Singles Chart's top 40, peaking at no. 53.

Overview

Like most of the songs on Seasons End, the lyrics for "The Uninvited Guest" were written by John Helmer, who was appointed by EMI to write lyrics for the band following the departure of former lyricist Fish. In a 1994 interview with the Marillion fan club newsletter The Web, Helmer revealed the song was inspired by the AIDS epidemic, saying:

It is mainly about the unwanted disturbance of your life ... I think for me, it's about the seventies - when I was in my teens, there was much sexual freedom, everything was very free and easy and you could get experience with everything you wanted. In the eighties, everybody was more controlled and careful, and AIDS was basically the last straw: people were wary about with whom to share their table and bed. People tried to hide from all of this by locking themselves in, which gave me spooky images of The Uninvited Guest, and as a matter of fact it could also be you, at a party, being the person nobody wanted to know.^[1]

Critical reception

Upon single release Melody Maker reviewer Mick Mercer considered that the band's sound became very similar to Peter Gabriel style.^[2]

Track listing

7-inch and cassette version

Side 1

"The Uninvited Guest" (7-inch version) – 3:44

Side 2

"The Bell in the Sea" - 4:21

12-inch and CD version

Side 1

"The Uninvited Guest" (12-inch version) - 5:02

Side 2

"The Bell in the Sea" - 4:21
"The Uninvited Guest" (7-inch version) - 3:44

The CD pressing merely reverses the track order on side two.

Single version

"The Uninvited Guest" - 3:50

Music video

The video shows Hogarth as a man awakened during the night by The Uninvited Guest, also portrayed by Hogarth (often using split screen). The man is pursued around his living room by the guest, who appears and disappears at will while delivering the song's lyrics. The other band members observe proceedings from a table suspended in mid-air.

Chart positions

Chart (1998)	Position
UK Singles Chart	53
Dutch GfK chart	85

Personnel

Steve Hogarth - vocals
Steve Rothery - guitars
Mark Kelly - keyboards
Pete Trewavas - bass
Ian Mosley - drums

References

^ "Marillion - 'The Uninvited Guest'". Archived from the original on 19 July 2012.
^ Mercer, Mick (9 December 1989). "Singles: Marillion – "The Uninvited Guest" (EMI)". Melody Maker. London: IPC Limited. p. 32. ISSN 0025-9012. Archived from the original on 28 March 2024. Retrieved 6 June 2024 – via Flickr.

v t e Marillion
Steve Rothery Mark Kelly Pete Trewavas Ian Mosley Steve 'h' Hogarth Mick Pointer Brian Jelliman Doug 'Rastus' Irvine Fish Diz Minnett Andy Ward John 'Martyr' Marter Jonathan Mover
Studio albums	Script for a Jester's Tear Fugazi Misplaced Childhood Clutching at Straws Seasons End Holidays in Eden Brave Afraid of Sunlight This Strange Engine Radiation marillion.com Anoraknophobia Marbles Somewhere Else Happiness Is the Road Less Is More Sounds That Can't Be Made Fuck Everyone and Run (F E A R) An Hour Before It's Dark
Compilations	Brief Encounter B'Sides Themselves A Singles Collection The Best of Both Worlds The Best of Marillion The Singles '82–88' With Friends from the Orchestra
Live albums	Real to Reel The Thieving Magpie Made Again Unplugged at the Walls Front Row Club Issue 1 Anorak in the UK Early Stages Live from Loreley Recital of the Script
Remix albums	Tales from the Engine Room
Singles	"Market Square Heroes" "He Knows You Know" "Garden Party" "Punch and Judy" "Assassing" "Kayleigh" "Lavender" "Heart of Lothian" "Lady Nina" "Welcome to the Garden Party" "Incommunicado" "Sugar Mice" "Warm Wet Circles" "Freaks (Live)" "Hooks in You" "The Uninvited Guest" "Easter" "Cover My Eyes (Pain and Heaven)" "Man of a Thousand Faces" "You're Gone" "Don't Hurt Yourself" "The Damage" (live) "Thankyou Whoever You Are"/"Most Toys" "Carol of the Bells"
Related articles	Marillion discography Brave (film) John Helmer Mark Wilkinson Crowdfunding Fan-funded music

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