“He’s trying to say, ‘They’re words. The more you use them, the more you disempower them’”: Why Marillion ex Fish opened a song with a string of racial slurs

Alternative

May 19, 2026

“He’s trying to say, ‘They’re words. The more you use them, the more you disempower them’”: Why Marillion ex Fish opened a song with a string of racial slurs

His 1997 album Sunsets On Empire – a collaboration with Steven Wilson – remains a sunny moment in his stormy career, although one song might not be the same if it was written today