Marion were a group who I discovered via the ‘True Brit’ compilation that I spent a lot of 1996 listening to. The thrilling momentum of ‘Sleep’ was what introduced me to them, and I looked forwards to hearing more. But after that their luck seemed to desert them, problems developed within the band, an under-promoted second album (produced by Johnny Marr) flopped and everything fell apart. It wasn’t until 2013 that I saw their 1995 debut ‘This World And Body’ being sold for £1 and decided to invest in a copy. It’s far from a classic but it has its moments, including this number 29 hit which was released as a single in January 1996.
After splitting in 1999, guitarist Phil Cunningham joined New Order after Gillian Gilbert left, and still plays with them to this day. After a few years in the wilderness, Cunningham and vocalist Jaime Harding reunited with a new Marion line-up in 2006, but the band were put on hold the following year after Harding had to undergo open heart surgery. Then in 2011, the original line-up of the group reformed to play their first gig in 16 years. New material was played but new studio recordings have yet to see the light of day…
