Marion - The Collector (1998)

Marion were formed in Macclesfield, Cheshire in 1993 by Jaime Harding and Anthony Grantham, along with Phil Cunningham, who had all previously been in various bands together including Cloud, Chief, Push The King and The Shags. After recruiting bassist Damian Lawrence and drummer Murad Mousa, they recorded a demo that was sent to former Smiths manager Joe Moss, who agreed to manage the band. After replacing bassist Damian Lawrence with Julian Phillips, they rehearsed six days a week for nine months, commuting each day from Macclesfield, before playing in London to try and gain record company attention. After releasing debut single 'Violent Men' on Rough Trade Records, a bidding war began between the major record labels, with Marion eventually signing to London Records, and gaining a publishing deal with Island Music Publishing in October 1994. In March 1995, bassist Phillips left the band to join Electrafixion and work with Ian McCulloch, and was replaced by Nick Gilbert, formerly of the Hot Bananas. They released their debut 'This World And Body' in February 1996, which entered the UK Top 10 Album Chart, and constant gigging saw them supporting the likes of Morrissey, Radiohead, Ian McCulloch, and Manic Street Preachers. After a gruelling 18 month international touring campaign for their debut, the band found it difficult to write a second album, and so Moss brought in Johnny Marr to co-write and produce 'The Program'. It was released in September 1998, however Harding's heroin habit saw him become increasingly unreliable, which led to a lack of promotion. 

Following a mammoth tour of the US in 1999, the band split up, with the rest of the group blaming frustration and bitterness at not being able to get through to the drug-addicted Harding. Guitarist Cunningham toured with Bernard Sumner's and Johnny Marr's band Electronic, and subsequently went on to become a full-time member of Bad Lieutenant and New Order, while second guitarist Tony Grantham, who left the band in 1998, formed Chalk and Ryna, but bassist Nick Gilbert was deeply affected by the break up, selling his equipment and starting working in graphic design. In December 1999, it was revealed the frontman 

Harding was working with longtime friend Wayne Ward on new material, and although all the band's music had been written by Cunningham and Grantham, the new songs were was to be released under the Marion name, with Harding stating that "the name Marion belongs to me and only I use it". In June 2000, Harding pleaded guilty to theft charges and possession of heroin, after stealing garden ornaments and selling them to an antiques dealer to fund his heroin habit, and he was put on probation. Nothing from the sessions was ever released. Marion attempted further reunions in 2006, playing gigs in Bath, Manchester and London, and also in 2011, which produced a live album, but they fell apart again when a planned studio album was abandoned. It's an ignominious end to a band who had so much potential, and could have been a bigger part of the Britpop scene than they were, so as a tribute to their early work, here are all the non-album singles and b-sides from their short career.  

Track listing

01 Violent Men (original single 1994)
02 Today And Tonight (b-side of 'Violent Man')
03 Father's Day (b-side of 'Sleep' 1995)
04 Moving Fast (b-side of 'Sleep' 1995)
05 Waiting For No-One (from the 'Sleep' EP 1995)
06 The Collector (from the 'Sleep' EP 1995)
07 Down The Middle With You (b-side of 'Toys For Boys' 1995)
08 Changed For The Same (b-side of 'Toys For Boys' 1995)
09 The Late Gate Show (b-side of 'Let's All Go Together' 1995)
10 Chance (b-side of 'Time' 1996)
11 Speechless (b-side of 'Miyako Hideaway' 1998)
12 We Love Everything (b-side of 'Miyako Hideaway' 1998)
13 Minus You (b-side of 'Miyako Hideaway' 1998)
14 Promise Q (b-side of 'Miyako Hideaway' 1998)
15 The Present (b-side of 'Sparkle' 1998)
16 Journey To The Centre (b-side of 'Sparkle' 1998)
17 Psycho Killer (b-side of 'Sparkle' 1998)
18 Our Place (b-side of 'Sparkle' 1998)