Steve Rothery

Steve Rothery, the guitarist with the neo-progressive rock band Marillion, was born in Brampton, South Yorkshire on 25 November 1959. From the age of six he lived in Whitby, North Yorkshire. He began to play the guitar at the age of 15 and in 1979 saw an ad in the music press for a band called Silmarillion that needed a guitarist. He travelled 250 miles south to audition successfully for the band. From this point he concentrated less on technique and more on melody and composition. This paid off, and after recording two studio albums with Marillion (the name had been shortened), Steve developed a catchy riff on his guitar. The band's singer, Fish, put some romantic lyrics to the riff and Marillion had a big hit on their hands - Kayleigh.

In 2001 Rothery was voted Yorkshire and Humberside's best guitarist in Total Guitar Magazine's poll of the greatest 12 British guitarists by regional vote. As well as Marillion, Steve has a solo project called The Wishing Tree.