Rothery began to play the guitar at the age of 15. In 1979, he saw an ad in the music press for a band called Silmarillion that needed a guitarist. He auditioned successfully for the band (August 19, 1979). From this point he concentrated more on melody, composition and mood and less on his technique (similarly like The Edge of U2 does). Later, Silmarillion shortened its name to Marillion. Rothery is the only member of Marillion's founding lineup who remains in the band to this day. As well as work with Marillion, he started a solo project under the name The Wishing Tree (with Hannah Stobart providing vocals), and released an album called Carnival of Souls. In 1995, Rothery performed the Marillion song Easter with Americanprogressive metal band Dream Theater (and fellow band member Steve Hogarth) at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London.
Style
Rothery is regarded by many fans of the band as providing their defining sound - with his signature clean toned, high-sustain Stratocaster soloing. His style of playing is heavily influenced by that of Pink Floyd's David Gilmour. In a 2001 interview with Total Guitar Magazine, Rothery named Jeff Beck and Larry Carlton as his favourite guitarists. Like Gilmour, Rothery is very tonal and is considerate of every note, as opposed to extreme speed and other forms of technical wizardry. When required, Rothery can still pull out all the stops. It has also been said of him that he knows, importantly, 'what not to play'...a case of 'less is more'.
Some of his important personal quotes
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My wife to be, Jo, asked me to explain how I came up with my musical ideas, picking up a nearby guitar I started improvising what later became the "Kayleigh" riff whilst explaining that I tried to combine melody and rhythm. I sometimes wonder if we would still have written "Kayleigh" if she had asked me if there was anything good on the telly instead!
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We still sell a lot of records. It's just people's perceptions that have changed. Unless you have a single in the charts, people don't know you're around.
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Some people have already made up their minds about what the band stands for. The only way to get round that is radio play. We've had more airplay than in years, but on digital, so most people can't hear it.
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The thing about the guitar is that it's such an emotional instrument, and I'm sure that people would much rather hear a guitar if it's played with emotion and feeling than just racing up and down the fret-board.
Remixomatosis (2005, Retail album different from 2004 Racket Records album) This release, meant to highlight the more "danceable" numbers from the 2004 releases and two new remixes of the Marbles singles, was planned and a track list selected, but was abandoned.
