Is Marillion a parody on Marillion?

[Shagwell the mad jester]

This may be pure coincidence. But: there is a rock band called "Marillion". They had some minor hits in the 1980s (with their album "Misplaced childhood") and were active ever since. They're not bad. They just had the bad luck, that those songs they became famous with, were REALLY 1980s and epitomised everything that was bad taste about that decade. From the 1990s onward they became a cheap laugh - "hey, there comes the bad taste of the Eighties".

Was GRRM ever asked why he called the Singer Marillion that way? At least this this character also has the fate for always being in the wrong place at the wrong time and being remembered for this rather than for his musical abilities.

[The Stannis Inquisition]

I don't have a source, but I remember reading something about this. Someone asked Martin if the name was an intentional reference and I believe he said that he was unfamiliar with the band at the time.

EDIT: I found the transcript I was thinking of. Here's the quote:

Jim_Roper says: With regard to the singer Marillion, are you a fan of the band or is this just coincidence?
It's just a coincidence; I had never heard of the band until the book came out and PEOPLE pointed it out to me. Perhaps I had heard of them and the name stuck in the back of my mind when I was looking for a name for the singer, but my taste in music runs primarily to ‘50s and ‘60s rock, the kind of music I talk about in my novel The Armaggeddon Rag.

And the full interview if you're interested:

http://www.empireonline.com/interviews/interview.asp?IID=1496

[James Arryn]

I picture GRRM as either bring into sea shanties, Led Zeppelin or the Grateful Dead.

At a push, Bruce Springsteen due to N.J.

[Shagwell the mad jester]

@ The Stannis Inquisition: Thank you for the link. This answers my question.

[WeaselPie]

Since Marillion took their name from Tolkein's Silmarillion, I figured GRRM had done the same.

BTW I love Marillion.

[Shagwell the mad jester]

@Weasel Pie. So do I. What I wanted to say was, that they were remembered for the wrong things (or the wrong songs) - they were actually much better than this. The singer Marillion is a similar case of bad luck. He is not remembered for his musical abilities. Just everytime he shows up, somebody gets thrown into the sky cells, the last time he himself.

[Jon Weirgaryen]

I picture GRRM as either bring into sea shanties, Led Zeppelin or the Grateful Dead.

At a push, Bruce Springsteen due to N.J.

GRRM is into many things. Gotta read The Armageddon Rag :)