Any band that stays together for over 20 years must be doing something right.

After a string of hits and chart topping albums in the mid-80s, Marillion appeared to slip off the rock n' roll radar. Yet thanks to an unerring belief in their distinctive sound and the extraordinary support of their fans, they have consistently produced classic rock at its dramatic and melodic best.

Ian Mosley has been behind the Marillion drum kit since 1984 and I asked him exactly how their followers had contributed to the longevity of the band.

"Marillion have what you might call a cult following throughout the world, completely fanatical and very supportive. To the point where, several years ago, the American fans were saying to us come over and although we wanted to tour the USA, we really couldn't afford to go there. So they started up a tour fund, mainly via the internet and raised $60,000 to get us out there which was truly amazing.

"After we left EMI, the band were signed to various independent labels, who could never spend enough on promoting the band properly. So we asked the fans what they thought about paying for an album upfront and about 15,000 immediately said yes!"

Marbles, their latest CD, has received rave reviews from the music press, hailed as "dramatic, melancholic and intense" and certainly one of their strongest collections to date.

"With Marbles, we decided to do the whole lot ourselves. The double album was quite an expensive item to produce, so this time we said to the fans, we'll spend every penny on a proper marketing campaign, we found a distribution company and it worked.

"The fans paid upfront and raised over £300,000 and with the extra promotion we got a couple of top 10 singles out of it in the UK. All thanks to our fans again."

With an appearance at GuilFest only days away, I wondered if the band treat their festival performances any differently?

"We played the BosPop festival in Holland the other weekend and usually we just try to keep the set a little more upbeat, rather than the slower, atmospheric tracks. At Guilfest we're only on for about 50 minutes, so we'll get together next week to rehearse and probably cut two or three numbers out of the set we did at BosPop and it should be a good, lively set. I haven't been to Guilfest myself, but several of our friends have and everyone I spoke to came back with glowing reports, they all said it's a great day out, a real family event."

l Marillion Guilfest Sunday, July 17 01483 454159