London teenager Steven Wilson created his first heavy metal band Paradox during his school years. Since then, he has had about a dozen progressive rock bands to his credit. But the Porcupine Tree group is considered the most productive brainchild of the musician, composer and producer.
The first 6 years of the group's existence can be called a real fake, since, except for Stephen, no one took part in it. Then the rock band began to increase in popularity. When he reached the peak of fame, Wilson suddenly left the project, switching to a completely new one. Without an ideological inspirer, everything worsened. Nevertheless, Porcupine Tree is considered a cult band that greatly influenced the formation of rock in the future.
Fictional musicians and the history of the Porcupine Tree band
Wilson actively developed No Man is an Island in 1987. And when he got his own studio, he began to record different parts of instruments in his own performance and mix them into one composition.
To increase public interest in his activities, Stephen came up with the name Porcupine Tree. And he even created a booklet that told a non-existent story of a psychedelic band that seemed to have begun activity in the 1970s, and even indicated the fictitious names of the musicians.
His friend Malcolm Stokes actively helped in the creation of the fake. He also participated in the recording of the drum machine part in the compositions.
The lyrics were written by Alan Duffy, with whom Wilson was in active correspondence. All of them were mostly about taking drugs. Having heard the first compositions, Alan was so imbued with them that he simply sent his strange poems to the musician. Stephen has never dabbled in drugs. He drew inspiration from his dreams, but Duffy's writing was better suited to Porcupine Tree.
There is no group, but there is glory
People were happy to buy the band's cassette, read the fictitious discography and the names of invented performers. Everyone believed that such an ensemble exists.
In 1990, the second demo album The Love, Death & Mussolini was released. And a year later - and the third collection of Nostalgia Factory. For 5 years, Wilson's archive has accumulated a lot of records made at his leisure. But he hid most of it from the general public.
The first album came out with a circulation of only 1 thousand copies, but the records were sold out, so the album had to be re-released on CD. The compositions were collected differently, written in different styles, but they were played on the radio with pleasure. The author joked that 10 groups of different styles could be created from the materials.
Stephen did not stop there, and in 1992 he released the composition Voyage 34, a half-hour-long mix of electronic and dance trance music with progressive rock. He was sure that the single would not be played on the radio, but he was wrong. A year later, two more remixes had to be released.
Warm welcome and cold showers at concerts
It became clear that he could no longer cope. And since 1993, Colin Edwin, Richard Barbieri and drummer Chris Maitland have appeared in the team. From that time on, the Porcupine Tree band no longer used Duffy's lyrics.
At the first concert of the fictitious group, 200 fans gathered, who knew all the lyrics by heart and sang along with the musicians. Wilson was on a roll. But only fifty “fans” came to the second performance, and three dozen to the third. And this despite the modern light show organized by the musicians.
The coldness of the audience did not stop the band members. The rockers continued to record and release albums one after another. Although the musicians were considered invited, and each separately recorded his part. And already Wilson brought them together.
In Britain, the rock band was treated coldly, although abroad the concerts of the Porcupine Tree group were held with the same success. For example, in Italy, 5 spectators gathered for their show. It became clear that the scale was increasing, and the small label Delerium could no longer cope. So the mastermind from 1996 began to look for something better.
New label - new opportunities
Following their Italian success, the band drastically changed their style towards alternative rock and Britpop. The compositions became shorter, and the arrangement, on the contrary, became more complicated.
The album Stupid Dream, written in 1997, was released two years later due to difficult negotiations with a new label. Especially for the distribution of the group, Kaleidoscope was created, which later became involved in progressive rockers. Thanks to the new label, it was possible to shoot the first video of the Porcupine Tree group in a surreal style, as well as organize tours in the United States.
The album Lightbulb Sun (2000) was a big disappointment for Steven, as the songs were written in the style of the previous songs. And nothing new and progressive could not be done. The frontman could not find a common language with drummer Chris Maitland. They quarreled, even fought. Then, however, they reconciled, but the musician was fired anyway.
Millennium "turned" Wilson's mind, and he became interested in extreme metal. Having made friends with the leader of the Opeth group, he agreed to produce the band. Such cooperation left its mark on the sound of Porcupine Tree. Trip-hop and industrial were clearly traced in their music now. Moreover, the new drummer Gavin Harrison was a real ace in his field.
The transition to cooperation with the new label Lava, on the one hand, added sales of CDs in Europe. But, on the other hand, he suspended advertising in his native UK. At the same time, the subject matter of the lyrics became even more menacing. The latest album The Incident (2009) is filled with thoughts of suicide, life tragedies and spiritualism.
Top and beginning of the end of the Porcupine Tree group
The 2010 tour was a resounding success. The next tour could raise at least $5 million. The Porcupine Tree group took the 4th position in the ranking of modern groups. And suddenly, at the very peak of his fame, Steven Wilson decided to return to where he started - to a solo career. Although it was clear to everyone that this project was doomed to "failure" in advance.
But the musician was tired of rock and no longer saw the opportunity for his offspring to "advance" in terms of style. The musicians have gone on sabbatical. Although they still got together in 2012 to record five acoustic compositions. But they were published only in 2020.
Stephen "spun" on his own, even better than in the most important group in his life. When asked if it was possible for the band to return to the stage, he called such chances zero.
