14 Facts About Steve Rothery

Steven Rothery was born on 25 November 1959 and is an English musician who is the original guitarist and the longest continuous member of the progressive rock band Marillion.

Outside Marillion, Rothery has recorded two albums as part of the duo The Wishing Tree and an instrumental solo album, The Ghosts of Pripyat, released in September 2014.

Steve Rothery was born in Brampton Bierlow, near Barnsley then in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England, and from the age of six he lived in Whitby, North Yorkshire.

Steve Rothery began to play the guitar at the age of 15.

Steve Rothery auditioned successfully for the band.

Steve Rothery had been approached by EMI to make a solo album during the recording of Marillion's Misplaced Childhood and by Miles Copeland when Marillion were recording Brave in his castle in France in 1994; he decided to join with Stobart and form The Wishing Tree instead.

On 25 November 2013, Steve Rothery announced that he was working on a solo album to be titled The Ghosts of Pripyat and scheduled for a September 2014 release.

The idea for the album was born when Steve Rothery was rehearsing for a show at the annual international guitar festival in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, in October 2013, with a band including guitarist Dave Foster, drummer Leon Parr, and bassist Yatim Halimi.

Steve Rothery has cited Joni Mitchell as an influence, especially her use of open tunings, which he believed created a very harmonically rich sound.

Steve Rothery has cited Mitchell's "A Case of You" as one of the songs that had the biggest influence on him.

Barry Cleveland of Guitar Player stated that Steve Rothery "specializes in crafting lush sonic atmospheres with layered guitars and effects processing".

Steve Rothery makes extensive use of loops, via a setup that includes TC Electronic 2290 Dynamic Digital Delays, an AdrenaLinn III, and a variety of other effects all routed through controller made by Gig-Rig.

On 8 November 2017, Steve Rothery was presented with his new Blade RH-4 signature guitar by guitar manufacturer Gary Levinson at a promotional event in the Albert Halls in Bolton.

Steve Rothery appears on every Marillion release since their 1982 debut single; see Marillion discography.