In what has become an early spring annual expedition to The Underworld in Camden, cowboys and ladies, in various stages of rooting, tooting and luck, hit the famous London watering hole for another outing with Mr Punch. This was in celebration of Misplaced Childhood, and tonight, it was raining on no one.
Mr Punch
The Underworld, Camden – 29 March 2025
Words And Photography: Steve Ritchie
It is a little over one month since Fish made his powerful farewell at The London Palladium, celebrating 44 years of music, memories, and an unbreakable bond with his devoted fans. “It’s a very symbolic year,” singer Marco Vincini told MetalTalk’s Steve Ritchie after the show tonight. “We’re planning to pay homage to the big man in the next few months.”
For me, one of the key successes of Mr Punch is Marco’s phrasing. There is only one way to sing “Her mother called her beautiful, Her daddy said…. ‘A whore’,” and he nails it perfectly.
Fish is not only an unbelievable lyricist, but his delivery is unique. It is this attention to detail that makes these evenings special. Of course, drummer Marco Fabbri is once again resplendent in his kilt, while Luca Cristofaro and his bass hold stage right in style.
There is no introduction needed for guitarist Marcella Arganese, who covers the Steve Rothery parts wonderfully, hitting all the right notes in all the right places.
Tonight, though, there is a London debut for keyboard player Licia Missori. “She’s been playing with us for almost a year now,” Marco says. “We’re very happy that she is part of the Mr Punch family.” Licia fills stage left with grace, style and big smiles.
It is a typically impressive start. Script For A Jester’s Tear rings through and is met with wonderfully loud, welcoming applause. Yes, we are back again.
Cinderella Search finds Cristofaro earning big smiles as he joins with the higher-pitched backing vocals. There are some Pete Trewavas-esque shapes being thrown, too. Missori is great, full of smiles and is bouncing as the song springs to its climax.
This is all held together wonderfully by the kilted and big-hearted Marco Fabbri, allowing Marcella and Marco to sprinkle the magic dust on top. Welcome back to the circus, indeed.
Marco says that we are here to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Misplaced Childhood. “But before,” he teases, “one from the first album.” Chelsea Monday is as epic as always. The approach of Mr Punch has this way of sucking people in. The guitar solo cuts through The Underworld wonderfully.
There is a beautiful pause in the middle of Chelsea Monday, which is met with big cheers. We have only just begun, but the mood tonight throughout the venue is celebratory. Big nods to Marcella for her closing solo.
Grendel is met with the usual excitement. There is big energy from an audience who know the song word for word. My notes say that I could have gone home then, happy. But we were all ready for Marillion album number three.
Tonight, we were 80 days away from the 40th Anniversary of the release of Misplaced Childhood. This was an album that spoke of real life and real emotions. For Marillion, it was colossal. It hit the very top of the UK album charts, was a global seller and in Kayleigh, they had a first song that would be played on national daytime radio. A lot.
“Misplaced Childhood was us sticking one finger up at the business and saying, ‘Fuck you! This is a real band’,” Fish said many years after its release. Both he and Steve Rothery would, separately, of course, play the album in full ten years ago around its 30th Anniversary.
Around that time, Rothery said that he was proud of it, but “it represents the calm before the storm”. There were calls for the band to get together around that time. “If he [Fish] can’t sing in the same key as on the album,” Rothery said, “then we can’t play the same music as on the album. You’re not giving people the same experience. It’s better to leave them with the memory.”
Mr Punch begin with Pseudo Silk Kimono, obviously in the same key as the album. Licia gets the attention, weaving her keys wonderfully. Marco nails the lyrics, and then we are into Kayleigh. The red jacket is out, and we all smile and sing along.
The roll into Lavender is beautiful. “I was walking in the park…” Everyone is on it, unleashing the angst of 40 years. There are big cheers as the solo finishes, and Mr Punch slip into the rumbles that beckon Bitter Suite.
“A spider…” The memory is back. I can recall the lyrics. The Italian sounds very Scottish. Marco’s all-important phrasing automatically makes the audience fill in the “Lager” echoes. The guitar is there, the bass is awesome and wonderfully in time with the toms.
The first refrain of Lavender reminds me that it has been a long time. “Walking in the park” has big cheers. “It’s getting late”, and we are preparing for Heart Of Lothian. The beautiful roll on the piano brings “Rain on me,” to big cheers. 
This is triumphant. Grendel went straight into Side One, so Mr Punch are working hard. There is no break, no flipping over of the proverbial vinyl.
The Underworld rings out with a boom as Marco declares, “And the man in the mirror has sad eyes.”
There is big respect from crowd to band and whistles fly around. Mr Punch do not do two sides. This is presented as one piece, and Licia Missori brings us along nicely. 
For me, the big test was Side Two, which is not something I have spent lots of time with over recent years. I need not have worried, as Waterhole (Expresso Bongo) and Lords Of The Backstage roll wonderfully into the almost ten-minute Blind Curve. I had forgotten about the Lothian refrain, but we all follow Fish’s LSD trip towards the happy end.
We hit White Feather, and Marco toasts the crowd as the last notes ring out. We all respond. “You are amazing,” he smiles. “Thank you so much for being here. Our fourth time.”
Sugar Mice is dedicated to Vince. Luca Cristofaro plays some fantastic bass, the high weaving notes great in the right places. 
The Last Straw appears, such a cool song live. It’s a good call in this set. Licia Missori throws some lovely wavy keys in the middle. We do that ‘water’ echo, and everything is fine. Everyone claps Marcella’s solo. Luca does a great job for the lady vocal. He is really cool, we’re smiling. I can feel vibrations in my feet, and I love that.
Where do we go from here? There is still half an hour remaining. Licia Missori has a solo. This is wonderful. There is no talking as we watch the virtuoso in action. Fugazi follows, and Marcela teases Grendel. We would probably want that again.
For the encore, Mr Punch throw out Easter. Is this a new direction, as well as a new jacket for Marco? “Our main focus will always be the Fish era,” Marco said later. “We love what Marillion have been doing with H, and that’s the reason why we have Easter in our setlist. We also love to maintain the curiosity in our audience and always think of what we could do to keep fresh. Who knows, we might add some ‘Easter Eggs’ in the future.”
Garden Party. Othello? Beagling? Rugger? Fucking? “Thank you, Underworld. Oh, what a crowd.” Yeah. We finish with smog at the end of my rainbow, and keys, guitar, drum and bass push Market Square Heroes right to the last seconds of the 10 PM curfew. 
There may have been a couple of spots where it was a little more raw than before, but that is balanced against the energy. Tonight was genius.
You do not get Side Two played very much these days. Balanced against Side One with its hits, I thought maybe it was its poorer cousin. But what do I know? That is probably just my poor memory.
“What I can say is we love the atmosphere that gradually takes shape while performing it,” Marco says of Side Two. “I have to admit we have a thing for Side Two of Misplaced Childhood.”
Mr Punch – New Music
At the 2024 show at The Underworld, we spoke to Mr Punch about the new music they are writing. Over The Edge Of The Pier and There Was A Mermaid were two songs so far. This is a great band, so it is not a surprise that the creative drive has led them to write new material.
“Our work with original music is starting to take quite a good shape,” Marco tells us one year later. “We’re currently working with Marco Barusso, an experienced and well-known Italian producer, and it’s all coming together in a way we couldn’t be more happy about.”
