Released on 18 March 1983 through EMI, Script for a Jester's Tear is Marillion's debut studio album and one of the most accomplished first albums in British progressive rock history. Produced by David Hitchcock, the record arrived at a time when the wider music industry had largely declared prog dead — and proceeded to prove that assertion spectacularly wrong.

The album's six tracks — including the emotionally raw "He Knows You Know", the epic title track, and the sweeping closer "The Web" — showcase a band fully formed from the outset. Fish's densely layered, theatrical lyrics draw on personal isolation, late-night urban longing, and a distinctly British brand of romanticism, while the musicianship from Steve Rothery, Mark Kelly, Pete Trewavas, and Mick Pointer establishes a sonic identity immediately recognisable as Marillion.

Steve Rothery's guitar work in particular — understated, melodic, and immaculately phrased — is already fully defined here, laying the foundation for a style he would refine across decades. The album reached number 7 on the UK Albums Chart, a remarkable commercial debut that confirmed the band's ability to connect with a wide audience without compromising their artistic ambition.

Script for a Jester's Tear remains a landmark recording: a confident, cohesive statement from a band who arrived already knowing exactly who they were.