A legendary 1970s rock band that never existed became a real musical powerhouse.
In short: Porcupine Tree began in 1987 as a elaborate hoax, complete with a fake history of prison stints and festival meetings. Musician Steven Wilson created hours of music to provide evidence for this fictional group, only for the joke to evolve into one of the most influential progressive rock bands in history.
The project originated as a collaborative prank between Steven Wilson and Malcolm Stocks. To sell the illusion of a legendary 1970s band, they fabricated a detailed backstory, including fictitious members like Sir Tarquin Underspoon. Wilson recorded hours of music to back these claims, while Stocks contributed occasional experimental guitar and vocal treatments. By 1989, Wilson began to see commercial potential in the material, releasing the cassette Tarquin's Seaweed Farm with an eight-page inlay that furthered the hoax.
The charade gained traction when writer Richard Allen reviewed the cassette in magazines like Encyclopaedia Psychedelica. Allen eventually became the band's manager and helped secure a deal with the Delerium label. As the band's profile grew, the fictional backstory was gradually dropped. By 1993, Wilson transitioned from a solo creator to a collaborative band environment, recruiting keyboardist Richard Barbieri, bassist Colin Edwin, and drummer Chris Maitland. This lineup would go on to define the band's sound, moving from psychedelic experiments toward progressive metal.
The band's trajectory shifted significantly in the 2000s as they signed with major labels like Lava/Atlantic and embraced 5.1 surround-sound production. Albums like In Absentia and Fear of a Blank Planet brought them international acclaim, with the latter addressing 21st-century issues like mass media alienation and attention deficit disorder. Despite a period of inactivity starting in 2010, the core members continued to work in secret, eventually releasing the album Closure/Continuation in 2022. What began as a private amusement became a serious, critically lauded musical force that transcended its humble, deceptive origins.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Porcupine Tree
- Also: Wikidata — Porcupine Tree · CC0
- Also: Wikidata — Porcupine Tree's albums in chronological order · CC0
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