HUMBER CALLING - A 1970s-80s British Music Timeline

[shearsforest]

“I know Sasha, whatever her real name is, wanted to introduce us to her boyfriend like we were some bedtime story, some podcast to get him caught up before they got to Jasp's concert. But this... holy hell do they skip out on a lot of crap.”
Former Medusa band member JANET HAINSWORTH to the Anglo-Pops podcast; 15 June 2023

“Look—you're gonna have to trust me on this one. Humberside wasn't a damned circus. We weren't all a bunch of coked-out lunatics like that bloody pair o' pillocks made us seem. I mean, some of us were, but... not all of us.”
Anglo-Indonesian businessman and former musician GEORGE THOMPSON-SCOTTS to Rolling Stone; 18 June 2023

a "realistic" take on @Caprice and @LawfulInsane's GET TO THE TOP (OF THE POPS)
by shearsforest​

---

As some of you will know, I'm a huge fan of Get to the Top (of the Pops). It's the game that not only got me into the election games space of AH.com, but led me on a totally different trajectory within this very site. I ended up meeting a ton of people I wouldn't have met otherwise, helped acquaint me with a bunch of other people here, and, most importantly, gave me a chance to express my creativity in a new way. Oh, and it also indirectly led to my Spotify Rewind filling up with a ton of late-70's early-80's music I wouldn't have listened to otherwise.

For these reasons, Get to the Top holds a very special place in my heart.

It stands to reason, then, that I've been wanting to make this for a while. Some of you will have probably seen my attempts at rewriting my own characters within the Humberside scene to be more along the lines of how I'd do them nowadays, in later games like @RyderWest's With the Lights Out. But this right here — reworking the entirety of Get to the Top in a more realistic manner, while still preserving much of the story — is a wholly new undertaking on its own.

However, I wouldn't be able to make this without the help and inspiration of a few other people:

• @Caprice and @LawfulInsane, for doing their best to piece together loads of player input into a story that, while fanciful (perhaps that's the fun in it?), is highly compelling. Much of the more memorable elements of the Humberside scene, in fact, came from them.
• The other people who worked on the game timeline I'm partly basing this off of, including, to my knowledge, @Whiteshore, @Tales Weaver, and @ennobee, who added their own details and really fleshed out this timeline.
• @Geekhis Khan, for their awesome Carpenter's Hammer TLIAW, which ended up inspiring the creation of this very timeline.
• Author Taylor Jenkins Reid, for Daisy Jones and the Six, whose epistolary format also ended up inspiring this timeline's formatting.

With that being said, there's only one thing left to do, and that's to roll the tape.

 

[Whiteshore]

Watching this!

 

[Tales Weaver]

“Thanks for telling the true story of my father-in-law, I would be following this timeline. I think it was that exaggeration of what happened in Humberside by political opponents like PP or PDT has resulted in his career floundering. Watching this” - Choi Myung-Hoon

 

[SomeGuyOnline]

Intriguing. Can't wait to see where you will be taking this.

 

[ILPD45]

There are a lot of great 70’s and 80’s British bands. Can’t wait to see how this one unfolds. Watched!

 

[shearsforest]

Sophia and Victoria Marshall, as seen in 1977. (Bebe Wood / Angourie Rice)​

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“I tell you, she was the best sister I ever could've had. Sister Sweetheart, I called her — because no other heart could match what she meant for me and for the rest of the scene.”
English musician and historian VICTORIA MARSHALL to BBC News; 24 June 2016

“Frankly, [Sophia] was the closest thing the Humberside scene had to a grounding figure. Without her, it would've been downright brutal.”
Blogger CHRISTIAN JONES, "MP Sophia Marshall dead at 57 after heart attack", Crystallia Forum; 25 June 2016​

From the 2024 web documentary HUMBER CALLING, episode 1: "Fire On The Horizon", released 3 January 2024. Featured excerpt starts around 2:19.

[NATHAN HUTCHINSON]: (voice-over) I wanted to get a sense for how Sophia Marshall really was, so I spoke with Sandra Marshall, one of Sophia's children. She's an advocate for disadvantaged youth across England, and is also an accomplished political science professor at the University of Oxford. In her spare time, much like her mother, she works on her own music.

A short woman, blonde-brunette hair, can be seen sitting cross-legged in a mauve beanbag chair. She speaks as the prior voiceover ends.

Sandra Marshall, as seen in 2022. (Jena Malone)​

[SANDRA MARSHALL]: Y'know, I was fortunate enough to have Sophia Marshall as my mother. Even between, like, regular trips to Westminster, she always devoted the time she had left after recording to our family. To Dad, Aunt Vicky, and, that's even considering what she went through back in 1980. (smiling) She's this goddess of love and kindheartedness and cheer. You should've met her.

A compilation of numerous photos of Sophia Marshall flash on screen, each one older and older. First 2010s, then 2000s, then 1990s...

[NATHAN]: (voiceover) Sophia Marshall wasn't always confined to a wheelchair, even if she is best known today for her vocal advocacy for disability rights and the funding for education of youth across the United Kingdom.

We end on a late-1960s photograph of her with her sister Victoria, arms clasped tightly together.

One thing that was constant, however, was the kindness.

[VIRGINIA ROBINSON]: (voiceover) Goodness me, she was a really good girl.

Cut to an 1984 interview with Virginia Robinson, a Liberal Democrats staff member, shortly after Marshall's re-election as MP.

[VIRGINIA]: Think about it, she's too good for the House. It's remarkable she even got elected in the first place — Grimsby's been aching for a good leader for so long, and normally you don't just get that from our politicians, hm?

[INTERVIEWER]: (offscreen) Right.

[VIRGINIA]: Much less so a regionally-famous musician who only signed on to help the Liberal Democrats back in '79.

Nathan's voiceover cuts back in.

[NATHAN]: (voiceover) Even before her landmark appearance on Top of the Pops in 1986, Sophia Marshall was a nationwide sensation. To get a sense for how Marshall became a beloved politician and a national "it girl", we have to go back...

The clip from earlier begins reversing, and we see even more snippets of Marshall's music videos under Johnny Wong, all the way up to her prior interviews with local Humberside news stations, home videos... freeze-framing on a family photo of the Marshalls in Christmas of 1976.

[NATHAN] (voiceover) -all the way back... to her humble roots as a university student attending the Grimsby Institute of Technology.

♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬​

From EYE OF THE BEHOLDER season 1, episode 1 ("Something Punk-Themed Will Do"), released May 10, 2024. Featured excerpt starts around 06:53.

This is a dramatization of the viral "Road Trip" documentary about the Humberside scene. Al (Louis Partridge), a man in his late-twenties is driving a car, with his girlfriend Sasha (Rhea Norwood) beside him. Currently playing is a rendition of Sophia Marshall's 1977 debut single "Something Beach-Themed Will Do".

[AL]: How did she start off, anyway?

[SASHA]: Well, (flipping through notes) Sophia was born in March 1959 to Isabelle and Peter Marshall-

[AL]: Not that far back, you- Christ fuck, y-you have notes-

[SASHA]: Most musical things do.

A long pause. Al puts a hand to his forehead in embarassment.

[SASHA]: No-sell my joke, why don't you?

[AL]: Just... just move on. How'd she get started with music?

[SASHA]: Sophia was actually a drama kid, despite having what some would say was a quiet home life. Acted in quite a few school productions, per her sister Victoria. (whispers to Al) She plays a major part later. (speaking normally) Sophia was a top performer in drama class, and... lemme just pull up the interview bit here.

Sasha fiddles with her phone for a bit, pausing Spotify, and pulling up a YouTube playlist. Eventually, she finds an interview...

♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬

Victoria Marshall, as seen on Morning Live in 2021. (Samantha Bond)​

From a Channel 4 interview between Michelle Ackerley and Victoria Marshall on Morning Live, 3 May 2021.

[M. ACKERLEY]: Drama production, you say?

[V. MARSHALL]: School drama production. The typical ones they'd put up were, like, based on fairy tales. So the story goes, they get Sophia to sing as audition for one of the parts.

[M. ACKERLEY]: Okay.

[V. MARSHALL]: She belts some lines from The Beatles, of course. And they love it so much, they ask her, "You're good at this, Sophia. Do you want to be in music class? They've still got a few empty seats.” Not a lot of kids attended music that year for some reason. Anyway, she accepts, and they're stunned with her singing so much that she's placed as a singer at school talent shows for the rest of her time at primary.

[M. ACKERLEY]: No surprise. I mean, take a look where she ended up after that. Top of the Pops isn't something a lot of people tend to achieve in their lifetimes.

[V. MARSHALL]: Fair enough. Around this point she also adopted this certain style of hers, singing about her experiences despite them being bog-standard or depressing. To this day, I still don't understand how she does it, but she does it far better than the other amateur musicians in late-60's Grimsby—the few that were present, anyway—and eventually she wants a full music industry spot, so she begins with some demo recordings, some covers, mainly originals.

[M. ACKERLEY]: Cool, cool.

[V. MARSHALL]: All of them were dated with the day they were recorded; she didn't title these until she actually began releasing proper singles. She largely succeeds in sending demo stuff to local labels. RCA Victor. Decca.

[M. ACKERLEY]: Very interesting. Were these of the same quality as the music she'd later produce?

[V. MARSHALL]: They were shoddier, of course. The equipment she used was purchased from whatever side shops we could find, and I even helped her look for some new ones after we'd gotten home from school. But the spirit was still there. Mom liked to hear them, and she even has a few which passed down to me and Sophia after she died in '83.

[M. ACKERLEY]: That's unfortunate.

[V. MARSHALL]: Crystallia has a record of most of them — some still lost to time, but the ones we got were evocative of the music she'd later get to see.

[M. ACKERLEY]: I've got to listen to them some time.

[V. MARSHALL]: They're good, trust me. Reminiscent of Kate Bush, y'know, Lori... Balmer. Just earlier.

♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬​

From the CRYSTALLIA Forum, p.6 of the "Humber Calling: The Official Eye of the Beholder Discussion Thread II". Exchange dated 28 January 2022.

[Cable Pressure]: Bebe Wood, of Love, Victor, has been cast as Sophia Marshall in the upcoming Eye of the Beholder series. twitter.com/PopCrave/status/18727282...

[Whiteshore]: Gotta say I'm excited for Bebe Wood as Sophia Marshall, with how she appeared in Love, Victor and all that. From what little I've seen of the show, she seems like the type of person who would be able to pull off Marshall very well, although somebody like Kiera Allen would've worked very well too, with how she's actually disabled in real life. Regardless, I'm really hyped for this, and I hope she pulls it off properly.

[Humber Classic] [Vickyyy]: [replying to Whiteshore] Honestly, I'm fine with the casting myself. The guys running the show talked to me for some of the stuff we'll probably be seeing, and I just know they have my best interests in mind. I've watched the Love, Victor series, actually. She plays a queer character in that one, so I think the show will definitely go into some of Sophia's bisexuality.

[sevenchicksssfan]: Holy shit didn't expect the Victoria Marshall to respond to this.

♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬

Sophia Marshall's diary.​

From a Discord conversation on the official Crystallia server, #lost-media-discussion. Exchange dated 8 April 2022.

[Emma 🩷🩷]: Breaking news... I think I found some of Sophia's old demo stuff!!! I'll be uploading them onto YouTube after I scan them

[K Benzy]: nice

[james (he/him)]: Hell yeah. You're like, her cousin, right?

[Emma 🩷🩷]: Yeah. Emma Davidson. Records were hanging out in an unlabelled box in my attic for some reason. Was doing a little cleaning last night until I found them

[K Benzy]: Cool, cool

[Emma 🩷🩷]: (audio sample, approx. 28 seconds) Here's a brief bit from them. @Vickyy Marshall

[K Benzy]: this is like real major. Nice job

[Emma 🩷🩷]: Thanks. I have a feeling she'd like this

[Vickyy Marshall]: Yeah, there's some lost media stuff we both decided to toss out, but this ain't one of them. Hold on, I think maybe her diary's still in there.

Vicky Marshall pinned a message: "Here's a brief bit..."

♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬​

From Sophia Marshall's diaries, entry dated 9 January 1977. Uploaded to CRYSTALLIA in 2022.

9th Jan '77
Well, today was a good day. Undeniably. We had a trigonometry test today, which was relatively easy - I reckon I did fine.

However, that's not really what I'm here to write about.... God I can't contain my excitement. As of today, the 9th, I've been signed onto RCA*! Recording demos has been a pretty big thing for me these past few months, and I've always wanted to be one of the people doing music stuff in this town. I guess I've got this chance to do something worthwhile now.

Now, I actually need to publish a single or something. Christmas is right out the window. It's freezing outside, still... hm. Maybe something about nature. I love natural wonders- maybe something about the beach? Me, Mum, and Vicky went there last August, was it, during the last days of summer...

Lyrics. I guess I can write my lyrics here- nobody will see them. Unless this gets given to the public when I become famous. In which case... hi, uh. Remember: this is my stuff. I guess.

Summer day.

Chorus.

'Tis a summer day, heat beaming down
Nice and warm outside, nobody's got a frown
Kids are out of school, eating frozen cream
Cream, uh... what rhymes with cream? Dagnabbit

'This time of day, everyone loves to see the shore
They love it, couldn't ask for more

This feels first-versey. I'll go back to this later.

Chorus.

Everyone loves the beach this hot summer day
'Cause everyone knows they can go around and play
There's a lot of things you know you can go around and do
It's the summertime, baby — it's always fun in summer... woo? I don't know. Doesn't match up that well.

Springtime may be warm, but it's always fun in summer too. There I said it. It won't be up to anyone to decide. Summer is just that fun.

♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬

The Wikipedia infobox for Something Beach-Themed Will Do.​

From the Wikipedia page for "It's Up To You (Sophia Marshall song)", accessed 24 April 2024.

Titling [edit]

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See also: Something Beach-Themed Will Do (single)

"It's Up To You" and its A-side, "Something Beach-Themed Will Do", are also partly popular because of their generic naming.[26] Sophia's earlier demo records were largely untitled, and are largely known today by the date they were recorded.[26][27] In a 2011 interview by People Magazine, she claimed that she was "undecided" on a title, instead opting to let her label, RCA Victor, decide what they wanted to title her work. Feeling "mildly annoyed" when she received word of the mishap, Sophia ultimately relented[27] and allowed for the single's release. Though the process was far more complicated in reality**, media, starting with the 2012 Sofia Coppola biopic Between Two Lives, tend to condense the process into a single conversation[26][28] typically involving RCA executive Henry Powell. Powell has denied any knowledge of the encounter, and no concrete evidence has been located regarding a conversation between the two.[28]

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From the "New Releases" column of the Grimsby Telegraph, published 4 June 1977.

MARSHALL, S.
High-schooler Sophia Marshall makes a new foray into the world of music with "Something Beach-Themed Will Do". Odd title, but some nice pop. She tells us that this was her first major experience in a studio, but this does not come across in the audio - unfortunately, it's a decade out of date. This reviewer does agree it's a good enough debut.
- Rachel

♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬
​

From the web documentary HUMBER CALLING, episode 1: "Fire On The Horizon". Featured excerpt starts around 7:09.

A 1979 interview with Sophia Marshall fades out.

[NATHAN]: (voiceover) I mean, you can't blame Sophia for not handling studio stuff well. She was a relative newbie compared to the other artists of the time.

Nathan Hutchinson, as seen in 2024. (Jon Ossoff)​

Cut to Nathan sitting in a chair, vlog-style, talking to the camera.

[NATHAN]: She was admittedly busy with schoolwork — around this time, she got into the Grimsby Institute, which wasn't her first choice, but she was okay with that. And as you'll learn, first-act successes tend to be a coin-flip in the Humberside scene.

The album/single covers for New Bridges and Something Beach-Themed scroll in.

[NATHAN]: (voiceover) You have Jade Thompson's success with New Bridges, and for each one of those, you have not-successes like "Something Beach-Themed". For the most part, however, this early part of the scene tends to be a resounding success.

NOTES
* Our first retcon.
(Microlabels appear in GTTT as “random local labels that don’t have a whole bunch of promotional budget”, per Sasha. To make things more interesting than just having a ton of little labels [as @Bevillia is trying to avoid with Hands-On, to an extent, in With the Lights Out], and since it's indicated nowhere otherwise, Sophia Marshall is signed onto RCA in this continuity.)
** And... our first not-so definitive retcon.
(In the original GTTT continuity, Sasha jokes “I can only imagine that whatever label executive asked her what the songs were called wrote down the answer she gave”, which slowly got solidified as factual lore over time. This is technically reclaiming its original intent, but it still counts as a retcon.)

 

[ThatAutisticGuy]

Watched!

 

[LawfulInsane]

Quite interested in seeing your take on the Humberside timeline! Since Caprice and I write soap-operaesque fanciful narratives, I'm interested in seeing a grounded take on the story.

 

[ILPD45]

Will the Housemartins make an appearance? They’re the only band I know of from Hull.

 

[shearsforest]

Will the Housemartins make an appearance? They’re the only band I know of from Hull.

Probably not; assume the existing Humberside scene butterflies their career away or something.

 

[ILPD45]

Probably not; assume the existing Humberside scene butterflies their career away or something.

Well, will their OTL frontman (Paul Heaton) make an appearance?

 

[shearsforest]

Well, will their OTL frontman (Paul Heaton) make an appearance?

He will.

 

[Caprice]

Will the Housemartins make an appearance? They’re the only band I know of from Hull.

It was at least halfway through the game this is a "cover" of that my co-DM and I went "wait, there are bands from this region IOTL", so they never got brought up. Remarkably, I didn't consider them despite, as it turns out, quite liking their music.

 

[shearsforest]

And that's Sister Sweetheart done. Next up... Judas Pink.

 

[Whiteshore]

I guess I can write my lyrics here- nobody will see them. Unless this gets given to the public when I become famous. In which case... hi, uh.

Well, this aged like milk or wine, depending on who you ask.

 

[shearsforest]

Miles Grieving in 1978. (Joe Keery)​

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— THIS SEGMENT IS PARTLY ADAPTED FROM EXISTING RP BY @Screwhorn77, AS INDICATED IN "NOTES". —
“I've always considered myself something of a perfectionist.*”
Excerpt from MILES GRIEVING's personal diary; 9 December 1974

“I guess Judas Pink should've been taken as a premonition.”
"Grieving impersonator" MAX GRIFFIN to the Anglo-Pops podcast; 29 February 2024​

From the BBC News - On This Day "25 January 1998", published 2008.

1998**: Miles Grieving identity scandal confirmed
In a twist of fate long-suspected by his community of fans, English musician Miles Grieving confirmed rumours that the "original" Miles Grieving was killed in the Silentium Studio bombing of 1982, and that he had been tasked with "replacing" him.

Born to an American father and English mother, Grieving became the first musician in the Humberside scene to release music, with "Diaries of Judas Pink" releasing in 1977 to moderate acclaim. He would continue to release music at least once per year until 1981, when he shifted to music production.

By 1982, Grieving had established Silentium, a centre intended as both a museum of Humberside items and as a studio for future musicians in the area to get started recording their own music. However, during a recording session with fellow musician Siobhan Kilpatrick, an incendiary bomb detonated within Silentium, destroying much of the studio portion of the building.

Though Silentium would survive as an archive of Humberside music and artifacts, Grieving would die of injuries sustained from the bombing in 1985. It was at this point that Grieving's estate, to maintain the continuity of his music, located Max Griffin, one of Grieving's few friends. Griffin looked similar enough to Grieving to maintain the illusion.

A Canadian songwriter prior to his entry to the Humberside scene, Griffin promptly assumed the identity of "Miles Grieving" for 13 years through a combination of Grieving's original notes, as well as impersonating his accent, appearance, and even voice. In personal matters, however, Griffin continued to use his legal name, which elicited the suspicion of numerous people over the years.

♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬
​

From the 2023 documentary HUMBERSIDE: AN OVERVIEW by Alexander "Al" Brigham and Alexandra "Sasha" Langdon, a submission to the Crystallia Documentary Contest. Featured excerpt starts around 03:17:19.

Camera is focused on Al and Sasha talking to each other, as can be seen for much of the documentary's runtime.

[AL]: Hang on. You're telling me-

[SASHA]: Yes, he died in 1985. Had a scandal about it in '98 when Grieving (air-quotes) came out about it.**

[AL]: (pause) Okay. How much more insane does this scene get? I-I-

[SASHA]: Not much more, Al. We're nearly at the end of the stuff I have jotted down now.

[AL]: The notes-

[SASHA]: Max Griffin. That's... the impersonator's name, apparently.

[AL]: Sounds like an English parody of the guy. So, about the Usenet, Internet-

[SASHA]: Griffin. Everything Grieving after 1985 is Griffin, and we're lucky the community warmed up to Griffin this much—probably because he's pretty much adapted his mannerisms, because let's face it. It could've ended a lot worse.

♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬

Max Griffin in 2023. (Daniel Day-Lewis)​

From the YouTube video "Me, My Friend - Part 1" by Max Griffin, uploaded 17 December 2023.

Max Griffin, in his 60s or so, can be seen fidgeting with the camera for a bit, before finally steadying it and slinking into a patterned couch.

[MAX]: Hiya. Name's Max Griffin. (waves at camera) You may know me as Miles Grieving, or Not-Grieving, or Kilometres Rejoycing—(chuckles) love that name—or simply just Max. Today is momentous for some of you, and I was indeed unfortunate enough to find out from Miles after the fact.

Rest in peace, Sarah. You needed it. Athene, you were a real one.

I bet Miles would've missed them had he been alive today.

That's what I'm here for, actually - as new people trickle in from the announcement that Netflix is apparently set to release a series adaptation of the book Eye of the Beholder, also called Eye of the Beholder, they've tended to have developed a few misconceptions. Currently, they tend to consider me the guy who displaced Miles Grieving, the reason he "fell" off in quality I suppose. I want to clarify a few things.

Firstly, I am not Miles anymore. At least, I'm not strictly hellbent on keeping up this pretense. That was done ages ago, in '98, and everyone knows by now that I've largely developed my own styles and music separate from Grieving. I go by Miles Grieving when performing his music, Max when performing mine, maybe Miles X Max when doing both. But I'm not Grieving anymore.

The confusion largely stems from that Humberside overview documentary that went viral a few months ago, which, for as fun as it is, is not accurate. I know, I know, I'm giving Sasha some slack. She's trying to be cute and all with her boyfriend, he proposes to her***, aw sweet. But it's off by enough that I made a breakdown about the Miles parts of it, up there (points to the top-right), and it was well-liked by most people, so... thanks.

Secondly, Miles was a complex man. This video series is only like an hour long in total, but Miles, I wish you knew him. He was more than that. I wish Joe Keery the best portraying him in the series. He's anywhere from, y'know, the perfectionist you see during the Judas Pink era, to this all-over-the-place guy while building up Silentium, to the visual scent of hopelessness you got whenever you met him in the days after recovering from the bombing.

Nevertheless, I digress. I'll be attempting to bring him justice with what I have of him — diaries, newspaper clippings, interviews, stuff like that. Let's begin, shall we?

♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬​

From the Wikipedia page for Miles Grieving, accessed 9 October 2021.

Early life [edit]

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Miles Grieving was born on 31 December 1957, in Kingston upon Hull, England, to Helen (née Donovan) and Basil Grieving Jr. Originally of Russian descent through Basil's father Basil Grivin Sr., the Grieving family moved to New York City in 1917, following the outbreak of the Russian Civil War, eventually Anglicizing their names to Grieving during the 1920s[12]. Basil Jr. served in the United States Army during World War II, and was deployed to the Pacific Theater. Helen, who was of English descent, served as a waitress during and after the war. The two of them met in Grimsby soon after the war's conclusion in 1945, ultimately marrying each other in 1947.[12][13]

At the time of Miles' birth, the Grieving family was living in the Northern English town of Kingston upon Hull, though they would often relocate to New York City after Basil Jr. became a stockbroker in 1949.[12] This had an effect on the young Miles; later, he would recount feeling "constantly alienated"[14] from both sides of the Atlantic, incorporating aspects of isolation into his later music output. Helen and Basil Jr. were avid collectors of vinyl records and other music memorabilia, which Miles would cite as inspiration for his music career, as well as for motivating the creation of the Silentium Archive.[15]

Miles began experimenting with music at the age of 8, receiving guitar lessons from his father and piano lessons from his mother; the first song he learned to play was Over the Rainbow, which he played at a school talent show in 1966.[15] Around this time, having received a notebook and a voice recorder from his parents for Christmas, he would begin noting down potential ideas for lyrics and melodies, which would eventually make their way into his later discography.

In 1973, Miles' uncle John Grieving died from an amphetamine overdose at the age of 27. The experience would leave a lasting impression on Miles, who would refrain from using drugs for the rest of his life[15][16], and later incorporate elements of John's death into his debut album, Diaries of Judas Pink.

♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬​

From Miles Grieving's diaries, entry dated 14 December 1976. Uploaded to CRYSTALLIA in 2015.

I need to finish this album, for once.

NOTES
* Based off of existing RP by Screwhorn77, particularly:
- Miles Grieving's introduction (Link)
- Miles Grieving's 1977-1 initiative (Link)
** This is a retcon of the chronology presented in the "1986 to the Present" update of GTTT.
(In the original GTTT continuity, the replacement somehow isn't sussed out by the typically-observant Crystallia community [and Al and Sasha themselves] until 2023, when the Road Trip Documentary [as I'm nicknaming GTTT's frame narrative] is recorded. I found this too implausible for my purposes, so I've elected to retcon it here.)
*** See also "1986 to the Present".