Steve Rothery (born 25 November 1959) is an English musician. He is the original guitarist and the longest continuous member of the British rock band Marillion, which is the most successful band to emerge from Britain's 1980s neo-progressive rock scene, having sold over 15 million albums. Outside Marillion, Rothery has recorded two albums as part of the duo The Wishing Tree. He announced the release of an instrumental solo album for September 2014. According to Guitar Player, Rothery "specializes in crafting lush sonic atmospheres with layered guitars and effects processing". In 2001, Rothery was voted Yorkshire and Humberside's best guitarist in a poll in Total Guitar magazine. He has been hailed by MusicPlayers.com as one of the great progressive rock guitarists, describing him as "never one to go for major flash, he always plays for the song and not his ego, but when he shines, he shines brightly", and comparing him favourably with John Petrucci, David Gilmour and Alex Lifeson. In 2015 "The Ghosts of Pripyat" is released via InsideOut.