 The band are renowned for having an extremely dedicated following (often self-termed 'Freaks'), with some fans regularly travelling significant distances to attend single gigs, driven in large part by the close fan base involvement which the band cultivate via their website, podcasts, biennial conventions and regular fanclub publications.The release of their 2001 album "Anoraknophobia", which was funded by their fans through advance orders instead of by the band signing to a record company, gained significant attention and was called "a unique funding campaign" by the BBC.Writing for "The Guardian", Alexis Petridis described Marillion as "the undisputed pioneers" of fan-funded music.