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TUE, 15 NOVEMBER 2016, 10:40 AM

It’s hard to imagine a person in the whole of the UK who hasn't heard of The Marauders - the band had a terrific success with their debut album The Map in 1995. 

Members met in school and formed the band in 1987 first playing at school gatherings and parties, moving to underground clubs after graduation. In 1991 The Marauders participated in a local festival Magical People where they were spotted by Arthur Weasley, young aspiring manager from PURE Records.

The group toured the world twice, the fan base grew day by day, the press put a name of “new The Beatles” on them, when everything changed with tragic news - one of band members’ life was cut too short in a car accident. 

We last saw marauders altogether for a funeral of their drummer Peter Pettigrew who was only 30 at the time of death. It was hard to predict what future would bring for the three of them at the time - some were ready to see them find a new drummer, some were sure of a long hiatus to take place. Noone was prepared for The Marauders’ disbandment.

“It was the hardest decision we’ve ever had to make, but we hope our fans will understand our feelings and see that it’s the best solution. Peter was an essential part of The Marauders and a big part of our lives, we won’t be able to go forward as if nothing happened,” James Potter, the frontman, said during a press conference following the announcement. “The Marauders would never be the band it was without Peter. We are leaving that part of our lives behind in honor of our friend”.

In the following years we saw Potter settling into a quiet life after putting out a solo mini album Last October in 2004. It was taken by fans as an ode to Potter’s band days and his mates, especially Pettigrew. Sadly, Last October wasn’t particularly critically acclaimed - the melodies were simple, Potter’s voice wasn’t as sharp as it used to be, but it worked well as a goodbye letter of sorts. Potter married actress Lily Evans who he met a few years prior and dedicated himself to a role of a family man, soon becoming a father to a son (Harry Peter Potter, born 2006).

The Marauders’ former lead guitarist Sirius Black joined pop-rock band Order of The Phoenix in 2002. The Order released three albums in the next seven years (Prison of My Own in 2005, Flying High in 2007 and (Un)veil in 2008) where we often could see Black as a songwriter. Mischief Managed released as a single in 2008 written by Black had a huge success and topped the charts for weeks. “It’s a confession and a love letter. And it’s a suicide note. Take it as you want, it’s me in a pure form of notes and lyrics,” Black said, answering a question about the song's meaning. Those words worried the public, and the topic of Black’s mental health was widely discussed online. Soon after (Un)veil’s release in June 2008 Sirius Black left Order of The Phoenix due to “personal reasons”. The discussion of said “personal reasons” made Black release a statement in which he publicly talked about the toll Pettigrew’s death in 2000 and following disbandment of The Marauders took on his mental state for the first time, unveiling the truth about battling depression and addiction.

While both Potter and Black were and still are in the public eye for the most part - whether it’s Potter supporting his actress wife on set, or Black appearing as a songwriter on numerous records - we haven’t heard from Remus Lupin for a while. The bass player has always been the most mysterious of the four which have drawn fans’ eyes to him. The most information you could get was that he has resided in London for the last 10 years. 

It was up until a year ago, when Lupin released a single Under The Moonlight after such a long break. Under The Moonlight was something new, something we’ve never heard from The Marauders during their years together or apart. A soft, yet rich melody, supported by Lupin’s strong husky voice we’d only heard as back vocals before, the song told a story of a lonely man seeking companionship. The release was so sudden that the public wondered if anything would come after it, and soon enough Lupin released his second single Up To No Good. 

Now, with four singles out, features on a few records, including one written by Black, and still rare, but more than we were used to, public appearances, Lupin has started to gain his own fanbase, consisting of loyal The Marauders fans who haven’t given up on their love and new ones who found Lupin’s music charming and appealing. 

Last week Remus Lupin announced his first solo album to be released in Spring next year. We’re yet to learn anything about the record, but one thing is very much clear - the fans and critics froze in anticipation. Will Lupin be able to finally break free from The Marauders’ legacy, as great as it was, and create his own? We have to wait to find out.

Notes

Hello! Thank you for staying till the end of the post! I am happy to post the first little puzzle of my Snupin The Voice (UK) AU. It’s meant to look and feel like a news article. I have no idea how to write those but really hope I managed to convey the message. Why The Voice UK, though? I love this show, and watched 5 seasons back to back in the last two weeks. So why not. It was supposed to be two or three drawings supported by one small fanfic-esque text, but I got a little carried away and created a whole alternate universe in my head. I am very hyped to share it with you all! (I will try my best to post updates regularly (probably once a week) and not abandon this thing).

A few important things that you need to know now and moving forward:

It’s a non-magical AU based in modern times. Some of character’s back stories will be loosely based on they stories in canon.

Marauders won’t take a big part in this story. It’s a Snupin-centric AU. Sirius, James and Peter will be mentioned from time to time, but most probably won’t play any big role in the story. Sorry, marauders stans, it’s not for you. It’s for my fellow Snape and Snupin enthusiasts.

Lupin’s image and presence is highly inspired and loosely based on Gavin Rossdale who was a coach on Season 6 of The Voice UK. The Marauders as a band is inspired by Rossdale’s band Bush (give them a listen if you’ve never heard them!). I really loved Rossdale as a coach even though I hadn’t been familiar with his music before - I really loved the energy he brought to the judges’ panel. So when I first thought about this Snupin AU, I immediately wanted to base Remus on Rossdale. I will use the time Rossdale spent as a judge on The Voice as well as his pictures from the show and corresponding events as reference for my portrayal of Lupin. You can watch this little interview to get the vibes. (I do have a crush on Rossdale, it’s ridiculous how charming he is....)

The season in this story is taking place in 2017 (as the real-life season 6 of The Voice UK). 

I changed the age of the main characters (marauders and Snape) a bit to fit into my vision: in this AU all five of them were born in 1970.

Also, I had too much fun coming up with names for albums and songs! I hope you get where each of them is coming from lol. And the date of the article isn’t a random one, it’s connected to Lupin. (I told you, I had TOO much fun!)

I will add important notes and info under every part to help you understand how I see the whole thing.