Marsh Family

The Marsh Family is composed of parents Ben and Danielle Marsh and their children Alfie, Thomas, Ella, and Tess Marsh, who live in Faversham, a town in Kent in South East England.{{cite news |last=Kwai |first=Isabella |date=2021-02-19 |title=Von Trapped: The Family Is Stuck Inside, So Why Not Sing Parodies? The Marshes, an ordinary English family, have gained extraordinary fame for their musical spoofs of lockdown life. And no, they are not trying to be the von Trapps. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/19/world/europe/virus-YouTube-Marsh-family.html |newspaper=The New York Times |accessdate=2021-09-06 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906095323/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/19/world/europe/virus-YouTube-Marsh-family.html |archivedate=2021-09-06 }} Ben and Danielle Marsh met while attending the University of Cambridge. At university shows, they performed as vocalists. They did a duet for "Don't Go Breaking My Heart", and Ben performed in the musical Anything Goes after Danielle had completed her studies.{{cite news |date=2021-03-17 |title="We were a load of 18-year-olds trying to feel our way into social networks." |url=https://magazine.alumni.cam.ac.uk/we-were-a-load-of-18-year-olds-trying-to-feel-our-way-into-social-networks/ |magazine=CAM |publisher=University of Cambridge |accessdate=2021-09-06 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906095334/https://magazine.alumni.cam.ac.uk/we-were-a-load-of-18-year-olds-trying-to-feel-our-way-into-social-networks/ |archivedate=2021-09-06 }} Danielle said in an interview, "We were in a strange relationship for most of our time at university; I knew that I wanted to spend my dotage with Ben, but it took him a while to realise it. So, we were friends, but not in a relationship until a while after we both left."

The family uploaded videos made in 2018 and 2019 of covers.{{cite news |last=Storey |first=Celia |date=2021-03-01 |title=Pandemic star was ready to be born |url=https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2021/mar/01/pandemic-star-was-ready-to-be-born/ |newspaper=Arkansas Democrat-Gazette |accessdate=2021-09-06 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906095309/https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2021/mar/01/pandemic-star-was-ready-to-be-born/ |archivedate=2021-09-06 }} The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette{{'}}s Celia Storey said of the performances that the family "display youthful talent in all its hit-or-miss but heartwarming exuberance". They made covers of the A Star Is Born song "Shallow", the Avenue Q song "It Sucks to Be Me", and The Greatest Showman song "From Now On". In their From Now On cover, the kids sing and perform their instruments while wincing as Monty, their dog, is howling along.

Beginning in March 2020, the Marsh Family increased the number of videos they posted. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the family became well-known with their parody covers that satirised life during COVID-19 lockdowns. Uploaded to Facebook on 29 March 2020, their parody of "One Day More" from Les Misérables went viral, reaching over seven million views in three days.{{cite news |last=Wamsley |first=Laurel |date=2020-04-01 |title=U.K. Family's Lockdown-Themed Rendition Of 'Les Mis' Is A Delight |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/04/01/825232156/u-k-familys-lockdown-themed-rendition-of-les-mis-is-a-delight |publisher=NPR |accessdate=2021-09-06 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906095402/https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/04/01/825232156/u-k-familys-lockdown-themed-rendition-of-les-mis-is-a-delight |archivedate=2021-09-06 }}{{cite news |last=Harper |first=Brad |date=2020-03-30 |title=Coronavirus Kent: Marsh family from Faversham go viral with lockdown adaptation of Les Misérables song One Day More |url=https://www.kentonline.co.uk/faversham/news/familys-viral-les-mis-lockdown-success-224818/ |newspaper=Faversham News |publisher=KM Media Group |accessdate=2021-09-06 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906095338/https://www.kentonline.co.uk/faversham/news/familys-viral-les-mis-lockdown-success-224818/ |archivedate=2021-09-06 }} Their aim was to amuse family members who had recent birthdays but whom they were unable to see in person: Danielle's mother, Ben's sister, and Danielle and Ben's niece.{{cite news |last=Chandler-Wilde |first=Helen |date=2020-04-01 |title=The Les Mis coronavirus spoof family: 'We never expected fame, we're just happy to make people smile' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/family/life/les-mis-coronavirus-spoof-family-never-expected-fame-just-happy/ |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |accessdate=2021-09-06 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906095350/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/family/life/les-mis-coronavirus-spoof-family-never-expected-fame-just-happy/ |archivedate=2021-09-06 }} The lyrics, which Ben wrote in one afternoon the previous week, were inspired by the disappointments they experienced during the lockdown in not being able to meet their friends, having soccer games called off, being far away from grandparents, and having grandparents unaware of how to get Skype to work.{{cite news |last=Braddick |first=Imogen |date=2020-03-31 |title=Video of family singing Les Miserables during coronavirus lockdown goes viral |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/theatre/viral-video-family-singing-les-miserables-lockdown-a4402741.html |newspaper=Evening Standard |accessdate=2021-09-06 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906095424/https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/theatre/viral-video-family-singing-les-miserables-lockdown-a4402741.html |archivedate=2021-09-06 }} Neither of the brothers wanted to play the suitor, Marius Pontmercy, while performing a duet with his sister. Once Ben modified the lyrics including changing "I was born to be with you" to "I am bored of being with you", Thomas acceded to playing Marius' part.

After a few dinner table rehearsals, the group filmed themselves performing the song on the afternoon of 29 March and uploaded the video to Facebook shortly before 11{{nbsp}}pm. The video is taken in the living room which has photos of the family and a curtain with a floral pattern. Ella has on a dressing gown, and Thomas is wearing the previous year's Watford F.C. shirt.{{cite news |last=Kelly |first=Guy |date=2020-03-31 |title=Meet the Marshes, the family behind the Les Miserables 'One More Day' spoof |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/the-filter/meet-marshes-family-behind-les-miserables-one-day-spoof/ |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |accessdate=2021-09-06 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906095451/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/the-filter/meet-marshes-family-behind-les-miserables-one-day-spoof/ |archivedate=2021-09-06 }} At the beginning of the video, siblings Thomas and Tess bicker: Thomas says Tess struck him, Tess responds that she touched him lightly, and Thomas rejoins that she has been doing this throughout the day. CBS News's Rose Manister said the sibling fight reflects the difficulty of being together all the time during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.{{cite news |last=Manister |first=Rose |date=2020-04-01 |title=U.K. family spreads joy with coronavirus lockdown rendition of "One Day More" from Les Misérables |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/uk-family-spreads-joy-coronavirus-lockdown-rendition-les-miserables-song-one-day-more/ |publisher=CBS News |accessdate=2021-09-06 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906095449/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/uk-family-spreads-joy-coronavirus-lockdown-rendition-les-miserables-song-one-day-more/ |archivedate=2021-09-06 }} The parents used pizza to convince the children to sing, and they completed the video in two takes with the video camera filming the entire process, including the bickering. The children sing, "Watch our daddy drink, see our mummy sigh, clapping for the NHS can make 'em cry." The viral video led to the family's receiving international news coverage and appearing on several television stations.{{cite news |last=Wright |first=Joe |date=2020-04-06 |title=Coronavirus Kent: Marsh family from Faversham release new song after going viral with Les Misérables song One Day More |url=https://www.kentonline.co.uk/faversham/news/les-mis-family-release-new-lockdown-song-225184/ |newspaper=Faversham News |publisher=KM Media Group |accessdate=2021-09-06 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906095437/https://www.kentonline.co.uk/faversham/news/les-mis-family-release-new-lockdown-song-225184/ |archivedate=2021-09-06 }}

The children "belt out the song and really commit" with NPR calling the rendition "a delight" and The Daily Telegraph calling it "highly infectious". USA Today{{'}}s Carly Mallenbaum wrote, "the harmonies and overlapping verses by all family members are extremely impressive".{{cite news |last=Mallenbaum |first=Carly |date=2020-03-31 |title=Anne Hathaway approves: Family turns 'Les Mis' song into quarantine-themed viral masterpiece |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2020/03/31/one-day-more-family-goes-viral-lockdown-les-mis-song/5100247002/ |newspaper=USA Today |accessdate=2021-09-06 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906095512/https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2020/03/31/one-day-more-family-goes-viral-lockdown-les-mis-song/5100247002/ |archivedate=2021-09-06 }} The Mary Sue{{'}}s Kaila Hale-Stern wrote, "what makes this video really pop is the incredible vocalizing and dedication from all of the Marsh family members, down to the youngest child, who takes on the vocally challenging part usually sung by Eponine in the show".{{cite news |last=Hale-Stern |first=Kaila |date=2020-04-01 |title=Genius Family Turns "One Day More" From Les Mis Into a Quarantine Musical Parody |url=https://www.themarysue.com/family-parodies-les-mis-in-quarantine/ |website=The Mary Sue |accessdate=2021-09-06 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906095512/https://www.themarysue.com/family-parodies-les-mis-in-quarantine/ |archivedate=2021-09-06 }} Noting that Alfie, the older son, brandishes a red jacket in parallel to the musical's rebellious Enjolras as he wields a red banner, Hale-Stern called the scene "brilliant staging". The Marsh Family were interviewed on ITV's This Morning by Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby on 30 March 2020 and on BBC Breakfast by Louise Minchin and Dan Walker on 31 March 2020.{{cite news |last=Harper |first=Brad |date=2020-03-31 |title=Family singing Les Mis bring Holly Willoughby to tears with rendition of One Day More |url=https://www.kentonline.co.uk/faversham/news/kent-family-bring-holly-willoughby-to-tears-224865/ |newspaper=Faversham News |publisher=KM Media Group |accessdate=2021-09-06 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906095905/https://www.kentonline.co.uk/faversham/news/kent-family-bring-holly-willoughby-to-tears-224865/ |archivedate=2021-09-06 }}

File:Marsh Family prostate cancer Facts of Life music video 8 November 2021.jpg, on 8 November 2021 to raise money for Prostate Cancer UK. From left to right, are Ben, Alfie, Thomas, Danielle, Ella, and Tess Marsh.]]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the family released many parodies of songs. They created their YouTube channel on 14 April 2020.{{cite web |date=2021-09-07 |title=Marsh Family |url=https://www.youtube.com/c/MarshFamilySongs/about |via=YouTube |accessdate=2021-09-07 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210907051831/https://www.youtube.com/c/MarshFamilySongs/about |archivedate=2021-09-07 }} Using a recording device they acquired during Christmas, the group performed a cover of the song "Under Pressure" without changing the lyrics as they felt it was appropriate for the pandemic. Moved by Black Lives Matter's overturning a slave trader's statue in Bristol, they created their own version of "Amazing Grace". To commemorate the safe completion of the children's grandfather's surgery in 2020, Ben Marsh composed the original piece "The Prostectomy Song". With "cheeky lyrics", the song included the verses, "With no prostate,{{nbsp}}//You can celebrate{{nbsp}}//You can contemplate,{{nbsp}}//You can weeeee!"{{cite news |last1=Murphy |first1=Amy |last2=Flett |first2=David |date=2021-12-06 |title=Famed Faversham lockdown singing family's new track on prostate cancer. The parody song is designed to raise awareness of the disease after the children's grandfather overcame it |url=https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/famed-faversham-lockdown-singing-familys-6306967 |publisher=KentLive |agency=PA Media |accessdate=2021-12-13 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20211213000629/https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/famed-faversham-lockdown-singing-familys-6306967 |archivedate=2021-12-13 }} Danielle Marsh's father, John Burn, had received a prostate cancer diagnosis in 2018. In "The Buy-in Eats Tonight", a February 2020 adaptation of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", Thomas performed on the clarinet while Ella made "bat frequency high ahhs".{{cite news |last=Chantler-Hicks |first=Lydia |date=2021-02-19 |title=Marsh family from Faversham sing about takeaways in new lockdown spoof of The Lion Sleeps Tonight |url=https://www.kentonline.co.uk/faversham/news/family-sing-about-takeaways-in-latest-lockdown-spoof-242780/ |newspaper=Faversham News |publisher=KM Media Group |accessdate=2021-09-06 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906095920/https://www.kentonline.co.uk/faversham/news/family-sing-about-takeaways-in-latest-lockdown-spoof-242780/ |archivedate=2021-09-06 }} The song reflects on how the family has become accustomed during the COVID-19 lockdown to ordering takeaway. Their May 2020 parody of Moana{{'}}s "Where You Are" includes pessimistic commentary: "You'll be OK.{{nbsp}}/If not you'll learn just to hide it.{{nbsp}}/You must find happiness right where you are."{{cite news |last=Harper |first=Brad |date=2020-05-04 |title=Marsh family from Faversham release new song from Disney film Moana after going viral with Les Misérables song One Day More |url=https://www.kentonline.co.uk/faversham/news/the-marsh-family-return-with-new-lockdown-song-226662/ |newspaper=Faversham News |publisher=KM Media Group |accessdate=2021-09-06 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906100105/https://www.kentonline.co.uk/faversham/news/the-marsh-family-return-with-new-lockdown-song-226662/ |archivedate=2021-09-06 }} "Have the New Jab", which parodies Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah", contains "pointy humour" in its lyrics:

Maybe there's a plan above to implant things into our blood

But why on earth would Bill Gates want to rule ya?

And it's not a trick to get you spayed! It's not some change to our DNA!

It's a Covid-fighting weapon! Have the new jab.

In 2024, they began to release political songs. On July 20th, they posted to YouTube "Vance VP," sung to "Dancing Queen" by ABBA, about JD Vance, who had been selected by Donald Trump as his vice presidential candidate. On its YouTube page, the Marshes explain,

{{Blockquote|We chose for the parody subject matter the official approval at the convention this week of JD Vance as Donald Trump's running mate for the presidential ticket for the Republican Party. It's probably fair to say that Vance is very little known on this side of the pond – hence the need for some additional info and graphics on this video – but he made an ill-advised splash in our world by mouthing off about the UK, pretending a concern about nuclear proliferation (when for a long time he's been helping facilitate Putin's aggression) and half-jokingly describing the UK as an "Islamist country". This prompted politicians from across the spectrum to condemn his comments... So since he dished it out, and since - for obvious (but different) reasons - now is not an appropriate moment for a song about either Trump or Biden, here's our less-than-impressed profile of yet another populist politician with highly flexible morality, worrying contempt for democratic process and discourse, but big funding and a big mouth who's happy to tap into ordinary people's fears while claiming to be an example of their dreams.{{cite web |author=Marsh Family |title="Vance VP" - Marsh Family parody adaptation of "Dancing Queen" by ABBA, on JD Vance |date=July 20, 2024 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYILYILPrXs |publisher=YouTube |accessdate=March 25, 2025 |quote=Atheist to a Catholic, names he's had a few / Doesn't like immigrants / Unless they help finance / Him being Vance VP, one Big Mac from the nuclear key! / Bad mouthing all the Muslims in OUR country...}}}}

"Gimme Hope Kamala", released on August 20, 2024, and based on "Gimme Hope Jo'anna", was written to support Kamala Harris in the 2024 United States presidential election. A journalist wrote that the song went viral, as it "critiques Donald Trump while praising Kamala Harris, amassing nearly 1.4 million views on YouTube. The catchy tune has sparked lively discussions on X, especially given that the family hails from the UK, prompting mixed reactions from listeners... The song draws inspiration from Eddy Grant's iconic 'Gimme Hope Jo'Anna,' originally released in 1988, which addressed international politics during the Apartheid era in South Africa."{{cite web |last=Dutta |first=Srishti B | url=https://www.indiatimes.com/trending/social-relevance/watch-viral-song-labels-trump-a-megalomaniac-republican-while-pleading-for-hope-from-kamala-643217.html | title=Watch: Viral song labels Trump a 'megalomaniac Republican' while pleading for hope from Kamala | date=5 October 2024 |work=India Times |accessdate=2024-11-01 |quote=The song boldly critiques Donald Trump, opening with the lines that when he was in charge, he 'sowed division and tried to build a wall.' It goes on to claim that he 'made a few of his people wealthy' while disregarding the rest, even going as far as to say he 'did the nasty.' The lyrics don't hold back, labeling him an 'oppressor of civil liberties' and a 'megalomaniac Republican' who 'undermined the Constitution.' As the tune shifts, it calls out for 'Gimme hope Kamala,' painting her in a much more favorable light with lines like 'She'll try to regulate the sale of guns' and 'ensure access to healthcare and abortion.' The Marsh Family even declares, 'Don't want a President of the USA who's dangerous to everyone!'}} On its YouTube page, the Marshes explain,

{{Blockquote|With only a matter of weeks until the pivotal US Presidential Election in November, and the Democratic National Convention having begun today, we decided to revisit the magnificent Eddy Grant's controversial and catchy anthem about international politics in the time of Apartheid in South Africa - "Gimme Hope Jo'Anna". The original song was written and recorded in 1988 by the British-Guyanese artist as an anti-apartheid British musical intervention (it didn't chart in the US) and it was banned by the SA government for daring to critique and offer hope for change in Johannesburg (Jo'Anna) and beyond. So we've flipped the concept back to a person - because that's how the US contest is always configured - and set up Kamala Harris as the centre of the chorus as she now occupies the centrepiece of hope for those wishing to avoid another Donald Trump administration. There are a few lateral references to Trumpisms (such as his claim that he shared a helicopter ride, or that Americans would never have to vote again if they elected him). But it just felt a good fit to be able to sing something upbeat and positive - and for our two girls to see the most powerful person in the world might be about to be a woman for the first time, in contrast to Trump's track record on gender and rights.{{cite web |author=Marsh Family |title="Gimme Hope Kamala" - Marsh Family adaptation of Eddy Grant "Gimme Hope Jo'Anna" for Trump vs Harris |date=August 20, 2024 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=se-didBGn8A |publisher=YouTube |accessdate=March 25, 2025}}}}

On March 1st, 2025, the family uploaded "Puppets on a Kremlin String," about the betrayal of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy by Donald Trump and JD Vance to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, to the tune of Coldplay's song "Viva La Vida". The Marshes write, "Our version takes the sense of history, the pain, the trauma, and the notion of world rule, and applies it to the most disgusting media spectacle to date - with already several to choose from - of the new US administration. Like many around the world, as well as disheartened friends in the US, we watched the undignified ambush of Zelensky's trip to the White House with dismay and pity. It was a very unbecoming sight - just at a human level - even without all the higher stakes, deals, implications, and nightmares unfolding as another win is handed to Putin, and more pressure placed on Ukraine. Like many we are hoping for a miraculous path forward that can somehow turn Trump's intensity into an outcome that can transform into a lasting peace - but given how misdirected the fury and energy and narrative is at the moment, it's quite hard to see it turning out other than a quickfire US withdrawal of support. If that happens, we're in a cowardly new world."{{cite web |author=Marsh Family |title="Puppets on a Kremlin String?" - Marsh Family adaptation of Coldplay's "Viva la Vida" on Trump/Vance |date=March 1, 2025 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvT3aQjLxdE |publisher=YouTube |accessdate=March 27, 2025}}

On March 22nd, 2025, the family uploaded "I Put Up Tariffs," based on "I Shot the Sheriff" by Bob Marley and the Wailers. The Marshes admit of their hectic production schedule, "Amidst the sorting and practicing, unfortunately no one noticed Tom was not visible in the shot. So you've been spared his groove, though we dropped in a couple of post-cut shots to show you where he was."{{cite web |author=Marsh Family |title="I Put Up Tariffs" - Marsh Family adaptation of Bob Marley and the Wailers, "I Shot the Sheriff" |date=March 22, 2025 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DyNjjSxO8s |publisher=YouTube |accessdate=March 25, 2025 |quote=Free trade used to be our way / Now Smoot-Hawley's back in town, yeah / All of a sudden I spray tariffs all round / Like a baby with its nappy down / Firing lots and lots of stress around / It's okay, it's the consumers who will pay!}} The song discusses Trump's penchant for slapping tariffs on friendly trading partners in his first 100 days in the White House. The Marsh family say they wanted "to tell the story of Donald Trump's favourite toys: tariffs, which he has already taken action on, and promised to do much more as he shakes up the world order, starting with upsetting his nearest neighbours. The consensus is that the tariffs didn't do what he claimed they would in his first term, and that they are now actively threatening stock prices, confidence, capital expenditure, trade flows, and all out economic war with old and new blocs retaliating. It's a scene we've seen before, hence the reference to the "Smoot-Hawley" act of 1930 which raised tariffs on 20,000 US imports and helped prompt a global downturn and deepen the Great Depression."

On March 25th, 2025, they posted "You Were Not Supposed to Message It Through," to the music of the Bee Gees' "I've Gotta Get a Message to You," about the United States government group chat leak, a political scandal also known as "Signalgate." The song references chat members Mike Waltz, Tulsi Gabbard, and Pete Hegseth.{{cite web |author=Marsh Family |title="You Were Not Supposed to Message It Through" - Marsh Family parody of the Bee Gees on #Signalgate |date=March 25, 2025 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPfwtXulKS4 |publisher=YouTube |accessdate=March 27, 2025 |quote=A quick parody turnaround, but only five of us singing as Alfie (actually our hands-down best fake Bee Gee) is currently away, and will be annoyed.}}

File:Marsh Family with John and Linda Burn on 8 November 2021.jpg, Danielle Marsh's parents, at the Moth Club in Hackney, London, on 8 November 2021. From left to right, are Ben, Danielle, Thomas, Alfie, Tess, and Ella Marsh; and Linda and John Burn.]]

• Ben Marsh (born in 1976{{efn|name="Ben Marsh age"|An article in The New York Times published on 19 February 2021 said Ben Marsh was 44 years old. An article in PA Media published on 6 December 2021 said Ben Marsh was 45 years old. The combination of the two sources verifies that Ben Marsh turned 45 years old in 2021 which means he was born in 1976.}}), the father, is a history lecturer at the University of Kent who specialises in the colonial history of the United States. In 1995, he entered the University of Cambridge's Downing College, where he received a history degree. Marsh authored the 2007 book Georgia's Frontier Women: Female Fortunes in a Southern Colony.{{Bulleted list|{{cite journal |last=Wood |first=Kirsten E. |date=February 2008 |title=Ben Marsh. Georgia's Frontier Women: Female Fortunes in a Southern Colony |url=https://academic.oup.com/ahr/article-abstract/113/1/170/41706 |journal=The American Historical Review |publisher=Oxford University Press |volume=113 |issue=1 |pages=170–171 |doi=10.1086/ahr.113.1.170 |jstor=40007344 |accessdate=2021-09-06 |archive-date=6 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906223134/https://academic.oup.com/ahr/article-abstract/113/1/170/41706 |url-status=live }}|{{cite journal |last=Glover |first=Lorri |author-link=Lorri Glover |date=Spring 2008 |title=Georgia's Frontier Women: Female Fortunes in a Southern Colony by Ben Marsh |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40585041 |journal=Georgia Historical Quarterly |publisher=Georgia Historical Society |volume=92 |issue=1 |pages=120–121 |jstor=40585041 |accessdate=2021-09-06 }}|{{cite journal |last=Crutchfield |first=Lisa |date=July 2010 |title=Crutchfield on Marsh, 'Georgia's Frontier Women: Female Fortunes in a Southern Colony' |url=https://networks.h-net.org/node/2295/reviews/2449/crutchfield-marsh-georgias-frontier-women-female-fortunes-southern |journal=H-SAWH |publisher=H-Net |issn=1538-0661 |accessdate=2021-09-06 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906100346/https://networks.h-net.org/node/2295/reviews/2449/crutchfield-marsh-georgias-frontier-women-female-fortunes-southern |archivedate=2021-09-06 }}|{{cite journal |last=Anzilotti |first=Cara |date=Autumn 2007 |title=Georgia's Frontier Women: Female Fortunes in a Southern Colony by Ben Marsh |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23387266 |journal=The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society |issn=0023-0243 |volume=105 |issue=4 |pages=688–690 |jstor=23387266 |accessdate=2021-09-06 }}}} Book reviewer Kent Anderson Leslie praised the book, calling it "an important text and sets a high standard of inclusive, insightful scholarship".{{cite journal |last=Leslie |first=Kent Anderson |date=September 2007 |title=Georgia's Frontier Women: Female Fortunes in a Southern Colony. By Ben Marsh. |url=https://academic.oup.com/jah/article-abstract/94/2/536/730057 |journal=The Journal of American History |publisher=Oxford University Press |volume=94 |issue=2 |pages=536–537 |doi=10.2307/25094972 |jstor=25094972 |accessdate=2021-09-06 |archive-date=6 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906223130/https://academic.oup.com/jah/article-abstract/94/2/536/730057 |url-status=live }} Marsh wrote a second book, Unravelled Dreams: Silk and the Atlantic World, 1500-1840, in 2020.{{cite journal |last=Blanc |first=Paul D |date=2021-04-22 |title=Unravelled Dreams: Silk and the Atlantic World, 1500–1840. By Ben Marsh |url=https://academic.oup.com/envhis/article-abstract/26/2/373/6247738 |journal=Environmental History |publisher=Oxford University Press |volume=26 |issue=2 |pages=373–375 |doi=10.1093/envhis/emab003 |accessdate=2021-09-06 }}{{cite journal |last=Macdonald |first=Alexandra M. |date=Summer 2021 |title=Unravelled Dreams: Silk and the Atlantic World, 1500–1840. By Ben Marsh. |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3098/ah.2021.095.3.542 |journal=Agricultural History |volume=95 |issue=3 |pages=542–545 |jstor=10.3098/ah.2021.095.3.542 |accessdate=2021-09-06 |archive-date=6 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906223133/https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3098/ah.2021.095.3.542 |url-status=live }} It received the Hagley Prize in Business History, which is organised by the Hagley Museum and Library and Business History Conference.{{cite journal |date=2021-04-30 |title=Announcements |journal=Business History Review |publisher=Cambridge University Press |volume=95 |issue=1 |page=149 |doi=10.1017/S0007680521000167 |doi-access=free }} Book reviewer Paul D Blanc penned a positive review of the book, stating that it "is valuable in its own right, but it also is worthy for the foundation it provides to reconsider more broadly the decolonial ecology of textiles". The historian Patricia Fara wrote that Marsh "skilfully converts entrepreneurial losses into scholarly gains, providing a much-needed counterbalance to triumphalist tales of innovative success and unsettling easy assumptions of inevitable technological progress".{{cite journal |last=Fara |first=Patricia |date=December 2020 |title=Ben Marsh, Unravelled Dreams: Silk and the Atlantic World, 1500–1840. |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-for-the-history-of-science/article/ben-marsh-unravelled-dreams-silk-and-the-atlantic-world-15001840-cambridge-cambridge-university-press-2020-pp-xiv-487-isbn-9781108418287-2999-hardback/DBA61DF3CF2542AA430033C8AF332325 |journal=The British Journal for the History of Science |publisher=Cambridge University Press |volume=53 |issue=4 |pages=594–596 |doi=10.1017/S0007087420000527 |s2cid=234555259 |accessdate=2021-09-06 }}
• Danielle Marsh (born in 1977{{efn|name="Danielle Marsh age"|An article in The New York Times published on 19 February 2021 said Danielle Marsh was 43 years old. An article in PA Media published on 6 December 2021 said Danielle Marsh was 44 years old. The combination of the two sources verifies that Danielle Marsh turned 44 years old in 2021 which means she was born in 1977.}}), the mother, is a university administrator. Her parents are John Burn, a professor and geneticist, and Linda Burn. She is a research programs coordinator in the Education & Student Experience division of the Kent Business School.{{cite news |date=2021-03-18 |title=KBS's Danielle Marsh and family take to the stage for BBC One's Comic Relief |url=https://www.kent.ac.uk/kent-business-school/news/10508/kbss-danielle-marsh-and-family-take-to-the-stage-for-bbc-ones-comic-relief |publisher=Kent Business School |accessdate=2021-09-06 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906100714/https://www.kent.ac.uk/kent-business-school/news/10508/kbss-danielle-marsh-and-family-take-to-the-stage-for-bbc-ones-comic-relief |archivedate=2021-09-06 }} She became a history instructor after receiving a history degree from the University of Cambridge's Downing College, which she had entered in 1995.
• Alfie Marsh (born in 2006{{efn|name="Alfie Marsh age"|An article in The New York Times published on 19 February 2021 said Alfie Marsh was 14 years old. An article in PA Media published on 6 December 2021 said Alfie Marsh was 15 years old. The combination of the two sources verifies that Alfie Marsh turned 15 years old in 2021 which means he was born in 2006.}})
• Thomas Marsh (born in {{birth based on age as of date|13|2021|02|19|noage=1}})
• Ella Marsh (born in 2009{{efn|name="Ella Marsh age"|An article in The New York Times published on 19 February 2021 said Ella Marsh was 11 years old. An article in PA Media published on 6 December 2021 said Ella Marsh was 12 years old. The combination of the two sources verifies that Ella Marsh turned 12 years old in 2021 which means she was born in 2009.}})
• Tess Marsh (born in {{Birth based on age as of date|9|2021|02|19|noage=1}})

Although Ben and Danielle Marsh do not have a musical theatre background, Ben's parents teach music.{{cite news |last=Sarkari |first=Karishma |date=2020-04-01 |title=Family behind Les Miserable lockdown parody viral video say 'it is completely surreal' |url=https://honey.nine.com.au/latest/family-les-miserable-lockdown-coronavirus-parody/6dfb1111-7e58-44d5-8748-e58379eeb6b7 |publisher=Nine.com.au |accessdate=2021-09-06 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906100242/https://honey.nine.com.au/latest/family-les-miserable-lockdown-coronavirus-parody/6dfb1111-7e58-44d5-8748-e58379eeb6b7 |archivedate=2021-09-06 }} Aside from their performances in school plays and musical instrument classes, the children have not received musical theatre instruction. Collectively they play the bass guitar, clarinet, cornet, drums, piano, and violin. The family has a dog, Monty, which appears in their music videos. They adopted a puppy, Boo, in 2021.{{cite news |last=Cole |first=Angela |date=2021-07-17 |title=Lockdown World the latest song from Faversham Marsh family – and their new puppy |url=https://www.kentonline.co.uk/faversham/news/marsh-family-release-last-lockdown-song-250839/ |newspaper=Faversham News |publisher=KM Media Group |accessdate=2021-09-06 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906100253/https://www.kentonline.co.uk/faversham/news/marsh-family-release-last-lockdown-song-250839/ |archivedate=2021-09-06 }}

Before the pandemic, the family had rewritten the lyrics of songs they had heard. Ben Marsh is the songwriter for nearly all of the family's adaptations. He makes an adaptation proposal and his children evaluate and can reject it which they did for satirising the song "Oklahoma" as "Oh Corona!" They purchased a laptop for audio mixing. Celia Storey wrote in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, "All the adaptations have clever lyrics and some have choreography." The Marsh Family were likened to The von Trapps and The Partridge Family.

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• [https://www.marshfamilysongs.com/ Official website]
• {{YouTube|custom=MarshFamilySongs|title=Marsh Family}}
• {{Facebook|id=MarshFamilySongs|name=Marsh Family}}
• Marsh Family on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarshSongs

Category:2020 establishments in England

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Category:Musical groups from Kent

Category:Musical groups established in 2020

Category:British music YouTubers

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Category:British comedy musical groups

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