Marillion - Rather progressing than progressive

Steve Hogarth has always been a great friend of Italy. Eight years after his last Rome concert, and following the sold-out "Marillion Weekend" in Padua last spring, he's back in our neck of the woods for a concert – his only Italian date – on 3 February at the Sala Sinopoli of the Auditorium Parco della Musica, alongside Rome's own progressive rock band RanestRane. We spoke with him to get a taste of what to expect from the live show, dig into the new Marillion album, Marillion due out in spring 2025, and take stock of a fascinating, long-running career that still promises surprises.

Hi Steve, welcome back to Italy! The first question obviously concerns the setlist for the 3 February show. Care to give us a hint?

It'll be a surprise for me too. My solo shows are usually born in the moment, and the songs shift depending on what I feel like singing, or maybe on requests from the audience, or on how people react to a certain song or performance. I think the first half of the Rome show will be like that. It'll be just me and a piano, and we'll see how it goes and where it takes us. Then the band will come on – the musicians from RanestRane – and there will be surprises too, which I won't give away.

Your relationship with RanestRane is already documented on the live album "Friends, Romans", released by Poison Apple in 2017. What's it like working with them?

There's a real connection. We understand each other instantly. They're excellent musicians, able to listen and create a shared energy.

All to the delight of Italian fans. I'd like to ask you about your relationship with The Web Italy, the Italian Marillion fan club, which follows you closely and is very active on social media. Italy has always had a special relationship with the band. Can you tell me a bit about it?

Yes, it obviously goes back a long way. We're talking about the period when I joined the band, in 1989, when I was "the new kid in the band". These days mark 35 years with Marillion, which is more than half my life, even though of course to the fans I'll always be "the new one". When I joined, there was already a very active fan club in Italy, run by a girl named Marina Lenti, who later passed the baton to David Costa, known to all of us as "Dave the Space" – a name he gave himself. There were periods when Italian concert promoters weren't exactly on top of things, and David worked hard to help us out. Our fans scattered around the world actively support us, and we're very, very lucky to have that kind of following.

This aspect seems really important to me from the point of view of artistic freedom too. In the sense that some major choices in your career came out of crowdfunding, which gave you the freedom to change your music from album to album, without bowing to the dictates of the record industry…

Even though the fanbase existed well before I joined the project, we didn't really realise how much we could count on our audience until 1997, when we first had the idea of funding an album through crowdfunding. American fans funded an entire tour for us. And at the time, nobody had ever done anything like that before, at least not in rock'n'roll.

Was it an experiment?

Definitely. And we didn't know whether the fans would trust us enough to put their money behind us. As you pointed out, it's the fans' support that gives us the freedom to make whatever kind of music we choose from one album to the next. We're not under pressure, we don't have to deliver a hit single or something radio-friendly. When we write an album, we start by recording improvisations. What interests us most in these sessions are the accidents, the unforeseen sonic events that gradually coalesce around a new idea for a record. Obviously we then work on it and try to make sure everything is of the highest possible quality, both musically and lyrically, but the initial spark comes from small accidents – it's not premeditated, it doesn't follow rules, it doesn't answer to trends.

Speaking of which, when will the next album arrive?

When it's ready. Hopefully before next spring, we'll see…

Have you started working on it?

We already started improvising earlier this year, in Germany. We'll see how things develop.

How are things between you all these days?

We get on really well among ourselves at the moment. We've had our ups and downs. It's a marriage of five people, so there's a lot of potential for it to grow and change, for better or worse. But we're going through a good patch, maybe because we've gotten older and we respect each other. We know that all five of us are fundamentally good people with a solid moral compass and the desire to create something beautiful.

What memories do you have of the “Marillion Weekend” in Padova last spring?

Wonderful. So many people, a splendid venue and a wonderful audience. Definitely an experience worth repeating!

Thinking about what is, to date, your latest album, “An Hour Before It’s Dark”, one track in particular comes to mind, “Sierra Leone”, which is one of my favourites and which seems to me itself one of those “accidents” you were talking about earlier...

When we finished “An Hour Before It’s Dark”, the only song I wasn't entirely convinced by was “Sierra Leone”. It felt a bit like the “Cinderella” of the album, so, really, the reaction it got is incredible. A lot of people feel the way you do. All the better, I'd say. It's a pretty strange song, you know, about a man who finds a diamond in a rubbish dump. A poor man who then refuses to sell it on principle, because for the first time in his life he has control over his own destiny. It meant a lot to me when I wrote it, so it's nice that it's been so well received.

Is there a moment that represents a turning point for you in terms of songwriting and vocal approach? When did you realise you were no longer the Steve Hogarth of “Holidays In Eden”, but a searching singer interested in exploring the possibilities of the voice as an instrument?

Interesting question, thank you. I think I have a thicker, broader voice than the one I had when I was young. I suppose at 67 the voice should be getting worse, but luckily, that doesn't really seem to be the case. If anything, it keeps improving. If I had to point to a turning point in my vocal exploration, I'd say my first solo album, “Ice Cream Genius”. On that record, tracks like “Cage” or “The Deep Water” required a personal investigation into the voice as an instrument.

On “Ice Cream Genius” you were joined by various names from English art-rock, Steve Jansen and Richard Barbieri of Japan, Dave Gregory of Xtc, an album that still feels remarkably current today. How did that path flow into the duo albums with Barbieri that followed shortly after?

I remember Richard sent me “Red Kite”, which opened the first duo album, as an instrumental track. I looked for words to sing, but at the same time also for something more intimate, sounds that would give shape to visions, a picture, not just a vocalist singing a song. The more Richard and I worked together, the more I explored my voice, searching for new sounds and the very soul of those sounds.

And with Marillion?

I'd say “This Strange Engine”: it's a song you almost have to live through. You can't just sing it.

What was the experience with Trevor Horn like?

All my life I've admired his productions and the records he's made. So, suddenly having someone of that stature on the phone, excited about what you're doing and keen to work with you, was a huge confidence boost.

Thirty-five years on, do you recognise the music of Marillion in the definition of progressive?

I'd call it "music in progression" rather than progressive music. Progressing towards what, I couldn't tell you, but that's exactly the point. If you know where you're going, then you're not really creating, you're manufacturing. If you don't know where you're going, then you're creating.

(31/01/2024)

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