Steve Hogarth is a legend in melodic rock and prog circles. He’s been the Marillion frontman for over thirty five years, and has also had a critically acclaimed solo career. In January 2026, Ear Music will release ‘SPQR’, a blu ray and CD set capturing Steve’s 2024 live show from Rome.
A brilliant set takes in a few Marillion deep cuts, some well chosen covers, and even a nod to H’s breakthrough band, Europeans.
It’s that time of year again! …And it seems to come around faster every year.
In 2017, Phantom Elite’s Marina La Torraca, League of Distortion’s Anna Brunner, Trillium’s Amanda Somerville and Clémentine Delauney pooled their collective vocal talents to create Exit Eden, a symphonic metal supergroup which aimed to bring a very theatrical slant to several rock and pop classics. Their ‘Rhapsodies In Black’ album – released that same year – showed how brilliantly 80s tunes like Visage’s ‘Fade To Grey’ and ‘Heaven’ by Bryan Adams would work when reworked in a Nightwish-esque mould. The project’s real magic came through, however, when the performers and their assembled session band put a heavier slant on (then) more contemporary pop material like Katy Perry’s brilliant ‘Firework’ and Lady Gaga’s ‘Paparazzi’.
Marillion’s world is a place littered with contradictions. As far as a huge chunk of the mainstream media are concerned, the band split back in the late 80s, and yet they sold out the Royal Albert Hall in London in 2017. In minutes. They spent the second half of the 90s and the early 00’s fighting against the “prog rock” tag, but continued to release albums that featured ten minute epics. As far the general public’s perception is concerned – at least a proportion of the general public that seems aware of Marillion’s existence in the modern day – the band are unfashionable. And yet, their 2022 album ‘An Hour Before It’s Dark’ was a critical and commercial success, hitting #2 on the UK album chart.
2023 seems to have flown by. We’ve already made it to December, and that can mean only one thing. It’s time for The Real Gone Advent Calendar!
As is traditional, over the next twenty four days, we’ll be posting a new link. It might be a video. It might be audio only. It might be an old favourite. It might be something brand new and unfamiliar. The only way to find out is by coming back each day and opening a new window!