Having replaced Fish when Marillion were at their commercial peak, vocalist Steve Hogarth is not afraid of a challenge. In fact, such obstacles have been a spur to creativity throughout his career, and no more so than with his varied solo endeavours, where he’s explored musical avenues rarely traversed. It’s an approach best exemplified by his live shows where caution is really thrown to wind and proceedings progress on an ad hoc basis. For his latest live album, SPQR, things are more structured (itself a departure in the Hogarth multiverse) to deliver sixteen songs that shine and shimmer and position Steve as one of the greatest vocalists England has ever produced.

Eight years since his last gig in Rome, Steve Hogarth made a welcome return, once again hooking up with local band RanestRane (who last performed together in September 2015) and this time they were joined by the Flowing Chords choir to reinterpret Steve’s solo songs (and a smattering of Marillion tunes), infusing them with a cinematic aesthetic and presenting them in a whole new light. Recorded on 3rd February 2024 at Rome’s Sala Sinopoli venue, this is an album that slowly opens and blossoms like a lotus flower, not only does opening track ‘Thank You Whoever You Are’ slowly grow from Steve’s rather understated introduction, yet the album takes on form as it propels itself along. The beginning of SPQR is rather minimalist, just Steve’s haunting voice and the equally evocative piano playing, with the notes played hanging in the air like icicles in winter sun. Yet, Steve commands the same kind of attention that a full band would, ensuring you can hear a pin drop through emotive renderings of ‘White Paper’ and a cover of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Famous Blue Raincoat’.

As the set progresses sound is added, almost imperceptibly, and by the time we’re halfway through seventh track ‘The Deep Water’, the listener is totally submerged in Steve’s world. Joined by RanestRane, the pair recreate the chemistry that characterised their last meeting as they reinterpret three Marillion tunes: ‘Sounds That Can’t Be Made’, ‘Waiting To Happen’ and ‘Estonia’, each being instantly recognisable, yet strangely different as they breathe new life into familiar things. Joined by the Flowing Chords choir for ‘The Crow And The Nightingale’, the track takes on a quasi religious feel and continues SPQR’s trajectory, sounding fuller as it snowballs and barrels towards its destination. That conclusion arrives in the shape of ‘Easter’, a track that soars, phoenix-like and fills every inch of the auditorium.

A more personal performance that Steve gives with Marillion, but SPQR is no less powerful, and is another jewel in a glistening discography.

• SPQR is released via earMUSIC on 16th January 2026 (available here).
• Official Website | Facebook

Track List:

1. Thank You Whoever You Are
2. Afraid Of Sunlight
3. White Paper
4. Famous Blue Raincoat
5. Cover My Eyes (Pain And Heaven)
6. Three Minute Boy/All You Need Is Love
7. The Deep Water
8. Sounds That Can’t Be Made
9. Waiting To Happen
10. Estonia
11. The Crow And The Nightingale
12. Nothing To Declare
13. Acid Rain
14. Go!
15. Man Of A Thousand Faces
16. Easter