Steve Hogarth (born Ronald Stephen Hoggarth, 14 May 1956 in

Kendal Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, south-east of Windermere and north of Lancaster. Historically in Westmorland, it lies within the dale of th ...

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...

) also known as "h", is an English singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Since 1989 he has been the lead singer of the British rock band

Marillion Marillion are a British rock music, rock band, formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, in 1979. They emerged from the post-punk music scene in Britain and existed as a bridge between the styles of punk rock and classic progressive rock, becomin ...

, for which he also performs additional keyboards and guitar. Hogarth was formerly a keyboard player and co-lead vocalist with

the Europeans ''The Europeans: A sketch'' is a short novel by Henry James, published in 1878. It is essentially a comedy contrasting the behaviour and attitudes of two visitors from Europe with those of their relatives living in the "new" world of New England ...

and vocalist with How We Live.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

has described Hogarth as having a "unique, expressive voice" with "flexible range and beautiful phrasing".

Early life

Hogarth was born in

. His father was an engineer in the

British Merchant Navy The Merchant Navy is the maritime register of the United Kingdom and comprises the seagoing commercial interests of UK-registered ships and their crews. Merchant Navy vessels fly the Red Ensign and are regulated by the Maritime and Coastguar ...

. He was brought up on a council estate in

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham. In N ...

, from the age of two. As a child he became interested in music, his earliest influences being

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

and

the Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhythm ...

, and taught himself to play piano.

Mick Wall Mick Wall (born 23 June 1958) is a British music journalist, author, and radio and TV presenter. He has been described as "the world's leading rock and metal writer". Career Wall began his career contributing to the music weekly ''Sounds'' in 197 ...

''Pre-Season Friendlies'' ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...

'' 23 September 1989 Leaving school at the age of eighteen, Hogarth spent three years studying for a degree in

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

at Trent Polytechnic (now

Nottingham Trent University Nottingham Trent University (NTU) is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as a new university in 1992, although its roots go back to 1843 with the establishment of the Nottingham Government School of Design, w ...

). He was also a member of a band during this time, Harlow, who played working men's clubs. They recorded the single "Harry de Mazzio" on the Pepper record label, which Hogarth wrote and later described as "dreadful" and "definitely the worst record I ever made." The band split in 1981 and Hogarth left his engineering degree, moving to London to further his music career.

Career

In London, after responding to an advertisement in the music press Hogarth joined the band Motion Pictures. They were subsequently renamed

. Initially joining just as a keyboard player, Hogarth later shared the vocal duties with Ferg Harper. Signed to

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

released two studio albums and one live album. Hogarth sang just one track on the first studio album but sang five of the eight tracks on the second album. In 1985, Hogarth and guitarist Colin Woore left the band to form How We Live, The duo were signed to

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. In 1987, following record company changes, How We Live's debut album ''Dry Land'' was unsuccessful. Hogarth considered leaving the music industry and becoming a milkman or postman. However, a meeting with his publishers arranged by a friend,

Darryl Way Richard Darryl Way (born 17 December 1948 in Taunton, Somerset, England) is an English rock and classical musician who was a founding member of Curved Air and co-writer of their Progressive Rock seminal albums from 1970 to 1976. He is best kno ...

, a founding member of

Curved Air Curved Air are an English progressive rock group formed in 1970 by musicians from mixed artistic backgrounds, including classical, folk, and electronic sound. The resulting sound of the band is a mixture of progressive rock, folk rock, and fus ...

, persuaded him to send a tape to Marillion, who were recruiting for a new lead vocalist following the departure of

Fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

in late 1988. Marillion heard the tape and were interested enough to ask for a meeting with the singer. Later accounts of this first meeting record that Hogarth turned up at band member

Pete Trewavas Peter Trewavas (born 15 January 1959) is an English musician, known as the bassist of Marillion. He joined in 1982, replacing Diz Minnitt, while acting occasionally as a backing vocalist and acoustic guitarist. Trewavas was born in Middlesbroug ...

' house with his demo tapes contained in a red plastic fire bucket – the audition taking place in Trewavas' garage, due to the presence of cats in the house (see

below Below may refer to: *Earth *Ground (disambiguation) *Soil *Floor *Bottom (disambiguation) Bottom may refer to: Anatomy and sex * Bottom (BDSM), the partner in a BDSM who takes the passive, receiving, or obedient role, to that of the top or ...

). The band were immediately impressed by his vocal prowess. Hogarth himself, however, took a little longer to make up his mind, holding as he did at the time a potentially lucrative offer to tour the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

with

the The () are an English post-punk band. They have been active in various forms since 1979, with singer-songwriter Matt Johnson being the only constant band member. achieved critical acclaim and commercial success in the UK, with 15 chart singles ...

. As he later recalled in a 2001 interview by ''

Classic Rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...

'', he had a choice "between the most hip band in the world, and the least...".Dave Ling (May 2001
Interview with Steve Hogarth
''

'' In the end he accepted the position with Marillion, won over as the band wanted an equal partner and were offering a potentially permanent arrangement. Hogarth's first album with the band, released in September 1989, was ''

Seasons End ''Seasons End'' is the fifth studio album by British neo-progressive rock band Marillion, released in 1989. The album was the first to feature current lead vocalist Steve Hogarth, following the departure of former vocalist Fish in late 1988. ...

'', their fifth studio album. Since then, Marillion have recorded a further fourteen studio, and numerous live albums, with Hogarth on vocals, the most recent being '' An Hour Before It's Dark'' released in March 2022. Hogarth has also released one solo studio album under the name 'h' called ''Ice Cream Genius''. This album had contributions from ex-

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Porcupine Tree Porcupine Tree are an English rock band formed by musician Steven Wilson in 1987. During an initial career spanning more than twenty years, they earned critical acclaim from critics and fellow musicians, developed a cult following, and became ...

synthesiser/keyboard maestro

Richard Barbieri Richard Barbieri (born 30 November 1957) is an English musician, composer and sound designer. Originally a member of new wave band Japan (and their brief 1989–1991 reincarnation as Rain Tree Crow), more recently he is known as the keyboard ...

, former

XTC XTC were an English rock band formed in Swindon in 1972. Fronted by songwriters Andy Partridge (guitars, vocals) and Colin Moulding (bass, vocals), the band gained popularity during the rise of punk and new wave in the 1970s, later playing in ...

guitarist Dave Gregory, Blondie drummer

Clem Burke Clement Burke (born Clement Anthony Bozewski; November 24, 1954) is an American musician who is best known as the drummer for the band Blondie from 1975, shortly after the band formed, throughout the band's entire career. He also played drums f ...

, bassist Chucho Merchan and percussionist

Luís Jardim Luís Alberto Figueira Gonçalves Jardim (born 4 July 1950) is a Portuguese percussionist, born in the Madeira Island, best known for his work with producer Trevor Horn. Family Jardim is a cousin of Alberto João Jardim (former president of the ...

. Subsequently, Hogarth's side-project, The H-Band, has played live across the UK and Europe featuring a variety of musicians, including former

the Stone Roses The Stone Roses were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. One of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the band's classic and most prominent lineup consisted of vocalist I ...

MKII guitarist

Aziz Ibrahim Aziz-Ur-Rahman Ibrahim (born 16 March 1964) is a British guitarist. He was born in Longsight, Manchester to Pakistani parents. He is best known for his work as guitarist with Simply Red, The Stone Roses (post- John Squire) and their former vo ...

Massive Attack Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol by Robert "3D" Del Naja, Adrian "Tricky" Thaws, Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. The debut Massive Attack album ''Blue Lines'' was release ...

and the Bays drummer Andy Gangadeen,

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

Jingles on bass, Aziz's regular musical partner Dalbir Singh Rattan on tablas and Stephanie Sobey-Jones on cello. With Barbieri and Gregory, this line up recorded a double album entitled ''Live Spirit: Live Body'' in 2001 (released in 2002). Writing for a forthcoming second solo studio album occurred in December 2004. In 2006, Hogarth undertook a solo tour, 'h Natural', during which he played around 20 dates in the UK and Europe . It was billed as an evening of music and conversation with Hogarth at the piano. These shows were mixed and released for download, one at a time and for a limited period only, on Hogarth's (now defunct) H-Tunes website. On 14 May 2010, Hogarth performed at the Relentless Garage in London to celebrate his birthday. On the following two days he also performed in Liverpool and Sheffield. To coincide with these shows a CD was released featuring some of the best tracks taken from his H Natural shows. This collection is called H Natural Selection and was available at the shows and from the Marillion website. In 2012, Hogarth joined forces with

again, releasing an album as a duo called ''Not the Weapon But the Hand''. In 2014, it was announced that Hogarth was releasing two volumes of diaries, written between 1991 and 2014. The first was released in June 2014 by Miwk Publishing and is called ''The Invisible Man''. Volume 2 followed in December 2014.

Personal life

Hogarth has three children: a daughter named Sofi and a son named Nial with his first wife Sue, and a son named Emil from his current relationship with Linette, who is from Denmark. Hogarth is violently allergic to cats, first learning this when hospitalised as a child after visiting a Liverpudlian Auntie "...whose house was full of 'em!". Marillion Bass player Pete Trewavas had cats, in January 1989 when they had their first meeting, so Hogarth couldn’t go into his house. He is a fan of the football club

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

Musical inspirations

In an interview for ''

HuffPost ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

'' in 2012, Hogarth cited

the Blue Nile The Blue Nile was a Scottish band which originated in Glasgow. The group's early music was built heavily on synthesizers and electronic instrumentation and percussion, although later works featured guitar more prominently. Following early champ ...

Paddy McAloon Patrick Joseph McAloon (born 7 June 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and a founder of the band Prefab Sprout. Early life McAloon was born and grew up in Witton Gilbert in County Durham, England. He was trained to be a Catholic priest bef ...

, Mike Scott,

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

and

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...

as musical inspirations, and

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-eart ...

and

as artists he would like to work with. On Sting, Hogarth commented: "It's weird how few artists mention Sting and pull him out but he's such a brilliant talent."

Solo discography

*1997: ''

Ice Cream Genius ''Ice Cream Genius'' is the title of the first solo album by Steve Hogarth, singer of Marillion. It was originally released in 1997 on When! Recordings. It was released in North America in August 1998 with a different artwork and with the extra t ...

'' *1998: ''Ice Cream Genius'' (Re-release) *2002: ''Live Spirit: Live Body'' (Double) *2010: ''H Natural Selection'' *2012: ''Not the Weapon But the Hand'' (with

) *2013: ''Arc Light'' (with Richard Barbieri)

Guest appearances

*1982: '' All Balls & No Willy'' –

John Otway John Otway (born 2 October 1952) is an English singer-songwriter who has built a cult audience through extensive touring. Biography 1970s and 1980s Otway was born in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. Although his first single, "Gypsy"/"Misty Mounta ...

(keyboards) *1983: '' Once Bitten'' –

Annabel Lamb Annabel Lamb (born 1955) is an English singer-songwriter. Career Annabel Lamb has released eight albums to date. She had a British Top 30 hit in 1983 with her cover version of The Doors song, "Riders on the Storm", her only hit record, hit in t ...

(keyboards) *1985: '' Domestic Harmony'' – Do-Ré-Mi (keyboards) *1986: '' Infected'' –

The The () are an English post-punk band. They have been active in various forms since 1979, with singer-songwriter Matt Johnson being the only constant band member. achieved critical acclaim and commercial success in the UK, with 15 chart singles ...

: (piano on "Heartland") *1987: ''

Blue Yonder Blue Yonder (formerly JDA Software Group) is an American software and consultancy company owned by multinational conglomerate Panasonic. Blue Yonder provides supply chain management, manufacturing planning, retail planning, store operations and c ...

'' – Blue Yonder (backing vocals) *1987: '' Saint Julian'' –

Julian Cope Julian David Cope (born 21 October 1957) is an English musician and author. He was the singer and songwriter in Liverpool post-punk band the Teardrop Explodes and has followed a solo career since 1983 in addition to working on musical side proj ...

(backing vocals) *1988: ''

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

'' –

Toni Childs Toni Childs (born October 29, 1957) is an American-Australian singer-songwriter. She is best known for her songs "Don't Walk Away" (a Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 hit in the United States in 1988), "I've Got to Go Now", a Top 5 hit ...

(keyboards) *1990: ''

Sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cour ...

'' – Rock Against Repatriation (vocals) *1998: ''

Ocean Songs ''Ocean Songs'' is the fourth major album by Australian rock band Dirty Three, released in March 1998 by Touch and Go Records. The album was recorded at Electrical Audio, Chicago, United States, during August and September 1997. The cover art was ...

'' – Chucho Merchan (vocals) *1999: '' Five Years in a LIVETime'' (video) –

Dream Theater Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of the ...

(keyboards, vocals) *1999: ''

The Emperor Falls ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' –

John Wesley John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English people, English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The soci ...

(backing vocals) *2007: ''

Systematic Chaos ''Systematic Chaos'' is the ninth studio album by American progressive metal band Dream Theater. Released on June 4, 2007 in the United Kingdom and June 5, 2007 in the United States, ''Systematic Chaos'' was the band's first release through Road ...

'' –

(spoken voice) *2011: '' Till Then We Wait''
Sun Domingo
(vocals) *2011: "The Awakening" –

Edison's Children Edison’s Children are an "Epic" science fiction-oriented progressive rock trio, featuring Rick Armstrong (son of astronaut Neil Armstrong), Pete Trewavas (Marillion and Transatlantic) and Eric Blackwood. Edison's Children is known for wri ...

(vocals) *2012: '' Paintings in Minor Lila'' – Egbert Derix (narration on "This Train Is My Life") *2012: '' Speak'' –

I and Thou ''Ich und Du'', usually translated as ''I and Thou'', is a book by Martin Buber, published in 1923, and first translated from German to English in 1937. Premise Buber's main proposition is that we may address existence in two ways: # The attit ...

(vocal on "Go or Go Ahead") *2014: '' Music For Trains'' – Peter Brown (Spoken vocal on "Houdini Highs") *2015: '' Gitanos Catalans: 20 Anys de Sabor de Gràcia'' –

Sabor de Gràcia Sabor de Gràcia (taste or flavour of Gràcia) is a Catalan rumba band from Barcelona, Spain. The group was created in 1994 under the leadership of Antoni Carbonell, ''Sicus''. They published their first album in 1997. ''Tots els colors'' (all t ...

*2015: ''Please Come Home'' – Lonely Robot (piano and backing vocals on "Why Do We Stay" and "Humans Being") *2017: ''

Colours Not Found In Nature Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associa ...

'' – Isildurs Bane & Steve Hogarth (lead vocals) *2018: ''A Life in Yes: The Chris Squire Tribute'' – Steve Hogarth &

Larry Fast Lawrence Roger Fast (born December 10, 1951) is an American synthesizer player and composer. He is best known for his 1975–1987 series of synthesizer music albums (''Synergy'') and for his contributions to a number of popular music acts, inclu ...

(vocals on "Hold Out Your Hand") *2018: ''Gleb Kolyadin'' –

Gleb Kolyadin Gleb Kolyadin (Gleb Alekseevich Kolyadin, russian: Глеб Алексеевич Колядин , born July 11, 1989, Leningrad, Russia) is a Russian pianist, composer, and arranger who mixes progressive rock and jazz fusion with neoclassical ...

(vocals and writing credits on "Confluence" and "The Best of Days") *2019: '' Reimagines the Eighties'' –

Trevor Horn Trevor Charles Horn (born 15 July 1949) is an English music producer, label and recording studio owner, musician and composer. He is best known for his production work in the 1980s, and for being one half of the new wave band The Buggles (wit ...

featuring the Sarm Orchestra and Steve Hogarth (vocals on "

It's Different for Girls "It’s Different for Girls" is a song by Joe Jackson appearing on his 1979 album, '' I'm the Man''. The song has since become one of his most successful singles, notably being the highest charting Joe Jackson single in the UK. Covers have be ...

References

External links

*
Steve's Homepage on Marillion Site

Official page for ''Not the weapon but the hand''

Interview with Steve Hogarth about Happiness is the Road album and much more

Bibliography

* Anne-Aurore Inquimbert
''Marillion. L'ère Hogarth
Camion Blanc (France), 2014, 222 p. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hogarth, Steve 1959 births Alumni of Nottingham Trent University British male pianists English male singers English new wave musicians English rock keyboardists Living people Marillion members People from Kendal