MARILLION - STEVE HOGARTH

08 February 2017

On Sunday 24th September MARILLION will be performing at an exclusive show in the magnificent Roman theatre in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

The prestigious evening will be promoted by the Bulgarian independent radio station Tangra Mega Rock - tickets are available through Eventim.bg at this location.

And this is a great occasion to talk to frontman STEVE HOGARTH.

an interview conducted by Vassil Varbanov, photo: Alison Toon

listen here

Transcript of the interview starts below the photo:

HELLO STEVE, HOW ARE YOU AND WHERE ARE YOU?

Hello, good morning! I'm very well, thank you. I’m in the studio at the moment. We’re busy rehearsing.

2017 IS SHAPING UP TO BE ONE OF THE MOST SPECIAL AND SUCCESSFUL YEARS IN THE BAND’S HISTORY…HOW DOES IT FEEL?

Amazing really, considering we’ve been around so long and we’re all getting old and everything…I would like to feel that after all these years it’s great that we’re still making music that is moving forward. It’s particularly great that we’ve had such a positive reaction to our latest recording work as well. We’re thrilled to bits about that, we put a lot of work into it and we still feel like we’ve got something to say.

SOME VERY EXCITING LIVE SHOWS COMING UP AS WELL – THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL, YOUR MARILLION WEEKENDS AND OF COURSE THE SHOW AT THE ROMAN THEATER IN PLOVDIV. HAVE YOU HAD A CHANCE TO SEE THE VENUE IN PLOVDIV?

Yes, I’ve seen pictures of it, it looks really beautiful. I know that our guitar player Steve said he’s actually been there and he says it’s wonderful, so as long as the weather is OK, it should be amazing.

I BELIEVE IT’S TOO EARLY TO TALK ABOUT THE SETLIST YOU’RE GOING TO PERFORM TO YOUR LOYAL FANS IN BULGARIA, BUT NEVERTHELESS, ANY CLUES?

Yeah, if anybody wants to submit anything via social media – anything they’d particularly like to hear…We can’t guarantee we’ll play it, but we’d certainly give it some thought. We haven’t been down your way before, I don’t think…Have we been to Bulgaria before?

YEAH, IN 2009.

Ah, ok, so it’s been a while. Yeah, we’re open to ideas and requests. Obviously we’ll play quite a lot of the new album, but if we can kind of get a feeling for what the people there would really like to hear, that might well influence what we rehearse for the show. Oh, hang on a minute, we played Sofia, didn’t we? It’s all coming back to me. That was a great show, we had a good night there.

YOU’RE ONE OF THE BANDS WITH A VERY LOYAL GLOBAL FANBASE, THE MARILLION FAMILY. ARE YOU AWARE THAT YOU HAVE A LOT OF FANS FROM BULGARIA?

I’m never that aware of what’s going on, to be honest – I’ve got my head so much in the music. But I know we had a really great show there last time, it has only just come together in my head, but I remember it really well now. I remember the dressing rooms and the gig, I remember what a beautiful city you’ve got there. And we had a good time in Sofia. We do have a very fanatical family worldwide and it does feel more like a family than a bunch of fans, it’s a very one-to-one relationship we have now with the people who listen to us.

PLOVDIV IS ONE OF THE WORLD’S WINE CAPITALS AND WE’LL BE DOING SOME SPECIAL WINE TASTING WITH SOME OF THE FANS PARTICIPATING. ARE YOU A WINE AFICIONADO YOURSELF?

Well, I drink the stuff. I’m not sure I’d call myself an aficionado, but I know a red wine from a white wine.

MARILLION WILL BE CELEBRATING 40 YEARS AS A BAND IN 2019. ARE YOU ALREADY TALKING ABOUT DOING SOMETHING SPECIAL?

Well, no. The past is a terrible place to live. These anniversaries have gone past before, the 20th, the 30th and now the 40th…We haven’t actually noticed when they’ve gone past. I suppose it’s always a good showbiz excuse to do something, but we don’t really concern ourselves too much with that, we have our sights firmly set on the new work and where to go next, rather than where we’ve been a very long time ago.

OBVIOUSLY F E A R WAS A VERY WELL RECEIVED ALBUM. ARE YOU ALREADY THINKING OF THE NEXT ONE?

Erm, no. Personally, I’m not thinking about the next one yet, I’m just recovering from the last one. I’m thinking of what we’re gonna do next in terms of live stuff etc. I’ve currently got my head in the Conventions – thinking of the creative and the production aspects of that at the moment. That’s taking up quite a bit of time.

A FEW WORDS ABOUT YOUR SOLO PROJECTS. ANY PLANS TO WORK WITH RICHARD BARBIERI AGAIN?

I’m actually going to be working with Richard Barbieri in four days time. I’ve got a show in London at the 100 Club and I believe he’s going to get up and play something with me there. We have started work on another album, which we’re hoping to finish at some point. Finding the time is tricky, but once we both do, we do have plans to resume work on that album, so I think there will be another Hogarth/Barbieri record.

MARILLION’S SHOW IN PLOVDIV IS PART OF AN ONGOING ANNUAL MUSIC FORUM CALLED SOUNDS OF THE AGES. MANFRED MANN’S EARTH BAND AND THE DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT WILL HEADLINE THE TWO PREVIOUS NIGHTS LEADING UP TO YOUR SHOW. HAVE YOU HAD A CHANCE TO MEET ANY OF THOSE ARTISTS THROUGHOUT THE YEARS?

We actually did a gig in Germany with Manfred Mann’s band last summer. I don’t know if I met any of them at that show, but I did meet Manfred Mann years ago, in the 80s, when I was in The Europeans. He wanted to cover one of our songs and I remember meeting him in the pub. So I have met Manfred Mann, but it was a very very long time ago.

ARE YOU STILL ALLERGIC TO CATS, BY THE WAY?

Yes, I am. They give me asthma and I can’t breathe. They also make my eyes sore, so I tend to stay away from them.

IN THAT CASE WE PROMISE TO KEEP ALL THE INHABITANTS OF THE OLD ROMAN THEATER AWAY FROM YOU…

It’s full of cats, is it? I’ll wear a plastic bag, don’t worry.

listen here

Tickets are available through Eventim.bg at this location.

MARILLION at the Roman theater is the third night of the Sounds Of The Ages 2017 musical event:

22 September DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT and Orchestra;
23 September MANFRED MANN'S EARTH BAND;
24 September MARILLION.