Originally published by L.S. Media. December 20th 2008.

Even with Elton John in town and providing what many would consider to be the main draw of the night down at the Albert Dock, those that attended Steve Hogarth’s “H” natural evening were treated to a night of fine music in the excellent venue of St Brides Church.

Steve Hogarth came down through the side aisle to thunderous applause from the packed out audience and proceeded to play songs from his Marillion career, favourite songs that have inspired him, a story from his days in How we live, requests from the audience and the odd Beatles track!

Steve has been doing his “H” natural shows for a few years now but the energy he puts into them is almost unnatural. With just him and a piano, (in St Brides church case it was a grand that was already on site) he manages to play for a lot longer than most and certainly doesn’t lose his sense of humour as the evening proceeds.

He opened up the night with This train is my life from Marillion’s new studio album Happiness is the Road and the provocative Angelina from the now classic album Marbles.

Steve Hogarth acknowledged Elton John’s presence in the city by playing a wonderful version of Rocket Man and then turning the set on its head with an absolute barnstorming version of Kate Bush’s Cloud busting.

Among the Beatles tracks to be covered on the night were a cracking rendition of A Day in the Life off the Sgt. Pepper album and a rather raucous version of Hey Jude which went down extremely well with the crowd and seemed to carry on for a lot longer than I suspect Paul McCartney ever intended it too.

Some Marillion songs would be too hard to perform acoustically but those that were played, were done with sensitivity and care, as though not to offend the original version. This was proved on such songs as Fantastic Place which is an emotional piece and treated as such by his fans but worked even more when slowed down.

Steve Hogarth finished off a marvellous night with a few more songs that thrilled the crowd including Have Your Self a Merry Little Christmas and the thought provoking Estonia from Marillions 1997 album This Strange Engine.

Steve Hogarth is one of the few recording artists who can play such a emotionally charged and yet stunning set in the confines of one of the more unusual venues in Liverpool. He is also one of the few artists who can get fans from Preston, York, Scotland and even the west coast of Ireland to attend what is essentially a night for friends to catch up and listen to one of the best voices in rock.

Ian D. Hall