As an ex-founder of the new-wave pioneers Japan, Richard Barbieri was a leader in creating the ground-breaking synthesiser sound that defined the band & influenced the likes of The Human League, Duran Duran, Gary Numan, Talk Talk & a whole raft of artists to follow. Together, the band record five studio albums culminating in the groundbreaking 'Tin Drum', which stayed in the UK Albums Chart for a year. Following Japan, Barbieri joined Steven Wilson to form the legendary progressive outfit Porcupine Tree & has since released multiple studio albums including his most recent & successful, 2021's 'Under A Spell'. Hogarth is best known as the frontman of Marillion, the progressive rock legends that he joined in 1989, following spells in The Europeans & How We Live. A few years before the release of 'Not The Weapon But The Hand', Porcupine Tree played some shows with Marillion & Steve invited Richard to be part of The H band on his 'Ice Cream Genius' album. This association developed into what Hogarth describes as 'an easy-working relationship which rapidly became an understanding beyond music.' It wasn't surprising then that the duo decided to collaborate on a joint project, a venture they have been working on for the past few years, the results of which can be heard on their debut album together. "It also goes beyond what you might expect from the two of us... The album consists of music which is at times moving, complex, multi-layered (both instrumentally & vocally) spooky, goofy & of course, very personal to me." 'Not The Weapon But The Hand' was completed in late 2011 & features occasional appearances from Danny Thompson on double bass, Arran Ahmun (John Martyn) & Chris Maitland (ex-Porcupine Tree) on drums & guitar & string arrangement contributions from Dave Gregory (XTC). This edition of 'Not The Weapon But The Hand' is presented on black vinyl
