Steven Wilson, Manchester Apollo

SOME people think that prog rock was left behind in the 70s.

But if Steven Wilson's performance at Manchester Apollo was anything to go by, music fans still have a hunger for songs that break boundaries, grow and evolve and go to new places.

It was astonishing to take our place at the 3,500-seat venue for a three-hour marathon of complex music that required the audience to be completely immersed in the experience.

And probably a far cry from the usual run of pop and rock acts that play on the same stage.

It is easiest to describe Wilson's music as progressive and indeed he was first inspired by the likes of Pink Floyd and Genesis.

But the multi-instrumentalist's only real criteria is to take his listeners on a journey.

There are a huge number of influences in Wilson's work from metal and hard rock to electronic and dance music while the guitar solos often have a classic rock sound to them.

But behind each intricate, epic song there is a very human story and themes we can all relate to.

Wilson often sings of loss, heartache, loneliness and alienation.

This was particularly the case on his 2015 top 20 album, Hand. Cannot. Erase – about Joyce Carol Vincent, a young woman who lay dead in her apartment undiscovered for three years.

Images on a screen behind Wilson's band further evoked feelings of isolation and heartache and although it was not the kind of experience that sends you bouncing out of the concert on a Friday night, it was genuinely moving.

The sound quality and lights were also exceptional and there was even a touching tribute to David Bowie with Wilson's 2005 track Lazarus.

DAVID MORGAN