STEVEN Wilson may well be - as the promo for his latest album claims 'the most successful British musician most people have never heard of', but not to his legion of fans, writes Dave Lawrence.

To them he is the creative force behind Porcupine Tree, the go-to-guy for progressive artists like Steve Hackett and Yes looking for someone to remix their classic albums, and a torch bearer for progressive rock.

The barefoot Wilson and his band opened their Sage show with two songs from last year's excellent - more pop-orientated than usual - 'To The Bone' album, 'Nowhere Now' and the mournful 'Pariah'. The latter brought to mind the Peter Gabriel/ Kate Bush duet 'Don't Give Up', and featured vocals from an on-screen Ninet Tayeb and was beautifully presented.

'Home Invasion/Regret #9' was notable for superb playing from keyboardist Adam Holzman and drummer Craig Blundell. ‘Permanating’, the song from ‘To The Bone’ that seems to have split his fan base due to its excessive radio-friendliness, was warmly received.

Hardcore fans were kept happy with the inclusion of plenty of Porcupine Tree material, including ‘Lazarus’, ‘Sleep Together’ and a superb version ‘The Creator Has A Mastertape’.

The high spot of the evening though was a furious version of ‘The People Who Eat Darkness’, written in the wake of the Bataclan massacre and accompanied by a suitably creepy animated video on the backdrop.

A sombre ‘The Raven That Refused To Sing’, again accompanied with an oddly disturbing animation, brought an excellent performance to a close.