“We’ve Risked Everything on This Album” – Cats in Space’s Greg Hart

For my second interview with Greg Hart, we went through the new album track by track. What emerged was a conversation about far more than guitar solos, huge choruses and extraordinary production. Greg spoke openly about the experiences behind these songs: creative frustration, vulnerability, relationships, compassion and the determination to keep making music that means something.

I have often recommended Kickstart the Sun as the starting point for anyone discovering Cats in Space. That recommendation has now changed. Suit of Armour is where I would send you.

Released on 6 November 2026 through Esoteric Antenna / Cherry Red Records, this is the band’s seventh studio album. It is the first to feature Chris Childs, known for Thunder and Tyketto, on bass, and Sam Wood, whose credits include Black Star Riders and Uriah Heep, on guitar. Alongside Greg, Damien Edwards, Steevi Bacon and Andy Stewart, with backing vocals from Julie “The Duchess” Maguire, they have created something that feels both unmistakably Cats in Space and newly ambitious.

A medieval banquet of rock, with a human heart

Greg described the album during our conversation as a “medieval banquet of rock”. There is certainly grandeur here, but the armour, knights and cathedral imagery carry a deeper meaning.

These songs explore the emotional protection we build around ourselves, the people who help us through difficult times, and what happens when we stop seeing the human being behind somebody else’s circumstances.

Greg sees the album as connected through its emotional themes. Each song has its own story, but together they form a book of chapters. That is exactly how it feels to me: an album that invites you to put the phone down, close your eyes and let your imagination take over.

Miracle: a new era starts with a guitar riff

Rather than opening with the swirling keyboards and layered vocal introduction we might expect, Miracle arrives with a guitar riff.

That decision was deliberate. The song developed relatively late in the writing process after Steevi suggested a riff to Greg. An AC/DC flavour emerged as they played, but the challenge was to take that directness somewhere only Cats in Space would go.

The answer lies in the arrangement. What begins as a muscular rock song expands through key changes, acoustic textures, harmony guitars and a tremendous vocal performance from Damien.

Chris Childs added another dimension with a low D bass part that helped the chorus catch fire. Meanwhile, Greg and Sam doubled guitar lines across octaves, discovering how their individual playing styles could combine.

The drums are magnificent. Greg explained that repositioning the kit within the same studio helped capture a different room sound. Steevi’s meticulous tuning and attention to detail provided the foundation.

What strikes me is how musical that power remains. The drums give the track enormous scale while leaving room for everything around them. Under four minutes, and already there is so much to absorb.

We Breathe in Stereo: the almost-bonus track that demanded its place

One of my favourite revelations was that We Breathe in Stereo almost became a bonus track.

To my ears, it is one of the album’s essential songs.

Steevi brought Greg the lyrics, and the phrase “perfect imperfection” provided the spark: two people connecting through the things that make them individually imperfect. It can be heard as a love song, but there is room for listeners to find other relationships and meanings within it.

An early approach was abandoned before a more forceful keyboard-driven idea, with a Genesis influence, unlocked the song. From there, the arrangement kept pushing forward.

Chris’s bass playing helped transform it in the studio, and Sam delivered the guitar solo with remarkable immediacy. Julie’s vocals add another lift towards the end.

Greg described how the track kept demanding attention whenever they returned to it. Eventually, its place became obvious: second on the album, straight after Miracle.

I told Greg that it reminded me of the music I would choose for my Walkman when catching the bus to factory work in Birmingham. Those records helped me imagine that life could open up into something different.

That is what this song gives me: momentum, possibility and joy.

White Knight: the album’s emotional centre

White Knight is one of those songs that makes me reach for descriptions that might sound extravagant until you hear it.

During the interview, I said it should be available on the NHS. That was my way of describing how uplifting I find it.

Beginning with galloping drums and bass, the song opens into piano, an expressive lead vocal and beautifully judged spaces. The guitars bring a Queen-like richness, but everything serves the emotional pull of the song.

Greg wanted the core harmony to remain straightforward enough for Steevi’s words and Damien’s delivery to carry the feeling. From that foundation, the arrangement could grow.

The choral ending developed later, turning the song into the call to arms Greg had imagined. He described White Knight as an early bedrock for the whole album.

There is a sense of faith in somebody here: the person you look towards when things feel difficult. Greg was careful to distinguish that from a specifically religious meaning.

For me, Damien’s performance is exceptional. He sings his heart out, and the final chorus and choral passage make the song feel bigger with every listen.

Greg also talked about filming the video outdoors at a castle location. The landscape gave the band the atmosphere they wanted without relying on a manufactured backdrop.

Never Big in Japan: a glorious burst of rock and roll

After that emotional intensity, Never Big in Japan brings a grin to the proceedings.

There is a Status Quo-like drive to the guitars, alongside touches Greg associated with Wings, Mott the Hoople and the theatrical arrangements of Bob Ezrin. The idea was to embrace those ingredients and enjoy them.

Yet the song still takes a turn in its middle section. Just when you think you know its shape, the arrangement expands and the guitars take off.

Greg and Sam had particular fun leaning into the rhythmic guitar style. You can hear that enjoyment.

Already tried onstage by the time of our conversation, this sounds made for a live audience. It offers an important change of mood while retaining the album’s identity.

Mister Showbiz: the personal story behind the spectacle

Mister Showbiz prompted one of the most revealing parts of our interview.

Greg sees it as a continuation of I Fell Out of Love with Rock ’n’ Roll, drawing on his experiences earning a living in the tribute and entertainment world while feeling increasingly distant from the songwriting life he wanted.

He was candid about a difficult period involving substance use and poor mental health, and about eventually changing course and looking after himself.

The song approaches that history with theatricality and humour, but the feelings underneath are real.

An idea crystallised while Greg watched the Robbie Williams film Better Man. The portrayal of Williams’s father helped him recognise the character he wanted to write about.

Damien tells much of the story from the outside. Greg then steps forward to sing a section himself, bringing the person behind the song into the performance.

Knowing that makes an already powerful track more affecting.

The backing vocals are extraordinary. Layers from Greg, Steevi, Damien and Julie help build a production full of character, with Leslie-treated guitar textures, Sam’s slide playing and a carefully shaped ending.

Greg explained that the final moments deliberately seem to fall away, reflecting his departure from that chapter of his life.

It is one of the most compelling songs Cats in Space have recorded, and hearing its background brought the emotional weight into sharper focus.

Suit of Armour: finding the courage to be yourself

The title track began in a very different form.

Originally called Fly Away, its early idea was connected to the loss of Greg’s cat. He found it too upsetting to complete, and the music remained unfinished through earlier album periods.

Eventually, another meaning emerged: the desire to remove the emotional armour that can protect us while also keeping us hidden.

Greg linked that idea to his experiences of therapy and wanting to become more fully himself. He then broadened the song so listeners could find their own way into it.

That explains the transformation in the arrangement. Beginning with atmospheric sounds, delicate keyboard textures and a relatively restrained vocal setting, it grows into something triumphant.

The closing section accelerates dramatically. Greg described the image of leaving a battle behind, removing the armour and running towards a different future.

The guitar solos are a highlight. Greg spoke with refreshing honesty about pushing himself to create a part that could stand alongside Sam’s playing. He worked hard on it, and the result combines melody with the urgency the ending needs.

There is also considerable craft in the interlocking guitar textures. Different inversions, octave parts and Nashville-tuned guitar contribute to that shimmering sound.

The title track captures the album’s central movement: acknowledging difficult experiences and finding a way forward.

Analogue Kid: Steevi Bacon steps into the spotlight

If Mister Showbiz reveals Greg’s story, Analogue Kid brings us closer to Steevi Bacon.

Greg spoke warmly about Steevi’s lyrics and their affection for the crackle, hiss and imperfections of an analogue world. Readers of Now Spinning Magazine will understand the emotional territory immediately.

Musically, it is wonderfully theatrical. Piano, pointed keyboard phrases, layered vocals and an expressive bass part give the song personality and movement.

Greg asked Chris to listen to John Deacon’s playing on Queen’s The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke as a reference for the kind of bass character he imagined. The arrangement then creates room for Chris’s part to be heard.

There is another surprise at the end.

Steevi had recorded a guide vocal for the closing passage. Greg felt that its personal quality was exactly what the song needed and encouraged him to sing it on the finished recording.

That is the voice I asked about during our conversation.

Damien supplies the main song’s elaborate vocal layers, while Steevi’s closing contribution gives the ending a different kind of intimacy. It is a lovely example of choosing the voice that belongs to the words.

The Bloodsucker Waltz: an epic years in the making

At more than eight minutes, The Bloodsucker Waltz is the album’s most extended journey.

Greg began developing it years earlier, around the period of Kickstart the Sun. The title and opening material remained with him, but completing the structure proved difficult.

He wanted the sections to belong together and retain their emotional direction throughout.

The subject is compassion: how quickly we can judge people, including those experiencing homelessness, without knowing the circumstances that brought them there.

Greg admitted feeling unusually nervous when he finally presented the song to Steevi. Further work, including changes from Damien to bring more hope into the words, helped it take shape.

The result moves from piano and voice into towering harmonies, dramatic chords, galloping rhythms and an extended guitar passage. Greg’s talk-box playing also appears, part of his affection for those expressive classic rock sounds.

John Miles was an important inspiration, while the twin guitars gave Greg and Sam space to explore their shared love of Thin Lizzy.

Greg identified this as the song with around 120 vocal tracks across the arrangement. The scale is remarkable, but what matters is the continuity of feeling.

I never feel that I am being asked to start listening again when the music changes direction. The story keeps pulling me through.

Even after eight minutes, I could happily stay inside it longer.

Don’t Spare the Horses: disco, rock and twin guitars

Don’t Spare the Horses opens another door.

Here Cats in Space explore their love of 1970s disco and funk, with Chris’s bass, Andy’s clavinet and Greg’s rhythmic guitar helping establish the groove.

Greg was enthusiastic about John Miles’s influence, particularly his ability to bring together rock playing, songwriting and rhythmic sophistication.

Steevi’s drum part also needed the right approach. Greg described how Ian Caple encouraged a more open feel, allowing the other instruments to supply much of the movement.

Then the guitar solos arrive.

Greg and Sam trade phrases before moving into harmony, and it is one of my favourite guitar moments on the album. The combination of rhythmic lightness and those melodic twin leads is irresistible.

The song also underlines an important point Greg made: the arrangement should follow the needs of each song. The band give themselves permission to find a different sound when the music calls for it.

Twenty-Seven: a moving farewell

Twenty-Seven reflects on the musicians associated with the 27 Club.

Once again, Steevi’s lyrics sparked Greg’s musical response quickly. What followed is a moving song built around piano, voice and an arrangement that opens into brass and guitars.

Greg had long wanted to capture the atmosphere of a traditional Salvation Army-style brass band. On this album, he felt that sound finally had the right setting.

Jack Birchwood created the brass parts, giving Greg the colour he had imagined for years.

That sound is essential to the song’s effect. There is something deeply familiar and human about it: a mixture of remembrance, sadness and warmth.

The guitars then carry it towards a larger emotional conclusion. It is a beautiful way to close the vinyl album.

Cathedral and From Time to Time: the CD’s final message

The CD adds Cathedral and From Time to Time.

Greg considered using Cathedral at the beginning of the album. Its ethereal voices and atmosphere would have provided a more familiar Cats in Space entrance, but he ultimately held to the guitar-led opening of Miracle.

Here it leads into a much more intimate conclusion.

From Time to Time was captured as a live studio performance at Salvation, with Greg explaining that the first of two takes provided the foundation. He subsequently overdubbed guitar.

Its message is to reach out when you are struggling.

After the scale and drama of everything before it, that directness is deeply affecting. Greg spoke carefully about the responsibility involved in approaching such sensitive subjects.

For me, it connects with the humanity running through the whole record: recognising vulnerability, offering understanding and reminding somebody that connection remains possible.

The imagination behind the sound—and the sleeve

Throughout our conversation, Greg returned to Ian Caple’s contribution to the recording and mixing.

The huge sound involves months of decisions: layering parts, trying ideas, removing material and finding the spaces that let individual performances speak.

Some guitar textures involve multiple octave and tuning variations. Other passages work because the band strip the arrangement back.

That balance is why I find the production so impressive. There is astonishing detail, but I can still hear the musicians.

Steevi’s contribution extends beyond drums, lyrics and vocals. Greg explained that he spent around a year creating the sleeve artwork, drawing digitally by hand.

The imagery reflects the world of the title track and rewards time spent looking closely. For those of us who value the complete physical album, that connection between the music and its presentation matters.

Why I want this album to reach people

Greg made clear how much the band have invested in Suit of Armour—financially, creatively and emotionally.

His frustration about the difficulty of reaching larger audiences was evident. So was his pride in what the musicians have achieved.

My enthusiasm comes from listening. This album brings me joy. The imagination, performances, harmonies and storytelling make me want to return to it, and our conversation has only deepened that connection.

If you already love Cats in Space, there is a great deal here to treasure. If you have yet to discover them, this is a wonderful place to begin.

Suit of Armour is released on 6 November 2026 on CD and vinyl. The album launch shows take place at hmv Empire, Coventry, on 5 November, and The Corn Exchange, Newport, on 6 November. Greg also discussed a wider UK tour planned for spring 2027.

Visit the official Cats in Space website for music and live information, and the official webstore for merchandise and band exclusives.

Greg also hinted during our interview at an additional, limited webstore release, with details still to be announced at the time of recording.

Buy the album if it connects with you. Go to a show. Share a song with somebody who might love it.

This is music I want more people to hear.

Music is the healer and the doctor.

Thank ypu for all your support

Phil