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PODCAST

The Corona Diaries

Lead singer of Marillion, father, hippy, punk, soul singer, progressive rockstar (wtf!), defender of the faith, voice of reason in a world gone crazy... ...and now podcaster. Join me as I talk about my life and what is rambling around in my head. Along the way I will focus on some of the stories that have shaped my career and my life, as well as reading from my diaries and offering my take on the wider world. Stay safe, h P.S I began this journey just as CoVid-19 took hold and changed our

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All Episodes

57:12

Chapter 227. Have we got a video?

The Corona Diaries ·

2025/01/20

Apologies in advance for the first 5-10 minutes of this episode of TCD (sorry, Lucy) as Ant faffed around trying to get his microphone to send a signal to his recording software. We kept it in because it's a little insight into the technical challenges that men of a certain age often face.And on that subject I did finally manage to send Ant those two pictures I promised, only took three days...Anyway onto to the business in hand, and today we return to the subject of Marillion Promo Vids as we round

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01:04:44

Chapter 226. Who do we think we are

The Corona Diaries ·

2025/01/06

Well hello, thanks for coming...it really is lovely to see you!Ant thought it might be nice to begin 2025 (HNY by the way, I hope you had a good 'un) with a bit of a pop quiz, based around what I can actually remember about my own podcast.Clearly he thought this would be hilarious, particularly as the only bit of a clue I was allowed was the chapter title and the date it was published. And because the whole world seems to be doing 2024 review-type stuff at the moment, we started with the first

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56:33

Chapter 225. O Little Town of Bethlehem

The Corona Diaries ·

2024/12/16

If everything has gone to plan, and you are a Purple, then I am currently in East Sussex, preparing for the second of my Christmas h Natural affairs at Trading Boundaries. Let me tell you that last night was amazing, and I’ll try to improve on it tonight.If everything has gone to plan, and you are listening to this upon general release, then Trading Boundaries was an absolute blast and to quote our Sue 'we all had a lovely time'.Anyway back to today and what we have for you is a bit of chat about

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58:44

Chapter 224. Angel wings on the Westway

The Corona Diaries ·

2024/12/02

We are going back to '95 today as we continue on the promo-video chat, and get deep into the making of the Beautiful video. This if course is quite opportune, as most of these vids have finally been uploaded to the Marillion YouTube channel. Which means you can watch it right now by clicking here and then be slightly prepared for what is to come.Not much more you need to know before diving in, which is good because I am already behind on working up tunes for the Christmas shows, and writing out

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01:00:44

Chapter 223. Kicking back, like a red-arsed fly.

The Corona Diaries ·

2024/11/18

If you are a purple patron of TCD (sorry Lucy) then you will have heard some of this before, because we had a chat about the Brave movie (and working with Richard Stanley) in a recent Q&A.Well today we build on that conversation, as we have arrived at that point in our loose 'promo-video-reminiscences' timeline.And because of that slight crossover, now would be a good time to remind you that becoming a supporting patron of the podcast brings with it many benefits. Apart from being part of the

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58:56

Chapter 222. Nearly blown away by Howard’s Chopper

The Corona Diaries ·

2024/11/04

This week’s episode of TCD (sorry Lucy) is one of those where we really benefit from having a clever and creative voice in the room.You may recall that we have been talking about the Marillion promo vids on a kind of ad-hoc basis, and that the last time we touched on that topic we talked about the singles from Holidays. That took us to the legendary Howard Greenhalgh, a bit of a creative trailblazer and all round top bloke.Fast forward a couple of weeks and following a couple of speculative messages

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51:55

Chapter 221. I need you to give me more moody...

The Corona Diaries ·

2024/10/21

Greetings from NYC….I have to say that this week has gone by in a a bit of a blur. Indeed, it seems a long time since I was strapped to the chair, recording this week’s TCD (sorry, Lucy) pondering what I still had left to do, before I could set-off to board a plane and cross the Atlantic.Certainly, I wasn’t expecting Ant to take me back to shooting the promo videos for Holidays in Eden, or to be reminiscing about working with the legendary director Howard Greenhalgh.He was quite a character, with a

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01:03:33

Chapter 220. Beam me up, Charlie

The Corona Diaries ·

2024/10/07

Here we go then, the second half of my Seasons End musings, based on having listened to the album again for the first time in ages.Of course since we last spoke it has tipped past its 35th Anniversary, which is a statement that has the power to stop you dead in your tracks, particularly if it feels like last year.Anyway we got as far as Holloway Girl on TCD #219 (sorry Lucy) so today we start with Berlin, and work our way through the latter stages of the album. And tbh there isn't much else to say

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51:33

Chapter 219. Like an aural snowstorm

The Corona Diaries ·

2024/09/23

Who says you can’t teach on old dog new tricks, well to be fair lots of people - including me as it goes - but you know what I mean.So for this episode of TCD (sorry Lucy) we are having a crack at something a bit different, based around an idea that Ant had. I happened to mention a few weeks ago that I rarely listen back to the Marillion albums and haven’t done for quite a while. Consequently my experience of our back catalogue tends to be in rehearsal and on stage.Anyway he suggested that I sit

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01:03:14

Chapter 218. Everyone deserves a hat with a feather

The Corona Diaries ·

2024/09/09

The first TCD of September (sorry Lucy) and we are starting with what could be loosely called ‘a plan’.Following some imaginative intervention from the Purples, we have a rich vein of chat suggestions to mine over the coming weeks, starting with a belter from Roger Harvey.But I ain’t going to spoil the surprise, so you will just have to listen for the details - and of course we will also be requiring you all to help provide the clarifications when the timeline gets a little hazy.Love’n’linenhTCD

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01:04:44

Chapter 217. Life is a bowl of shrubbery

The Corona Diaries ·

2024/08/26

It’s literally two years since we had an episode quite like this one. And in an unusual foray into accuracy I can give you the exact details, because it was Chapter 122The reason I know this is because that week Ant was on holiday in Catalonia, and as such he recorded his half of the conversation in a lively cafe in Platja d’Aro.And, literally just for the hell of it, he is back in the same spot - only this time it was a hotel reception. The good news is that the Wi-Fi was considerably better, so

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53:27

Chapter 216. Rescued from a lifetime of tweed

The Corona Diaries ·

2024/08/12

Big shout out to Roger Harvey, who in a round-about way has filled the middle of the TCD doughnut this week. Confused? Well let me explain..As you know I read a bit of something in the middle of each week's pod. Since I got through all of The Invisible Man diaries, I have been rooting around the bottom of the digital drawer looking for interesting (and previously unread) stuff to include. And, as most of you are aware I tend to do this a bit 'on the hoof' each week.Anyway this week I had to message

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47:23

Chapter 215. For drama is my shadow

The Corona Diaries ·

2024/07/29

It struck me as I was listening to chapter 215 that one of the quirks of recording TCD (sorry Lucy) is that the process is often interrupted by what has gone before. It isn't exactly a 'ghost in the machine' because it is all very explainable, and indeed predictable.Let me try and enlighten you. The way I record my half of the conversation involves overdubbing onto a file that contains snippets of previous recordings; you know the kind of thing, old diary readings, the musical idents we use to

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55:48

Chapter 214. Two cappuccinos and a slice of camp

The Corona Diaries ·

2024/07/15

I was minded on listening back that we spend years fine-tuning our quirks, in fact I am not convinced it's a process we ever actually get to the end of.But these are the things that define who we are. So to know me is to know both my caffeine routine and how I close an overhead locker when I am on a plane.So I say 'embrace all quirks without fear or self consciousness' and respect and cherish those of the people that you encounter along the wayBecause life for me often involves an imaginary

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56:55

Chapter 213. Something about Croissants

The Corona Diaries ·

2024/07/01

This week's TCD (sorry Lucy) reminds me of when you take a drive to somewhere you travel to often. Not a quick-round-the-corner to the shop kind of trip, more a journey that you know well but maybe takes an hour to two.Sometimes you arrive at such a destination, not really remembering exactly how you got there. You know you have been in the car for a couple of hours, and that you have covered 103 miles but as to the specifics of the journey, well that kind of went by in a blur.So when I came to edit

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01:11:22

Chapter 212. Gums and misery

The Corona Diaries ·

2024/06/17

It’s the end of an era, sort of.Back on the 27th April, 2020 the first episode proper of TCD (sorry, Lucy) was published and we have been chucking them out every week for well over four years.But with 212 that streak comes to an end, because as of next week we are changing our cadence.I don’t think either of us expected to still be doing this after 50 episodes, let alone 200, and of course life has moved on bringing more pressure on diaries and the time available to keep the content coming. And

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51:11

Chapter 211. Out of this world

The Corona Diaries ·

2024/06/10

Apologies for missing last week (though very soon you will know why) This one was a little tough in prospect but alright once we got going.It sounds a bit different owing to Ant not being able to get his tech to work (post Spanish-holibobs) and having to use the USB mic instead of the flash one he normally uses. Having said all that, in many ways it is an archetypal episode of TCD - bawdy seaside postcards, eccentric village-folk and me with one leg in a fantasy-world, and the other one standing on

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01:02:17

Chapter 210. Five, six, seven, eight.

The Corona Diaries ·

2024/05/27

Well it's been a bit of a palaver this week, trying to get TCD (sorry, Lucy) ready for the outside world. The recording seemed to go well, but when I was putting it together it became apparent that Ant had forgotten his trademark 'and we're back' after the diary reading, so I had to crowbar one in from a previous episode. Actually on that point, the first person who can correctly identify which of the previous 209 episodes it came from can have a bag of Starmix.So I got around that little faux-pas,

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01:05:55

Chapter 209. Sub Brownian Motion

The Corona Diaries ·

2024/05/20

I am properly losing track of what I am reading every week in the diary section.Even since we finished Volume II of The Invisible Man (1998-2014) I have been scrabbling around on my hands and knees (figuratively speaking of course) under the lid of my MacBook trying to locate odd bits of stuff to read out.And because I keep stumbling on stuff, we have lost all sense of chronology in terms of what we have included and what can still be used. Which is why I sent Ant an email on Wednesday and asked him

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49:32

Chapter 208. Utter Fidelity

The Corona Diaries ·

2024/05/13

We don't very often about the technical side of producing The Corona Diaries (see what I did there Lucy) mainly because we don't want to be seen to be blowing our collective trumpet, and partly because it isn't that interesting. But it is slightly relevant this week so here we go.Most weeks, usually on a Tuesday, Ant sets up a Zoom call and we congregate - rarely on time, and never before ten - to ease ourselves into the process. In short order we hit the record button, and away we go, but because

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