The Corona Diaries
Lead singer of Marillion, Steve Hogarth, shares his thoughts on life, his career, and the world during the COVID-19 pandemic. He reads from his diaries and offers his perspective as a musician and father.
Episodes
Chapter 261. I merely popped out for a sandwich
The first question that most people ask when I reveal I have recorded nearly 500 episodes of this podcast is "surely you must have run out of things to talk about by now?" Well this week's TCD (...sorry Lucy) is a perfect example of how we have got to 261 chapters and a similar number of bonus episodes.Firstly we can get half a podcast out of literally anything, the example for today is me making
Chapter 260. I scream pre-order
Now you might be wondering why this chapter of TCD (...sorry Lucy) has turned up a little bit early, because let's be honest we don't have a reputation for being this on the ball.It kind of revolves around my birthday (today), the fact it is a significant one (three score and ten) and the upcoming special edition releases of Ice Cream Genius.And that is all I am going to say at this point in proce
Chapter 259. Egg-Fifteen
In a change to the normal way of working it is Ant here, providing you with the episode notes for the latest chapter of TCD (...sorry Lucy).What that does mean is I can take this opportunity to put the podcast title into some form of context, and offer up a grovelling apology to my co-host.Through the course of the pod you are going to get an explanation as to the specifics, but the fact is I was
Chapter 258. The well oiled machine
You don't have to have been following TCD (...sorry Lucy) that intently to know that the beat combo is in the middle of writing and recording a new album.Now I have been around this world for a very long time, and I am here to tell you that I don't think it really matters who the artist or band is, there isn't a particular definition of normal for this process. That said, the Marillion way is prob
Chapter 257. CPD for the Prog Community
It’s all about personal growth this week as Ant and yours truly open ourselves up to the process of re-evaluation.It all started a few weeks ago when we happened to mention, quite casually as it transpired, that neither of us were moved by the music of Rush.As it turned out a goodly number of the purple community were a little vexed by this admission. So we decided that maybe we should take some t
Chapter 256. Adrian and the Magic Hour
So…outside through the open sliding door is the calm azure Caribbean and above, a wide open blue sky, as the tap tap on my cabin door - exactly on time - summons me to welcome in a genius, a legend and someone fast-becoming a “goofball-brother”. It takes one to know one (a goofball I mean…).Now I could bang on for hours about what he has achieved, his extraordinary playing, or the records he sprin
Chapter 255. The Great Milk Stand-Off
Before we start I need to draw your attention to something. If you have been listening for a while you know that TCD has never shied away from the odd expletive or two. However today's chapter is a little more littered than usual, and I wanted to give you ample warning, and beg forgiveness from Christine.There are a couple of reasons for this, but the most obvious is that drink had been (and was c
Chapter 254. Banging on about Fablon
Now, even by our standards this is a little confusing.Last week we sat down to record a patron-only Q&A, and we weren't 100% successful. We did manage to record, and we did end-up with a piece of purple content, but we didn't get around to actually answering any of your questions.This week we should have been recording a non-patron episode, and one that did include a guest contributor. We did
Chapter 253. And then there were three
I seemed to recall that we said at some point that we would try and get a few more guests on TCD (...sorry Lucy), it could have been as a result of passing the 250 mark or it might even have been a sort of NY resolution.Now clearly anything that either of us states as an intention (or even a hard-and-fast truth) should be taken under advisement, but in this case it is playing out as described. Say
Chapter 252. Father and (other) Son
Buses.You wait 251 episodes to get one of my boys on the pod, and just like that you get the other one.Actually it was all a bit odd this week, Ant is away in California so we have been juggling and crowbarring, just to find a suitable moment to sync the time zones and press record. And yes before you ask, crowbarring is a word.Anyway not wanting to be the odd brother out, Nial was able to join us
Chapter 251. Father and Son
I don't know if it is because we are in a new year (Happy 2026 btw) or because it feels a while since the 250th, but this episode feels like a new start, maybe a do-over, or even a hard reset.(of course all of that is merely a figure of speech, and for those of you that worry about these things I am not currently trying to press a little button on the base with an unfolded paper clip).Anyway Ant a
Chapter 250. Intensive Care
It's not every week that you get all five members of the beat-combo on the same episode of a podcast (in fact it is possible that we were popping the 'ol podcast cherry, collectively speaking). But then it isn't every week that we record the 250th episode of TCD!!It made for an eventful recording process, and indeed a game of two halves, as we huddled around a single microphone in my hotel room in
Chapter 249. Let's get ready to ramble
I had a rare old time in Poland last week, in fact it may well be the best h natural show I have played there. Despite a little apprehension on my part, it all went swimmingly, as you are about to hear as we discuss the gig and the set-list in some detail.Of course the next few weeks are going to blur a bit, what with the upcoming Marillion Weekend in Utrecht, and then the run of solo shows that (
Chapter 248. What the bloody hell is this...
There are so many reasons why we don't do a video version of TCD (...sorry Lucy) but we got the sense that many of you didn't believe us.So as Ant was round at ours anyway, and as Vibes was on hand to assist with production duties, we decided to tiptoe out 'till our feet only just reached the floor.What that means is that you get a few mins of audio-only, before we will redirect you to the YT link
Chapter 247. We’re like the United Nations.
It’s a full on chapter of TCD this week (….sorry Lucy) with all the bells and whistles that are now synonymous with our artform.Firstly we have a guest. The inimitable Lucy J. joins us, bringing with her that wonderful frisson, that you only get when a special personality has rocked up in your own backyard. And of course when Lucy J. is in the house, we get some insider goss, and this time it's al
Chapter 246. Nor'easter
It's all got a bit of a 'rockumentary' kind of a vibe this time, as I take you behind the curtain at the ProgStock festival in Noo JoizeeRecorded from my hotel room overlooking Manhattan, on the morning after the night before, and with me not altogether compos mentis. So in amongst the normal TCD bants, we talked about the gig a bit, as well as the details of a fab few days grooving around NY &
Chapter 245. RIP Colin
Listening back to this weeks chat, and it is fairly obvious that if you have never been to Cornwall, or holidayed in the UK for that matter, then a lot of the references might seem a bit bewildering. I am not sure it is possible to explain in a succinct enough fashion for the purpose of these notes so lets try a few images...This is a fairly typical example of static caravans on a UK holiday parkT
Chapter 244. Abracadaver!
There are certain things in life that are absolutes.For a start - the fastest way to find a stray piece of lego is to walk across the floor in stockinged feet, and you will find it in an instant (and with more than a modicum of extreme pain). Toast always falls butter side down, and if it is a pair of sunglasses or a laptop charger I am going to misplace it.The TCD absolute (...sorry Lucy), is tha
Chapter 243. The great vinegar paradox
I happened to listen to the opening credits today, and this week's chapter is certainly a bit random, and a bit irreverent.What it really needs to accompany it is one of those maps that you get on travel programs, that indicate the route taken as the story unfolds. You know the kind of thing I mean, I have the one from Antiques Road Trip in mind but numerous other examples are available.You start
Chapter 242. Change of band, change of trousers. Obvs.
Let’s start with the plaudits. High fives, if not big tens are due to John Sturm and Seamus Colgan for being the purple folk who said that we needed more chat about the Europeans.Tim Glasswell deserves the freedom of Luton for all the work he has put into the Rainbow Room website, which is dedicated to all things How We Live and Europeans.And next we move to whatever the opposite of plaudits is…(?
Chapter 241. We managed to rescue the Moon fact.
It’s a case of life imitating art this week.It’s a minor bloody miracle you are actually listening to this at all because Ant had one of those head in hand moments whilst trying to download the episode from the Zoom recorder, and managed instead to format the SD card and delete everything we had .Fortunately he managed to rescue one half of the recording using some whizzy software that was able to
Chapter 240. All creamed up!
It’s a gentle and meandering affair for this chapter of TCD (…sorry Lucy) which is podcast code for not really planned, and certainly not thought through.Saying that, the vibe is about right for a chat that takes place at the seaside and touches on fence repair, cricket and Susie Dent.The thing I can’t forget is to mention the chaps in the boat, who are called Adam, David, Jack and Sam and you can
Chapter 239. A Master of Timing
For this week's episode of TCD (...sorry Lucy) we have been remembering Luis.So much of what Luis did had a touch of the mystical about it, he sprinkled musical magic wherever he went, and helped music transcend with just the shake of his tambourine. Of course that goes a long way to explaining his career, and the legacy he leaves behind, but it doesn't explain the multiple ways he has touched the
Chapter 238. This is the one I shoot with...
Of the things that fly-in-and out of this week’s TCD (….sorry Lucy) Gene Wilder was already lodged well and truly at the front of the ol’ synapses. Having finished my evening in Berlin with him (and Anthony having a similar soft-spot), perhaps it wasn’t too much of a surprise that he found his way into the chat.Combining the letters D, M and T with the number 8 however, wouldn’t have even been a f
Chapter 237. Me and my fizzy mind
Well it feels like quite a while since we were here last… how have you been?What with the Leicester Weekend, and then dashing off on holiday I can't really remember where we had got up to, not that it really matters because this week was always going to be a bit of a catch-up and reset as far as TCD goes (...sorry Lucy).What I can tell you is that Lionel Plain, who is one of the Purple folk, came
Chapter 236. Is it a bird, is it a plane.
There is a school of thought that TCD (...sorry Lucy) is just like listening to two blokes chatting in a pub, and there is indeed a lot in that observation that has merit.It would certainly go a long way to explain the slightly juvenile humour, the occasional grumpy chunter and the fact we often giggle uncontrollably and sound a bit pissed.And, as is the case with most good pub conversations, ever
Chapter 235. Seriously though, who is Lucy J?
There is a paradox at the heart of this weeks episode of The Corona Diaries (see what I did there…) and it is this.Getting Lucy Jordache on the zoom call was easy, she was more than up for a repeat appearance on the pod. Getting her to actually talk about herself and her life, was a darn sight more tricky. But we are nothing if not determined (creatives code for just bloody nosey) and between the
Chapter 234. A clamour for Reactor One
We have hit a bit of a milestone, and it is sort of crept up on us. Would you believe it has been five years (and a few days) since we announced the upcoming launch of The Corona Diaries, and pretty much five years to the day that the first chapter (This Strange Podcast) was offered up for your consumption.And haven't we been through some crazy stuff; in fact haven't we helped each other through s
Chapter 233. We can't find the tell-tale damp patches.
I bet you never thought we would remember to pick up the Holidays in Eden chat. You know, the one we started before the first weekend at PZ. Well we did and we have.Of course it’s not without the usual TCD (…sorry Lucy) eccentricities. I was post-pub, post-airing cupboard and Ant was in a hotel library (who knew) that had more than a whiff of the Shining about it.But we did manage to get through t
Chapter 232. If you make it as far as the camel, you have done well.
I am not really sure how to describe this episode of TCD (...sorry, Lucy). If it helps to set the scene then you might want to consider the following;I am/was in Montreal at the time of recording, and Ant was ensconced in his villains lair, in Heckmondwike. The wi-fi was more than a bit iffy, in fact for the first five minutes so it was looking like a bit of a non-starter.I hadn't put much thought
Chapter 231. Whatever happened to the Pinder twins?
Here we go then, an episode recorded over the kitchen table at Ant's chalet in PZ.Nothing too complicated in the notes because we are up against it for time, needless to say there are a few Marillion Weekend night one spoilers in here, so please consider swerving this one for the time being if you don't want that kind of intel.Right I have to dash, stuff to do, gin to drink.Love'n'four doors down.
Chapter 230. Are there any more famous Butlers per chance?
Would you believe it’s been 34 years since we wrote and recorded the Holidays in Eden album…Yes of course you can, because you and I both know that a whole heap of stuff had happened since then. But still, 34 years, it does make you stop and think.Which is of course what I did, when I listened back to it the other day. So for this chapter of TCD (…sorry Lucy) we ar going to talk about side one of
Chapter 229. It's a f*cking paperweight
For your discerning palette.Appetiser:A fact-free riff on the history of the Rolling Stones, complete with rugs, confectionary and transfusions.Entree: Quite an interesting chat about Holidays in Eden and its significance in terms of both the back catalogue, and the evolution of our work. Not the conversation we set to have, in true TCD style (sorry Lucy), but worth a listen.Dessert:A selecti
Chapter 228. JPEGs and jet-lag.
As we approach the five year anniversary of the podcast (and who would have thunk that would have been a thing) I never thought I would have been reading a recipe out loud. But after a bit of kerfuffle at Ant's end, I received the JPEGs required to make it possible.There is of course good reason, and it's a little complicated, but it involves fish finger apathy and me forgetting to listen to Holid
Chapter 227. Have we got a video?
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...Any
Chapter 226. Who do we think we are
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
Chapter 225. O Little Town of Bethlehem
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 ou
Chapter 224. Angel wings on the Westway
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, whi
Chapter 223. Kicking back, like a red-arsed fly.
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 b
Chapter 222. Nearly blown away by Howard’s Chopper
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 trailblaz
Chapter 221. I need you to give me more moody...
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 r
Chapter 220. Beam me up, Charlie
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
Chapter 219. Like an aural snowstorm
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 e
Chapter 218. Everyone deserves a hat with a feather
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 requir
Chapter 217. Life is a bowl of shrubbery
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 -
Chapter 216. Rescued from a lifetime of tweed
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
Chapter 215. For drama is my shadow
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
Chapter 214. Two cappuccinos and a slice of camp
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 thos
Chapter 213. Something about Croissants
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
Chapter 212. Gums and misery
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 l
Chapter 211. Out of this world
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
Chapter 210. Five, six, seven, eight.
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
Chapter 209. Sub Brownian Motion
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
Chapter 208. Utter Fidelity
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
Chapter 207. The 5 Star Omelette Station
It doesn’t really matter which of the many metaphors you choose, win or lose, the ups and the downs, the peaks or the troughs. The fact is that when we started this run of AHBID themed episodes we kinda hoped by roping in members of the band we would be able to provide a broader collective on the making of that particular record.Alas it hasn’t really worked out that way, so although we have manage
The purists soak their beans overnight
There is something about being in a room (or indeed on a Zoom call) with Trousers that is one of life's great pleasures. Let me clarify that, because it is all about the capitalisation. Being in a room with trousers is a fairly mundane occurrence for many of us, but being in a room with Trousers is a joy.The fact is, he is really funny. Mike Hunter thinks so, Ant thinks so, and I am sure after lis
Chapter 205. Hanging out with a fellow cabbage
Well we have only gone and ruddy well done it...It might have evolved slowly as an idea, but you can't say that we haven't upped our game a little and actually delivered. Assuming that you are up-to-date with your TCD listening (sorry Lucy) you will know that instead of recoding a load of episodes about FEAR (which as it turns out we have already done...) we are moving onto some chat about AHBID.A
Episode 204. It’s either a bearskin or really big hair.
It runs out the best way to throw your fellow podcast host off his axis, is to turn up to his house and proclaim “I’m here” with outstretched hands.After a couple of hundred of these over Zoom, there are consequences in jumping in the car and heading up to Heckmondwike for a face-to-face. Firstly there is no obvious improvement in the depth or quality of the content, and all that happened is that,
Chapter 203. The nutter from Nantes
What can I tell you about this this week's TCD (sorry Lucy)...Well if it is randomness you are after, then we have it in the kind of quantity that would require a sturdy barrow to transport it about the place. In fact we start in a random place and then we proceed to meander, seemingly unchecked by social convention or common decency.Which is why we go from football, to snooker, to Warren Close, t
Chapter 202. An episode with a lovely ring.
The story of TCD this week (sorry Lucy) has an awful lot to do with two questions and one piece of re-direction.The first question, and let me tell you neither Ant or myself were able to proffer any kind of definitive answer ourselves, is whether or not a number can be classified as a palindrome. The second question is also a recognition that something Ant said may well be wrong. He asserted that
Chapter 201. I'm mellower, but it is all relative...
There is most definitely a sense of meander about this week’s TCD (sorry Lucy).After all the excitement of Cruise to the Edge, I needed a little bit of a reset so Ant took pity and let me empty my head of the all things that had made an impression over the course of the trip, without worrying about whether they were in order, were said more than once, or indeed made sense.The only caveat to that i
Chapter 200. Did I mention I was Vegan…?
A little late (to be fair, we did warn you it would be) but we actually made it to the big number.Three years, 10 months and 12 days ago the first episode proper of TCD (sorry, Lucy) was published and there probably isn’t a one of us that would have thought we would be here, 1414 days later, offering up a bi-centennial chapter whilst aboard a boat.And in all honesty this one was about as wacky as
Chapter 199. The Karma Scale
Believe it or not #199 was actually quite a tricky one to pitch, because it is difficult to focus on the job in hand when you know that an episode with a significant number is just around the corner.Of course TCD (sorry Lucy) has a secret weapon that can be deployed in just these circumstances, and so we pressed the big red button marked ‘slipshod’ and powered on through.And even when we are being
Chapter 198. It isn't just gold, it's gold-plated gold.
As you would expect after a couple of weeks of content-heavy TCD (sorry Lucy, and big tens to Captain Hunter) we regress to a more predictable episode complete with a heavy dose of wheezy laughs and surreal notions.The reading this week is an almost forgotten recollection of my 100th gig, somewhere back in the hazy days of Seasons End in a disco. Thanks to Roger H for the inspiration (and the copy
Chapter 197. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking.
As you can expect Ant and I were very pleased when the face of Captain Hunter appeared on the Zoom screen for the recording of this week's TCD (sorry, Lucy).He had said he was happy to come back and talk a little bit more about 'With Friends' and being the fine upstanding fellow that he is, he was as good as his word. Of course that DID mean we moved onto the rather more delicate subject of the pa
Episode 196. If it were up to me, Marillion would be more like Disney
There are so many positives about having Mike Hunter joining us on TCD (sorry Lucy) and just one slight downside.The positives are so obvious that they almost write themselves, I mean let's start with sheer bloody congnisance. It was such a joy after three previous attempts (and numerous aborted run-ups) to actually put some proper narrative and understanding around the 'With Friends' project.Mik
Chapter 195. Has it run its course Lucy?
On behalf of Anthony and myself, I want to begin by issuing a disclaimer about this week's episode of TCD (sorry Lucy).You could be forgiven for assuming such a decision could be down to a more than excessive use of bad language, or an inadvertent turn of phrase that in hindsight was a little unfair or unkind. Or maybe even that the accuracy of the material contained within was so far wide of the
Chapter 194. Dawn in California, Joe sends hugs
Ant’s in L.A.Jet-lag, gin and an eight hour time lag what could possibly go wrong?Actually against all the odds (and yes I appreciate that most of the odds we face at TCD are self-inflicted) we have managed to get an episode together this week.It’s very much a free-wheelin’ west coast vibe, that touches on some of the stuff we have been talking about recently as well as lifting the lid on one of t
Chapter 193. And some people know me as Papa
With last week's ill-health safely in the rear view mirror, we were back up to what passes for normal in the curious world of TCD.If you have been listening for the past few months you will be familiar with the fact that we take to the recording process, the way some people take to using a treadmill, and what I mean by that is that we take 5-10 minutes to get up to speed. So after focussing on the
Chapter 192. In amongst the football boots and the dog food.
I haven't been well. What's more I haven't been well and I am going to tell you about it. Which means there is going to be some fairly detailed description of my symptoms, and you might want to take that into account if you are sensitive to matters around vomit. Whilst I am happy to warn you, I make no apology for its inclusion. What can I say, I am someone that overshares.Anyway it knocked me ba
Chapter 191. Third drawer on the left in the laptop
The vibe of #191 is very much around easing into the new year gently. I am not sure how the return to work has been for you, but for Ant & myself it felt like we needed a little bit of a soft nudge into 2024. So today is somewhat chatty and loose - but at least you get to find out what I have been up to over Christmas.On the subject of what I have been up to, if you have tickets (or plans to b
Chapter 190. Purple & Festive
We had a Livestream and it was bloody lovely. All the Purple folk were invited and Ant managed to persuade Film-Maker extraordinaire Tim Sidwell and Manager extraordinaire Lucy Jordache to join us for a pre-Christmas natter.And because it all went off so well we decided as a special treat for Christmas Day we would take the highlights, stick holly in the top and serve them up warm with lashings of
Chapter 189. Puddings and Hard Liquor
What a strange thing time is…Is it linear or is it, as Doctor Who suggested, a little bit more sort of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey.Let me explain…When we recorded this on Monday I had already been to Liverpool, but unless you had been there, you won't have heard about it yet.I hadn’t been on a Zoom call with a group of purples at that stage, but now I have, and although you haven’t heard that eithe
Chapter 188. Fishing for Peas
We have hit two milestones with this week’s episode of TCD (sorry Lucy)...1. We managed the longest pre-title ramble in the history of the podcast. A full 25+ minutes to set ourselves before we were able to actually start the episode proper. No doubt we will best it in the future but for now our ability to waffle for that long is either impressive or not depending on your point of view. I have a
Chapter 187. Kevlar-coated falsetto
We've been dealing with stuff this week on TCD (sorry, Lucy) you know the kind of thing, tying up loose ends, throwing a few ideas about and coming up with a plan to secure me a personalised registration plate.Literally, just your average Tuesday.The Tour Before Christmas finished at the weekend, and as both Ant & I had both been in Camden for the tour finale, that gave us the chance to have a
Chapter 186. Whose idea was it to put a lawyer on the tour-bus...?
Coming to you from Utrecht, and with a guest.In reality that is all you need to know about #186 before you press play, because the rest is going to be coming at you thick and fast. The one thing I will say is that Ant (by his own admission) got a bit carried away this week and so I hardly got a word in edgeways. Fortunately our guest did, so whilst there isn't as much of me as normal, there is ple
Chapter 185. Geriatric at the Genius Bar
It is fair to say that Ant took one look at me this week and took pity. I must have looked a little more world-weary than normal because, in an instant, he abandoned any hope of a meaningful conversation about Friends from the Orchestra (for that had been the intention). Instead he let me ramble a bit, and as is often the case, as we dropped the needle into an alternative groove we discovered a wh
Chapter 184. Surrounded by Ninjas
It's very easy to forget how special the people are that float in and out of your orbit, especially the ones that you rub up against the most often. The reason I mention it, is because a couple of prime examples cropped up in conversation this week, and it reminded me to doff my cap in the direction of all the ninjas in my life.Other than that the chat is suitably free-flowing this week. We touch
Chapter 183. Handle with Care
So before you point it out, I am aware that we have talked about the RAH gig a number of times on TCD (sorry, Lucy).However I think we can all agree that the footage captured on the night was pretty bloody special. So when you have the man behind the plan, on the pod, the very least you can do is ask him about it.Which is what we did.Meanwhile, after more trails than Yosemite, the diary does final
Chapter 182. Lovely and brilliant in equal measure.
We have been alluding to the fact that we would be talking to Tim at some point soon for quite a while now, months in fact, and this week we actually do. The Tim in question is of course Tim Sidwell.For those of you who don't know Tim (or what he actually does) then prepare to be informed, amazed and charmed. For those of you who do, look forward to an hour in his company, for as you know already,
