Prog & Progeny

Epizode

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  Script for a Jester's Tear, Part 2 12.08.2026 48min

  We wrap up our two-parter on Marillion's 1983 debut, moving from the songs the band left behind to the reasons they did. Also, the gear and the studio decisions that shaped how the record sounds, where Fish was drawing his lyrics from, and what it's like to hear your first album again 40+ years on.Links: The Web trumpet interpretation by Gil Pinatel that we discussed in this episode can be heard here https://youtu.be/LDW5K4Wx8bc?is=2Gb5JlemgdmCcqMu
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  Mini Episode: Pompeii and Sugar Mice (in the rain) 05.08.2026 13min

  A short catch-up episode. Mark and Tallulah discuss their Pompeii experience — the choir, the pre-show keyboard crisis, playing "Sugar Mice" in the rain — plus podcast meetups, the UK tour and more...
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  Sticking To The Script 22.07.2026 1h 3min

  Mark and Tallulah deep dive into Script For A Jester's Tear, Marillion's 1983 debut — six songs, forty-six minutes, more chaos than the record lets on. Razor-blade multi-track edits, £1,000 for Trevor McDonald was too much, a secret backwards message meant only for Kayleigh, and stories behind Mark Wilkinson's cover art. Plus: plague pits, a stolen Small Faces melody, and the bass fluff that made the final mix.He Knows you Know early demo - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8l507pRZEz4
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  The Final Chapter: Cement Mixer Blues 08.07.2026 1h 7min

  Mark joins Tallulah from backstage in Bonn as Marillion's German tour begins with the live debut of "Ribbons and Lace." The book's final chapter covers the story behind "Gaza," the Frankfurt cement mixer accident, sudden hearing loss, marathon mishaps, a famous F1 fan, and a Nick Cave encounter.
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  Update 02.07.2026 4min

  A little pre-tour update...
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  David Stopps & Marillion — The Friars Aylesbury Story 24.06.2026 50min

  Mark and Tallulah are joined by David Stopps, the promoter behind Friars Aylesbury, which he founded in 1969 and has run for 56 years. David recalls the club's earliest nights — including King Crimson and Genesis — managing Marillion for 5 short weeks, managing Howard Jones, and the Kickstarter behind Aylesbury's David Bowie "Earthly Messenger" statue. Plus Marillion's hometown return on 21 September.Links:How to make a Living from Music - David StoppsDavid Bowie "Earthly Messenger" statue, AylesburyFriars AylesburyStagehand (the road-crew charity David fundraised for during Covid)
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  Unknown Unknowns: Guy Vickers on Lawsuits, Lyrics and Marathon 09.06.2026 45min

  Mark and Tallulah are joined by Guy Vickers — barrister by day, musician and lyricist by night — the man behind the lyrics on Mark Kelly's Marathon and the legal brain behind Marillion's battle with EMI.00:25 — Introducing Guy: weekend warrior, full-time barrister03:13 — How Pete's dinner introduction kicked off the EMI streaming dispute06:03 — The dissolved companies crisis: six months to save the pre-'96 royalties10:05 — Pitching the box sets to EMI, and Fish's pub reunion proposal13:27 — Marathon begins: number stations, spies and lyrics as relationship code19:30 — The Anthropocene concept and what makes a human human21:02 — Writing Amelia and 2051: Earhart, Kubrick, Clarke and Stephen Hawking23:00 — Finding Ollie and hearing Amelia sung for the first time in New Orleans29:15 — Why "Marathon"? The Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow logic34:07 — The lost song about plagiarism (and Led Zeppelin's borrowed blues)39:00 — Why Amelia crashed: Morse code, blind spots and unknown unknowns43:47 — Wingsuits, risk and how you'd want to go out
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  The Queen Nearly Got Our Royalties 26.05.2026 1h 2min

  This week we dive into Mark's years on the FAC and PPL boards, fighting for artists' rights while Marillion were being short-changed by their old EMI deal. The lawsuit that followed and the after-the-event insurance gambit, the sleepless night when EMI claimed Marillion had no legal standing because Marillion Limited had been dissolved! Plus the Portugal writing session that ended in a tactless row with H over a lyric, and the six-month silence that followed.
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  How We Learnt to Admit When a Song Isn't Good Enough 13.05.2026 1h 1min

  This week Mark calls in from Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios — with a quick video tour and the story of meeting Peter Gabriel for the first time.Then into deputising for Adam Wakeman in Travis (with "drink beer" written across half the setlist) and a candid post-mortem on Somewhere Else — the dropped pre-order, the EP that never was, Mike Hunter's confidence taking a hit, and which songs hold up (and which really don't). Plus "Almost a Midwife Mark", and the tweet that got Mark to delete Twitter, tour meet-ups, and a Marillion quiz coming for Patreon members.
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  Listener Questions episode (recorded 17/04/26) 29.04.2026 40min

  This week we answer your questions. If you have a question for inclusion on a future episode ask it on our Patreon "Questions questions" chat.
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  Interview with Marillion manager Lucy Jordache 15.04.2026 53min

  This week we speak with manager Lucy Jordache about her 30-plus-year journey, from a teenage Marillion fan to EMI catalogue manager, band manager, and Ian Mosley’s wife. Along the way, she discusses taking a pay cut to get into the music industry, a rocky first meeting with Fish, and how she and Ian got together. Plus, a frank conversation about what the future might hold for Marillion
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  All For One: Risk, Royalties & Anoraks 01.04.2026 1h 2min

  This time we discuss how Marillion took a leap nobody else had dared, and accidentally changed the music industry. Lucy Jordache’s evolving role, and why the band chose not to capitalise on their invention. How sharing everything brought Marillion closer together. Mixing stress and why risk has always been Mark’s default setting. Also: Noel Gallagher delivers a deadpan insult, Mark bets on tripe, and Tallulah arrives with twelve names.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
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  Before Crowdfunding Was a Word 18.03.2026 44min

  This week we chat with Erik Nielsen. He was a 22-year-old help desk worker in Cleveland, Ohio when a woman he was seeing dragged him to a Marillion gig and changed his life. He ended up as Marillion's keyboard tech, moved into Mark's spare room, got deported, and — almost by accident — helped invent a model of direct-to-fan music commerce that the whole industry now takes for granted. Hear the inside story of the Freaks mailing list, the yes@marillion.com inbox, the Guinness logo rip-off, and why Erik eventually swapped the Marillion kebab hut for working for Elton John.
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  The Freaks Who Funded a Marillion Tour 04.03.2026 1h 1min

  This week we cover Marillion's short stint with Rod Smallwood (Iron Maiden's manager) and the Sanctuary empire, how Mark met Tallulah's mum and the origin of the song Rich. Also, the birth of music crowdfunding: how a single post on the Freaks mailing list led to fans raising $60,000 to fund a US tour. Also featuring: Neil Armstrong at a soundcheck, a phone call from the International Space Station, and a Delta Airlines domain name dispute. Next week: Eric Nielsen joins to share his memories of his time working with Marillion.
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  Episode 27 - Listener Questions 18.02.2026 40min

  This week, Mark and Tallulah answer some listener questions. Covering everything from the choices they might have made differently in life to a fight that almost broke up the band.
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  Down But Not Out: The EMI Years End 04.02.2026 1h 1min

  This week Mark and Tallulah talk through a difficult chapter in the band’s past: being dropped by EMI, ongoing money problems, Mark nearly ending up homeless, and the lack of support from their manager who suggested day jobs for the band might be the way forward. The conversation stays surprisingly light, including stories from Mark’s tumultuous love life.
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  "Do You Want a Record… or a Work of Art?" 21.01.2026 50min

  In this episode Mark and Tallulah sit down with producer Dave Meegan to explore the making of Brave.Dave takes us inside the long nights, impossible standards, and creative tension that shaped one of Marillion’s most ambitious albums — from a French château to Liverpool over more than 7 months.We talk about why Brave took so long, the danger of rushing creativity, and the fragile moments where everything finally locks into place.An honest look at what it really costs to make something that lasts.
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  Fortune Favours the Brave 07.01.2026 1h 1min

  In this episode Mark and Tallulah dive deep into the making of Brave— Marillion’s most ambitious and uncompromising album. They discuss creative freedom, financial uncertainty, and the quiet decisions that laid the groundwork for the band’s independence.
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  BURIED CASH, SCUMBAG CREW 17.12.2025 34min

  In this episode Mark & Tallulah chat with Smick, Ian's drum tech from the mid 1980s and later the crew boss. Smick recounts how he started working in music and his first meeting with Marillion - and the cool reception from Ian. He also describes the chaotic management style of John Arnison, including when he buried the band's takings in bin bags and forgot where he buried it. 
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  Pop vs. Prog: Holidays in Eden 02.12.2025 1h 12min

  This week Mark and Tallulah dive into the writing and recording of Holidays in Eden. They get into how much a producer can steer an album, as Marillion discovered with pop-tastic Chris Neil. They talk through Marillion’s move to Hit & Run Management and the promises that never materialised. They also get into the origins of the Racket Club. Tune in for plenty of laughs and a few exciting announcements for Patreons.Tallulah's video that we talked about in this episode -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYaBINqTvVESimon's Car - the How We Live song that became Cover My Eyeshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhZ2ZiwiDqg