17/10/2025
I felt like writing a few words about Between You And Me reaching a significant milestone, because I can't believe we got here.
150 episodes over five years! Youâd get less for stealing a bike.
In that time, BYAMPOD has remained shockingly consistent, barring the 10 months or so where I needed a break from all things Marillion (and plenty of other things) because⊠life. And all the weeks where weâve been too busy to do an episode.
But weâve gotten better at it, more comfortable, found our rhythm, but it hasnât really changed much. It has been a labour of love, and as much as it has been about the band⊠it has really been about Sanja and I.
We started it - like a lot of other people did - because we needed something to occupy us during the lockdowns. Plus, I was missing doing journalism - getting to do research, digging deep etc. - but there already seemed to be podcasts on everything else. We struggled to find a niche, until we realised that the only thing there wasn't was a Marillion podcast by the fans. It seemed like a no-brainer - I can talk about Marillion endlessly - and with Sanja having never even heard of them before meeting me, we had a built-in format.
Since then, it has become so much more to us than that.
The title might be taken from a Marillion song, but itâs also literal. It has documented our life since the podcast began â the ups and downs of two people who just happen to be Marillion fans â and I always say itâs probably the most real version of me out of all the things we do. Alright, Sanja and I donât bicker anywhere near as much, or as intensely, in real life â it IS heightened â but, for better or worse, thatâs more or less us on there.
And because we are who we are, and almost pathologically incapable of not speaking our minds, weâve even managed to upset the bandâs original lead singer â and most of his diehard fans - along the way! I donât even regret it. I remain a fan of much of his work.
We know weâve managed to convert some people into giving Marillion a chance. We know weâve succeeded in bringing a new appreciation to songs that mightâve been dismissed. Heck, weâve even got some Fish-era folk to take another look at the h-era.
And I think thatâs because â by design â we didnât ever want to come across as too blinded by our own love for Marillion. We knew that honesty would bring more people in than if we seemed brainwashed. It was always one of our goals; bringing Marillion to more people by making a podcast that is, even before it's about Marillion, entertaining in and of itself. I think that's also done through being truthful about what we don't like, so you know that when we do like something... we really mean it.
We know we aren't for everyone. Our sense of humour and piss-taking frequently goes over the heads of many people. I can't help any of that, but I can tell you that if I ever crossed a line she thought was too far then Sanja would lock me in a cupboard and eat the key. We know and love each other well enough that we know where that line is. You'd hate it even more if we sounded constantly loved up.
Iâm especially proud of our interviews with Steve Hogarth, Lucy Jordache, John Arnison and Dave Meegan. They were the interviews Iâd want to hear as a fan, and the fact I got to conduct them was a real privilege. All lovely people. Weâve been on Marillionâs YouTube channel, been interviewed for the fan club magazine, and been listened to by band members â things that are surreal when youâre âjustâ a fan.
Now that weâre back from our unavoidable hiatus - and feeling we're better at doing this than ever - weâre a long way from being done. Weâre covering the (at present) penultimate album, and thereâs another to go. After F.E.A.R., we want to go back to the Fish era and re-document those. We kind of rushed through them at the time, and they deserve the deeper dive weâve taken on the later albums. Weâve also got a long list of topics we want to cover and interviews we want to get⊠and more tangents to go on.
But the best thing of all about doing this⊠is you lot. That's not an empty platitude. Those of you who have listened to us, communicated with us, supported us during some of the tougher times, and just get us... have made our life better.
We feel like weâre part of a community within the community, our own little corner of Marilliondom. That was the biggest thing we missed while we were away dealing with lifeâs storms; just having that shared feeling of love for something. Thank you, sincerely, for being part of the journey. I mean, some of you have even become fans of our YouTube channel that you all hate.
Over the past five years, as those of you who listen will know, our life has changed massively. We've been through a lot of upheavals, but BYAMPOD was something that grounded us, a lifeline we could hold onto when things got rough. Ultimately, last year, it got too rough for us to keep hold of the rope, but I'm so glad we found it again. We're not letting go anytime soon.
When we started we were one of two Marillion-related podcasts (and Fish on Friday). We wanted to give one life-long fanâs (and one non-fanâs) perspective on the history of the band. Now that number of podcasts has doubled and itâs a testament to how loved Marillion are that thereâs room for us all.
Thereâs something for everyone now in the Marillopod space, and the dream is to get us all together and do a crossover episode like The Avengers. Me and Sanja, Craig and John from Planet Marzipan, H and Ant, Mark and Tallulah. Weâre open to suggestions as to who would play the role of Thanos.
Neverland The Buzzcocks. Has to happen.
I'll be honest... when we were recording the current episode 150, we forgot it was a milestone, so there's no mention of it. We'd love to do a completely self-indulgent bonus special marking the occasion, so if you want to send us an email you can do so here - [email protected] - and we'll aim to include it in an upcoming ep.
Also, I say it every ep, but we do have a Patreon where you can support us for just ÂŁ1 a month. That's not why we're doing this, but it's nice to get money. www.patreon.com/mrbiffo
Thank you, again, from the depths of our hearts, for everything over the past five years.
Paul (and Sanja)
