Deranged Marillion fan builds the Chrome extension no one wants

On January 15, construction and facilities company Carillion was made insolvent, a situation that may have a devastating impact on thousands of jobs, suppliers and pensions.

Amidst all the chaos, Marillion fan Barry Womm has tried to lighten the mood, creating a Chrome extension that automatically changes instances of the company name to that of the Prog legends.

Chrome users can install the extension, and suddenly all Carillion-related stories on the internet are given a neo-prog makeover, with headlines automatically altered to reflect the change. “Construction firms must modernise or face the same fate as Marillion,” reads a story in the Telegraph, while the Financial Times reveals how “Marillion shows the perils of capitalism without capital,” and the BBC simply asks, “Where did it go wrong for Marillion?”

“I made it because I was bored,” says Womm. “Let’s face it: for a Prog fan like me reading stories about Carillion, the crushing impact of the financial fallout is lessened as the word “Marillion” inevitably flashes through your mind. You automatically start transposing the names as you read the story. It’s a comic instinct.

“All I’ve done is spend 10 minutes building a Chrome extension so that the change is made automatically,” he continues. “Thinking is no longer actually required to enjoy the similarity. Which is good.”

So far the Chrome extension has only been downloaded once, but Womm is unconcerned. “I only made it to amuse myself,” he says. “If anyone else likes it, it’s a bonus.”

You can download the Carillion-Marillion Chrome extension from the Google Webstore.

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