He previously wrote The Observer Music Monthly's "Guitarist Wanted" column, which required him to go undercover to audition for bands that he had no intention of joining.

Apart from music and technology writing, Marsden is well known for his humorous, offbeat features written in an understated, self-deprecating style.

In 2007 he worked on a DIY music project called "The Schema" – an attempt to get a single written, recorded, released and promoted on the internet in the space of a month.

The accompanying video, directed by Alex de Campi and featuring Marysia Kay, became a hit on YouTube, but the single sold poorly.

[9] He also played regularly in Frank Sidebottom's Oh Blimey Big Band before creator Chris Sievey's death in 2010.