Fish Biog 2018

In September 1988 Edinburgh born singer Derek William Dick, better known by his stage name ‘Fish’ resigned from his position as lead singer with world renowned band ‘’ in a move that shocked both fans and the music business alike. The band were seemingly at the peak of their powers selling out arenas across Europe and having just released their ‘’ in 1987 to critical acclaim following the multi-platinum 1985 album ’’ they looked like they had the world at their feet. ‘Clutching at Straws’ was seen by many to be their best album yet and offered the beginning of an exciting new creative era for the band.

“I adored ‘Clutching’. It was very personal to and painful both writing and especially recording in the studio where confrontations were regular occurrences. We started writing “songs”, not just “bits” that were joined together. ‘Hotel Hobbies’ was a throwback to ‘Misplaced’ but we broke out on ‘’ into bona fide song writing. ‘Incommunicado’ the band really didn’t like when we put it together. They thought it was too simple, a throwaway ‘jam’ .I loved it, it was plugged into my own influences and I admit very ‘Who’ ‘Quadrophenia’, one of my favourite . I loved the energy we created. It to me represented the original ‘Marillion attitude’ we had before we became ‘successful’. The fact they didn’t get turned on by it summed up the differences”

Behind the scenes internal conflict continued over musical directions and managerial and business issues simmered. Fish was disillusioned with the intrusion of the sideshow of the bands success and the constant demands of touring were having an adverse effect on his personal life. His lyrics for ‘Clutching at Straws’ were dark and menacing and all taken from his observations and experiences on the road. He often refers to them as his ‘resignation statement’ and he considers the album as his favourite from the 4 seminal albums he recorded with ‘Marillion’. The fact that he left the band on such a high watermark has always drawn the question of “What if?” and to this day there are the constant rumours of reunions. Fish has been adamant that this will never happen and although he still remains friends with his former bandmates he is happier following his own course as a successful and independent solo artist.

“I felt at the time that the “machine” we had created was devouring us. Touring was definitely not fun anymore and we weren’t getting any breaks. After the ‘Clutching’ tour we were straight back into writing the next album with the next set of shows already booked. It was a very complicated set of scenarios and when I finally get round to writing my autobiography when I retire I can cover it all then. After I left the band I moved back Scotland and bought a farmhouse with outbuildings one of which I converted into my own recording studio. I’ve recorded all my solo albums there since ‘Vigil’.

He released his 10th solo album ’Feast of Consequences’ in 2013 to outstanding reviews from critics and fans. It was seen as his best work since his debut solo album ‘Vigil in a Wilderness of Mirrors’ in 1990 and the ‘Moveable Feast’ tour that supported that project was heralded as a return to major form.

In 2015 he announced that he intended to retire from the music business in 2020 and embarked on the ‘Farewell to Childhood’ tour that saw complete final performances of the ‘Misplaced Childhood’ album on its 30th anniversary. The tour was a major success with sold out venues across Europe and he continues his farewell with the final full performances of ‘Clutching at Straws’ on the 30th anniversary of him leaving ‘Marillion’.

“I’ve enjoyed the freedom of being a solo artist and don’t miss the band environment. Most of the musicians I work with have been around me for a while and they know how I operate. Some come and go and it’s refreshing to bring in new faces and ideas sometimes to the writing and touring outfits. I’ve no regrets about leaving ‘Marillion’ and still enjoy performing the songs I wrote with them. With my retirement looming I decided to go out on tour and play my favourite 2 albums as complete pieces and having had so much fun playing ‘Misplaced Childhood’ on its farewell tour it’s now the time to say goodbye to ‘Clutching at Straws’ It seems very apt that it’s on the 30th anniversary of me leaving the band”

He is currently working on what he has declared as his last album, ‘Weltschmerz’ in his studio in Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland where he lives with his German wife Simone who he married in October 2017. Once again he is working with long term collaborator Steve Vantsis who is co-writing and engineering the project with Calum Malcolm (Blue Nile, Prefab Sprout), who has produced Fish’s last 2 solo albums (‘’ and Feast of Consequences’) joining the team in the Summer to deliver the album for a release in September 2018 to coincide with the European tour.

Fish and Steve Vantsis will be writing and recording together with a number of guest artists on the project and , who has been involved with Fish’s album sleeves since the first ‘Marillion’ single ‘’ in 1982 is creating lavish artwork and designs for ‘Weltschmerz’ as he did for the deluxe packaging of ‘Feast of Consequences’.

Mark has also been working on the re masters collection of Fish’s entire solo catalogue which are released in hardback covers with multiple CD’s containing the original albums remastered by Calum Malcolm as well as rare demos and live recordings. The artwork and design include photos and a history of the periods all written up in extensive sleeve notes by Fish himself.

The most recent releases in November 2017 were the ‘Songs from the Mirror’ album from 1993 and ‘Suits’, Fish’s first release as an independent artist on his ‘Dick Brothers Record Company’ label in 1994. ‘Sunsets on Empire’ (1997), ‘Raingods with Zippos’ (1998), ‘Fellini Days’ (2001) and ‘’ (2004) are already available on Amazon and on Fish’s official web site fishmusic.scot

Fish will be putting together the remastered packages for ‘Vigil in a Wilderness of Mirrors’ (1990) and ‘Internal Exile’ (1991) for release later this year and by the time he retires his entire catalogue will be available as definitive offerings in this hardback cover format leaving a legacy he can be proud of and that fans can savour for years to come.

Fish’s entire catalogue will be available for digital download and on various streaming services in the coming months and all tour merchandise, DVD’s and other items as well as up to date news ,blogs and updates on the ‘Weltschmerz’ album can be found at his new website fishmusic.scot

‘Songs From the Mirror’ the 2017 remaster

http://fishmusic.scot/store/product/songs-from-the-mirror-remastered-deluxe- edition/?v=79cba1185463

This album was originally released in 1993 and was Fish’s last album with Polydor Records. It was an album of cover versions that filled a gap between his second solo album ‘Internal Exile’ and ‘Suits’ the first release on his own label ‘The Dick Brothers Record Company Ltd’.

“I’d lost my way a bit after ‘Exile’ and needed time to put together a new original album. I decided to go back to my roots to rediscover the magic of music again as a long expensive legal battle with EMI records had left me very bitter and angry. I’d just built my own recording studio and had a lot of financial commitments I was finding difficult to meet. ‘Songs from the Mirror’ wasn’t the album that Polydor wanted but I needed funds to pay for the studio and keep a band together to write the next album. ‘Mirror’ came to the rescue both financially and creatively as I went back to my teenage years and picked out songs from bands that had meant a lot to me at the time. It got me excited about music again”

‘Songs from the Mirror’ contains covers of songs as diverse as ‘5 Years’ from , ‘Fearless’ by , ‘I Know What I Like ‘by Genesis and ‘Apeman’ from the Kinks as well as ’s ‘Solo’ and ‘Jeepster’ by T Rex.

The 2017 version contains 3 discs, the first the original album produced by James Cassidy and remastered by Calum Malcolm with the second a collection of demos and other songs including ‘Boston Tea Party’ with the Sensational Alex Harvey Band as well as live versions from the 1993 tour.

The third disc is a DVD containing a documentary film where Fish talks about making the album and the songs he chose to cover together with tour anecdotes. It also has rare film footage from the Utrecht show on the ‘Songs from the Mirror’ tour

The discs come in a hardback cover with sleeve design by Mark Wilkinson and contain over 40 pages of photos and extensive sleeve notes written by Fish.

‘Suits’ the 2017 remaster http://fishmusic.scot/store/product/suits-remastered-deluxe-edition/?v=79cba1185463

The first solo album on his own independent label ‘Suits’ was originally released in 1994. Produced by James Cassidy it was written and recorded around the same period as the covers album. The single ‘Lady Let it Lie’ went into the Top 40 in the UK which was quite an achievement for Fish’s small label with its first ever release. The band were the same as on ‘Songs from the Mirror’ with bass player David Paton (Pilot, , ) and drummer Kevin Wilkinson ( Waterboys, China Crisis) creating a powerful rhythm section as the backbone of the album. Robin Boult and Frank Usher were on guitars with Foss Paterson ( Camel, Julia Fordham, ) joining on keyboards.

“It was an exhilarating time as when Polydor dropped me only months after they released the covers album the heady sense of freedom I had was also a bit scary. I had a hell of a lot to learn about working with my own independent label as well as writing and recording a new album. A lot of it had been put together at the same time as the ‘Mirrors’ project but the main recording was directly after the tour and I felt a great weight of responsibility. It was a huge workload and I was wearing a lot of hats as manager, writer, singer and record company executive! James Cassidy did a great job on the album and the band was on top form. I couldn’t have had a better team around me at the time. Getting into the Top 40 in the charts with the first single on my own label was as proud a moment as when the first Marillion single went in back in 83”

The album was released in May 1994 and entered the charts at number 18, yet another accolade. The songs have all featured regularly In Fish’s setlists across the years, ‘Pipeline’ opening up the 2015 ‘Farewell to Childhood’ tour. ‘Jumpsuit City’, ‘Raw Meat’, ‘Somebody Special’, ‘Fortunes of War’ and ‘Lady Let it Lie’ all featured on the ‘Fishheads Club’ acoustic tour in 2010-11; the true test of any song when it can stand on its own when stripped down to basic instruments.

The 2017 remaster follows in the same packaging as the other albums in the series with hardback cover, 46 pages of extensive photos and sleeve notes by Fish all put together by Mark Wilkinson. The three CD’s on this title are the original album plus B sides, a disc of previously unheard demos and rare versions and a disc of live versions taken from across the years.

‘Songs from the Mirror’ and ‘Suits’ are only available on mail order through the mailorder service on Fish’s official web site fishmusic.scot or on Amazon. They will be available on the merchandise stall on the forthcoming ‘Weltschmerz/ Clutching at Straws’ tour in the Autumn of 2018.