2001 for Fish (aka Derek William Dick) was a year of mixed fortunes but witnessed a continued upward curve in a career that has been receiving positive re-evaluation since the release of the 1997 album 'Sunsets on Empire', the follow up album 'Raingods with Zippos' in '99 and the most recent album 'Fellini Days' released in Spring 2001 to critical acclaim. The accompanying touring activities were equally successful with the strongest ticket sales for some years combined with glowing reviews of performances that many fans considered the finest of his 13 year solo career. It was obvious that the decisions that were made in the Spring of 2000 were showing positive results.
"At the end of the 'Raingods' tour I felt that I was running in circles in search of that elusive recognition through intense touring activities. I was in danger of becoming jaded and after the disappointments from my short experience with Roadrunner records had generally lost faith in the music industry. It was time to re-evaluate what I was aiming for and how I was to go about achieving those aims. At first it seemed that I would have to sacrifice touring entirely but as I came to terms with desires against necessities, balanced with practicality and lifestyle it started to make complete sense."
Together with US guitarist John Wesley who had played on the 'Raingods' tour and keyboard player John Young he began the writing sessions for 'Fellini Days' at his studio in East Lothian in Scotland where he has lived since he resigned from Marillion to pursue a solo career in 1988. He formed a new label, "Chocolate Frog Records", named after a lyric from the 'Raingods..' album and referring to a Scottish colloquialism.
"'A heid fu o chocolate frogs'(a head full of chocolate frogs) is a term used to describe someone who isn't all there or is a bit wasted through drink or dreams or whatever. The lyric was part of the 'Plague of Ghosts' epic on the 'Raingods' album which in itself was all about awakening to the reality of your situation and dealing with it positively!"
He teamed up with Voiceprint Records who had dealt with his previous independent label The Dick Bros Record Company that had been dissolved in 1998 when he signed a licensing deal with Roadrunner Records. Chocolate Frogs would be distributed by Voiceprint who would assume responsibility for the day-to-day running of the company and the associated nuts and bolts while allowing Fish to utilise his energies and time into more creative pursuits. With no major label to act as Sugar Daddy Fish decided to finance the recordings of 'Fellini Days' through the support of a large and loyal fan base who are held together by a very expansive and active website and an International fan club organisation known collectively as 'The Company'. The fans were given the chance to buy the album in advance and in return they were given a free bonus CD containing live and re-mixed versions of the Fellini material from different sources and periods throughout the recording sessions.
Fish also arranged flying visits to various countries to rehearse the new material live in front of fans who would then be recorded and sampled on the new album. Recordings and filmed material as well as cover artwork and lyrics were posted to a dedicated website - www.fellinidays.com so fans could keep up to date with the new album as it progressed. The album was released on mail order and then sold on the European Tour that launched in the spring of 2001. Supported in the main by his strong presence on the internet through his official site www.the-company.com and the Company fan clubs - most of whom have their own dedicated web sites - both the tour and album were well publicised and well received resulting in a marked new perception of Fish as a revitalised and relevant artist in the eye of the general public and media.
Appearances on BBC's popular music quiz 'Never Mind the Buzzcocks' and comedy endurance programme 'Banzai' (where a nice old lady had to attempt to drink a bottle of sherry or ascend a flight of stairs on a seat elevator before Fish started to sing after the intro to 'Kayleigh'), regular contributions to various BBC Scotland radio and recent appearances in an acting role on BBC TV in two episodes of 'Snoddy' as lampshade wearing, spear wielding PC Dodds (He has a head injury!) have all added to his reputation of having a weird and wonderful sense of humour!
His acting roles were not confined to comedy and parts in 'Rebus' with John Hannah and more recently the famous ITV Scottish cop show 'Taggart' as a vicious wife beater and con man have drawn critical attention The Guardian critic hailing his 'Taggart' performance as "brilliant"! His ever-increasing commitment to acting has added to his experience and profile and at the beginning of 2002 he found himself being considered as the villain in the new James Bond movie only losing out in the final run! The news had spread quickly to the myriad of sites worshipping 007 and rumours that he actually had the part were greeted with approval!
This year will surely contain a lot more opportunities for Fish as an actor and TV/radio personality and the Autumn promises the release of his second feature film role in 'Nine Dead Gay Guys', a black comedy about two Irish rent boys searching for a missing cash hoard amongst a zoo of eccentric and colourful characters in the North London gay scene!
"It's like a cross between 'Trainspotting' and 'Alice in Wonderland' in drag! I play a wicked sad middle-aged pervert who tries to get the two guys into a scene in my flat! My costume included a dog collar, red PVC trousers and leather bib and braces topped off with a Village people moustache and a Bobby Charlton hairstyle! It'll be strange going to the premier as for one of the takes I stripped completely naked for a laugh and I don't know whether they have used it! It was really funny at the time and the director and the crew corpsed with laughter! It could be a big payback!"
It appears that acting may take a back seat this year as apart from various one off's and small roles Fish's time and creative energies are being focused on his new album 'Field of Crows' which enters the writing phase in May and is scheduled for completion in November for release on mail order and sale on the UK tour currently being booked for December this year.
It's not as if he will be away from the stage as he intends to follow the template of the 'Fellini Days' album and rehearse the new songs live throughout the Summer at various open airs, fan club conventions and specific small touring packages that will be recorded and reported on through the new dedicated website www.fieldofcrows.com that will be activated shortly after the two major fan club shows in Holland on the 28th and 29th June at the Muziezcentrum in Enschede.
The gigs have been organised by the Dutch and German fan clubs on their own initiative; an unusual partnership considering the historical rivalry between the two nations.
"I have organised fan club conventions on a near annual basis in my adopted home town of Haddington where fans from all over the world can descend for a weekend to sample the local beers and meet up with friends while at the same time take part in a 'happening' which includes 2 nights of music, one night of acoustic renditions in St Mary's church and the other an 'electric' night in the Corn Exchange. There's a lot of other activities including a 5 a side football competition which last year was won by a joint Dutch and German team. "
"After the game while celebrating in the official Company Pub, The Tyneside Tavern, the jokes were flying about collaboration and who would keep the trophy and whether the team members would be allowed back into their own countries! It grew from there and the "why not?" attitude grew into an idea for a joint convention on mainland Europe in 2002 organised by the two Companies. It is a brilliant idea and Enschede was nominated as the city of choice as being in Holland but close to the German border. As well as camping facilities and other accommodation being available in the neighbourhood the venue itself can provide space for other events during the show days. An added bonus is that the Grolsch brewery is nearby!"
As with the Haddington Conventions the two nights have entirely different sets and Fish has decided to raid the vaults with the first night being pre-88 Marillion material including a rendition of the entire "Misplaced Childhood" album. The first time this has been performed since 1986. The second night is post-88 solo material and, as with the first night, will include songs that are rarely performed live. The official web sites have been running polls where fans can vote for songs they would like to hear in the set lists on either night and Fish has promised to bow to public demand!
"I am continually asked every year to play this or that song from the archives and although I may be tempted it is always difficult to justify playing in a current set of solo material. Rumours of reunions with Marillion will always persist and no matter how many times both parties deny the possibility there is a demand for material from that era. 'Misplaced' is still the most successful album I have been involved with and although the recognised hits such as 'Kayleigh' or 'Lavender' have surfaced in set lists it is the overall curve and dynamic of the album as a whole that makes 'Misplaced' so special and what that the fans want to hear in it's entirety. I have the chance in June to deliver that wish and I'm sure it'll be as much fun for us to perform as the fans to experience. I listened to it recently and had forgotten just how good it was!
It's quite ok to get nostalgic sometimes! It'll be interesting to rearrange some of the sections, as I'll have Robin Boult and Frank Usher on guitars, two drummers available in Dave Stewart and John Marter as well as Susie Webb and Zoe Nicholas on backing vocals. I've a new keyboard player Irvin Duguid who makes up the Scottish contingent in the band with Steve Vantsis. I am actually strangely excited by the prospect of playing some of that old material with this line-up."
The Dutch shows will be preceded by warm up shows at the Liverpool Cavern on the 24th and 25th of June. Fish played the Cavern on his last tour and after an incredible show to a sold out audience he was presented with his name on a brick, which is now built into the Wall of Fame at the entrance to the club.
"That was an amazing night. I had no idea of the presentation and had only been told that the owners of the club were desperate to get me down to play a gig there. Liverpool has always been special for me having played there since '82. That night after playing the Warehouse the band was told that we were signing to EMI Records. Since then and after I left Marillion I've always made a point of trying to get a Liverpool show on a tour as there has always been a special resonance with my music and that city. It was an incredible honour to have my name on that wall beside so many people that I respected and whose music I had grown up with. There was a great sense of having 'Made it' that completely topped any career marker so far! It meant far more than any chart position!
The night was so successful that I decided to play the warm up's to the European convention there and to perform some of the songs that haven't been heard in Liverpool for quite a few years. Playing 'Misplaced' will be strange as there is a section called 'Mylo' which was written about John Mylett an old friend and drummer with local band 'Rage' who used to support us a lot in those days.
It was all about hearing of his sudden death while on a promo trip with Marillion in Toronto and how I was reminded of friends and home. I always picture him on wild nights in the city after crazy shows at the Royal Court with 'Rage'!"
That gig and others including the convention were set up by fans and promoted in the main by fans on the ground and on the Internet. In September as part of the 'Field of Crows' project Fish heads for a 5 city tour of Norway and plays two gigs in each place, one for the Norwegian Army and the other for 'civilians'!
"The idea came from a couple of Norwegian fans who over time had become good friends who had another friend who was involved with army entertainment and who knew that I had played gigs in Bosnia and Kosovo for the British Army!
It fell together and I get the chance to play shows in places I could otherwise never reach on a normal tour, play to fans who otherwise could never get the chance to see a performance as well as reach people who have never heard my music!
As well as playing new material in the sets and polishing the writing for the album in our log cabins we also have white water rafting and fishing built into the tour itinerary! I'll be going to places and experiencing things I would never get the chance to on a 'normal' tour. That's how I prefer it to be these days. Once tours start to get too long and the performances become repetitive it's difficult maintaining the energies and enthusiasm. If I am not 100% then the audience are not getting what they came to see and I certainly don't want to walk out on a stage not wanting to be there, that's cheating both of us! I decided after the 'Raingods' experience that I would keep touring to a maximum of six week or so long sections and spread gigs throughout the year, using them as an integral part of the album creation.
That way I am always fresh, the sets are always changing and new material is introduced as it is created. It also means that I can come to terms with the performance of the new songs before I go into the studio. It's easier to find a song's energy on a stage where you're performing to an audience rather than just performing to a microphone in an empty room. By breaking away from the write/record/release/tour/write/record/release/ tour cycle I've re-found an enthusiasm again for touring that I was close to losing forever in 1999! It's fun again!"
The core band for 2002 is Robin Boult guitar (previously with Fish from 1989 until 1998) and Irvin Duguid - keyboards (Stiltskin, Gun and a long time session playing history as composer/arranger) who will comprise the principal co-writing team, Steve Vantsis bass (since 97 returning after missing the 'Fellini' tour due to family commitments) and John Marter - drums (former Marillion (1983), current SAS band drummer and long term session musician who joined Fish's band on the 'Fellini' Tour). The producer and 'field engineer' is Elliot Ness who continues his work with Fish having acted as engineer/producer on the last three studio albums. The album will be written and recorded at Fish's own studio near Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland, which he managed to retain after selling his house in a year of personal upheavals.
"I can laugh now when I say this but in 2001 I lost the wife, the kid, the house and the dog! At the beginning of the year I was floundering in long-term debts that had been having a very negative effect on my marriage for a number of years. My wife and I after a long period of acrimony decided to separate last April and she returned to Berlin with my 11-year-old daughter Tara who now attends an international school there. My daughter and I are in close contact and we see each other regularly during her school holidays and I try and get over to see her during term time. "
"Both my wife and I have new partners and my daughter has realised that although her Mother and I are separated we are both a lot happier. It's difficult sometimes as you would expect but we have to live by our decisions. I spent a lot of last year sorting out my finances part of the remedy for which was selling the family home. I wasn't honestly that sad to see it go as there were - as many if not more - bad memories from that place as well as good. The only strange thing was returning from tour to drive past a brightly lit and occupied former home, drive round the back to enter the now separated studio by the former 'load-in' door and discover a world of cardboard boxes.
The house was sold while I was on tour and my Mum and Dad had to organise the move. It's now a great space and I've spent the last few months turning it into a real new home with all the trimmings! Christmas 2001 was tough though as it was still in transition and I had to put the dog down the week before! She had been ill and in pain due to hip displacement for quite a while and was totally confused by the house move.
The decision was not difficult and made the imperfect ending to a less than perfect year! 2001 was a major turnaround point in both my personal life and my career.
There was a great sense of being reborn again, of starting over again!"
Touring was extensive in 2001 with successful visits to Mexico, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Brazil, Argentina and Chile as well as on the traditional touring fields of Europe. The shows and the tours as a whole were extremely well received and are documented on the forthcoming live album 'Fellini Nights' recorded live in Amsterdam Paradiso in May last year. It is now available on mail order and released to retail in the summer when Fish will be playing a number of open-air events in Europe beginning at the RASS festival near Padderborn in Germany on May 20th. This is a festival and cultural event organised by the British Army and the local German Government and an audience of around 15,000 people is expected.
Fish has always had a close relationship with the British Army in recent Years, playing shows for the Army and the UN in Bosnia and Kosovo. Shortly after the RASS festival he heads on his most glamorous military expedition with a trip to Brunei to act as Highland Chieftain at the local Highland games organised on a beach on the South China Seas by the Scottish ex-pats serving there on jungle training courses.
"Brunei is going to be a lot of fun! I'll be singing a few songs in the officer's mess backed by a local musician from the base and delivering an after dinner speech which is the polite name for a stand up comedy routine and then a few days later acting as guest chieftain at the Highland games. It seems there is a lot of drink involved!
In between I have been promised a couple of nights in the jungle and a place on the helicopter patrols. With all that, a bit of scuba diving and a lot of sun I should at least look fit and healthy when I get back to play the shows in June! Obviously I'll be camera and recorder in hand to pick up material for the album and the website. A fish in a kilt on a South East Asian beach will be a visual to cherish!"
That will be his last break for a while with 'Field of Crows' taking up most of the rest of the year. The album will be ready for the UK tour scheduled to begin in early December and run up to Christmas. 2003 opens with the mainland European tour before a tour of North America and a return to South America to build on his previous successes.
With a new album, a comprehensive touring schedule spread throughout this year and into the next, more TV and film work and a new start to a new life there is strong evidence of Fish rising!
Source: http://www.the-company.com
