Fish (singer)
Derek William Dick (born 25 April 1958), better known by his stage name Fish, is a Scottish singer, songwriter and occasional actor.[3] He was the lead singer and lyricist of the neo-prog band Marillion from 1981 until 1988.[3] He released 11 UK Top 40 singles with the band, including the Top Ten singles "Kayleigh", "Lavender" and "Incommunicado", and five Top Ten albums, including a number one with Misplaced Childhood.[4] In his solo career, Fish explored contemporary pop and traditional folk,[2] and released a further five Top 40 singles and a Top 10 album.[5]
This article is about the former lead singer of Marillion. For the 1960s artist, see Country Joe and the Fish. For the bassist also nicknamed Fish, see Chris Squire.
Fish's voice has been described as both "distinct" and a "conflation of Roger Daltrey and Peter Gabriel",[6][7] while his lyrics have been described as "poetic prose".[6] In 2004, Classic Rock ranked Fish at number 49 on its list of "The 100 Greatest Frontmen", describing his "theatrical delivery" as "a major factor in Marillion's spectacular rise, and he masterminded some uniquely ornate lyrical concepts."[8] In 2009, Fish was voted at number 37 in a poll of the greatest voices in rock music by Planet Rock listeners.[1]
In 2020, Fish released his final studio album Weltschmerz (German for "world-weariness"), to critical acclaim and commercial success.[9] Fish toured Weltschmerz and celebrated the 30th anniversary of A Vigil In A Wilderness of Mirrors as part of the Vigil's End tour in 2021. Fish plans to retire following a farewell tour in 2024.[10]
Early life[edit]
Derek William Dick was born on 25 April 1958 in Edinburgh, Scotland, and grew up in Dalkeith.[3] The son of Robert and Isabella, Fish was educated at King's Park primary school and then Dalkeith High School. He was inspired by the music of many of the rock artists of the late 1960s and early 1970s, including Genesis, Pink Floyd, the Moody Blues, the Kinks, T. Rex, David Bowie, Argent, and the Sensational Alex Harvey Band (Fish would later pay tribute to these early influences on his covers album Songs from the Mirror). Fish has also cited Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell as "one of the biggest influences on me because of her approach to lyrics".[11] The first band he saw live was Yes at Usher Hall, Edinburgh, in 1974. As well as his love for music, he was also a voracious reader, and his literary inspirations included Jack Kerouac, Truman Capote, Robert Burns and Dylan Thomas (all of whom would later be depicted on the sleeve of Marillion's Clutching at Straws).
Fish worked as a petrol pump attendant, gardener, and from 1977 until 1980 worked in forestry at the Bowhill Estate in Selkirk.[12] While living in Fochabers, Moray[13] he adopted the nickname of Fish, which originated from a landlady who lamented the amount of time he spent in the bath.[3] Fish has been quoted: "With a real name of Derek William Dick, it became very necessary to find a nickname as quickly as possible."[14]
He first performed as a singer in 1980: "The very first gig I ever did as a singer was in Gala [Galashiels] in the Golden Lion pub."[15] He moved to Church Laneham, Nottinghamshire, in mid-1980 following a successful audition for the Stone Dome Band, and then to Aylesbury at the start of 1981 in the process of joining Marillion.[16]
Musical style[edit]
Fish has sometimes been compared to Peter Gabriel, original lead singer of Genesis in the early 1970s, and his voice has even been described as "uncannily close".[42] Music journalist David Hepworth described his voice as a "conflation of Roger Daltrey and Peter Gabriel".[7] Fish has acknowledged Gabriel's influence on him and some vocal similarities, but has rejected accusations from some critics during his career that he does not have a unique voice of his own.[2] Peter Hammill of Van der Graaf Generator was also a major influence on his songwriting and vocal delivery, which is especially notable on the first two Marillion albums.[3]
In 2018, Fish told Planet Rock, "I don't look at myself as a singer, I'm not a technically gifted singer. I think one of the problems I had was back in the early Eighties I was singing very wrong, very unnatural. I think if I'd gone to see a voice coach at that point in my life they'd have said 'stop singing like that because you will not be able to keep that going for the rest of your life.'"[43]
Record labels[edit]
Following a legal dispute with EMI Records and an unsuccessful contract with Polydor, Fish established the Dick Bros Record Company in Haddington in 1993. The studio recorded In Amber by Dream Disciples (1994) and Man Dancin by Tam White in (1996). He released a number of "official bootleg" albums to finance the company before selling it to Roadrunner Records. Another financially unsuccessful period followed before he re-established his own Chocolate Frog Records label in 2001. He signed with Snapper Music in 2005, but later returned to Chocolate Frog Records.
After having his own independent record company in the 1990s which charted a number of releases, Fish decided not to sign up to the Official Charts Company when he released Weltschmerz, an album self-funded, marketed and distributed from his home in Scotland. As Fish did not partner with a record label as per chart rules and regulations, he missed out on a Top Ten chart placing when early sales revealed that he would have been number 2 on the UK midweek charts behind that week's chart topper, the independent band Idles.[44][45][46][47]
Awards[edit]
In May 2008, Fish's Planet Rock show Fish on Friday won the Silver award in the Music Broadcaster of the Year category at the UK Sony Radio Academy Awards 2008.[48] In June 2008, at the New York Festivals Radio Broadcasting Awards, he and Gary Moore jointly received the Gold World Medal in the Regularly Scheduled Music Programme category for their respective shows on Planet Rock.[49]
Acting[edit]
Fish was offered and accepted a part in the 1986 film Highlander, for which Marillion were also offered the soundtrack, but he eventually had to turn it down owing to his tour commitments with the band.[50] Fish first appeared on terrestrial television as himself in the "More Bad News" episode of the series The Comic Strip Presents... in 1988.
His first acting role was as a guest star in an episode of Zorro called "The Newcomers" (aired 10 February 1991) but a more prominent role was as the thug Ferguson alongside John Sessions in Jute City, a four-part 1991 BBC drama based on a group of Masonic ruffians.
In 1994, he appeared in Chasing the Deer, a film set during the 1745 Jacobite rebellion, as Angus Cameron. He also missed out on a role in Braveheart. He spent two days with Mel Gibson in London who kept asking him to be involved but he was committed to touring his Suits album instead.[51]
In 1998, he appeared as David Lawson in series 14, episode 44 of the ITV series The Bill, titled "Manhunt", and played Derek Trout, a record producer in the series The Young Person's Guide To Becoming A Rock Star.
He appeared as Barry Judd in a 2000 episode of the TV detective series Rebus alongside John Hannah. Later that year he appeared in episode number 48, "Skin Deep", of the popular Scottish detective television programme Taggart.
In 2001, he auditioned (unsuccessfully) for the James Bond film Die Another Day. He then went on to appear in two episodes of Snoddy, a short-lived Scottish television sitcom.
In 2004, Fish played Finlay Price in the TV movie Quite Ugly One Morning alongside James Nesbitt, Eddie Marsan and Annette Crosbie.
Fish appeared as Old Nick, a camp homosexual, in the 2002 crime comedy film 9 Dead Gay Guys.
In the 2005 film The Jacket, Fish appeared alongside Adrien Brody and Keira Knightley as a patient in a mental institution, Jimmy Fleischer, and he played Uncle Jimmy in the 2012 comedy drama Electric Man.
Personal life[edit]
On 25 July 1987, Fish married his first wife, Tamara Nowy, a German model who appeared in the music videos for "Kayleigh", "Lady Nina", and "A Gentleman's Excuse Me". They divorced in 2003. The marriage produced one daughter, Tara Rowena (Taz), who was born on 1 January 1991 and who, in 2012, was nominated for Scottish Model of the Year, but lost to Annie Lennox's daughter.
Following the divorce, Fish entered into a relationship with Mostly Autumn singer Heather Findlay.[52]
In April 2009, he married his second wife, Katie Webb. The couple divorced after less than a year.[53]
On 14 October 2017, he married his third wife, Simone Rösler, at Aberlady Church, East Lothian, Scotland.[54]
In 2008, Fish stated that he would be taking at least six months off from singing due to an "irregular cell growth" in his throat.[55] It was later determined not to be cancerous.[56]
Fish is a lifelong fan of Edinburgh football club Hibernian.[57] He also has a keen interest in marine science.[58]
In mid-2023, Fish announced plans to permanently relocate to a 35-acre crofting smallholding on the Outer Hebridean island of Berneray (North Uist) with his partner in 2024/5, as he retires from the music industry.[59]
Politics[edit]
On politics, Fish said in 1993, "I've got a lot of socialist trends, but I work in a capitalist industry. Getting involved in politics can be very dangerous. There are a lot of doors that can shut when you get involved in politics."[2] He is a supporter of Scottish independence because he is "dismayed" by the UK's anti-European stance and does not believe a "London-based government" is "beneficial to the UK as a whole". Fish argued that independence could "shake up British politics" to ensure a more "fair distribution of wealth" throughout the UK. He declined to actively campaign in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum because he believed it would be "hypocritical" as he was planning to leave Scotland for Germany to live with his partner and her young son.[60]