It's fair to say that Scottish musical behemoth Fish (Derek Dick to his mum) hasn't had his troubles to seek since leaving Marillion in 1988. Things kicked off with a series of fallouts with major labels EMI and Polydor and continued with a failed stab at setting up his own independent record company and a gradual decline in record sales. There was a divorce, and even when the internet helped sales improve, the problems didn't end. In 2005 a rogue employee half-inched close to £70,000 from his mail order operation, and last year in the midst of recording a new album, his fiancee (Heather Findlay of prog outfit Mostly Autumn) walked out just weeks before the wedding.
Not one to let lawsuits, insolvent companies, embezzlement and a broken heart get him down, Fish released new LP 13th Star last month to the warmest reviews he's had in years. Sensing the optimism, HOLV caught up with him before he started his world tour.
HOLV: Hello Fish, how are things?
Fish: I'm really fucking busy at the moment. It's unbelievable. I've got Scotland on Sunday coming round to do a home article tomorrow, so I've got to clean the house tonight! I've got to sort out a bank loan to help with buying back a load of copyright stuff. I've got an interview with the Scotsman at 4 o'clock today and before that I've got to put two radio programmes together for Planet Rock that I am recording in Glasgow tomorrow. On wednesday I've got to get down to London to do GMTV at 7 o'clock with Bob Harris followed by an interview with the Sun involving a page 3 girl. Then I've got to get back up to Scotland to appear on Stuart Maconie's Radio 2 show on saturday before the Hibs game in the afternoon. It's my last game of the season.
HOLV: Aha! So Hibs will be the most important thing this week.
Fish: Fuckin' right!
HOLV: It sounds like a really busy time in the Fish camp.
Fish: That ain't busy, that's just fucking ridiculous. These are the times you wish you were in a band, so you could spread out all of the commitments, because I'm doing all of the business stuff as well as the music.
HOLV: You released 13th Star on mail order through your website, but you've just given it a retail release.
How's that going?
Fish: It went into the charts at number 33 today, so it's going really well considering we're an independent record company and we've got limited resources. We can't do the box of fireworks trick that the major labels do when an album is coming out. They buy up all the ads in 10 different magazines - splash! splash! splash!
HOLV: Do you think that the musical business model that you and Marillion use (selling directly to the fans via the internet) is going to be the way forward for established acts in the music business?
Fish: I think so, but it's been going that way for years. I started my own record label in 1993 (The Dick Brothers Record Company), which just didn't work. We had too many employees and should have put some work out to other sources. We employed everyone at the studio, which is great when you've got an album out and a tour that's in full flow but when you hit that dead time when you're writing songs the company has very little to do but you've still got to pay the wages. We tried to fill the time with other bands, but it just didn't work. But the new company is different. We've got a small number of people working here, and I've got a distributor to deal with the record release. It makes things financially feasible.
HOLV: You must be quite proud that artists like you have blazed a trail for the music industry as a whole. You guys have made the mistakes for other people to learn from. Fish: Absolutely! The Marillion guys and myself use the internet as a promotional hub, so if you want photographs or posters you can find them on the site. And alongside that we have the mail order service that keeps the whole thing afloat. There is a constant flow of information back and forward from the site, with Fish TV, downloads and regular blogs that keep people interested. Even when we're in hibernation, there is still something happening.
HOLV: Do you think that constantly updating your blogs and being so open with the fans has a danger of destroying the mystique of the music industry?
Fish: I think that was ripped a long time ago. In the eighties a lot of the mystique was taken away when people started talking about the money and the deals and people began to see it as a business. But now, the way that artists work with websites (as we do) you can't but help get involved.
HOLV: Your e-mails to the fans are very personal. In the last couple of years you've had some real setbacks....
Fish: (Laughing) Have I!?
HOLV: Ha ha! But these setbacks can sometimes make the e-mails hard to read. Do you find writing them a cathartic exercise?
Fish: Yes it is a severe catharsis. I think if I hadn't been able to write what I was writing last year (about his break-up) I would have gone crazy. You can imagine that the stress of that situation, especially in the middle of recording the album. And the problem wasn't helped by the fact that I live in the studio, so the entire series of events all occurred in the studio. That meant I was singing about a relationship 20 feet away from the couch where it all kicked off. HOLV: You mention in the e-mails that you initially found it difficult to sing the songs from 13th Star live - do you still find it difficult?
Fish: No. I recently went travelling to Vietnam on my own for four weeks and since I returned it has become easier. I went there travelling very light but carrying a lot of baggage. I left a lot of that baggage back there.
HOLV: Good news. So you are touring the album - when can we see you in Scotland?
Fish: We were at the Liquid Rooms in Edinburgh on March 7th and we'll be back in Glasgow in the later part of the year. Before that we're going to France and Italy and then on to the States and Canada for the first time in years. We'll be doing some festivals in the summer and then on to South America before coming back into Europe. Then it looks like we're going to New Zealand and Australia so it's a big fucking tour!
HOLV: That's massive!
Fish: It's the biggest tour for years to support the best album I've ever made - in my opinion. A lot of people agree with that, so now that things are burning you've just got to follow it!
HOLV: Finally, it's our round - what are you having?
Fish: A pint of seventy! It's the one thing I really miss when I'm on tour.
