Interviews

Clutching At Straws, released in 1987, was Fish’s final studio recording with his former band, Marillion, with whom he split somewhat acrimoniously a year later. However, despite the pressure and animosity surrounding Clutching At Straws, Fish still loves the album.

‘It’s my favourite Marillion album and the material of 13th Star sits really comfortably next to it because it has a similar kind of vibe and it works well as an entire set list,’ the Big Man explained. 

‘We’ve followed the same kind of pattern as we did on the last tour with Misplaced Childhood because it gives the chance for the people who come along to the gigs to get in touch with the old stuff. I hate it when bands go out and play their new album so the audience are standing around saying “what the hell is this” and having to really concentrate on what’s being played. This is an interesting way of doing it. The music industry has changed completely and you have to look around for new ways of marketing yourself and your work.’

13th Star has a far edgier, rockier feel to it than some of Fish’s more recent solo projects, with one or two quite anthemic-style songs in there, such as two of the album’s highlights, Zoë 25 and Arc Of The Curve.

‘Most of the album I co-wrote with my Bass player, Steve Vantsis, who approached me at the end of the Return To Childhood tour and asked if I fancied writing with him. I was a bit reticent, because you have Sting and McCartney, but Bassists aren’t really well known as writing partners. When he played me the ideas he had last January, I was really surprised. Steve’s influence are a lot more modern than mine and have a sort of Nine Inch Nails edge, so there was a natural enthusiasm and energy there. So when it was put together with my experiences in the industry and what I listen to, it made for an interesting combination. I was working as a DJ on Planet Rock at the time, too, so was listening to stuff I’d not listened to in a long time, so it was always going to lean towards the heavy side. There is definitely echoes of other stuff in there though like the Field Of Crows album and Fellini Days.’

After such a long and somewhat varied career, Fish finds that keeping things fresh only benefits the process of putting an album together. ‘I took a different approach with this. Previously I’d spend about three months on the writing and recording process. With 13th Star I took the old fashioned route of writing the thing completely before bringing in the band for pre-production and then record and bring in a main line producer. It took the pressure off the writing but made it a very intense period between January and June. I came straight of recording the album and right into rehearsals for the festivals in the summer. There was a lot of pressure but it was healthy pressure. The feedback from the gigs toward the new stuff has been great and, personally, I think it’s the best album I’ve ever made. Which has also been echoed by a lot of professionals. There’s not really a weak track on the album.’

Fish still has the ability to write songs like authors write stories; there is always a definitive beginning, middle and end with very often a personal twist. 13th Star is no exception. ‘Lyrically it was difficult to write. I came out of a relationship in October and became very introspective. When it came to the theme of the album, three things came into play, really. It was my thirteenth studio album – thirteen has always been a lucky number for me – in total and looking back I realised that the closure of the relationship meant the closure of my twelfth serious relationship.

'Also, I’d been in Egypt and saw all these tombs painted blue with three brush stroke stars painted on the ceilings denoting heaven, which became the symbol on the cover. When I started writing, there was a cupboard full of lyrics available, because the relationship began again in January and a whole of romance crept in. Unfortunately, the relationship finally ended in May when the first week of recording was due to begin so it was like someone had pulled a carpet from underneath me, because we were talking about marriage and everything. So psychologically, the whole stance of the lyrics changed and other little intricacies came in on songs like Zoë 25 for instance.’

Fish has more than one line to his rod. His is also and established and respected actor and is now contemplating becoming a novelist. ‘I’ve recently found a lot of solace in writing,’ he said. ‘It’s a bit like going down the gym I’m actually getting excited about writing again, because song writing there are certain parameters you have to stick to. When you’re writing prose you can move where you want. Maybe sometime next year I’m looking at going away for about four weeks on my own and that would present the perfect opportunity to sit down and do some serious writing. I’ve no idea what genre, but probably something autobiographical in outlook, but fiction. A lot of people have talked about doing Misplaced as a sort of We Will Rock You style of show, but I’m not really interested in going back to do that type of thing.’

After nearly thirty years performing, it’s good to hear he still loves to tour. ‘At least I love it when my voice is good and I don’t have too many interviews to do. I had six hours of them to do the other day and it starts to not only wear me down, but also the voice. We had a gig last night that absolutely rocked and went to a bar afterwards where I had to speak in sign language virtually, just to save the voice. It doesn’t get any easier but that’s why I do blocks of gigs now, to rest up. These are very strong shows, very demanding and you always pay the price the next day. But when it’s on form I love the instant reaction you get from an audience who are into it.’

And fewer audiences are “into it” more than Merseyside audiences. ‘The Cavern gigs of a couple of years ago – when it was so hot inside we had to hand out bottles of water to stop people passing out – were brilliant. There are certain cities we get strong followings in and they all seem to be big footballing places, too for some reason with strong working class environs. Liverpool, and Merseyside in general, is always a special place to play because we have a lot of friends up there, such as the band, Rage, who used to support us, and our first tour manager, Paul Lewis, is from there We have a similar thing in Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle and Glasgow, but we don’t quite have it in London, so it seems to be the bigger industrial, working class cities we get a bigger response from. I don’t think I’ve played Pacific Road before but I’m certainly looking forward to it.’

After a career which has seen the singer experience the highs and lows, his views on new bands and the business today may not be that surprising. ‘I’d hate to be starting out today. There are far too many albums and far too much crap out there so trying to get identified is just a nightmare. A lot of new bands today are lucky to get past the second album unless there’s some hint of celebrity attached to it. It’s very, very difficult to get established these days on merit.’

So would Fish consider doing a reality show? ‘No, I don’t think so. It would depend on what it was.’ And the acting? ‘I can’t even contemplate it at the moment because I’m locked into the tour until the middle of next year and, to be honest, I see it as more of a hobby than anything else. I think writing is going to be more me than the acting. At the end of the day, with acting, I’m a very small fish in a very big pond so when you go for an audition you tend to wait three months for them to say yes or no and then you’ve moved on and are doing an album or a tour or whatever. Maybe after this tour, I don’t know.’