Fish (singer)

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Fish (Derek Dick)
Country	Scotland
Years active	1981–present
Genres	Progressive Rock
Labels	Snapper Music
Members	Fish

Derek William Dick, better known as Fish (born 25 April 1958, in Dalkeith, Midlothian), is a Scottish progressive rock singer, lyric writer and occasional actor.

Contents 1 Career 2 Solo discography 2.1 Studio albums 2.2 Live albums 2.3 Compilations 2.4 Other Collaborations 3 External links

[edit] Career

After a patchy career as a gardener and forestry worker, he came to public attention in 1981 with the British group Marillion, which he left in 1988 following top ten hits in 1985 with Kayleigh and Lavender and in 1987 with Incommunicado. It is widely believed that the name Fish arose from his drinking habits, however, according to Fish himself, the name originates from the amount of time he spent reading in the bath. He is currently engaged to Heather Findlay, the singer with Mostly Autumn, and has a daughter, Tara, from a previous marriage.

He is sometimes compared to Peter Gabriel, lead singer of Genesis in the 1970s. In terms of his lyrics and vocal delivery comparisons have also been made to Peter Hammill, as Fish was a big fan of Hammill's "A Black Box" at the time the band Marillion released "Script for a Jester's Tear", and Hammill supported the band on the promotional tour for this album.^{[citation needed]}

Fish's introspective lyrics, often dealing with his own personal problems and addictions, have often been said to be able to stand on their own as poetry without music^{[citation needed]}. Many of his later works contain lengthy spoken word passages with the music simply acting as background. Shorter examples of such passages can be found in his Marillion works.

Following a legal dispute with EMI and an unsuccessful contract with Polydor, Fish established the Dick Bros Record Company in 1993. He released a number of 'official bootleg' albums to finance the company. After selling the company to Roadrunner Records, another unsuccessful period followed before he re-established his own Chocolate Frog record label in 2001. In 2005 Fish signed with Snapper. He has a small but loyal fan base, commonly referred to as Fishheads, many of whom contribute to several online fan forums and travel from all over the world to attend his bi-annual fan club conventions.

Fish has also contributed to Arjen Anthony Lucassen's Ayreon project, singing the part of the Highlander in Into the Electric Castle.

Recently Fish has been presenting a Friday evening radio show "Fish on Friday" for digital radio station Planet Rock.

Fish is not to be confused with Phish, Chris Squire (whose nickname is "The Fish"), or Bradley Fish.

[edit] Solo discography

[edit] Studio albums

• 1990 Vigil in a Wilderness of Mirrors
• 1991 Internal Exile
• 1993 Songs from the Mirror (covers album)
• 1994 Suits
• 1997 Sunsets on Empire
• 1999 Raingods with Zippos
• 2001 Fellini Days
• 2004 Field of Crows
• 2007 Thirteenth Star (Details to be confirmed)

[edit] Live albums

• 1993 Pigpen's Birthday
• 1993 Derek Dick and his Amazing Electric Bear
• 1993 Uncle Fish and the Crypt Creepers
• 1993 For Whom the Bells Toll
• 1993 Toiling in the Reeperbahn
• 1994 Sushi
• 1996 Fish Head Curry (limited edition live album, 5000 copies only)
• 1996 Krakow
• 1998 Tales from the Big Bus
• 1999 The Complete BBC Sessions
• 2000 Candlelight in Fog (limited edition live album, 3000 copies only)
• 2001 Sashimi
• 2002 Fellini Nights
• 2003 Mixed Company
• 2005 Scattering Crows
• 2006 Return to Childhood
• 2007 Communion

[edit] Compilations

• 1995 Yin
• 1995 Yang
• 1998 Kettle of Fish
• 2005 Bouillabaisse

[edit] Other Collaborations

• 1986 "Shortcut To Somewhere" on the album Soundtracks by Tony Banks, lead vocals by Fish, produced by Richard James Burgess
• 1992 "Angel Face" and "Another Murder Of A Day" on the album Still by Tony Banks, lead vocals by Fish.
• 1998 Sang the part of the "Highlander" character on the album Into the Electric Castle by Ayreon.

[edit] External links

• Fish's official website
• Marillion's official website
• Fish at the Internet Movie Database provides information on Fish and his acting career.
• Fish's Myspace

Persondata
NAME	Dick, Derek William
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Fish
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Singer, Songwriter, Actor
DATE OF BIRTH	April 25, 1958
PLACE OF BIRTH	Dalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland, United Kingdom
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH