Editing Fish (singer) (section)

==Early life==
Derek William Dick was born on 25 April 1958 in [[Edinburgh]], Scotland, and grew up in [[Dalkeith]].<ref name="Larkin"/> 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 (band)|Genesis]], [[Pink Floyd]], [[the Moody Blues]], [[the Kinks]], [[T. Rex (band)|T. Rex]], [[David Bowie]], [[Argent (band)|Argent]], and [[the Sensational Alex Harvey Band]] (Fish would later pay tribute to these early influences on his covers album ''[[Songs from the Mirror]]'').<ref>{{Cite web |last=Prasad |first=Anil |date=1993 |title=Fish - Mirroring Influences |url=https://www.innerviews.org/inner/fish-1 |access-date=2025-04-18 |website=Innerviews: Music Without Borders |language=en}}</ref> Fish has also cited Canadian singer-songwriter [[Joni Mitchell]] as "one of the biggest influences on me because of her approach to lyrics".<ref>{{cite web |title=This Must Be The Plaice: Fish's Favourite Albums |url=http://thequietus.com/articles/12274-fish-marillion-favourite-albums?page=4 |work=The Quietus |date=20 May 2013 |access-date=19 July 2015}}</ref> The first band he saw live was [[Yes (band)|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 [[Filling station|petrol pump]] attendant, [[gardener]], and from 1977 until 1980 worked in [[forestry]] at the Bowhill Estate in [[Selkirk, Scottish Borders|Selkirk]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://fish-thecompany.com/bio.htm?rdctd=1 |title=Official Fish site: Biographies – Fish |publisher=Fish-thecompany.com |access-date=20 August 2011 |archive-date=28 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120328114631/http://fish-thecompany.com/bio.htm?rdctd=1 |url-status=dead }}</ref> While living in [[Fochabers]], [[Moray]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Beech |first=Mark |date=2009 |title=The Dictionary of Rock & Pop Names |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kbbNDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT181 |publisher=Pen and Sword |page=181 |isbn=978-1844689095}}</ref> he adopted the nickname of Fish, which originated from a landlady who lamented the amount of time he spent in the bath.<ref name="Larkin"/> Fish has been quoted: "With a real name of Derek William Dick, it became very necessary to find a nickname as quickly as possible."<ref name="December 1999 interview">{{cite web |title=Fish – December 1999 Interview |url=http://www.fish-thecompany.com/int/int36.htm |website=Fish-thecompany.com |access-date=6 June 2008}}</ref>

He first performed as a singer in 1980 at the Golden Lion pub in [[Galashiels]].<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=https://www.thesouthernreporter.co.uk/news/rock-star-fish-humbled-by-lyrics-carved-into-new-gala-stonework-1-2418978|title=Rock star Fish 'humbled' by lyrics carved into new Gala stonework|website=Thesouthernreporter.co.uk|access-date=12 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190713174904/https://www.thesouthernreporter.co.uk/news/rock-star-fish-humbled-by-lyrics-carved-into-new-gala-stonework-1-2418978|archive-date=13 July 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://siba.co.uk/2013/02/a-trip-down-memory-lane/ |title=A trip down memory lane « |website=Siba.co.uk |date=2013-02-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130718042442/http://siba.co.uk/2013/02/a-trip-down-memory-lane/ |archive-date=18 July 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>