Editing Fish (singer) (section)

==Solo career==
Fish’s debut solo album ''[[Vigil in a Wilderness of Mirrors]]'' was released in January 1990. Although the recordings for the album finished in June 1989, EMI Records decided to delay the release until 1990, to avoid collision with Marillion's album ''[[Seasons End]],'' released in September 1989. Keyboardist [[Mickey Simmonds]] who had played with [[Mike Oldfield]], co-wrote the songs on the album, and would continue to play with Fish on the tour. Also guitarist [[Janick Gers]] co-wrote the track "View From the Hill".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fishmusic.scot/discography/vigil-in-a-wilderness-of-mirrors/|title=Vigil in a Wilderness of Mirrors|website=Fishmusic.scot|access-date=17 August 2023}}</ref> Several well known musicians contributed to the album, including former [[Dire Straits]] guitarist [[Hal Lindes]], who played guitar on most tracks and also contributed to the writing of three of the album’s songs. [[Frank Usher]], a Fish companion from pre-Marillion times, also contributed. Drums were played by [[Mark Brzezicki]] ([[Big Country]]) and [[John Keeble]] ([[Spandau Ballet]]), [[John Giblin]] contributed bass and [[Luís Jardim]] contributed additional percussion. Backing vocals came from [[Tessa Niles]], who had appeared on ''[[Clutching at Straws]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Vigil in a Wilderness of Mirrors - Fish {{!}} Credits |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/vigil-in-a-wilderness-of-mirrors-mw0000663256/credits |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=31 January 2020 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Vigil in a Wilderness of Mirrors - Fish {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/vigil-in-a-wilderness-of-mirrors-mw0000663256 |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=31 January 2020 |language=en-US}}</ref>

[[File:Fish Marillion Dereck William Dick.jpg|thumb|Fish during a concert in Poland, 2007]]

Many of Fish's later works contain lengthy [[spoken-word]] lyrics, shorter examples of which can be heard on earlier Marillion albums. He has collaborated with [[Genesis (band)|Genesis]] founder [[Tony Banks (musician)|Tony Banks]] on Banks's ''[[Still (Tony Banks album)|Still]]'' and ''[[Soundtracks (Tony Banks album)|Soundtracks]]'' albums, singing on the tracks "Shortcut to Somewhere", "Angel Face" and "Another Murder of a Day", co-writing the latter.

His solo career has never received the same recognition or attention, and to a lot of people he went missing soon after the ''Vigil in a Wilderness of Mirrors'' album, in February 1990, the album peaked at number 5 in the [[UK Albums Chart]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-08-20 |title=Fish|website=Officialcharts.com|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/25737/fish}}</ref> After finishing the Vigil World Tour at [[Royal Albert Hall]] on 9 July 1990, Fish was to enter litigation with EMI records resulting in a High Court injunction that stopped him releasing new music for almost a year. The extensive touring cost him dearly and the decision to go ahead with building a new studio in his home in [[Haddington, East Lothian|Haddington]] Scotland meant that funds were rapidly depleted along with his confidence and his creative energies.

The prospect of writing the follow-up for the new label, [[Polydor Records|Polydor]], filled him with dread. His second album ''[[Internal Exile (Fish album)|Internal Exile]]'' released in October 1991, was flirting with styles but never got into a particular groove and locking into a direction. The album's music reflected Fish's indulgence in the vast regions of music that he wanted to explore as a solo artist; most notably Celtic music and folk styles.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fishmusic.scot/discography/internal-exile/|title=Internal Exile|website=Fishmusic.scot|access-date=17 August 2023}}</ref> The acquisition of [[Chris Kimsey]] as producer could not save the project as he attempted to come to terms with a newly built studio and Fish plagued by bitterness and cynicism toward the industry. Polydor had rushed the album out with his acquiesence resulted in a fractured promotion campaign and low sales, and the UK promoter went bankrupt just as the tour was about to kick off.

Polydor wanted a new studio album but Fish persisted and he decided to release an album of cover versions called ''[[Songs from the Mirror]]''. Produced by James Cassidy, whom Fish met while both were working on [[Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of Spartacus|Jeff Waynes Spartacus]] album. They started recording in summer 1992 while simultaneously writing material for the next studio album ''Suits'', a cynical examination lyrically of the music business and executives who still fed Fish's cynical outlook on life. ''Songs from the Mirror'', released in January 1993, became the last album on Polydor. But the album was a turning point for Fish, and fully prepared him for the ''[[Suits (album)|Suits]]'' sessions, material which he had been rehearsing constantly on tour as he struggled to pay bills and musicians. Fish formed his own record company, Dick Bros. after advice from a medium who passed on messages from his grandfather. The Co. was named after the garage business he had started and Fish's father had run throughout his childhood. The first release was ''Sushi'', a live album to follow the five official bootleg releases, on Battleside, a company that temporarily filled the gap between Polydor and Dick Bros., and provided Fish with a lifeline and a quality alternative to the illegal live bootlegs that had followed his career.

His confidence had grown and was excited about the new songs on ''[[Suits (album)|Suits]]'' released in 1994, some of which were co-written by James Cassidy who had stayed on since producing the ''Songs from the Mirror'' album to assist employing his classical training and expertise with arrangements. It proved invaluable and together with his awareness and experience with modern production techniques the material was guaranteed to enter a new direction and to gain a momentum that would usher the solo career into a new era. Touring took precedent and Fish was well aware that road work was at the expense of writing a new studio album. He went for the break and opted for the two "Best of's", ''[[Yin and Yang (albums)|Yin and Yang]]'', containing re-recorded material from the Marillion era and solo albums, to give Fish the fuel and introduction to countries he had never managed to reach so far with his career. Released in 1995 these albums allowed him to stay on the road for nearly two years plugging away and hoping for the breakthrough that would give him the space to take a breath and write new material.

It never happened until 1997 when, after a tour in Bosnia, playing to the UN troops he reached the stage where he had to get experiences out and onto paper. Fish was introduced to [[Steven Wilson]], who although sympathetic to the progressive rock genre, had no intention of getting involved in a regressive album, which suited Fish fine and welcomed Wilson's influence with open ears. The writing sessions were open and new songs and approaches were generated from a healthy friction between Wilson and Fish as they fought for their identities in the material. Grooves and loops led the rhythmic foundations into what they described as "Progressive Nouveaux", still retaining the drama and tension associated with Fish's previous work, but taking it into a more modern setting with a new edge and aggression. With Calum Malcolm's mix and Elliot Ness engineering skills provided a technical quality to match the standard of the writing on ''[[Sunsets on Empire]]''. But once again the problem of underfunded promotion and advertising was to foil Fish's plans and a 115 date tour in 22 different countries was set up to attempt to give the album the attention it deserved. Seven months after its release the tour ground to an exhausted conclusion in December 1997. With a combination of tour losses and bad debts from third parties, Fish could no longer survive as an independent artist releasing his albums through Dick Bros. He was effectively broke and financing the recording of the album ''[[Raingods with Zippos]]'' were beyond his means.

Fish was asked to take part in a writing retreat in France by [[Miles Copeland III|Miles Copeland]]. Together with 23 songwriters from all over the world, Fish rediscovered himself and when he returned with new songs he was excited and eager to get on with the job of redefining his career, and writing the rest of the new album. Three songs were taken from the sessions in France for the set up for ''Raingods with Zippos'', together with a 25-minute epic called "Plague of Ghosts" written together with Tony Turrell and Mark Daghorn featuring Steven Wilson on guitar, and two tracks written with his old friend [[Mickey Simmonds]]. ''Raingods with Zippos'' was released by [[Roadrunner Records]] in April 1999. The ''Raingods'' album is often hailed as one of Fish's greatest solo achievements along with his 1990 debut.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Collins |first=Jon |title=Marillion Separated Out The Complete History 1979-2002 |publisher=Helter Skelter Publishing |year=2003 |pages=236–245}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/fish-bids-farewell-the-pain-of-the-world-and-the-album-he-was-born-to-make|title=Fish bids farewell: the pain of the world and the album he was born to make|first=Mick|last=Wall|date=8 January 2021|website=Loudersound.com|access-date=17 August 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pressreader.com/uk/prog/20211231/281517934439795|title=The Prog Interview|via=PressReader|access-date=17 August 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pennyblackmusic.co.uk/Home/Details?id=20986|title=Fish - Interview|first=Paul|last=Waller|website=Pennyblackmusic.co.uk|access-date=17 August 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk/whats-on/interview-with-ex-marillion-singer-fish-i-don-t-want-to-pe-9226179/|title=Interview with ex-Marillion singer Fish: 'I don't want to peter out'|date=17 November 2021|website=Cambridge Independent|access-date=17 August 2023}}</ref><ref>Liner notes, inner sleeve CD.</ref>

In May 2001, Fish released his first studio album on his new independent label the Chocolate Frog Record Company, ''[[Fellini Days]]'', which Fish co-wrote with [[John Wesley (guitarist)|John Wesley]] and [[John Young (British musician)|John Young]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-08-17 |title=Fellini Days The Remasters|website=Fishmusic.eu |url=https://fishmusic.eu/products/fellini-days-the-remasters-deluxe-edition-1}}</ref> ''[[Field of Crows]]'' was Fish's eighth solo studio album originally released in December 2003 and then to retail in May 2004. The album was mainly co-written with [[Bruce Watson (Scottish guitarist)|Bruce Watson]] and [[Irvin Duguid]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fishmusic.scot/discography/|title=FISH - Discography|website=Fishmusic.scot|access-date=17 August 2023}}</ref>

Fish appeared at World Bowl XI, 14 June 2003, Hampden Park, Glasgow. His performance included a rousing rendition of "Caledonia" before kick-off. In 2005, he won a Celebrity Music edition of ''[[The Weakest Link]]'', beating Eggsy of [[Goldie Lookin Chain]] in the final round, sharing £18,750 with Eggsy's charity and his own.

On 26 August 2007, Fish performed at the 'Hobble on The Cobbles' show at the Market Square in [[Aylesbury]]. He was accompanied on stage by his four former Marillion bandmates from the classic line-up ([[Mark Kelly (keyboardist)|Mark Kelly]], [[Steve Rothery]], [[Ian Mosley]] and [[Pete Trewavas]]) for one song: "[[Market Square Heroes]]". This was the first time they had performed together in nearly two decades. In a press interview following the event, Fish denied this would lead to a full reunion, claiming that "Hogarth does a great job with the band&nbsp;... We forged different paths over the 19 years."<ref name="Singer Fish and Marillion Reunite">{{cite news |title=Singer Fish and Marillion Reunite |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6966603.stm |access-date=6 June 2008 |work=BBC News |date=28 August 2007}}</ref>

His album ''[[13th Star]]'' was released on 12 September 2007 as a specially packaged pre-release version available to order from his website. A UK tour for this album commenced in March 2008, supported by [[Glyder (band)|Glyder]]. In February 2008, Fish was confirmed to be the Friday-night headline act at [[NEARFest]] X. He also appeared with [[BBC Radio 2]]'s [[Bob Harris (radio)|Bob Harris]] on [[GMTV]] to promote [[ChildLine Concert|Childline Rocks]], a charity concert.

In 2008, Fish presented a Friday evening radio show, ''Fish on Friday'', for digital radio station [[Planet Rock (radio station)|Planet Rock]]. When the station was faced with closure, Malcolm Bluemel (with the help of Fish, [[Tony Iommi]], [[Ian Anderson (musician)|Ian Anderson]] and [[Gary Moore]]) helped save Planet Rock by buying the station.<ref name="Planet Rock Saved">{{cite web|title=Fish – Planet Rock radio station saved |url=http://www.planetrock.co.uk/article.asp?id=731764 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330081715/http://www.planetrock.co.uk/article.asp?id=731764 |url-status=dead |archive-date=30 March 2019 |access-date=6 June 2008 }}</ref>

On 9 June 2008, Fish embarked on his first full North American tour in eleven years. At each stop, he hosted a pre-show meet-and-greet with his fans.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thedividingline.com/archives.html |title=Podcast interview "My Lunch With Fish" June 7, 2008 |publisher=Thedividingline.com |access-date=20 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110829062007/http://thedividingline.com/archives.html |archive-date=29 August 2011 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

On 20 and 21 October 2012, Fish hosted Fish Convention 2012 in [[Leamington Spa]]. He performed two acoustic sets and two electric sets, including material from his then upcoming studio album, ''[[A Feast of Consequences]]''. He also performed "Grendel", a fan-favourite Marillion B-side, twice. ''[[A Feast of Consequences]]'' was released in September 2013 to positive reviews,<ref>{{Cite web|website=Rateyourmusic.com |title=A Feast of Consequences by Fish - RYM/Sonemic |url=https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/fish/a-feast-of-consequences/ |access-date=2023-04-07 |language=en}}</ref>{{deprecated source|certain=y|date=November 2024}} supported by the single "[[Blind to the Beautiful]]".

Fish celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Marillion album ''[[Clutching at Straws]]'' on tour in 2018, alongside debuting material from his then upcoming studio album ''Weltschmerz''. A three track EP, ''A Parley With Angels'', was released in September 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|website=Discogs.com|title=Fish - A Parley With Angels |date=21 September 2018 |url=https://www.discogs.com/release/12555139-Fish-A-Parley-With-Angels |access-date=2023-04-07 |language=en}}</ref>

In April 2020, Fish revived his ''Fish on Friday'' show in the form of a weekly live video podcast, initially broadcast on Facebook<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fish on Friday - Live Show with Fish, every Friday! |url=https://fishmusic.scot/fishonfriday/ |access-date=2023-04-07 |website=Fishmusic.scot |language=en-US}}</ref> (later simulcast on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter). Created during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] to keep in touch with his fans and share stories from his career, the show was voted as the Event of the Year by ''[[Prog (magazine)|Prog]]'' magazine readers in 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Jerry Ewinglast |date=2022-11-10 |title=Vote In The Prog Magazine Readers' Poll 2022 |url=https://www.loudersound.com/news/vote-in-the-prog-magazine-readers-poll-2022 |access-date=2023-04-07 |website=Loudersound.com |language=en}}</ref> ''Fish on Friday'' remains active as of 2023, with new episodes of the show broadcast weekly.

In September 2020, Fish released ''Weltschmerz'', his final studio album. The album was supported by the singles "Weltschmerz", "Garden of Remembrance" and "This Party's Over". The album received positive reviews<ref>{{Cite web|title=Fish - Weltschmerz|url=https://www.albumoftheyear.org/album/264430-fish-weltschmerz.php|access-date=2021-09-09|website=Album of The Year|language=en-US}}</ref> and was commercially successful, having sold over 60,000 copies to date.<ref name=":0" /> 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. The tour was documented on the live album ''Vigil's End Tour 2021'', released on physical formats in December 2022 and digitally in March 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vigil's End UK Tour 2021 |url=https://fishmusic.scot/discography/vigils-end-tour-2021/ |access-date=2023-03-28 |website=Fishmusic.scot|language=en-US}}</ref>

In November 2023, [[Primary Wave (company)|Primary Wave Music]] struck a deal with Fish, to acquire the singer and lyricist’s master royalties and writer’s share for songs he wrote and performed with Marillion.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2023/11/28/primary-wave-music-partners-with-marillions-derek-dick-aka-fish/|title=Primary Wave Music Partners with Marillion's Derek Dick, AKA Fish|first=Ashley|last=King|website=Digitialmusicnews.com|date=29 November 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.musicconnection.com/primary-wave-partners-with-marillions-derek-dick-aka-fish/|title=Primary Wave Partners with Marillion's Derek Dick, AKA Fish|date=30 November 2023|website=Musicconnection.com}}</ref>