''Vigil in a Wilderness of Mirrors'' is the debut solo album by Scottish

neo-prog Neo-progressive rock (commonly abbreviated neo-prog) is a subgenre of progressive rock that developed in the UK in the early 1980s. The genre's most popular band, Marillion, achieved mainstream success in the decade. Several bands from the ge ...

singer

Fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

, released in 1990. Fish had departed

Marillion Marillion are a British neo-prog band, formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, in 1979. They emerged from the post-punk music scene in Britain and existed as a bridge between the styles of punk rock and classic progressive rock, becoming the mo ...

in 1988. Although the recordings for this album finished as early as June 1989,

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

Records decided to delay the release until early 1990 to avoid collision with Marillion's album '' Seasons End'', released in September. However, the track " State of Mind", featuring former

Dire Straits Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals, lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums, percussion). Th ...

guitarist Hal Lindes on guitar and guest musician John Keeble from

Spandau Ballet Spandau Ballet ( ) were an English new wave band formed in Islington, London, in 1979. Inspired by the capital's post-punk underground dance scene, they emerged at the start of the 1980s as the house band for the Blitz Kids (New Romantics), ...

on drums, was released as a single as early as 16 October 1989, more than three months ahead of the album. Further singles from the album were "Big Wedge" (the actual

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

, 27 December 1989), "A Gentleman's Excuse Me" (5 March 1990) and "The Company" (18 July 1990, only released in Germany).

Production and recording

The album was largely recorded at

Townhouse Studios The Town House (also known as Townhouse Studios) was a recording studio located at 140 Goldhawk Road, Shepherd's Bush in London, built in 1978 under the direction of Richard Branson for Virgin Records. The studios changed ownership and eventuall ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, with orchestral parts (on A Gentleman's Excuse Me) having been recorded at

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...

, during the first half of 1989, and produced by Jon Kelly.

Cover art

The cover art was by

Mark Wilkinson Mark Wilkinson (born 3 October 1952) is an English illustrator. He is best known for the detailed surrealistic cover art he created for a number of British bands. Wilkinson's breakthrough came through his association with the neo-prog band Mar ...

, who had illustrated all Marillion albums and singles while Fish was their singer and went on to design almost all Fish solo covers. The front cover features a close-up from a larger, very detailed painting/

collage Collage (, from the , "to glue" or "to stick together") is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an assembly of different forms, thus creating a new whole. (Compare with pasti ...

inside the

gatefold A gatefold cover or gatefold LP is a form of packaging for gramophone record, LP records that became popular in the mid-1960s. A gatefold cover, when folded, is the same size as a standard LP cover (i.e., a 12½-inch 2.7-centimetresquare). ...

LP cover and the CD booklet. The painting contains many references to the lyrics, political allusions as well as "hidden" messages only understandable to fans (such as the faces of Marillion's keyboardist

Mark Kelly Mark Edward Kelly (born February 21, 1964) is an American politician, retired astronaut, and former United States Navy, naval officer serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from Arizona, a seat he ha ...

and manager John Arnison). The central element is a "hill" consisting of junk consumer goods in a post-apocalyptic landscape, on top of which a couple clad in pseudo-oriental clothes stare into the distance, holding an

hourglass An hourglass (or sandglass, sand timer, or sand clock) is a device used to measure the passage of time. It comprises two glass bulbs connected vertically by a narrow neck that allows a regulated flow of a substance (historically sand) from the ...

. The man's cape, flapping in the wind, resembles the east of Scotland, with the

Southern Uplands The Southern Uplands () are the southernmost and least populous of mainland Scotland's three major geographic areas (the others being the Central Lowlands and the Highlands). The term is used both to describe the geographical region and to col ...

(Fish's home region) lit by light beams apparently emitted by the hourglass – a reference to Fish's interest in Scottish culture. Only the couple and the top of the hill are on the front cover. The TV sets and the Amiga 500 computer set the couple is standing on show pictures of Fish's face; on the larger version inside, these are replaced with faces from

Ingres Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres ( ; ; 29 August 1780 – 14 January 1867) was a French Neoclassicism, Neoclassical Painting, painter. Ingres was profoundly influenced by past artistic traditions and aspired to become the guardian of academic ...

' painting ''The Golden Age''.

Lyrics

The album is not a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

, however, several of the songs refer to "the hill" – a

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide, or obscure, clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are usually meant to cr ...

for greed and consumerism. The songs deal with the themes that Fish has always been passionate about – personal issues and politics – but in single-song format. "State of Mind" and "Big Wedge" stand out as the most overtly political songs: "State of Mind" strongly articulates the growing civic disillusionment in the late Thatcher years (although it does not mention her by name), "Big Wedge" is an explicit criticism of capitalist greed, American society and policies (the cover of the single features

Uncle Sam Uncle Sam (with the same initials as ''United States'') is a common national personification of the United States, depicting the federal government of the United States, federal government or the country as a whole. Since the early 19th centu ...

offering a wedge of dollar bills to the viewer). Incidentally, the lyric had earlier been vetoed by Marillion as "anti-American", they feared it might have hampered their entry into the U.S. market with the next album. Other songs express a more general disgust with materialism ("Vigil", "View From The Hill" and "The Company", the last of which is also a coded account of Fish's disillusionment with and departure from Marillion). "Family Business" refers to

domestic violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...

, the

bonus track An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century a ...

"The Voyeur (I Like To Watch)" to TV voyeurism. Finally, "A Gentleman's Excuse Me" and "Cliché" are

love song A love song is a song about love, falling in love, heartbreak after a breakup, and the feelings that these experiences bring. Love songs can be found in a variety of different music genres. They can come in various formats, from sad and emotion ...

s. The phrase "wilderness of mirrors" is originally from

T. S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist and playwright.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biography''. New York: Oxford University ...

's poem

Gerontion "Gerontion" is a poem by T. S. Eliot that was first published in 1920 in ''Ara Vos Prec'' (his volume of collected poems published in London) and ''Poems'' (an almost identical collection published simultaneously in New York).Gallup, Donald ''T ...

, but has since become a widely used metaphor for

disinformation Disinformation is misleading content deliberately spread to deceive people, or to secure economic or political gain and which may cause public harm. Disinformation is an orchestrated adversarial activity in which actors employ strategic dece ...

in spy fiction, where Fish picked it up. A number of the lyrical concepts on the album (most particularly, the ''Voice in the Crowd'' motif) can be heard in Marillion demo sessions released on the 1999 remaster of ''

Clutching at Straws ''Clutching at Straws'' is the fourth studio album by the British neo-prog band Marillion, released on June 22, 1987. It was the last album with lead singer Fish, who left the band in 1988, and is a concept album. Although ''Clutching at Straw ...

''. These sessions were part of the writing process for Marillion's fifth studio album with Fish, which never came to fruition. Many of the musical ideas developed on those demos can be heard on '' Seasons End'', the first Marillion album with

Steve Hogarth Steve Hogarth (born Ronald Stephen Hoggarth, 14 May 1956), also known as "h", is an English musician. Since 1989, he has been the lead singer of the rock band Marillion, for which he also performs additional keyboards and guitar. Hogarth was f ...

Musical style and contributing musicians

The album covers a variety of musical styles, including

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

("Vigil"),

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

("Big Wedge"),

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

("View From the Hill"), and

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

("The Company"). As he is primarily a lyricist and not a musical composer, Fish collaborated with keyboardist Mickey Simmonds in writing all songs except "View From the Hill", which was co-written and recorded with current

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most ...

guitarist

Janick Gers Janick Robert Gers (; born 27 January 1957) is an English musician who is best known as one of the three guitarists in Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Iron Maiden since 1990. He initially joined to replace Adrian Smith (musician) , Adrian ...

. Ex-

guitarist Hal Lindes contributed additionally to the writing of "State of Mind", "Family Business" and "Cliché". He also played guitar on most tracks, along with Frank Usher, a Fish companion from pre-Marillion times. Drums were handled by

Mark Brzezicki Mark Michael Brzezicki ( , ; born 21 June 1957) is an English musician, best known as the former drummer of the Scottish rock band Big Country. He has also played with Procol Harum, Casbah Club, The Cult, and From the Jam. Biography Brzezi ...

(of

Big Country Big Country are a Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in Dunfermline, Fife, in 1981. The height of the band's popularity was in the early to mid 1980s, although they have retained a cult following for many years since. The band's music inc ...

), John Keeble (of

, "State of Mind" only), bass by

John Giblin John Giblin (26 February 1952 – 14 May 2023) was a Scottish musician who worked as an acoustic and electric bass player spanning jazz, classical, rock, folk, and avant-garde music. He was a member of Simple Minds from 1985 to 1988, and w ...

, additional percussion by

Luís Jardim Luís Alberto Figueira Gonçalves Jardim (born 4 July 1950) is a Portuguese percussionist born on the island of Madeira. He is best known for his work with producer Trevor Horn. Family Jardim is a cousin of Alberto João Jardim (former presiden ...

, backing vocals by

Tessa Niles Tessa Margaret Niles ( ''née'' Webb; born 27 January 1961) is an English singer, best known as a backing singer for a wide variety of contemporary artists. She began her professional singing career in 1979. Early life and career Niles began h ...

, who had already appeared on ''

'', Marillion's last album with Fish (1987), and

Carol Kenyon Carol Kenyon (sometimes spelt Karol; born 1959) is a British singer. She is best known for her vocals on the Heaven 17 hit song "Temptation", which reached number two in the UK Singles Chart in 1983. When the song was re-released as a remix by ...

. Apart from these, there are performances on individual songs by

The Kick Horns Kick Horns are a UK horn section based in London. They have worked prolifically as session musicians with a wide variety of performers, and have also recorded as an ensemble. The Kick Horns were established in the 1980s by Simon C. Clarke and Ti ...

(

brass instrument A brass instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by Sympathetic resonance, sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips. The term ''labrosone'', from Latin elements meani ...

s on "Big Wedge"),

Davy Spillane Davy Spillane (born 1959 in Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish musician, songwriter and a player of uilleann pipes and low whistle. Biography Irish music At the age of 12, Spillane started playing the uilleann pipes. His father encouraged him ...

(

pipes Pipe(s), PIPE(S) or piping may refer to: Objects * Pipe (fluid conveyance), a hollow cylinder following certain dimension rules ** Piping, the use of pipes in industry * Smoking pipe ** Tobacco pipe * Half-pipe and quarter pipe, semi-circu ...

and

tin whistle The tin whistle, also known as the penny whistle, is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is a type of fipple flute, a class of instrument which also includes the recorder and Native American flute. A tin whistle player is called a whistl ...

on "Vigil"), Phil Cunningham (tin whistle, bodhran,

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...

on "The Company", "Internal Exile"),

Aly Bain Aly Bain MBE (born 15 May 1946) is a Scottish fiddler who learned his instrument from the old-time master Tom Anderson. The former First Minister of Scotland Jack McConnell called Bain a "Scottish icon." Career Bain was born in the town of Le ...

(

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

on "The Company", "Internal Exile") and

Gavyn Wright Gavyn Wright is a British violinist and orchestra leader with the London Session Orchestra and Penguin Cafe Orchestra. He is best known for his orchestral arrangements on pop productions (including Elton John, Simply Red, Bush, Mecano, ...

(credited as Gavin Wright, violin on "The Company", orchestral arrangement on "A Gentleman's Excuse Me", which was recorded with a 23-piece orchestra at

). The band with which Fish toured the album in 1989/1990 consisted of Mickey Simmonds (keyboards), Frank Usher & Robin Boult (guitars), Mark Brzezicki (drums) and Steve Brzezicki (bass, Mark's brother).

Re-releases

Remastered by

Calum Malcolm Calum Malcolm is a Scottish record producer, sound engineer and keyboardist, who is based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Career From 1974, he has worked with bands and musicians such as The Blue Nile, Capercaillie, Clannad, Emily Barker, Fish, The ...

in 1997, the album was reissued three times: 18 December 1997 on Fish's old label Dick Bros Record Company, on 28 October 1998 on

Roadrunner Records Roadrunner Records is a Dutch–American record label focused on Heavy metal music, heavy metal and hard rock music. Founded in the Netherlands in 1980, it is now a division of Warner Music Group and is based in New York City. Formerly seen as ...

, and in 2006 by Fish's current label Chocolate Frog. All remastered versions contain the original tracks and five bonus tracks originally released as b-sides of the accompanying singles, plus the original 1989 version of "Internal Exile". The edited and extended versions of the singles' A-sides are not included, a solo live recording of the Marillion song

Punch and Judy Punch and Judy is a traditional puppet show featuring Mr Punch and his wife Judy. The performance consists of a sequence of short scenes, each depicting an interaction between two characters, most typically the anarchic Mr Punch and one other ...

featured on the single "The Company" is also absent. In 2024, a deluxe edition of ''Vigil In A Wilderness Of Mirrors'' was released on Chocolate Frog Records as a 3CD digibook, a 4CD/Blu-ray set, and a 2LP boxed version. The deluxe edition includes a new remix and remaster (including Cliché and View From The Hill having switched positions in the tracklisting for View From The Hill to close the album, as originally intended), as well as, on the Blu-ray disc, new

Dolby Atmos Dolby Atmos is a surround sound technology developed by Dolby Laboratories. It expands on existing surround sound systems by adding height channels as well as free-moving sound objects, interpreted as three-dimensional objects with neither horiz ...

and 5.1 surround mixes by

, documentaries and promotional videos. The set also includes a disc of album demos, 2 discs of live material at various venues from previously released live albums.

Legal dispute with EMI

After Fish left Marillion, their label EMI automatically held the rights to his solo recordings under a leaving-member clause. However, Fish was dissatisfied with EMI's promotion and distribution and sought to leave the contract, which he finally achieved after a drawn-out lawsuit in late 1990/1991. As a result, ''Vigil in a Wilderness of Mirrors'' remains Fish's only album on EMI. EMI still owned the rights, which were licensed back to Fish, who has reissued it as described in the previous section. The album is now owned by

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...

/ WMG.

Track listing

All songs written by Derek W. Dick (Fish) and Mickey Simmonds, except where noted. #"Vigil" – 8:43 #"Big Wedge" – 5:19 #" State of Mind" (Dick, Hal Lindes, Simmonds) – 4:42 #"The Company" – 4:04 #"A Gentleman's Excuse Me" – 4:15 #"The Voyeur (I Like To Watch)" – 4:42 (Not on LP) #"Family Business" (Dick, Lindes, Simmonds) – 5:14 #"View From The Hill" (Dick,

) – 6:38 #"Cliché" (Dick, Lindes, Simmonds) – 7:01

Bonus tracks on the remastered version

#"Jack and Jill" – 4:28 (

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

of "Big Wedge") #"Internal Exile" (1989 Version) – 4:51 #"The Company" (Demo) – 4:30 #"A Gentleman's Excuse Me" (Demo) – 3:54 #"Whiplash" – 4:25 (B-side of "A Gentleman's Excuse Me")

3-CD, 2024, Remastered/Remixed, Digi-Book

CD 1 Vigil In A Wilderness Of Mirrors
2024 Remixed by Calum Malcolm

#"Vigil In A Wilderness Of Mirrors" – 8:46 #"Big Wedge" – 5:20 #"State of Mind" – 4:45 #"The Company" – 4:04 #"A Gentleman's Excuse Me" – 4:19 #"The Voyeur (I Like To Watch)" – 4:46 #"Family Business" – 5:18 #"Cliché" – 7:06 #"View From The Hill" – 6:52 #"Jack and Jill" – 4:26 #"Internal Exile" ('89 Version) – 4:47 #"Whiplash" – 4:21 CD 2 Demos
# Vigil In A Wilderness Of Mirrors (Demo) 8:33 # State Of Mind (Demo) 4:43 # The Company (Demo) 4:15 # The Voyeur (Demo) 5:06 # Big Wedge (Demo) 5:41 # Big Wedge (Instrumental Demo) 5:55 # Cliché (Demo) 4:34 # View From A Hill (Demo) 6:45 # Family Business (Demo) 5:11 # A Gentleman's Excuse Me (Demo) 3:59 # The Curious Hill (Unused Mickey Simmonds Demo) 8:34 CD 3 Live ''Dusseldorf Phillips Halle 7/12/91'' "Uncle Fish and the Crypt Keepers" # Vigil In A Wilderness Of Mirrors 9:26 # Big Wedge 6:31 ''Hammersmith Odeon 2/4/90'' "Pigpen's Birthday" #

The Voyeur 5:38 # State Of Mind 5:07 # A Gentleman's Excuse Me 3:53 # Cliché 6:47 ''Utrecht Vredenberg 21/3/94'' "Sushi" #

Family Business 5:43 # The Company 4:08 ''Haddington Corn Exchange 8/11/91'' "Derek Dick and his Amazing Dancing Bear" #

State Of Mind 5:40 ''Leamington Spa, 24/11/21'' "Vigils End" #

A Gentleman's Excuse Me 3:58 ''The Studio, Spittalrig Farm'' "Fishheads Club Acoustic Versions 11/3/12" #

Family Business 6:12 # Vigil In A Wilderness Of Mirrors 10:35

4-CD + Blu-ray Disc, 2024, Remastered/Remixed, Digi-Book

CD 1 Vigil In A Wilderness Of Mirrors
2024 Remixed by Calum Malcolm

#"Vigil In A Wilderness Of Mirrors" – 8:46 #"Big Wedge" – 5:20 #"State of Mind" – 4:45 #"The Company" – 4:04 #"A Gentleman's Excuse Me" – 4:19 #"The Voyeur (I Like To Watch)" – 4:46 #"Family Business" – 5:18 #"Cliché" – 7:06 #"View From The Hill" – 6:52 #"Jack and Jill" – 4:26 #"Internal Exile" ('89 Version) – 4:47 #"Whiplash" – 4:21 CD 2 Demos
# Vigil In A Wilderness Of Mirrors (Demo) 8:33 # State Of Mind (Demo) 4:43 # The Company (Demo) 4:15 # The Voyeur (Demo) 5:06 # Big Wedge (Demo) 5:41 # Big Wedge (Instrumental Demo) 5:55 # Cliché (Demo) 4:34 # View From A Hill (Demo) 6:45 # Family Business (Demo) 5:11 # A Gentleman's Excuse Me (Demo) 3:59 # The Curious Hill (Unused Mickey Simmonds Demo) 8:34 CD 3 Live ''BBC Town and Country 11/11/89'' # Vigil In A Wilderness Of Mirrors 8:44 # Family Business 5:22 ''Hammersmith Odeon 2/4/90'' "Pigpen's Birthday" #

The Voyeur 5:38 # State Of Mind 5:07 # A Gentleman's Excuse Me 3:53 # Cliché 6:47 ''BBC Nottingham Royal Court 15/11/91'' #

Big Wedge 6:23 # The Company 4:02 # Vigil In A Wilderness Of Mirrors 9:21 ''Muziekcentrum Enschede 28/6/02'' #

State Of Mind (featuring Jan Akkerman) 13:18 CD 4 Live (continued) ''Dusseldorf Phillips Halle 7/12/91'' "Uncle Fish and the Crypt Keepers" # Vigil In A Wilderness Of Mirrors 9:26 # Big Wedge 6:31 ''Haddington Corn Exchange 8/11/91'' "Derek Dick and his Amazing Dancing Bear" #

State Of Mind 5:40 ''Utrecht Vredenberg 21/3/94'' "Sushi" #

Family Business 5:43 # The Company 4:08 ''Przemysl, Poland 97'' #

Cliché 8:08 ''Leamington Spa, 24/11/21'' "Vigils End" #

View From A Hill 6:41 # A Gentleman's Excuse Me 3:58 ''The Studio, Spittalrig Farm'' "Fishheads Club Acoustic Versions 11/3/12" #

Family Business 6:12 # Vigil In A Wilderness Of Mirrors 10:35 Blu-ray Disc # Vigil In A Wilderness Of Mirrors 2024 Remix - Dolby Atmos and 5.1 mixes # Fish Interview "Climbing The Hill" Documentary Film # Mark Wilkinson Interview "The Art Of Vigil" Documentary Film # State Of Mind Promo Video # Big Wedge Promo Video # A Gentleman's Excuse Me Promo Video # Pigpen's Birthday - Live at the Hammersmith Odeon 2/4/1990 Full 'Official Bootleg' Concert Audio # For Whom The Bells Toll! - Edinburgh Playhouse New Years Eve 1991 Full 'Official Bootleg' Concert Audio

Personnel

* Fish (Derek W. Dick) – vocals * Frank Usher – guitars (Tracks 1–7,9-12 and 14) * Hal Lindes – guitars (1-7 and 11) *

– guitars (8) *

– bass guitars (1-9 and 11) * Mickey Simmonds – keyboards (1-12 and 14); piano (13); drum programming (10 and 12) *

– Pipes (1); Whistles (1) * Phil Cunningham – whistles (1,4 and 11); accordion (4 and 11);

bodhrán The bodhrán (, ; plural ''bodhráin'') is a frame drum used in Irish music ranging from in diameter, with most drums measuring . The sides of the drum are deep. A Goatskin (material), goatskin head is tacked to one side (synthetic heads or ot ...

(4) *

– violin (4 and 11) *

– violin (4) *Alison Jones – violin (12) *

– drums (1,2,4,6-9 and 11) * John Keeble – drums (3) *

– percussion (2-4 and 9) *

– backing vocals (2,3,7 and 9) *

– backing vocals (2,7 and 9)

Charts

The only Fish album to be released by EMI, it was also his most commercially successful. In February 1990, the album peaked at number 5 in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

, with the singles reaching no. 32 ("State of Mind", October 1989), no. 25 ("Big Wedge", January 1990) and no. 30 ("Gentleman's Excuse Me", March 1990) on the UK Singles Chart.

Certifications

References

External links

Discography information on Fish's official website
{{Authority control 1990 debut albums Fish (singer) albums Albums produced by Jon Kelly EMI Records albums