Fischer-Z

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Fisher z" redirects here. For the statistical term, see Fisher's z-distribution
.
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve th
is article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be ch
allenged and removed. (December 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this templat
e message)
Fischer-Z
Fischer-Z.JPG
John Watts in 2012 playing at the Liberation Day Festival in The Hague
Background information
Origin United Kingdom
Genres Rock, new wave
Years active 1976 2002
Members John Watts guitar, vocals
Steve Liddle - drums
David Graham bass guitar
Steve Skolnik - keyboards
Wiki letter w.svg
This article's lead section may not adequately summarize key points of its conte
nts. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all
important aspects of the article. Please discuss this issue on the article's ta
lk page. (May 2016)
Fischer-Z were a British rock band formed in 1976 by John Watts and Steve Skolni
k at Brunel University, Uxbridge. The original line-up consisted of Watts (vocal
s, guitar), Skolnik (keyboards), David Graham (bass) and Steve Liddle (drums).
The band's name is pronounced "f??? z?d" (fisher zed), a pun on "fish's head" wi
th the "h" dropped, as is usual in many British regional accents. The pun also r
elies on leaving the "r" unpronounced as in common British non-rhotic accents.
Contents [hide]
1 History
2 Discography
2.1 Singles
2.2 Albums
2.3 Compilation albums
3 References
4 External links
History[edit]
Fischer-Z's first hit single was "The Worker" from the album Word Salad. In an i
nterview in Record Mirror in 1981, Watts put the single's success down to the re
mix of the song from the album version, which put the emphasis on the keyboards
rather than his guitar.
Skolnik departed after their second album Going Deaf for a Living, leaving Watts
to take over keyboards.[1]
Watts' lyrics draw heavily on his experiences of studying clinical psychology an
d as a mental health care worker. Several songs on their third album Red Skies O
ver Paradise in 1981, such as "Berlin" and "Red Skies Over Paradise" were about
the Cold War and the song "Cruise Missiles" was about the nuclear arms race and
the mutual threat of the superpowers with nuclear war. Fischer-Z were more popul
ar in mainland Europe than their native UK, especially in Germany, Belgium, The
Netherlands, and Portugal (two top 10 hits and a No. 3 album). Fischer-Z were al
so successful in Australia, where they achieved two Top 20 hits with "So Long" f
rom the album Going Deaf for a Living and "The Perfect Day" from Reveal.[2]
After the album Red Skies over Paradise Watts dissolved the band in mid-1981, de
ciding his art could not evolve within a band context.
Watts released his solo debut One More Twist in 1982 followed by The Iceberg Mod
el in 1983. Also during 1982 David Graham teamed up with guitarist Mike Francis
in The Yes Men only to part company early the following year. In 1984 John Watts
formed the band The Cry with Mike Been, David Graham and Theo Thunder, this alb
um placed an emphasis on crucial groove elements and was produced by Jimmy Dougl
ass. In 1988 Watts released the Reveal album under the name Fischer-Z, a new ban
d with the same name in which he was the only original member, although Skolnik
made a minor contribution to one track. The second album in this Fischer-Z perio
d, Fish's Head included the "Say No" single with a politically charged black & w
hite Nick Brandt music video which was banned by their record label on the groun
ds of it potentially "endangering the lives of their employees worldwide".[citat
ion needed] In this period Watts performed to 167,000 people at a Peace Festival
in East Berlin along with James Brown and he was interviewed about Thatcherism
on German national news.
There was a 2004 reunion of the original band for one short show which featured
on the Garden Party DVD which was released along with the Fischer-Z Highlights 1
979-2004 25th anniversary compilation album.
24 April 2014 John Watts Fischer-Z start a four-day tour of the Netherlands in D
e Vorstin in Hilversum, which will then continue into Germany.[3] This tour is l
eading up to the release of a new album This is my universe.[4]
Discography[edit]
Singles[edit]
Year Single Peak positions Album
UK
[5] AUS
[2] BEL
(FLA)
[6] GER
[7] NED
[8]
1978 "Wax Dolls" Word Salad
1979 "Remember Russia"
"The Worker" 53 23 26
"First Impressions (Pretty Paracetamol)" Word
1980 "So Long" 72 15 14 12 Going Deaf for a Living
"Crazy Girl"
"Room Service" 41
"Limbo"
1981 "Marliese" 21 37 5 Red Skies over Paradise
"'Cutters Lullaby"
"Berlin"
"El Escritor" (Spanish release of 'The Writer')
1988 "The Perfect Day" 91 12 Reveal
"Big Drum"
1989 "Say No" 168 Fish's Head
"Masquerade"
1990 "Sausages and Tears" (credited to John Watts and Fischer Z)
nly
1992 "Destination Paradise" Destination Paradise
"Will You Be There?" 95
1993 "Tightrope"
"Caruso"
"The Peaches & Cream" Kamikaze Shirt
"Human Beings"
1994 "Marlon"
"You Never Cross the Same River Twice (Turn Back the Clock)"
1995 "Need Protection"
"Red Skies over Paradise" (1995 recording) The B
2002 "Jukebox" Ether
"Delight" Ether (German pressing only)
2004 "Back to Berlin" Highlights 1979 to 20
" " denotes releases that did not chart or were not released.
Albums[edit]
Fischer-Z:
Word Salad (1979) UK #66,[5] NED #21[9]
Going Deaf for a Living (1980) AUS #52,[2] NED #6[9]
Red Skies over Paradise (1981) AUS #70,[2] GER #6,[7] NED #2[9]
Reveal (1987) AUS #93,[2] GER #49[7]
Fish's Head (1989) GER #56[7]
Destination Paradise (1992) GER #93[7]
Kamikaze Shirt (1993)
Stream (1995) GER #80[7]
Ether (2002)
John Watts - Fischer-Z 2011 (2011)
This Is My Universe (2016)
John Watts discography (includes work outside Fischer-Z):
One More Twist (1982)
The Iceberg Model (1983)
Quick Quick Slow (1984) (Released under the moniker: "The Cry")
Thirteen Stories High (1997) (Released under the moniker: "J.M. Watts")
Bigbeatpoetry (1999) (Released under the moniker: "Watts")
Spiritual Headcase (2000) (Released under the moniker: "Watts")
Ether Music & Film (2002)
Real Life Is Good Enough (2005)
It Has To Be (2006)
Morethanmusic & Films (2009)
Compilation albums[edit]
Fischer-Z Going Red For A Salad (1990)
The Worker (1998)
The Perfect Album (1999)
Fischer-Z The Garden Party DVD (2004)
Fischer-Z Highlights 1979-2004 (2004)
References[edit]
Jump up ^ Larkin, Colin (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Seventies Music. Lond
on: Virgin Books. p. 155. ISBN 0-7535-0154-6.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e Australian chart peaks:
Top 100 (Kent Music Report) peaks to 19 June 1988: Kent, David (1993). Australia
n Chart Book 1970 1992. St Ives: Australian Chart Book. p. 112. ISBN 0-646-11917-6
. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid-1983 and 19 June 1
988.
Top 50 (ARIA Chart) peaks from 26 June 1988: "australian-charts.com > Fischer-Z
in Australian Charts". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2016-09-02.
Reveal (ARIA Chart) peak: "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 13 Sep
tember 2016". Imgur.com. Retrieved 2016-09-13.
"Say No" (ARIA Chart) peak: "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 5 Ju
ne 2015". Imgur.com. Archived from the original on 5 June 2015. Retrieved 2016-0
9-02.
Top 100 (ARIA Chart) peaks from January 1990 to December 2010: Ryan, Gavin (2011
). Australia's Music Charts 1988 2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publi
shing.
Jump up ^ http://fischer-z.com/live
Jump up ^ http://fischer-z.com/
^ Jump up to: a b "Official Charts > Fischer-Z". The Official UK Charts Company.
Retrieved 2016-09-02.
Jump up ^ "Ultratop Vlaanderen > Zoeken naar: Fischer-Z" (in Dutch). Hung Medien
. Retrieved 2016-09-02.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f German chart peaks:
"Marliese": "Offizielle Deutsche Charts > Fischer-Z Marliese (single)" (in Germa
n). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 2016-09-02.
"Will You Be There?": "Offizielle Deutsche Charts > Fischer-Z Will You Be There?
(single)" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 2016-09-02.
Red Skies over Paradise: "Offizielle Deutsche Charts > Fischer-Z Red Skies over
Paradise (album)" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 2016-09-02.
Reveal: "Offizielle Deutsche Charts > Fischer-Z Reveal (album)" (in German). GfK
Entertainment. Retrieved 2016-09-02.
Fish's Head: "Offizielle Deutsche Charts > Fischer-Z Fish's Head (album)" (in Ge
rman). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 2016-09-02.
Destination Paradise: "Offizielle Deutsche Charts > Fischer-Z Destination Paradi
se (album)" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 2016-09-02.
Stream: "Offizielle Deutsche Charts > Fischer-Z Stream (album)" (in German). GfK
Entertainment. Retrieved 2016-09-02.
Jump up ^ "dutchcharts.nl > Zoeken naar: Fischer-Z" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Ret
rieved 2015-10-29.
^ Jump up to: a b c "dutchcharts.nl > Zoeken naar: Fischer-Z (album)" (in Dutch)
. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2016-09-02.
Official John Watts biography http://johnwatts.co.uk/MtM/Biography.php
External links[edit]
Fischer-Z Official website
John Watts Official Mobile Blog
Fischer-Z on WorldMusicDatabase
John Watts Wikipedia page
Authority control
WorldCat Identities VIAF: 152756622 ISNI: 0000 0001 0945 5325 GND: 10277176-5 BN
F: cb139034944 (data) MusicBrainz: 51b13c47-bb31-4eda-aaef-7c9bf84c5d9a
Categories: English rock music groupsEnglish new wave musical groups
Navigation menu
Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView histor
ySearch
Search Wikipedia
Go
Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store
Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page
Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page
Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version
Languages
Deutsch
Espaol
Nederlands
Plattdtsch
Portugus
???????
Edit links
This page was last modified on 1 March 2017, at 14:27.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; add
itional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and P
rivacy Policy. Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, I
nc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaDevelopersCookie statem
entMobile viewWikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki