Off-grid and unplugged: Rock singer Fish begins a new life as a crofter in the Outer Hebrides
What do rock stars do when they reach the age of retirement? It’s all about silence and the lambs for one famous Scottish singer, who is getting the flock out of the rat race
Scottish rock star Fish has hit a milestone in his life, officially becoming a pensioner on his recent birthday in April.
So you might think this would be a time when the singer, a popular solo artist and former frontman of cult 1980s prog rock band Marillion, could sit back and enjoy the fruits of his success, make use of the free bus pass and generally slow down a little.
But no. Not Fish.
The 67-year-old is packing up his life in lowland Scotland, selling the East Lothian home he has lived in for more than 30 years and moving to a remote island in the windswept Outer Hebrides.
But why?
It’s the fruition of an “exit plan” the Dalkeith-born artist, whose real name is Derek Dick, has been mulling for the past few years but has only recently taken shape – partly spurred by the Covid pandemic but also for the good of his soul.
“I’ve got to keep moving,” he said.
“I’m feel like I’m full here and it’s time for change.”
And what a change.
He and German wife Simone, who married in 2017, took a holiday in the Outer Hebrides in 2022, travelling around the archipelago and visiting friends there.
During the trip Fish – whose had one of his biggest hits with Marillion with Kayleigh, a song that sparked a generation of girls named in its honour – went to his first proper ceilidh and absolutely loved it.
He and Simone couldn’t believe how friendly and open the people were.
They liked the place so much they bought a croft with 30 acres of land on the isle of Berneray, south of Harris, and are due to take up full-time residence this month.
They aim to fully embrace the crofting life and become as self-sufficient as possible, growing their own produce and rearing sheep.
A new business is also on the cards – a cafe and farm shop – making use of Simone’s culinary talents.
They have already renovated the old croft house on the property and taken on a flock of 13 blackface ewes.
“When we took it over it was pretty derelict,” he said.
“The place was rotten and the roof was knackered.
“We were warned it could get ugly, and it did.
“The scale of the work could have taken others down, but we were lucky we had the resources to fix it up.
“The property was previously a holiday home but we want folk to realise that we are not part-time residents.
“We’re taking on the croft.
“And we’re already feeling welcome. People have been very supportive.
“We have already made great friends.”
Once properly moved in, they will get some hens and maybe a dog, as well as setting up polytunnels for growing food crops and planting fruit trees.
They are also building another house that will be their permanent home, with the existing one becoming the cafe and shop.
“I’m a crofter,” he said.
“That’s the way of life, that’s what we want to do.
“The peace and quiet up there is incredible. There’s a great quality of life.
“But you never really own a place, we’re only caretakers – that’s the way I look at it.”
The couple are no strangers to hard work, having created an extensive and productive garden at their cottage near Haddington.
But they have a lot of graft ahead, and Fish – aware of his advancing years – is determined to get the hardest things done as quickly as possible.
He has already had both knee joints replaced and there are a lot of fences needing put up, ditches to be dug, trees and veg to be planted and more construction work.
“I need to get the hard physical stuff done in the first five years,” he said.
“It’ll be a steep learning curve.
“We need to move in and get settled, and there will be a lot of experimentation.”
Their arrival on Berneray will bring the population to around 150.
Despite the new way of life, Fish won’t completely turn his back on music.
“I won’t go on the road but I’m not quitting,” he said.
“I’ll probably do a few acoustic, more organic gigs.
“Small-scale tours might happen, but not the big electric shows I’ve done in the past.”
The singer lost 180 gigs during the Covid pandemic and income from recording has dropped due to the digital revolution.
“There is more money in sheep than Spotify,” he laughed.
“The only way for musicians to make money is to go out there and play live.”
But it’s competitive and expensive and you never really know what you will get from a tour.
“There are too many bands and not enough venues,” he said.
“It’s a gamble – for a two-month tour you’ve got to pay wages for a whole crew, hire buses and all that.”
And you’re up against “big hoover bands”, as he calls them – mega names like Bruce Springsteeen and the Rolling Stones – who go on tour with huge stadium gigs and high-priced tickets.
“People are willing to pay because it might be their last chance to see a band, but with tickets costing £200 each people are not likely to go and see four or five gigs,” he said.
Later this year Fish will embark on a farewell tour – aptly named Road to the Isles – with 48 dates across Europe, some already sold out.
From October, he will take the stage in the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, Sweden, Luxembourg and the UK, including Scotland.
He will play two gigs in Haddington – his home town since 1988 and the place where his career began – with the tour culminating in Glasgow next March.
The couple are excited about the future.
Fish said: “We feel really relaxed up there.
“We’re stepping off the grid and we’ll be building, growing and being.
“We’re not afraid.”
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