Fischer-Z

Fischer-Z have been making exhilarating, thought-provoking pop records since the late 1970s when they first arrived as part of the New Wave explosion, recording three widely admired albums for the UA label that were increasingly successful, particularly in Europe, until the band collapsed, exhausted in 1981.
Since then, the last remaining original member, front man John Watts, has made two dozen albums, either solo or with the band, forging a picaresque, sometimes chaotic career on his own terms: a parade of hits, flops, bold costume changes, misadventures and resounding triumphs that have kept him in the public eye practically everywhere but in English-speaking countries.

“Yes, I’m considered a wordsmith, a poet, a master of the English tongue almost everywhere else,” he laughs.

From 20,000 German students protesting against national service, marching arm in arm while singing his song, Berlin, to touring with Bob Marley, who rated Fischer Z’s ability to play reggae, Watts has extraordinary tales to tell. He witnessed a legendary scrap between Paul Weller and Sid Vicious, he’s borrowed gear from Kate Bush and Frank Zappa, come under crossbow fire in Greece, been bitten onstage in New Orleans and used the FC St. Pauli football team as a choir.

“EU journalists assume I’m well known in Britain. But I just wasn't here enough. To play in the game you’ve got to be on the pitch!”

There’s a new album Punkt! coming in the spring - so called because it symbolizes a full stop on a tumultuous 18 months of his life and reinforces the fact that John has always seen Fischer-Z as ‘Artpunks’! This will be his 26th album, and the first volley in what Watts sees as a five year drive to leave a mark on his home turf at last.

“I so want people to hear what I’m doing. I love this new record, but it's just one brick in a huge wall. I'd like people in Britain, Australia and America to know that I've built that wall. I'm nearly 70, but I intend to produce a bunch of musical works in the next five years as good as anything I've ever done. Punkt! is a complete departure from previous ones. It is a collaboration with producer/writer Tony Mac. I want to keep the standard high, visit some places I’ve never been before, and show people what I can do.”