We start with citing from an interview of Americana UK with John Watts “I can’t believe we’ve never heard of you. Why have we never heard of you?” And Peter Gabriel said, “He’s made a professional career of making sure people don’t know him!”
Watts formed Fischer-Z after an initial career as a clinical psychologist, and this challenging experience was integral to his subsequent reputation for having a confrontational style of performing. The band also gained a reputation for being a white band that could really play reggae. The band’s debut album Word Salad was released in 1979, and with two further albums recorded in quick succession (Going Deaf for a Living and Red Skies Over Paradise), they found success in Europe and sold more than two million albums.
The band recorded with the likes of Peter Gabriel, Steve Cropper and Dexys Midnight Runners, played alongside James Brown in East Berlin and toured with The Police and Dire Straits. They also toured the US and Canada and were on a bill with Bob Marley on his last-ever tour of Europe. Watts has released around 26 albums and played around 4,000 concerts.
From the previously mentioned interview: “Having done some research on the last fifty years of your musical career, there’s one recurring element to your character that your fellow musicians comment on. That you can be a bit of a pain!” Watts’s own words: “I’m difficult.”
The band steadily toured mainland Europe, cultivating a large and loyal fanbase over the years, which resulted in them not being able to develop the same status in their homeland.
Fischer-Z were more popular in mainland Europe than their native UK, especially in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Portugal (two top 10 hits and a #3 album). Fischer-Z were also very successful in Australia, where they achieved two Top 20 hits with “So Long” from the album Going Deaf for a Living and “The Perfect Day” from the album Reveal.
The evening was a seated event, which meant an audience of 954 people, sold out to the last seat.
John Watts picked for the show his baby-blue, highly customized Gibson Melody Maker; as his manager described it, “It’s a mix of a few different brands…”
While the show was advertised as “an evening with Fischer-Z,” at 8 PM John Watts came on stage and announced that their keyboard player, Chloe Leigh, would play a few songs. Leigh started off the evening with a 20-minute acoustic set. She has a great voice, but a few times her guitar playing was a bit off.
After a break of 10 minutes or so and a minor stage reset, the lights dimmed, stage fog was blown in, and John Watts recited a poem from the backstage. Then, slowly, the band took the stage and the night kicked off with Fischer-Z songs.
The sound quality was first class, as always at the Tanzbrunnen Theatre, and Watts’s voice cut through the nicely mixed music without any effort. As for his voice, with age Watts’s vocal register got deeper and lost its high pitch, although it is still recognizable.
The set drilled through the vast repertoire of Fischer-Z, from early work like “Pretty Paracetamol,” “Remember Russia” and “The Worker.” Of course, the night included “So Long,” “Marliese,” “Cruise Missiles,” “Battalions of Strangers” and “Red Skies Over Paradise” from their most successful era.
Fischer-Z is not a rare guest in the area. They have played at lots of venues in Bonn and Cologne and again had a successful night at Tanzbrunnen.
With no pit photography was possible only from the corners of the very wide stage or back of the room.
Accreditation: FKP Scorpio
