Hello David and friends,
It is very hard for me to write this message. I am going through the same thing you went through 6 months ago. I truly believed that Pat Fish was indestructible and that I would be able to talk to him one of these days .... I just learned of his death.
I saw him playing on stage several times in the 80's (I have all the tickets) and once in 94, in Toulouse. Like many of you, I cherish a few fragments of space-time shared with him. Here are 2 of them:
When I first met him (in 1987, after the gig in Tours), A Scandal in Bohemia had been playing on my turntable for months. It was the time when I had started a band with a friend just because I dreamed of opening for The Jazz Butcher (which never happened). I adored his music, and I was having a great love story with him in my head. Everyone was laughing at me. That night, when he dedicated La Mer to me during the gig, I had almost tombé dans les pommes (fainted). The friends who had asked him for the dedication without telling me then dragged me backstage, and I found myself facing my hero. I lost all my means; I was mesmerized. As I didn't speak a word of english, I just looked at him with an enamored stare. He had the elegance not to laugh and he very politely made the conversation all by himself (and in French, at that). I have a dazzling memory of this monologue.
I saw Pat again in concert in 1994, in Toulouse. I was much more relaxed than in 1987, and my english was a little better. When he asked me news of my band, I was able to tell him that « I had been fired some time ago. Yes, FIRED! » At the time I was still feeling bad and sad about this, but that night, thanks to Pat, I could laugh about this sorry episode.
I missed his last concert in Paris, in 2019. I missed the Fishy Mansions Sessions when they aired. I didn’t see the announcement of his death. Since 2018, I can't access my old Facebook account, the one through which, in the 2010s, I had become friend again with the great Pat Fish. And for the past few months, I've done everything I could to avoid all social medias. But I was going to send him an invitation from my new account as soon as I’d feel better. Today, I feel like my heart has been ripped out.
My thoughts are with his loved ones, his pocket tiger and all those who knew him and loved his music...
Faustine (Florence Dolisi)
Bonjour David and Friends
C’est très dur pour moi d’écrire ce message. Je suis en train de traverser la même chose que vous il y a 6 mois. Je croyais sincèrement que Pat Fish était indestructible et que je pourrais discuter avec lui un de ces jours…. Je viens seulement d’apprendre sa mort.
Je l’ai vu plusieurs fois en concert dans les années 80 (j’ai gardé tous les tickets) et une fois en 94, à Toulouse. Comme beaucoup d’entre vous, je chéris quelques fragments d’espace-temps partagés avec lui. En voici 2 :
Quand je l’ai rencontré pour la première fois (en 1987, après le concert de Tours), A Scandal in Bohemia tournait sur ma platine depuis des mois. C’était l’époque où j’avais monté un groupe avec une copine juste parce que je rêvais de faire un jour la première partie de The Jazz Butcher (ce qui n’eut jamais lieu). J’adorais sa musique, et je vivais dans ma tête une grande histoire d’amour avec lui. Tout le monde se moquait gentiment de moi. Ce soir-là , quand il m’a dédié La Mer pendant le concert, j’ai failli tomber dans les pommes. Les copains qui lui avaient demandé cette dédicace sans me prévenir m’ont ensuite trainée backstage, et je me suis retrouvée face à mon héros. J’ai perdu tous mes moyens ; j’étais tétanisée. Comme je ne parlais pas un mot d’anglais, je me suis contentée de le regarder d’un air niais. Il a eu l’élégance de ne pas rire et il a très courtoisement fait la conversation à lui tout seul (et en français, en plus). J’en garde un souvenir ébloui.
J’ai revu Pat en concert en 1994, à Toulouse. J’étais beaucoup plus détendue qu’en 1987, et je me débrouillais un peu mieux en anglais. Quand il m’a demandé ce que devenait mon groupe, j’ai pu lui répondre dans la langue de Shakespeare que j’avais été virée comme une malpropre. FIRED ! J’en avais encore gros sur la patate ; mais ce soir-là , grâce à Pat, j’ai réussi à rigoler de cet épisode navrant.
J’ai raté son dernier concert à Paris, en 2019. J’ai raté les Fishy Mansions Sessions au moment de leur diffusion. Je n’ai pas vu passer l’annonce de sa mort. Depuis 2018, je n’arrive plus à accéder à mon ancien compte Facebook, celui grâce auquel, dans les années 2010, j’étais redevenue amie avec le grand Pat Fish. Et ces derniers mois, j’ai tout fait pour éviter les réseaux sociaux. Mais je comptais lui envoyer une invitation depuis mon nouveau compte dès que je me sentirais mieux. Aujourd’hui, j’ai l’impression qu’on m’a arraché le cœur.
Je pense très fort à ses proches, à son tigre de poche et à tous celles et tous ceux qui l’ont connu et qui aiment sa musique…
Faustine (Florence Dolisi)
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Fond Memories of Pat
tregg01...
- Greg, Michigan USA
- 3Apr2022 11:01 PM
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#196/200
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I just learned today of Pat's untimely death and I'm genuinely saddened by the loss. I picked up an LP version of Bloody Nonsense while a student at Michigan State in the mid 80s, and was hooked. Had the good fortune to see the JB at Schubas in Chicago in 2000 (fantastic show), but my luck hit it's zenith in 2010 when my family and I traveled to London for a spring break vacation. On a whim, I reached out to him through the site, asking if there was any way I could have him come to London to perform for us. Stayed at the Andaz in East London, and I visited a pub the night before to ask the manager if we could come by with Pat to watch him perform there. He said as long as we ate and drank there, that would be fine. He showed up in the hotel lobby the following night, right on time, wearing a black suit and his guitar in hand. Lovely guy, and we made our way up to the room to chat. Told him of my plan to use the pub, and he agreed, so we walked over. I believe it was a Monday night, and the place was packed, so it was determined to not be suitable for us to stay, we we had some drinks and food, and headed back to the hotel. For the next few hours, he entertained us in our room with his acoustic guitar, playing standards and taking requests from me. I had brought along all of my JB CDs and he autographed them all, drinking Becks beer throughout the evening (when I asked him what kind of beer he favored, he said "anything of German stripe." I had a good friend from Wales with me, who is the same age as Pat, and he loved it as well. At one point, they broke out in song with the old "Hitler, has only got one ball, the other, is in the Albert Hall..." It was fucking fantastic. When the evening ended, he graciously thanked me for having him and made his way into the night on a train to Northampton. THANK YOU for a splendid, evening, Pat and may you rest in peace.
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Thanks for the music!
4ad...
- Jeff in Toronto
- 16Mar2022 8:50 PM
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#195/200
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One of the more bizarre things Alan McGee's Creation label did was signing one of the biggest bands in the world (Oasis) while also giving an international platform for bands no one had a clue existed. One such band, The Jazz Butcher, was allowed to develop at Creation without the pressures of commercialism. When the band toured in the early 90s they visited Edmonton a couple times where I saw them play at The Bronx venue. I fondly recall when lead Butcher Pat Fish did an in-store at the HMV at West Ed Mall where he pointed at me and remarked on my Husker Du t-shirt. Pat was able to write, sing and play with an honesty that can effortlessly bring me to tears. It's this intimate style of genuine human engagement that is rare in the entertainment business. Thanks for the music, Pat!
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Chicken in heaven?
Bill983...
- Mr. Bill
- 5Mar2022 6:23 PM
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#194/200
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Ah I guess that's so many people's problem these days:
You can see the hills - you just can't go there
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Still processing
leifcgustavson...
- Leif Gustavson, Hillsboro Oregon
- 16Feb2022 1:35 AM
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#193/200
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Still rocked by this news and deeply saddened. Been going back through Pat's catalog and it is incredible. Shimmering. Fresh. Funny. Earnest. The musicality: unparalleled. I have purposefully pulled behind a slow car or timed red lights on the way to work so that I can hear one more Butcher song. Back in '89, I was studying abroad and saw that the Jazz Butcher was playing in London at Subterania, if memory serves. I ventured out alone and caught the show. It was amazing. During a break, Pat walked to the bar to grab what must have been a pilsner. I was walking away with one in hand. We passed each other and I think I said something like "Hey, Pat. That was fantastic!" He stopped, looked me in the eyes, and said "thanks, mate." Not much of a story, I know, but he could have simply brushed by me or ignored me. That's not Pat. I feel incredibly lucky to have seen them live and met him fleetingly. We have lost a great one.
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With Great Sadness
jcespite...
- Joe for Richmond Hill, Ontario
- 14Feb2022 6:33 PM
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#192/200
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I was in pitchfork yesterday and reading a review of your last album when I found out that you had past away. I have been a fan since the first time I heard Southern Mark Smith in the early 80s! I've collected your albums both on vinyl and then CD and followed you on Bandcamp. I've introduced your music to friends and girlfriends. You will be sadly missed! Today I'm just listening to your music to remember what you meant to me in my life and how your music moved me! RIP!
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...until we meet again
gracemarimba...
- Richard
- 12Feb2022 1:23 AM
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#191/200
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Pat - you were a friend and an inspiration. I am still in denial that you are gone. Thank you for what you gave to me in words and sound in the time you were here.
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