Fischer-Z

John Watts, the enigmatic frontman handling vocals and guitar for Fischer-Z, propelled the group onto the music scene in 1979 via their eccentric opening album, Word Salad. Alongside him in the quartet were Steve Skolnick on keyboards, Steve Liddle on drums, and David Graham on bass; together they delivered a gritty strain of new wave that blended equal measures of Roxy Music and Talking Heads with infusions of art pop and prog rock. Watts’s singing stood out sharply, shifting between a deep baritone and an elevated range reminiscent of Pete Townsend on helium. Though the uneven debut failed to ignite major chart success, it yielded modest hits in “The Worker” and “First Impressions (Pretty Paracetamol),” the latter a softened re-recording of the record’s opening cut.

Fischer-Z followed with the tighter 1980 release Going Deaf for a Living, which favored melody over prog leanings and included the genuine hit “So Long,” a track that crossed into the U.S. and received notable radio exposure. By the arrival of Red Skies Over Paradise in 1981, Skolnick had departed and Watts steered the music toward a straighter, less ornate direction. European sales reached new heights for the band, yet the album received no American release, a pattern that continued with all later Fischer-Z projects. Recognizing that his creative direction was inherently personal, Watts dissolved the group at its peak and launched a solo career.

His first solo effort, One More Twist, appeared in 1982, followed the next year by the polished The Iceberg Model; neither matched the commercial peak of the final Fischer-Z album. After parting ways with EMI, Watts assembled the Cry, bringing Graham back into the fold, and issued an album on Arista before fading from view. Reconstituting Fischer-Z in 1987—with Watts the sole original member, though Skolnick contributed a cameo—produced a major European and Australian breakthrough via the single “The Perfect Day” and the album Reveal. Although the record bore little resemblance to earlier Fischer-Z work, Watts presented his refined approach to a broader listenership. Fish’s Head followed in 1989 with a somewhat heavier tone.

A further lineup shift yielded the striking 1992 album Destination Paradise, widely regarded as the band’s strongest to date. The intimate, acoustic-driven collection highlighted Watts’s songwriting and his warm, grounded vocals, now an octave lower than on the debut. Seeking to build on that momentum, Fischer-Z issued the edgier Kamikaze Shirt in 1993, fusing softer textures with sharper rhythms and occasional dance beats. Two years later came Stream, a work nearly matching Destination Paradise in quality. Once again sensing a turning point, Watts disbanded the project and returned to solo work under the JM Watts name, beginning with 1997’s Thirteen Stories High, which extended the direction of Stream. Two additional albums appeared under the Watts banner before he revived Fischer-Z a second time with 2002’s Ether. While continuing to issue solo material throughout the decade, he periodically revisited the Fischer-Z identity, releasing This Is My Universe in 2016 and Building Bridges in 2017.