I was saddened to hear today of the sudden death of the eloquent gentleman who was the frontman of The Jazz Butcher. As a latecomer to the band, who first came to my attention with the inclusion of their track Looking for Lot 49 on the Creation compilation, Doing it For the Kids, I quickly sought out their back catalogue, and had been a fan ever since.
Pat was still very active as a musician and had only very recently recently postponed an online gig as he had been feeling unwell. However, his death has come as a shock to those closest to him.
A statement was released earlier today by Max Eider, friend and bandmate of Pat, via the band and Pat’s Facebook pages today.
“Very sad to announce that my old friend Pat Fish died suddenly but peacefully on Tuesday evening. Pat rocked my world in every way and his death leaves a big hole in my life and in my memory, much of which was only stored in his outsized brain. Goodbye mate and thanks for everything. I’m going to miss you. Max x”
Pat will be sadly missed by all of those who knew and loved him, both personally and through his music.
“Pat Fish had just finished recording a new album with Lee Russell featuring Dave Morgan on drums, Tim Harries on bass with Max Eider and Peter Crouch on guitars. His first new material since 2012.”
A song from this recording has an affecting prescience to it.
“The Jazz Butcher – ‘Time’
Taken from the forthcoming new album to be released by Tapete Records in 2022″
TIME
My hair’s all wrong. My time ain’t long.
Fishy go to heaven, get along, get along.
I’m having too much fun to get anything done.
Leave me be. I’m not hurting anyone.
I took a long weekend in the psychedelic shack
And when you cross that bridge you ain’t never coming back.
I‘ve got scars and stripes and burns,
I‘ve got the law of diminishing returns.
I‘ve got a one-way ticket to a pit of Council lime
I’ve barely got a minute till I’m in it
But for you I’ve got time.
A little bit of time.
Luminous. Leguminous. Salubrious. Lugubrious.
Time’s running out. The money’s running out.
You don’t need me to tell you what it’s all about.
Time’s running out. The money’s running out.
Oh, baby!
A small boy who just watched his cousin being shot
Is being pushed down a mine coz we’ve got to have the lithium.
Forced labour, privatised jails.
Yeah – and all that that entails.
Tik tok. Never mind. You’re gonna live forever.
Yeah – in a razor wire dormitory,
Working on the long shift, doing what you’re told to,
Doing what you’re told to,
Doing what we used to call time.
(It’s murder.)
Respectable. Bespectacled. Electable. Detestable.
Time’s running out. The money’s running out.
You don’t need me to tell you what it’s all about.
Time’s running out. The money’s running out.
Oh, baby!
I’ve overdone the underside and now I am undone.
There’s no one here to see, though, cos I don’t see anyone.
And if I hadn’t told you that, you never would have known,
Unless I told you secretly when we were all alone.
Things are running slow. Things are running low.
You can have one more but then we gotta go.
One more before the bottle. One more before the mast.
One more shot for Davy Jones, better make it fast.
Time’s running out. The money’s running out.
You don’t need me to tell you what it’s all about.
Time’s running out. The money’s running out.
Oh, baby!