Reproduced from Scottish Daily Record 27 August, 1999

But the trio teamed up in the making of Raingods With Zippos, the album ex-Marillion singer Fish hopes will re-launch his flagging solo career.

Copeland - once on the CIA's payroll and father of ex-Police drummer Stewart Copeland - met Fish as he contemplated his next move after a tough year.

So he invited Fish - real name Derek Dick - to get away from it all at his £3 million chateau in France as part of a songwriting workshop.

Fish said: "I had come back from a tour two years ago and was disillusioned. I had no idea what I was going to do. The pressures were getting me down."

Copeland expressed an interest in taking Fish's catalogue on to his label and invited him to the chateu, Marouatte, near Angouleme.

Among the 23 songwriters at Miles' workshop were Astley, Sam Brown and Nashville's Paul Thorn.

"It was an eclectic mix which was inspiring," said Fish. "Every day you were introduced to two new writers and each day you had to write and demo a song.

"You woke up to the sound of acoustic guitars in the courtyard and went to sleep to the sound of the party animals in the wine cellars.

"I came away with six songs, three of which are on the album, including one I wrote with Rick."

Fish and Astley really hit it off.

He said: "Like myself, Rick carries a lot of baggage from his past. People think of him as a numpty Stock, Aitken and Waterman singer but he's an intelligent guy.

"He has problems re-launching his career because of the style of his early songs."

Fish - who was forced to sell off his East Lothian recording studio and put his home on the market - plans to showcase some of the songs in two special concerts this weekend.

He said recent reports that his music career was over due to financial problems were exaggerated.

"The technology widely available now meant people were only coming into my studio for post-production work.

"But there was never any question of bankruptcy. I own the copyright to all my publishing and still receive royalties from my Marillion catalogue.

"Besides, we don' t need a house of this size. We have nine bedrooms and there are only three of us. Once this house is sold, we'll clear the bank debts."

Fish will perform an acoustic set at St Mary's Church in Haddington on Saturday. Another show, with a full band, will go on at the town's Corn Exchange on Sunday.

He said: "We are doing one special show for 1500 people rather than playing a bunch of clubs, to make it a far more enjoyable experience."

Fish hopes to land more acting roles after a recent stint in the comedy The Young Person' s Guide To Becoming A Rock Star.

At 41, he believes he is becoming too long in the tooth for today' s pop scene.

Fish added: "I heard Mel C's new single being played in the office and thought it was a demo sent in by some struggling unknown. She is awful.

"I don't relate to the music business anymore. I don't identify with it.

"But I still have a fan base which is very loyal. I m far from finished."