“To be an artist is to be Dysfunctional”: David Bowie
Paul Fishman was a student at London’s Guildhall School Of Music and later he had success with 80’s band Re-Flex, touring with The Police.
Re-Flex was one of the first bands from the UK to be shown on MTV.
Paul Fishman is an electronic artist, composer and record producer- a globally renowned creator of innovative electronic music.
He has worked with some of the biggest names in the music industry, as well as producing and composing music for many internationally acclaimed feature films.
Paul has dropped a cracking new and infectious single, “Dysfunktional”. Spot the Prince nods.
Paul Fishman has been involved in electronic music since he was 17 when he joined London’s Cockpit Theatre experimental music group, performing works by Stockhausen, Cage, Terry Riley and other contemporary composers.
Re-Flex
While studying composition at the Guildhall School of Music, Paul was signed to Warner Brother Records and mentored by Derek Taylor. Derek was The Beatles’ press officer and he ran The Beatles company Apple Corps, before given the job as Managing Director for Warner UK. Derek signed Paul to Warner Records, along with AC/DC and others.
During the 80’s, Paul formed the group Re-Flex, who achieved international success with both album and single, “The Politics of Dancing”.
Although regularly performing in the UK, the band first gained attention in America, where they topped the US dance charts, had a Billboard chart hit and toured extensively supporting The Police and The Thompson Twins.
Paul’s knowledge of electronics gained him a reputation as a respected session musician and in-demand by film composers. He has worked with legendary artists and record producers, such as Public Image Limited, Elton John, Slade and Trevor Horn to name just a few.
As a record producer, his credits include mixing tracks for Motown’s Marvin Gaye and The Temptations, various artists signed to Prince’s Paisley Park label and UK artist Yazz.
Film credits
Throughout his career he has continued to produce a wide range of different styles of music, from dance, pop, soul, jazz and even classical. Among his film credits are “Superman”, “Death Wish”, “Breakdance”, and he produced and mastered iconic soundtracks “Get Carter”, “The Internecine Project” (Roy Budd) and “Just a Gigolo” (David Bowie and Marlene Dietrich).
Returning to a love of electronics, with the goal of creating music that was different and outside current trends, in 2019 Paul released “It’s About Time – Part 1”. The album is entirely instrumental, and boldly attempts to combine electronic music with different genres, where space age cyber-funk and ambience get to live together with ‘big tunes’.
This was followed in 2020 by “It’s About Time – Part 2” . Later that year an unreleased album of songs written and recorded with Dave Harris (Fashion, Rick Wright Pink Floyd etc.) under the name Boom Boom, called “2 Into the Groove” was made available.
In 2021, Paul released “Art Official Intelligence”, an album of new songs which featured the singles “Bad Man”, “Lockdown”, “Going Down Slow” and “On”, supported with videos produced by Paul.
New single & album…
The new single “Dysfunktional” is the first to be released from the forthcoming album “Abnormal”, out on 30th June 2023 – inspired by his relationship with autism. He explains:”I have spent a considerable amount of my life with those who like myself are ‘on the spectrum’.
“They are among the most creative and intelligent people I’ve had the fortune to meet, and truly capable of thinking outside the box because they are. For many, it does not represent a disability but a gift, as it is the ingredient that makes them different and exceptional. To be an artist, it is a requirement”.
“Dysfunktional” features Paul on vocals and keyboards, with Leo Richardson on sax’, Todd Oliver, Paul’s son, on guitar and Dave Harris on backing vocals.
The track was created with “The Mothership” aka Lilly, named after Paul’s mother. He explains: “Born during lockdown, Lilly is a modular synthesiser system, that has slowly grown and evolved.
“It is an extremely versatile musical tool, capable of creating complex rhythms that surprisingly work well with funk and is featured throughout my new album ‘Abnormal.’ Similar to my mother, Lilly is on the spectrum and totally outside of the box.”
Paul has some super stories and star-studded anecdotes from his varied music career, and here are a handful he wrote specially for Music Republic Magazine:
- Some names removed by the editor for legal safety!
“As a child I grew up within the music industry, as my father Jack was a well-known songwriter and most of his friends were in some way involved. By way of example, among my first baby sitters was Petula Clark, my Aunty Vera turned out to be Dame Vera Lynn and my godfather Geoffrey Everret started Radio Luxembourg.
I recently recalled a story about an infamous event that I didn’t go to because I was too young, but was a party my parents attended for XXXXXX, then owner and editor of XXXXXX (a famous music publication). Among the guests were The Beatles, who around this time had discovered marijuana and brought some to the party.
XXXXXX’s wife was very sociable and during the evening, much to the shock of most of the guests and my parents, she decided to give it a go. The following day I heard my parents discussing it with their friends and it was later confirmed by Aunty Vera who was also there. XXXXXX’s son XXXXXX was Jack’s godson, and although at the time he was tucked up in bed while his mother was getting wasted with the Beatles; when he eventually found out he was very proud!”
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“After leaving music college, I managed to get some session work playing on other peoples’ records. I have since played on lots of different records, some wonderful, others not so good but also quite a few very strange ones.
In the early 80’s I got a call from someone to play on a record for a new artist called Prince, or at least that was what I was initially told. The recording sessions were in London at a studio called Marcus Music. They were scheduled to start 8pm and often finished around 6am or 7am the next morning.
When I arrived at the studio, I discovered that it was not the US artist Prince, but he was actually a Prince. Disappointingly! At the time, his father was the King of Nigeria. Despite already being a Prince, he nevertheless still wanted to be a bit like Prince or Marvin Gaye, with a hint of Barry White.
Although it was often rumoured that Eric Clapton was about to turn up, myself and engineer Mark Wallis were the only Westerners involved in what was a very strange series of recording sessions.
We had a wonderful assistant engineer called Femi Jiya, who coincidentally was from Nigeria and worked at the studio. Sometimes the Prince would not turn up until around midnight but so would his entourage, his tribe.
Some would come into the control room where I was recording, but most sat on the floor of the studio and had brought camping gas and stove so they could cook. About 4am even more people were turn up. Femi would have to explain that having an open fire inside a recording studio was not a good idea.
One of the Prince’s friends said to me that the Prince approved of my playing and liked that I was using a “Prophet” synthesiser. I never heard the finished record, but the funny thing is Femi went on to work at Paisely Park and became the other Prince’s engineer.”
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“During the 80’s, when Re-Flex first started to achieve success in America, we got the opportunity to support and tour with the Police who were at the peak of their career. This was also going to be their last tour together. The first gig was at the massive Syracuse carrier dome in upstate New York. It is big enough to hold a jumbo jet and I was told had to be continuously vented to stop clouds forming. Not that I counted, but it holds about 78,000 people.
We were a little concerned a before the gig as the largest audience we had ever played to in the UK was about 2,000 people. Andy Summers came to see us before we played and described Syracuse as a small club gig.
It is a tradition which we discovered at the end of a tour, that if the bands have become friends they may attempt to do something, maybe a little surprise, possibly a party. Our last gig with the Police was in Boston to a mere 40,000 people! While we were playing, the stage was invaded by what appeared to be monks, but it actually was The Police and some of their road crew. They then proceeded to eat a picnic and share some of their food while we attempted to continue. It’s not easy to sing with two pickles inserted into your nose.
We had not planned and were unprepared, but before The Police came on we managed to get some plastic bags and with the use of tape and scissors they became black skimpy dresses which we wore.
About half way through their set we thought it’s our turn now, and four rather unattractive men dressed as woman invaded their stage. When I think back on it, we were way ahead of our time!
We initially joined their backing singers and then plucked up enough courage to invade the rest of the stage. At some point I saw Stewart Copeland leap from his drums and almost immediately his drum tech took over playing. Stewart then leaped leapt onto our singer Baxter and began wrestling with him on stage.
Much to everyone’s shock he removed Bax’s underpants and threw them into the audience. Sting could not continue and was leaning against the microphone crying with laughter shaking his head. As we later agreed, somebody went home with a very special souvenir.”
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“Unfortunately our management had employed an idiot who they insisted should join us on the tour. XXXXXX hoped he would become our tour manager after we finished playing with The Police. Among many other incidents during the tour, he managed to trip over and pull out the PA system while they were performing and consequently was banned from flying in their plane.
Soon after the tour finished, when we began to play gigs by ourselves and arrived in Canada for our first show [which was being broadcast live], XXXXXX had an argument and ran off with the tour itinerary. We didn’t know where we were playing that night and had to phone up the radio station to ask.
I knew XXXXXX was an idiot before the tour began because one night he phoned me at 4am to tell me how much he loved the band. I was asleep and told him now was not the time, and I hung up. He then phoned again at 4.30am to apologise!”
- Some names removed by the editor for legal safety!
