How agreeable are you?
It depends on what you want from me. I’m friendly, easy going, reasonable, but I’ve never been a pushover.
What’s your middle name and what do you think of it?
My middle name is Joseph, and it was my grandmother’s name, Josie, and my grandfather’s as well as my father’s and my brother’s first name. It’s a family name. I think it’s strong and friendly.
Where is your favourite place in Ireland?
I just love Ireland as a country, especially when the sun is shining. I tell people that I live where the last wolf in Ireland was killed, on Mount Leinster, where we’ve been for 20 years. It’s quite strange because I did the DNA thing, and I discovered that most of my DNA is from exactly where I live. I’m obviously here for a reason. That said, I’m a Dub, and my family and ancestors are all inhabitants of Raytown [better known as Ringsend], the mouth of the river Liffey in Dublin, so my heart is at Poolbeg lighthouse in Dublin Bay.
Describe yourself in three words.
An emotional fish.
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When did you last get angry?
I was very angry when I was the singer in An Emotional Fish in the 1990s. I was disappointed to find that as a working-class person I was isolated in the music industry, and that most of the industry comprised middle-class people whom I didn’t really understand at the time. I wanted to be Iggy Pop. I still look to Iggy as a role model, but he is cool, not angry. Luckily, I’ve veered more towards the former than the latter.
What have you lost that you would like to have back?
I’ve never had an inkling to look back, but I’ve lost a lot of dear friends – I lost my best friend when he was 20. I’ve realised recently that not only have I spent a lot of my life dealing with grief, but also with the realisation that grief comes with a gift, which is the knowledge that we’re all visitors to this world, that we’re just passing through.
What’s your strongest childhood memory?
I grew up in south London, an Irish immigrant. We were the melting-pot generation, so my parents were greeted by the infamous “No blacks, no dogs, no Irish” signs. Yeah, welcome to London. It was a diverse, tough childhood; most of my peers were from the Caribbean or were cockneys. The older I get, however, the more I reflect on my childhood in London. I’m grateful for it because I think the 1960s and 70s, in particular, were when Britain changed. It became a new Britain, if you like, a new people, and I’m still quite proud to have been part of that London community.
Where do you come in your family’s birth order, and has this defined you?
I’m the eldest of six. I left home at 17, returned to the UK and started travelling. The eldest has responsibilities; I had to help out a lot, and that certainly taught me things, but I also had the fortune of being able to leave first, to escape chaos.
What do you expect to happen when you die?
No idea, but you are what you bring to the party, not what you take from it. If you spend your life being kind and generous, you leave that behind, and that rolls forward. If you’re mean, you put that on the Earth.
When were you happiest?
I spent much of my misspent youth playing in garage rock bands and living as a beach bum in the Mediterranean, but I became happiest of all when I became a father. Even though I had a tremendously liberating youth that I can recall great moments, from being in An Emotional Fish, touring the world, even before that, sleeping on beaches and not having any worries or cares. Fatherhood filled a gap, something I realised I was missing.
Which actor would play you in a biopic about your life?
I recently watched the Robbie Williams biopic, Better Man, where he was portrayed by a chimpanzee. In my biopic, which would be directed by the late David Lynch or Wes Anderson, I could be played by a fish. Which fish? I think carp have great faces.
What’s your biggest career/personal regret?
I think everything happens for a reason, and we learn from our mistakes and failures. I’ve been through many ups and downs, but they all led to a better place in some way. I’m very happy in the here and now, and for me, that’s where it works.
Have you any psychological quirks?
I’m an artist who ran away with the circus, so I am a psychological quirk. It’s a whole mess, a circus, and I am its monkey.
In conversation with Tony Clayton-Lea
Jerry Fish brings his Electric Sideshow and Fish Town to Electric Picnic, August 29th-31st, electricpicnic.ie
