John Watts and his band will celebrate in Barcelona and Madrid the fifty years of one of the formations of the new wave British company that began its journey in the late seventies. We talk about Fischer-Z.
John Watts entered pop music in the seventies after studying clinical psychology at an experimental center. What he did not imagine is that the band he formed in 1976 with his friend Steve Skolnik, keyboardist, would go so far. contemporaries of The Stranglers and Buzzcocks In 1978, the group began its journey with “World Salad” (79), which included hits like “The Worker” or “Remember Russia”, in which Watts displayed his particular and personal vocal range.
Later came the hit “So Long”, from 1980, which made them an internationally famous group through the album “Going Deaf For A Living” (80), which would be followed by the also successful “Red Skies Over Paradise” (81) with songs that entered the charts of various countries such as “Marliese” or “Berlin”.
To date, John has released twenty-three albums, sold two million records and performed more than three thousand concerts in continental Europe, the United States and Canada. Peter Gabriel and Steve Cropper have collaborated on their recordings. Fischer-Z have toured with artists such as James Brown, The Police, Dire Straits and many others.
In recent years, Watts has built a reputation as a multimedia artist, poet and playwright, amassing an impressive and eclectic creative body of work characterized by its energy, warmth and humanity. The PUNKT! project 2025 combines all of John’s individual skills in music, writing and art. 2026 is an important year for Fischer-Z: fifty years since the band’s formation.
Countries visiting Fischer-Z on this tour include Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Spain, Portugal, the United Kingdom and, for the first time, Australia. As for releases, Fischer-Z will release a new album titled “50/50”. This will include five new songs (three singles) and five covers of John’s favorite songs from the first five albums.
We will be able to see Fischer-Z in concert on the days Friday, September 18, 2026 in Salamandra (L’Hospitalet, Barcelona) and Saturday September 19 at Sala Mon (Madrid). You can get tickets by clicking on the city that interests you.
