X-Ray Serenade Fischer-Z

• 1 Strings 03:19
• 2 Perfect 04:04
• 3 Labadabada 03:41
• 4 Queen of Irony 02:59
• 5 Precious Time 03:25
• 6 River 03:29
• 7 Suburban Cowboy 02:24
• 8 So Long (Reimagined) 05:42
• 9 Pretty Paracetamol (Reimagined) 04:29
• 10 Marliese (Reimagined) 04:34
• 11 The Perfect Day (Reimagined) 04:26
• 12 Strings (Official Bootleg) 03:18
• Total Runtime 45:50

Info for X-Ray Serenade

To mark the 50th anniversary of his band, John Watts is pulling out all the stops: a new album – featuring seven brand-new tracks, as well as four reinterpretations (including ‘Marliese’) and a DJ remix of the new song ‘Strings’ – will be accompanied by a major autumn tour. The new songs explore the same themes he has always written about: human stories and the current state of the world, seen through the eyes of an observer with a dark sense of humour.

Five decades of uncompromising creativity: the John Watts era. It is a journey that began in 1976 at Brunel University and turned Fischer-Z into one of the most distinctive voices of post-punk and art-pop. John Watts, who studied clinical psychology before embarking on his musical career, shaped the band with razor-sharp political lyrics and an intellectual edginess that is second to none. With classics such as ‘The Worker’, ‘Marliese’ and the aptly titled hit ‘Berlin’, the band cemented its reputation as a European force to be reckoned with.

Over the past 50 years, Watts has released 24 albums and sold over two million records. His CV reads like a ‘Who’s Who’ of music history: he shared the stage with James Brown in East Berlin, toured with The Police and Bob Marley, and collaborated with greats such as Peter Gabriel.

Fischer-Z

John Watts
entered the pop music scene in the 1970s, having initially studied psychology at an experimental facility that operated without the use of medication or physical restraints. "I worked shifts there from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and would jump straight into the van afterwards to play a gig in Derby. I spent the whole day dealing with raving psychopaths, so a punk audience couldn't scare me. When you’re standing in Wolverhampton in front of a few snotty 17-year-olds threatening to stub a cigarette out on your leg, you just think: 'Go ahead!'"

Fischer-Z was formed in 1976 at Brunel University, alongside John’s friend and keyboardist Steve Skolnik. John’s political songwriting and boundless energy led to the band being signed by United Artists in 1978—joining contemporaries such as The Stranglers and the Buzzcocks. Their debut album, *Word Salad*, was released in 1979 and became an instant post-punk hit: the single "The Worker" was played on *Top of the Pops*, while "Remember Russia" was championed by John Peel. 1980 saw the release of "So Long"—the band’s most successful single and one of the very first music videos ever aired on MTV—marking Fischer-Z’s breakthrough onto major stages worldwide. In 1981, they released *Red Skies Over Paradise*, which remains their most successful album to date and featured the singles "Marliese" and "Berlin."

To date, John has released 23 albums, sold two million records, and performed more than 3,000 concerts across Europe, the USA, and Canada. His recordings have featured contributions from artists such as Peter Gabriel, Steve Cropper, and the horn section from Dexys Midnight Runners. Fischer-Z shared the stage with James Brown in East Berlin before an audience of 167,000, toured with The Police and Dire Straits, and performed alongside Bob Marley on his final European tour. In recent years, Watts has also made a name for himself as a multimedia artist, poet, and playwright, creating a diverse and distinctive body of work characterized by energy, warmth, and humanity. With the 2025 project PUNKT!, he brings together his talents in music, words, and imagery.

This album contains no booklet.