MARILLION'S FISH SWIMS INTO PRIMARY WAVE

Primary Wave has acquired the master royalties and writer’s share of former Marillion lead singer Derek Dick, better known as Fish. The deal includes his stake in the long-running U.K. rock band’s '80s hits, such as “Kayleigh,” “Lavender” and “Incommunicado.” Dick left the group in 1988 and has released 11 solo albums in the years since, the most recent of which was 2020’s Weltschmerz.

“Every songwriter has a spiritual and emotional connection with their creations and is very protective about their legacy,” Dick said. “When [Primary Wave’s] Clive [Black] approached me about my shares in the Marillion catalog, I realized that Primary Wave was a good home for them to go to and be cherished and to leave that part of my history to as I move forward in my solo career. I'm pleased that these songs will be heard by further generations and introduce my songwriting to new audiences worldwide."

The arrangement is said to be valued in the neighborhood of a Marillion dollars. Sorry.

Primary Wave handles the catalogs of Bob Marley, Prince, Stevie Nicks, James Brown, Whitney Houston, Ray Charles and Aerosmith, among other big names. Earlier this month, the company announced a musical stage adaptation of Girls Just Want To Have Fun, the first project to come out of its collaboration with the theater-development company Lively McCabe Entertainment. It will be taken from a screenplay by Amy Spies and feature the title song, written by Robert Hazard and made famous, of course, by Cyndi Lauper.