THE recording of Haddington musician Fish’s final studio album is due to get under way later this month.

The former Marillion frontman has been working on writing Weltschmerz and is aiming to be in the studio in the coming weeks.

This kickstarts a busy second half of the year, with Fish performing in 11 countries before Christmas.

He told the Courier: “We are recording in July and August with Calum Malcolm as producer.

“We are just working on material at the moment. I have got 37 European dates and 15 in the UK, so it is hectic at the moment. We are recording in July and August and then out in September with new material.”

A first gig in Edinburgh for several years – at the Queen’s Hall on September 22 – is immediately followed by performances in Liverpool and Royal Leamington Spa.

Then it is across to mainland Europe with Luxembourg, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Poland, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Belgium all visited.

Fish said he was looking forward to the tour but added: “It is daunting – every tour is daunting.

“But we have got a super-duper German tour bus this time. I have pulled rank and it is a German bus and you can configure them yourself. I have got a double bed on the upper front lounge.

“Normally, I sleep in a bunk but it is like a coffin. A tour this long means you need the rest and I have got a six-foot-four frame and need a bed, not a coffin.

“I look forward to all the places. We have some really big gigs in Holland, the most we have played there in a while, and Germany and Poland have been really good to us.”

The album will be recorded at Fish’s home, just outside Haddington. The musician admitted that brought its own challenges and said: “You are more easily distracted. In all honesty you can be working in the studio and then you go into the garden and do some weeding for an hour.

“I enjoy it and like it.

“I was doing a documentary for Sky Arts and we went to studios in Berlin and it was the first time I have been in another recording studio for a long time.

“Nowadays we have what we need here.”

Beyond this year, plans are being drawn up for further tours stretching into 2020, when Fish plans to perform his farewell tour.

Fish, who is no stranger to television and film having appeared in Rebus, Taggart and The Young Person’s Guide to Becoming a Rock Star, is planning to put his writing skills to good use with thoughts turning to screenplays and possibly an autobiography.