IT WOULD be fair to say it has been a busy year for Fish.

The Haddington musician released his first studio album in six years before heading off for a 42-date tour across Europe, only to return to present the Classic Rock Awards in November at London’s Roundhouse venue.

And the hectic schedule shows no sign of abating, with the UK tour of new record ‘A Feast of Consequences’ already pencilled in for 2014, as well as a trip to Mexico for the Baja Prog Festival.

The former Marillion frontman said: “It’s been a really hectic year. At the beginning we went out on a tour in the UK, in May.

“That was just before we started to record the album.

“The album took the material we had been writing in 2012 and we recorded it and released in September – available on mail order.” The 11-track album has met with positive reviews, with some music critics labelling it the 55-year-old’s best ever work.

“It’s been fantastic,” he said. “The reviews have been the best ever and it has just been so positive.

“It is so easy to tour with that sort of positivity.” It comes six years after his last studio album, 13th Star, and the musician admits it has been an eventful few years.

“A lot of things happened in between then and now,” he said.

“I had a vocal operation at the end of 2008 and at the end of 2009.

“The second was to remove scar tissue and we went on the road in 2010 and did 170 shows as the Fishheads Club.

“It then became the name of the website as well.

“We did the 170 acoustic gigs and I began retraining my voice as well – it was quite a dark period.” Last year, the recording began in his home.

He described it as “a hub of activity with musicians coming up” and then it was time to go out on the road once again with the European tour.

Fish explained there was not much glamour when it came to touring.

“We travel in a bus and it is very demanding,” he said. “It takes its toll on me.

“My friends run a health place and do physio work and they came out to see us in Paris.

“My back and my knees were killing me and they said my whole spine was completely out of line.

“You are always fighting it and sleeping on the bus.” Since returning to the UK, Fish has had the honour of presenting the Classic Rock Awards in London.

He told the Courier: “It was a lot of pressure.

“There were a lot of my peers there as well – a lot of people I was a fan of when I was a kid.

“Some people think ‘what do I say’, you don’t want to come out with something stupid or banal.

“I met Jimmy Page before and, when I introduced him on stage, Led Zeppelin were getting the award for film of the year.

“I remember going to Knebworth to see them at 19 and I borrowed my dad’s Nikon camera thinking I was taking the cover shot for Melody Maker.” Mexico may be on the horizon – with places like Groningen, Zoetermeer, Gdansk and Zug in the rear mirror – but Fish is not running out of places he would like to play just yet.

He is already exploring the possibility of playing in the USA again when he heads to Mexico in the spring but would still like to tick off Australia and New Zealand.

He said: “I have never played Australia and New Zealand.

“Marillion never went down there and it is difficult because of the expense of getting down there.

“If I win the lottery, it would be great to go out and do a tour of New Zealand and not have to worry about it.” In the meantime, he is looking forward to Mexico before touring the UK, finishing in Glasgow on May 18.

He said: “I’ve had a great life.What other occupation can you go to Bosnia and Mogadishu? I’ve been round the world and seen a lot of things. I’ve been a lucky guy when it comes down to it.” His album is available from fishheadsclub.com