THE acoustics at the Corn Exchange have been described as “10 times better” by a multi awardwinning musician.

Fish returned to the venue recently after a hiatus of several years and was pleased with the recent changes.

He said: “It was brilliant, just a great gig.

“It’s changed a lot – the acoustics are 10 times better than they were.

“The investment in the acoustic treatment has made a hell of a difference.” Upgrades in terms of acoustics, staging and lighting have all been carried out in recent months.

The former Marillion frontman became one of the first musicians to perform at the Corn Exchange since it was taken over by the Haddington Community Development Trust, following in the footsteps of the Victorian Trout Conspiracy and Bombskare.

Fans from as far afield as New Zealand, Germany and Italy made the trip to Haddington, with many more coming from south of the Border and the Highlands.

Fish added: “Everybody enjoyed the gig and the hog roast in the Plough Tavern.

“I just wish we had more accommodation – somebody needs to re-think the lack of hotels in Haddington.

“You look at the George Hotel and it is such a waste sitting in the middle of the town.” The musician told the Courier: “All the fans commented on how much better the Corn Exchange was; it was just incredibly positive.” Fish was keen to see further improvements carried out on the building with the potential addition of changing rooms, offices and further facilities.

The gig comes on the back of his latest album, Feast of Consequences, which has been critically acclaimed.

Now, the 56-year-old is gearing up for a Europe-wide tour.

Fish, real name Derek Dick, will start off in Durham before playing Preston and Southampton.

Then, it is across the English Channel to Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, back to Germany and into Switzerland by the end of next month.

A third trip to Germany starts in November before a series of concerts in France and then on to Spain and Italy by the end of the month.

Another 15 gigs in Switzerland, Germany, England, Wales and Scotland, all before Christmas, will wrap up a busy year for the Haddington musician.

He said: “As a 56-year-old man with 60 odd shows, I’ve got a certain nervous appreciation but I’m looking forward to it.

“I’m going across to the Netherlands in the next two weeks and we are doing three major national radio stations, playing live acoustic sets.

“One of the programmes is listened to by between 600,000 and 800,000 people.”