Plenty More Fish In The Sea

The first song I ever wrote was called The Pontypridd Blues. I've never recorded it and rarely play it live because it's offensive to about 50% of my home nation.

Plenty More Fish In The Sea was not the first, but wasn't much later, we're talking about some time in the mid 90s when I still had a full head of hair. I honestly don't remember who it was about, or indeed, even if it was about anyone. It still chimes with some people today though, which is nice. I suppose there's a sad sort of optimism to this bitter-sweet break-up song.

Arguably the more interesting thing about this song is how it ended up getting put on an EP produced by none other that Les "Fruitbat" Carter, formerly of Carter USM and currently of Abdoujaparov.

In late 1998, after a summer working on a campsite in France, I went to Australia for a year's backpacking. The story of that whole trip is probably worth writing up properly at some point because it's very entertaining and a lot of it is hard to believe.

I ended up living in Western Australia for quite a few months, on a farm North East of Perth. Whilst there I started playing at a local restaurant and through the owner got to know a guy with a little home project studio in the city. We went along and I recorded a few of my songs, very simple vocal and acoustic guitar "unplugged" recordings, and I went away with a cassette (look it up millennials) of those recordings. I know one of the songs was One Night Stand but I can't remember the others, Plenty More Fish might have been one. I don't know if I still have the cassette but I certainly don't have a cassette player anymore.

I came back to the UK and to my home in North Wales just before the end of 1999, and I brought that cassette with me. I've been a fan of Carter USM probably from the age of 12 or 13 ever since my brother gave me a C90 cassette with 101 Damnations on one side and 30 Something on the other. I was obsessed with them to the extent that I had joined the fan club and somehow managed to track down Fruitbat's home address. At some point in 2000 I sent a copy of the cassette I had made in Australia to Fruitbat. Fully expecting a cease and desist letter or a restraining order in response, imagine my surprise when he wrote back to say he not only liked my songs, but wanted to put one of them on a compilation of unsigned acts that he was putting together. This was a dream come true.

That compilation was called There's A Madman On The Roof and it was one of the very earliest releases from Les' label Spinach Records. It was One Night Stand that was my contribution to it though, not Plenty More Fish (I've recently completely re-worked and re-recorded One Night Stand and you can find it on this website and all streaming services).

The way I remember the next bit is that One Night Stand seemed to be a fairly popular track on the album, and Les followed up by asking if I'd like to come to his house and record an EP. I said yes.

I think it was early 2001 that I went to Les' place in Brixton and we recorded the 4 tracks for the Plenty More Fish In The Sea EP: Plenty More Fish, Quite Happy, Rosie and The Easy Life. We successfully crowd-funded the money to print the CDs and the official release party was at The Half Moon in Putney on November 5th 2001. (I might have all these timings wrong, I have an appalling memory, but give or take a year this is roughly correct). I remember the release party because it was ace. The venue was packed, loads of people came to see me, and we sold loads of CDs. As a little gimmick we gave away sparklers with every purchase of the CD (Nov 5th you see) and one of my all-time favourite memories is driving away from the venue in a taxi, looking back and seeing people writing their names with sparklers.

Below you can listen to Plenty More Fish In The Sea and read the lyrics.