Knot a Fish

Knot a Fish is the debut and most critically acclaimed EP by the Irish post-punk band Five Go Down to the Sea?, released in 1983 on the London-Irish label Kabuki records and distributed by Rough Trade. Recorded just after the band changed their name from Nun Attax, it is the only of their recordings to feature cellist Úna Ní Chanainn,^[1] and is widely considered their best work.

Knot a Fish
Studio album by Five Go Down to the Sea?
Released	1983
Recorded	Autumn 1982
Studio	Sullane Studios, County Cork, Ireland
Genre	Post-punk
Label	Kabuki records
Producer	John O'Sullivan
Five Go Down to the Sea? chronology
Kaught at the Kampus (1981) Knot a Fish (1983) The Glee Club (1984)

The EP was recorded at Sulán Studios, Ballyvourney, in the autumn of 1982, shortly before the band relocated from Cork City to London. Only Ní Chanainn stayed behind.^[2]

Reception

In 2001, Cathal Coughlan of Microdisney and The Fatima Mansions said that the EP "was just incredible...completely different to Nun Attax mostly; it wasn't like a rock band anymore, it was...bizarre but coherent. Nothing went on for longer than two and a half minutes..[it was] a completely focused attack of extreme Cork eccentricity with Donnelly's sensibility; for the first time he was singing in his Belfast accent some of the time." ^[3]

Track listing

• "Fishes for Compliments" – 03:40
• "Elephants for Fun and Profit" – 02:20
• "There's a Fish on Top of Shandon (Swears He's Elvis)" – 02:43
• "Why Wait Until April"

Personnel

• Finbarr Donnelly – lead vocals
• Ricky Dineen – guitar, bass
• Mick Stack – guitar
• Úna Ní Chanainn – cello
• Keith O'Connell – drums; percussion

References

Citations

1. Murray 2020.
2. McDermott & Byrne 2020, p. 4.
3. McDermott 2001.

Sources

• McDermott, Paul; Byrne, John (2020), Hiding From The Landlord (sleeve notes), Dublin: AllCity Records.
• McAvoy, Mark (2016). Cork Rock: From Rory Gallagher to the Sultans of Ping. Cork: Mercier Press. ISBN 978-0-9956-1760-5.
• McDermott, Paul (2001). Get That Monster Off The Stage (audio documentary). Raidió Teilifís Éireann.
• Murray, Eoin (31 March 2020). "Anois, Os Ard: March In Irish Underground". The Quietus. Retrieved 4 May 2020.

External links

• Five Go Down To The Sea? Facebook page
• Elephants for Fun and Profit