A Codography

The Cod Story
Long ago there existed a large and prosperous, now largely disappeared, music trading empire called The Sarf London Pub Rock Sea. In its heyday it was awash with Coral Surf Accountants, Kebab fish shops and rundown, often shark infested watering holes known as boozers or” venues”. Googly eyed wannabe star fish and old Lagfish of all sizes and shapes would shoal in large numbers in these dank dungeons to vie for audio attention with over- refreshed finball/Oasfish fans, each other, and big screen tellys permanently tuned to Sky Sports.
Emerging from these murky depths in the mid-nineties came a young(ish) Progadelic avant-Guardian reading , fish- rock combo called Cod. Playfully they shoaled and sometimes even schooled with fellow denizens such as Here and Now, The Sound, Private Patients, Mandrake, The Trudy and Cardiacs.
“Instant Chicken Karma”
In 1994 they “released” their wonderfully out of sync debut EP “Instant Chicken Karma”, This “lost psychedelic masterpiece” promptly sank without trace under a giant wave of Britpop. (Although to be fair, pressing more than the original test run of 50 copies on cassette might have improved the overall sales figures.)
Unbuoyed by this unresounding success, most of the original lineup drifted off into the more lucrative Sea of Better Opportunities, leaving, flounder members, principal guitarfish Brine Sturgeon and Biochemical drumfish Bob Marlin temporarily adrift.
Abbott Roe Studios
Seeking fresh fish to fry the pair made the short and not very perilous voyage to the mythical Island of Platts Eyot and Water Rat Studios. Where, legend had it that benign despot and Sonic Supremo Hal Abbott provided both guidance and safe harbour for washed-up musicfish. And so it came to pass that Hal took in the remnant Cod pieces, even agreeing to add his sonorous five fingered sea bass to their music mix.
New Fish On The Block
Soon the ranks were further swelled with the return from across the Sea of Atlanticus of Quayboard maestro Roshti Von Swordfischer, and the pressing into drum service of former Modfish and jazz (cigarette) enthusiast “Dangerous” Dave Blackfish. Having been kicked off his drum stool the newly out of work Marlin was easily persuaded to undergo a full Phil Collins like conversion and lose the remainder of his hair to become the new” Voice of Cod. Praise be!
Suitable for vegetarians
Now came one of Cod’s more productive periods. Engineered by Abbot “A Small Portion” A Second Helping” and “The Greatest Shoal on Earth” saw the fish like combo serving up a swirling eclectrical mix of instruments, genre bending tunes, riffs and narrative led fish tales to suit the tastes of anyone who liked Cod’s music.
Walking The Plankton
Unfortunately, none of these mutated musical variants proved to be of any concern either to the musicfish industry or the wider publicans, those mercenary landlord lubbers who paid small coin to starving musicfish for the entertainment and sport of their thirsty customers. A bands worth was based solely on the amount of beer consumed by their “audience” before end of play/chucking out/chucking up time. Bands that failed the beer test were simply thrown back into the sea or made to walk the plankton.
Sgt Pepperfish
Luckily Cod at this time had plenty of friends who liked beer and had realised that Cod's music sounded much better if you drank a large amount of it. But, drowned out by the howling of the dodgy unsound checked mics and the screaming of the fans (watching Euro 96 or whatever on the telly next door) the band had tired of “touring”. The final straw came after furious religious zealots in the United Seas completely failed to react furiously (or at all) to Brine’s frankly baffling announcement that Cod were now “Bigger Than Cod”. Henceforth they would quit the live scene altogether and retreat to the studio, where in an innovative twist on the Sgt Pepperfish concept, they would use their real names to form a fictitious band and record an ambitious and sea breaking new album.
Magnificent Octopus
Work on this Magnificent Octopus began at Hal’s new state of the art Abbot Roe Studios in 2011. At first with the band high on sonic ambition and irritating fish puns the tunas flowed freely. But progress was slowed by perfectionist Abott’s insistence that the band’s instruments should not only be in tune with each other, but also that the notes played on them should be the “right” ones in the correct order and in time with the drums. Further problems soon followed.
Flogging A Dead Fish
Marlin, embracing his inner Rockstarfish had begun spending the summer months in The South of France restocking his wine cellar. The Voice Of Cod’s strict observance of lunchtime communion at his local also meant that he was now unavailable on Sundays, the only day in the week when the other Cods were available. Meanwhile, (except for constantly hitting his drums while the others tried to “work on ideas”) Dangerous Dave “The quiet one” in the band had become increasingly erm, quiet. Brine’s announcement that he was now himself “Bigger Than Cod” further increased tensions, while Hal for some reason had started to prioritise working with groups that paid him. So, of no fixed musical abode and with recording time now mainly available retrospectively, work on the album ground to a halt and the Cods drifted into the languid Sea Of Apathy.
Fish Fillets
Roshti was the first to swim away, keen to make fresh sound waves in his home waters. The other Cod pieces followed fillet by fillet, until finally it dawned even on the usually optimistic Brine that his solo career was upon him.
Be Careful What You Fish For
All fishy tales come to an end whether good or bad and I’d say 25 years + of swimming against the tide is, well, not bad. One wonders what might have happened if this slightly rudderless crew had tried to promote their imagineering music. The songs are up there with the best, even if the lazy Cods themselves appear (for the time being at least) to have returned to the depths from whence they came. 
Will Cod ever get their ship together?
Has Brine become Cod?
Does anyone give a toss?  
Well, you’re reading this aren’t you?  
The Velvet Curtain, May 2025.
P.S. As for the Cod Album, at the time of writing it remains on ice, alive but cryogenically frozen in one of Hal’s vast deep-sea servers. Who knows? time moves differently for Cod and this battered fish may yet emerge. In the meantime, a cloned demo mix of this odd kettle is available for your listening pleasure on this very website.