The Waterboys are a British-Irish folk rock band formed in Edinburgh in 1983 by Scottish musician Mike Scott. The band’s membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England. Mike Scott has remained as the only constant member throughout the band’s career. The Waterboys takes their name from a line in the Lou Reed song “The Kids”. In March 1983, Ensign released the first recording under the new band name, a single titled “A Girl Clled Johnny”, the A-side of which was a tribute to Patti Smith. This was followed in May by The Waterboys’ first performance as a group, on the OLd Grey Whistle Test. The Waterboys released their self-titled debut, The Waterboys, in July 1983.
After the release of their debut, The Waterboys began touring. The band then consisted of Mike Scott on vocals and guitar, Anthony Thistlethwaite on saxophone and mandoin, Wallinger on keyboards, Roddy Lorimer on trumpets, Martyn Swain on bass and Kevin Wilkinson on drums. John Caldwell from Another Pretty Face also played guitar, and Scottish singer Eddi Reader sang backing vocals for the band’s first two concerts. The band made some new recordings and over-dubbed old material in late 1983 and early 1984 which were released as The Waterboys’ second album, A Pagan Place, in June 1984. A Pagan Place was preceded by the single “The Big Music”. The name of the single’s A-side track was adopted by some commentators as a description of The Waterboys’ sound, and is still used to refer to the musical style of their first three albums.
The band began to record new material in early 1985 for a new album, with Wilkinson leaving the band to join China Crisis. Late in the sessions, future Waterboy Steve Wixkham added his violin to the track The Pan Within; he had been invited after Scott had heard him on a Sinead O’Connor demo recorded at Karl Wallinger’s house. The Waterboys (officially a trio of Scott, Thistlethwaite and Wallinger, with a slew of guests) released their third album, This Is The Sea, in October 1985. It sold better than either of the two earlier albums, and managed to get into the Top Forty. A single from it, “The Whole of the Moon”, reached number 26 in the UK.
At the invitation of new member Steve Wickham, Mike Scott moved to Dublin and quickly became influenced by the traditional Irish music there as well as by country and gospel. The band’s line-up changed once again with Scott, Wickham and Thistlethwaite now joined by Trevor Hutchinson on bass and Peter McKinney on drums. The official Waterboys’ website refers to this incarnation of the band as the “Raggle Taggle band” line-up.
In 1988 Scott took the band to Spiddal in the west of Ireland where they set up a recording studio in Spiddal House to finish recording their new album. Fisherman’s Blues was released in October 1988, and showcased many guest musicians that had played with the band in Dublin and Spiddal. Critics and fans were split between those embracing the new influence of Irish and Scottish folk music and others disappointed after hoping for a continuation of the style of This Is the Sea. World Music: The Rough Guide notes that “some cynics claim that Scotsman Mike Scott gave Irish music back to the Irish… his impact can’t be underestimated”, but Scott himself explains that it was the Irish tradition that influenced him; “I was in love with Ireland. Every day was a new adventure, it was mythical… Being part of a brotherhood of musicians was a great thing in those days, with all the many musicians of all stripes we befriended in Ireland. I still have that connection to the Irish musicians and tap into it…”
After further touring the band returned to Spiddal to record a new album. The Waterboys now consisted of Mike Scott, Steve Wickham, Anthony Thistlethwaite, Colin Blakey on whistle, flute and piano, Sharon Shannon on accordion, Trevor Hutchinson on bass and Noel Bridgeman on drums. Their fifth album, Room to Roam was released in September 1990. One of the album’s tracks was a recording of the traditional ballad “The Raggle Taggle Gypsy”.
Just before Room to Roam was released, Wickham left over a disagreement with Scott and Thistlethwaite regarding the future direction of the band’s sound. Scott and Thistlethwaite wanted to move the band back to a more rock and roll style, and Wickham disagreed. His departure started the band’s dissolution, and in his wake Shannon and Blakey both left. Scott, Thistlethwaite and Hutchinson recruited Ken Blevins on drums to fulfil the group’s tour dates.
Trevor Hutchinson left the band in 1991, a year that also saw a re-release of the single “The Whole of the Moon” from This Is the Sea. The single reached number three on the United Kingdom charts. Scott spent the rest of the year writing new material and moved to New York. Thistlethwaite left the band in December, leaving Mike Scott as The Waterboys’ only member. The next album was completed with session musicians and was released in 1993 as Dream Harder with a new hard rock indluenced sound, and produced two UK Top 30 singles “The Return of Pan” and “Glastonbury Song”). Frustrated by not being able to get a new touring Waterboys band together, Scott left New York, abandoning the “Waterboys” name and embarking upon a solo career.
