| See also Water boy (disambiguation).The Waterboys, performing a concert in Antwerp in 2003.Members, from left to right, Mike Scott, Geoff Dugmore, Steve Wickham, and Brad Weissman, are shown.The Waterboys is a band formed in 1983 by Mike Scott.The band has played in a number of different styles, but their music is a mix of Celtic folk music with rock and roll, or folk rock.After ten years of recording and touring, they dissolved in 1993 and Scott pursued a solo career.They reformed in 2000, and continue to release albums and tour worldwide.Scott emphasizes a continuity between The Waterboys and his solo work, saying that "To me there's no difference between Mike Scott and the Waterboys; they both mean the same thing.The early Waterboys sound was dubbed "The Big Music" after a song on their second album, A Pagan Place.The Waterboys eventually returned to rock and roll, and have released both rock and folk albums since reforming.Their songs, largely written by Scott, often contain literary references and are frequently concerned with spirituality.Both the group and its members' solo careers have received much praise from both rock and folk music critics, but The Waterboys as a band has never received the commercial success that some of its members have had independently.Late 1980s: The Raggle Taggle band
1.Live albums and compilations
4.History
The Waterboys have gone through three distinct phases.Their early years, or "Big Music" period, were both productive and defined a new sound in British rock and roll.The following folk music period was characterised by an emphasis on touring over album production and by a remarkably large band membership, leading to the description of the group as a "Raggle Taggle band".Formation
Scott, the founder and only permanent member of The Waterboys, made a number of solo recordings in late 1981 and early 1982 while in a band named Another Pretty Face (later called Funhouse).These sessions at Redshop Studio are the earliest recordings that would be released under The Waterboys name.The Red and the Black, with saxophone player Anthony Thistlethwaite, after hearing him play on Waiting on Egypt, a Nikki Sudden album.The Red and the Black performed nine concerts in London.Thistlethwaite introduced Scott to drummer Kevin Wilkinson, who joined The Red and the Black.These recording sessions, both of Scott's solo work and the group performances, would later be divided between The Waterboys' first and second albums.Scott decided to start a new band.He chose The Waterboys as its name from a line in the Lou Reed song "The Kids" on the album Berlin.This was followed in May by The Waterboys' first performance as a group, on the BBC's Old Grey Whistle Test.The Waterboys, in July 1983.Cover for the single of "The Big Music", whose title song would define The Waterboys' early sound.The album cover depicts members Scott, Thistlethwaite and Wilkinson.After the release of their debut The Waterboys began touring.Their first show was at the Batschkapp Club in Frankfurt in February 1984.The Waterboys' second album, A Pagan Place, in June 1984.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 the spring of 1985 for a new album, with Wilkinson leaving the band to join China Crisis.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.Director Meiert Avis addressed this issue when shooting a music video for "Whole of the Moon" by recording Scott's vocals live.At the same time, drummer Dave Ruffy replaced Chris Whitten.Late 1980s: The Raggle Taggle band
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 lineup changed once again with Scott, Wickham and Thistlethwaite now joined by Trevor Hutchinson on bass and Peter McKinney on drums.Some of these performances were released in 1998 on The Live Adventures of the Waterboys, including a famous Glastonbury performance in 1986.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.The album helped to increase the growing popularity of Irish music.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...Irish musicians and tap into it..."Owing to the large number of tracks that were recorded in the three years between This Is the Sea and Fisherman's Blues, The Waterboys released a second album of songs from this period in 2001, titled Too Close to Heaven (or Fisherman's Blues, Part 2 in North America), and more material was released as bonus tracks for the 2006 reissue of the remastered Fisherman's Blues album.After further touring the band returned to Spiddal in order 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.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.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.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.However, Scott later resurrected the Waterboys name, citing its recognition amongst fans, for the 2000 album A Rock in the Weary Land.Waterboys guested on the album including Thistlethwaite and Wilkinson.By 2001 the core of the new Waterboys included Mike Scott on vocals and guitar, Richard Naiff on keyboards and organs and Wickham, who had returned to the band, on violin.The group changed direction once again in 2003 and released Universal Hall a mostly acoustic album with a return of some Celtic influences from the Fisherman's Blues era.Their first official live album, Karma to Burn, was released in 2005.Wickham in particular had a tremendous impact on the band's sound after joining the group.Sound
The Waterboys' music can be divided into three distinct styles.The band's arrangements during this period, described by All Music Guide as a "rich, dramatic sound..."The Big Music", combined the rock and roll sound of early U2 with elements of classical trumpet (Lorimer), jazz saxophone (Thistlethwaite) and contemporary keyboards (Wallinger).Waterboys are best known for and that demonstrates both Wallinger's synthpop keyboard effects and the effectiveness of the brass section of the band.Problems listening to the file?After Wickham's joining and the move to Ireland, the band went three years before releasing another album.Celtic folk music replaced rock as the main inspiration for song arrangements on both albums.Beatles and Donovan echoes and, of course, lots of grand guitar, fiddle, mandolin, whistle, flute and accordion playing"."The Raggle Taggle Gypsy", a British folk ballad at least two hundred years old, was recorded on Room to Roam.It became closely associated with the band, much as the song "The Big Music" did, and also gave its name to describe the band's character.The recording emphasizes how distinctly different the band's music had become in the five years since the last of "The Big Music" albums.The Waterboys' Room to Roam version of the folk song "The Raggle Taggle Gypsy".Problems listening to the file?"Raggle Taggle band", Scott used The Waterboys' name for Dream Harder and A Rock in the Weary Land.Rock in the Weary Land was inspired by alternative music and was praised by critics.Scott reads aloud from Hafez' The Gift at a Waterboys concert in Antwerp in 2004.Scott, who briefly studied literature and philosophy at the University of Edinburgh, has made heavy use of English literature in his music."The Whole of the Moon", one of The Waterboys' signature songs, is partially a tribute to writer C.Lewis' work is also referenced in other Waterboys' songs, such as "Church Not Made With Hands" and "Further Up, Further In".The Waterboys have recorded poems set to music by writers including William Butler Yeats ("The Stolen Child" and "Love and Death"), George MacDonald ("Room to Roam"), and Robert Burns ("Ever To Be Near Ye").So close is the identification of The Waterboys with their literary influences that the writer also remarks that "W.Scott has also used a number of poetic tropes in lyrics, including anthropomorphism (eg.Church Not Made with Hands", "The Whole of the Moon"), and metonymy (eg.Water is often referenced in their songs (eg.The Waterboys' logo, first seen on the album cover of The Waterboys, symbolizes waves.Spirituality
The Waterboys' lyrics show influences from different spiritual traditions.The first is the romantic Neopaganism and esotericism of authors such as Yeats and Dion Fortune, which can be observed in the repeated references to the ancient Greek deity Pan in both "The Pan Within" and "The Return of Pan".Pan was also featured on the album art for Room to Roam."Medicine Bow", a song from the recording sessions for This Is the Sea, refers to Native American spirituality in its use of the word "medicine" to mean spiritual power.Two" and "Bury My Heart"."Bury My Heart" is a reference to Dee Brown's Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.Scott took the traditional Sioux song "The Earth Only Endures" from Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, and set it to new music; the arrangement appears on The Secret Life of the Waterboys.Christian imagery can be seen in the songs "December" from The Waterboys, "The Christ in You" on Universal Hall, and indirectly in the influence of Lewis in a number of other songs, but Scott writes that his lyrics are not influenced by Christianity.Scott has also said, "I've always been interested in spirituality, and I've never joined any religion.And I believe all religions are just different ways to spirituality.Despite Scott's pluralist perspective, The Waterboys have been labelled as "Christian rock" by some reviewers.Steve Wickham, The Waterboys' fiddler, has played an especially important role in the band's direction.More than thirty musicians have performed live as a Waterboy.Anthony Thistlethwaite was an original member of the band, and remained a member until 1991 when the band broke up, although he also joined a few recording sessions for A Rock in the Weary Land.He pressed to return The Waterboys to a rock music sound after Room to Roam, but did not appear on Dream Harder, the result of that decision."Don't Bang the Drum", the environmentalism anthem on This is the Sea.Wallinger's World Party project was heavily influenced by his work with The Waterboys.He further contributed backing vocals to the song.His trumpet style is a combination of his classical training with an experimental approach encouraged by Scott.Lorimer returned for some studio work in 2006.His initial involvement with The Waterboys ended in 1990 when Scott and Thistlethwaite wanted to return to rock and roll, but Wickham rejoined the group again in 2000, and, as of 2007, continues to perform with the band.Scott, including the group's handful of instrumental recordings.Richard Naiff first recorded with the band in 1999, and joined permanently in 2000.Discography
The Waterboys have released several albums and singles.The group's releases have received a great deal of praise from critics, but have had less commercial success than some of their contemporaries.UK album charts upon its release in 1988.The compilation album reached position two in the UK.Mike Scott is alone on the album cover for The Whole of the Moon: the Music of Mike Scott and the Waterboys, a compilation album containing both Waterboys and Mike Scott solo material.The Waterboys has been published:
Abrahams, Ian.The "Big Music" of the Waterboys: Song, Revelry, and Celebration.Retrieved on October 22, 2005.National Poetry Almanac's 2004 "Poetry and Music" series.Echoes of The Big Music.Retrieved on October 22, 2005.Karl Wallinger formed the band, Guy Chambers and Chris Whitten later left The Waterboys to join World Party.Feeder Frequently Asked Questions.Retrieved on October 26, 2005.Retrieved on November 21, 2005.News:Bono's Top Ten List."Recording Notes", The Waterboys.See All Music Guide review.Retrieved on October 22, 2005.Mike Scott is The Waterboys and The Waterboys Are Mike Scott.Retrieved on October 22, 2005.Scott, Mike (2004) Recording Notes in This is the Sea (p.Retrieved on November 18, 2005."The day I downloaded myself".Chicago Other Voices Poetry.One World peace concert.The phrase "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" is originally from Stephen Vincent Benet's poem "American Names".URL accessed January 6, 2007.Retrieved on October 29, 2005.The Waterboys concert review.An interview with Steve Wickham.Retrieved on October 22, 2005.Retrieved on November 3, 2005.Retrieved on October 30, 2005.Sharon Shannon biography 2005.Retrieved on October 30, 2005."New Waterboys Album Book of Lightning April 2" Myspace blog.This page was last modified 10:13, 26 December 2007.Mike has posted a new blog on the Waterboys myspace page which links to a humorous fictional story, edited from the Waterboys forum.The Waterboys will play at Actuel 08, held in Logrono, Spain, on Sunday Jan 6th.The concert is held at Palacio de Deportes, Logrono, at 7.The first Waterboys festival appearance for Summer 2008 has been confirmed.The site is overseen by Paige.Content directed by Mike Scott.For the freshest, tastiest Premium Bottled Water in Western Australia, choose The Waterboys.At The Waterboys, we never rest on past success.WA in the home and office delivery (H.Our quality can also become yours with a range of attractive contract packaging options for businesses and organisations.The Waterboys are proudly Western Australian owned and operated.State can be seen in the way we support the Western Australian lifestyle, sponsoring events and special causes.Sign in to get personalized recommendations.Your search did not match any products.Use fewer keywords to find more results.If you want to specify which of your search terms should match the author's name and which should match the title, you should conduct an Advanced Search.Track your recent orders.Visit our Help department.Tag a public Flickr photo with:
Your photos will appear on this event page automagically in a little while!Sign Up or Sign In to comment on this event!Sign in or join now
Help?Mike Scott, whose intense presence and lyrics are distinctive characteristics of the band.Fri, Feb 8
Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation: Cabare..."Are you sure you want to block this user?New album BOOK OF LIGHTNING out now.The Waterboys belong to no movement, genre, school or fashion.We've been based in London, Dublin, Galway, New York and Findhorn, Scotland, and we've made 12 albums: The Waterboys (1983), A Pagan Place (84), This Is The Sea (85), Fisherman's Blues (88), Room To Roam (90), Dream Harder (93), Secret Life Of The Waterboys (94), A Rock In The Weary Land (2000), Too Close To Heaven (01), Universal Hall (03), Karma To Burn: The Waterboys Live (05) and Book Of Lightning (07), plus Mike Scott's two solos: Bring 'Em All In (95) and Still Burning (97).We follow the twists and trails of the music wherever it leads, wherever the adventure unfolds.The current ensemble is Mike Scott on vocals and guitar, Steve Wickham on electric fiddle, Richard Naiff on keyboards, bassist Mark Smith and drummer Damon Wilson."Are you sure you want to delete this comment?"WOW Mike I adore your 'Stolen Child' here I have not heard this version before, your fishermans Blues one inspiringly beautiful!!I'm keeping a tight eye on you boys, so just watch it.That's the city where we were born and it was an honour to have you here.VERY VERY GOOD YEAR 2008 to you and all your loved ones!Lots of good things (love, prosperity, success and especially your health!Hey Mike, Im sure u are willed on by the wonderful Findhorn energy but you are a great spirit yourself so it is a meeting of great energies :) All the best to you and your music for 2008.Look at my pics of the Waterboys at Webster Hall in NYC!Let me know what you think!Hello The WaterboysVery happy to see your page.Thanks for the add and for listening to our tunes, we hope you liked them.Thanks again and a happy new year to you all lads.May this year be a good one in every way.Really looking forward to yourself Mike (and Sharon Shannon) at the gig at Celtic Connections.Thanks for sharing your dreams............"Peace of Iona" is an immortal masterpiece.Thanks so much for the add!!Please come to America, preferably Washington State, where I live.To all Waterboys: the very best for Sunday's concert!May the year be full of great music, exciting travel and lots of other nice surprises...When I look to the picture about Rock in a weary land, it's impossible not to think about the power of CROWN!LIKE THAT NEW BLUE COLOUR!!The Waterboys are THE coolest band in the world!Dear friends,All possible good wishes for New Year!Why hasn,t it been released as a xmas single!!Why should i love you'(Sorry Kate!Thank you for your wonderful music."Urgent Security Alert","Warning: You are submitting information to an outside site.This is not a MySpace login page, please do not enter your MySpace login information (email address or password).Do you wish to continue your form submission?""To me, there's no difference between 'Mike Scott' and 'The Waterboys'; they both mean the same thing.They mean myself and whoever are my current traveling musical companions," Scott says.Taking inspiration for its name from "The Kids," a track on Lou Reed's Berlin, Scott formed The Waterboys in 1981 upon moving to London from Scotland after college.Immersing himself in the U.Together, they released an eponymous 1983 debut.The '90s did not inspire confidence in the future of The Waterboys.He then commenced a lengthy stay at a spiritual commune, giving the impression that The Waterboys were permanently retired.In 2000, however, Scott resurrected the Waterboys name, started recording with past members and embarked on the first of several successful tours.Fionn Regan: Soft Voice, Softer SoundNov.More from World CafeJohn C.WXPN also produces NPR's World Cafe.The following artists are slated to appear on World Cafe in the coming days.Find exactly what you want today.Find the waterboys Online.Mike Scott, the group's sole constant member, the mercurial Waterboys formed in London in 1981.Born December 14, 1958 in Edinburgh, Scotland, Scott first became involved in music as the creator of the fanzine Jungleland, and later played in a series of local punk outfits.Waterboys, so named after a...The WaterboysBy: The WaterboysCredited Role:Main PerformerSong List: A Girl Called Johnny, The Big Music, All The Things She Gav...Find exactly what you want today.Find the waterboys Online.The Waterboys at Amazon.All the latest The Waterboys Real Music Ringtones in 30 seconds.All the latest The Waterboys Real Music Ringtones in 30 seconds.Current Advertisers Sign InHelp improve Yahoo!View RSS FeedMake money with Yahoo!Shopping APIs, now powering Yahoo!Learn more about our paid syndication program.Information about prices, products, services and merchants is provided by third parties and is for informational purposes only.ItReport AbuseSurf similar BandsThe Waterboys are a band formed in 1983 by Mike Scott.London, Dublin, Spiddal, New York and Findhorn have all served as a home for the group.The band has played in a number of different styles, but most often their music can be described as a mix of Celtic folk music with rock and roll, or folk rock.Singles
1983: "A Girl Called Johnny"
1983: "December"
1984: "The Big Music"
1985: "The Whole of the Moon"
1988: "Fisherman's Blues"
1989: "And a Bang on the Ear"
1993: "The Return of Pan"
1993: "Glastonbury Song"
2001: "Is She Conscious?"John CoughlanThe Waterboys are alive and well folks try out
www.Youthwaterboys r the best ma brother alan's funeral song was fishermans blues.ALL THE THINGS SHE GAVE MEEEEEEEEEE.CheWERE LIVING IN A STRANGE BOAT 12 weeks agoMalcolm HartI've started up a band for The 3 Daft Monkeys fans, as there is no official band site on bebo.ANY GOGOL BORDELLO FANS?It is really interesting...Mary Kellyanybody at home...Mary Kellyanyone goin to the Midlands?...TEL STIRLINGOK TY BUT HOW DO I GET ON MY SPACE MARY .EVER DONT LET US DOWN GET IN TOUCH ONE WAY OR ANOTHER PLEASE ... |
