Alphabet Beats #154: W is for....The Waterboys

W is for....

Dedicated to Lily of NJ

The Waterboys began life in 1983, formed by Mike Scott (who had previously been in the band Another Pretty Face with he had released four singles without much success and changed their name to Funhouse in 1981). Ensign Records had wanted him to remain Solo but he went out and put the new band together and in 1983 released the debut album under the name of The Waterboys. I saw that one place had described the album as "half Van Morrison and half U2" and whilst I understand that, it's important to see Scott as his own man and not a mere copier of others. If that was the case the band would never have lasted as long as they have.

Their second album made the charts (just) and because of a particular track on 'A Pagan Place' their style of music became known as 'The Big Music', though some say that this period of big music only lasted until their next release 'This is the Sea' which certainly raised the bar for them as the album hit #37 in the charts and 'The Whole of the Moon' was getting a lot of airplay and peaked at #26 in the UK Singles Chart. A tour with Simple Minds (another purveyour of The Big Music) was undertaken and they had the chance to play to huge crowds at football stadiums, Milton Keynes Bowl and in 1986 Glastonbury. The follow up 'Fisherman's Blues' took a couple of years to record and it was only with the release of 'The Fisherman's Box' that you could see why as 121 songs are represented on that collection!

After 6 albums Mike Scott disbanded The Waterboys to go Solo. Seven years later he had got the band back together again and they have toured regularly and recorded five albums since 2000.
Their current 2015 release, 'Modern Blues', shows that Mike Scott has lost nothing of his passion for music and live they are still a force to be reckoned with.

Click on the links to listen to the albums of The Waterboys.

The Music
1983 The Waterboys.    
1984 A Pagan Place.   
1985 This Is the Sea.
1988 Fisherman's Blues.
1990 Room to Roam.
1993 Dream Harder.

1994 The Secret Life of The Waterboys 81-85.
2000 A Rock in the Weary Land.
2003 Universal Hall.

2005 Karma to Burn.
2007 Book of Lightning.

2011 In A Special Place - The Piano Demos for This is the Sea.
2011 An Appointment with Mr Yeats.

2013 Fisherman's Box.
2015 Modern Blues.

The Soundtrack4Life Top Ten

The Waterboys.

10. Nearest Thing To Hip.

09. My Love is My Rock in the Weary Land.

08. Everybody Takes A Tumble.

07. Fisherman's Blues.

06. Church Not Made With Hands.

05. This is the Sea.

04. The Thrill is Gone/And The Healing Has Begun (Live).

03. Spirit.

02. Glastonbury Song.

01. The Pan Within.