The Waterboys

Formed in London in 1983, The Waterboys are led by Scottish composer, singer and guitarist Mike Scott, who has been the only permanent member ever since. Despite numerous personnel changes, the Celtic-influenced folk, rock and blues outfit has managed to build a loyal following in the UK. A student of literature and philosophy, Mike Scott turned to rock with the band Another Pretty Face before forming The Waterboys with multi-instrumentalist Anthony Thistlethwaite and drummer Kevin Wilkinson. After a first album of the same name, featuring the title track "A Girl Called Johnny", the band enjoyed success with the follow-up A Pagan Place (1984), from which "The Big Music" is taken. The latter saw the arrival of keyboardist Karl Wallinger, who significantly enhanced the band's sound, before forming his own group, World Party, following the positive reception of their third album, This Is the Sea (1985). Fiddler Steve Wickham joined the Dublin-based band, and in 1988 they released Fisherman's Blues, a gold-disc-winning return to their Celtic folk roots. With this album and the two that followed, Room to Roam (1990) and Dream Harder (1993), ranked at No. 5, The Waterboys achieved their greatest success, while the reissue of "The Whole of the Moon" on the occasion of the release of the compilation The Best of the Waterboys 81-90, reached No. 3. A parenthesis opens in the band's career, giving way to Mike Scott's solo debut before reuniting in 2000 for the album A Rock in the Weary Land, followed by Universal Hall (2003), Book of Lightning (2007) and An Appointment with Mr. Yeats (2011), a collection of texts by the English poet recorded by a renewed line-up. In 2015, the Nashville-recorded album Modern Blues reached No. 14. Encouraged by this new momentum, Mike Scott set about composing the double album Out of All This Blue (2017), ranked No. 8. The same ambition drives the recording of Where the Action Is (2019), Good Luck, Seeker (2020) and All Souls Hill (2022), which enrich the band's musical palette before the departure of Steve Wickham. Former keyboardist Karl Wallinger, who contributed to the band's sonic evolution, died on March 10, 2024 at the age of 66. His former band returned to the studio to compose a tribute to actor and director Dennis Hopper, opting for their most American style on the album Life, Death, and Dennis Hopper (2025).