The Waterboys are a band formed in 1983 by Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of Scottish, Irish, English, Welsh and American musicians, with Edinburgh, London, Dublin, Spiddal, New York and Findhorn serving as a base for the group. They have explored a number of different styles, dissolved in 1993 when Scott departed to pursue a solo career and then reformed in 2000. They continue to release albums and tour worldwide. World Party was made up of former Waterboys members.
Over 85 musicians have performed live as a Waterboy.[1] [2] Some have spent only a short time with the band, contributing to a single tour or album, while others have been long-term members with significant contributions. Scott has stated that "We’ve had more members I believe than any other band in rock history" and believes that the nearest challengers are Santana and The Fall.[3]
The Waterboys have gone through different musical phases as well as line-ups. In 2019 Scott wrote "The Waterboys is a timeless, genre-confounding band. We belong in no box."[4]
The Waterboys were formed by Mike Scott in 1982, under the name The Red and The Black.[5] Scott was soon joined by saxophonist Anthony Thistlethwaite. Under this name, the band played nine gigs before starting recording. Scott and Thistlethwaite were joined by drummer Kevin Wilkinson. In March 1983, the band released their first single "A Girl Called Johnny" under the name The Waterboys.[6]
For the band's first performance under this name was in May 1983 on the Old Grey Whistle Test, they were joined by Norman Rodger on bass, Karl Wallinger on keyboards, and Preston Heyman covering for Wilkinson on drums. The band released their first, self titled album in July, it featured demos that Scott had recorded between 1981 and 1982, some featuring Thistlethwaite, Wilkinson and Rodger.[7]
The band's first ever concert took place in February 1984, and included Scott, Thistlethwaite, Wallinger and Wilkinson, alongside trumpeter Roddy Lorimer, backing vocalist Eddi Reader, bassist Martin Swain and lead guitarist John Caldwell. The band returned to a five piece for touring (without Lorimer, Reader and Caldwell). Wilkinson was replaced by Chris Whitten in late 1984.[8] In mid 1985, Steve Wickham joined on fiddle, influencing the band's style into folk music. After a north American tour in November 1985, Whitten and Wallinger both left. The two were replaced by Dave Ruffy and Guy Chambers respectively.
In January 1986, Scott and Thistlethwaite relocated to Dublin (where Wickham is from), creating a new line-up with bassist Trevor Hutchinson and drummer Peter McKinney.[9] Fran Breen briefly replaced McKinney for a show in August. In December, Scott, Thistlethwaite and Wickham did some sessions in San Francisco with legendary drummer Jim Keltner.
The band returned to live performances in April 1987, again with Hutchinson and McKinney, although McKinney was replaced by Breen in May. The band was also joined by pipe and whistle player Vinnie Kilduff. Roddy Lorimer also briefly rejoined. In April 1988, the band returned to recording, with new drummer Jay Dee Daugherty, gaelic singer Tomas Mac Eoin and flautist/pianist Colin Blakey. Breen returned in December for touring, althpugh he was again replaced by Daugherty in February 1989. Accordionist Sharon Shannon joined in May 1989, replacing Kilduff, alongside Noel Bridgeman, replacing Daugherty.
Wickham left in July 1990, causing Shannon, Bridgeman and Blakey to also depart. Scott, Thistlethwaite and Hutchinson continued with drummer Ken Blevins, until Hutchinson left in April 1991.[10] The band entered a hiatus after their contract with Ensign Records expired in May and Scott and Thistlethwaite split in December. In January 1992, Scott began recording Dream Harder in New York with many American musicians, most notably Chris Bruce (guitar), Scott Thunes (bass) and Carla Azar (drums), all of whom played with Scott on Top of the Pops, After which Scott continued his solo career.
In Summer 2000, Scott reformed The Waterboys with a line-up including Richard Naiff on keyboards and flute, Livingston Brown on bass and Jeremy Stacey on drums.[11] In October the band were joined by Tom Windriff (drums, backing vocals), John Baggott (keyboards, backing vocals) and Gordon Davis (bass, backing vocals). In January 2001, Jo Wadeson and Ian McNabb replaced Davis and Baggott respectively.[12]
Wickham rejoined in March 2001, alongside Jay Dee Daugherty, although he was replaced by Ray Fean in July, who was then replaced by Geoff Dugmore in August. McNabb returned in May 2002, replacing Wadeson on bass.[13] In June 2002, Brad Waissman and Paul Beavis joined on bass and drums respectively. Dugmore returned in January 2003.[14]
Steve Walters and Carlos Hercules joined as new rhythm section in October 2003. In May 2005, Scott, Wickham and Naiff were briefly rejoined by Thistlethwaite (on bass) and Breen, as well as Sharron Shannon and Leo Moran for one show.[15] The band were also briefly joined by Liam O'Maonlai on keyboards. Walters and Hercules returned in January 2006. By the time the band started recording in August 2006, they were joined by Leo Abrahams on lead guitar, Mark Smith on bass and Brady Blade on drums. Although when in came to touring in March 2007, Abrahams and Blade did not participate. Damon Wilson took up drums.
In February 2009, longtime keyboardist Richard Naiff departed the band. He was replaced by John McCullough, as well as Carlos Hercules returning on drums. In March 2010, the band expanded the line-up featuring Joe Chester on lead guitar, Simon Wallace on keyboards, Ash Soan on drums, Katie Kim on second vocals, Marc Arciero on bass, Blaise Margail on trombone, Ruby Ashley on oboe and Sarah Allen on flute. Paul "Binzer" Brennan replaced Soan in June 2010, and James Hallawell replaced Wallace that August.
In January 2011, the band were joined by Ralph Salmins on drums and Kate St John on oboe and sax.[16] Melvin Duffy (pedal steel, guitar) joined the band for 2011 summer shows, alongside Scott, Hallawell, Wickham, Arciero and Brennan. Salmins returned in May 2011. The band played some Australian shows in early 2013, at which they were joined by Sarah Calderwood on vocals and flute. For North American dates in 2013, Scott and Wickham were joined by Elizabeth Ziman (vocals), Jay Barclay (guitar), Daniel Mintseris (keyboards), Malcolm Gold (bass), Ezra Oklan (drums) and Chris Layer (flute). Ziman and Layer departed and Chris Benelli replaced Oklan for Canadian dates.
When the band returned to Britain/Ireland, they were joined by the returning by Arciero, Duffy and Salmins and the new Brother Paul Brown on keyboards. Thistlethwaite and Hutchinson returned for a Fisherman's Blues revisited tour in December 2013, this tour also included Scott, Wickham and Salmins. In June 2014, the core trio and Brown were joined by Niall C. Lawlor (lap steel) and Shane Fitzsimmons (bass). Lawlor and Fitzsimmons were replaced by Zach Ernst (lead guitar) and David Hood by December 2014. This line-up continued until August 2016.
In 2017, the band consisted of Scott, Wickham and Brown, alongside Bart Walker (guitar), Aongus Ralston (bass), Jon Green (drums) and backing vocalists Jess Kavanagh and Zeenie Summers. Walker and Green departed in 2017, Salmins returned again. Gavin Ralston joined on guitar for a European tour in 2019. Aongus Ralston was briefly replaced by Jeff Adams for a North American tour in the same year,[17] tech Neil Mahony also played bass as he had previously done in 2016.[18] All subsequent touring was cancelled due to COVID-19.
When the band returned in late 2021, Hallawell rejoined as pianist, performing alongside Brown playing Hammond organ, and Eamon Ferris replaced Salmins on drums. Wickham retired from touring in February 2022.
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. After Scott and Wickham, Thistlethwaite has more songwriting credits than any other Waterboy. His saxophone (regularly featured in solos) was one half of the early group's distinctive brass section, while his mandolin playing came to the forefront during the group's Irish folk phase; but he has also played bass, keyboards and a number of other instruments for the band. 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. He is now a member of The Saw Doctors, and has also released three solo albums.
Original member Kevin Wilkinson was the band's drummer from 1983 to 1984, and continued to play in some studio sessions afterwards. His later appeared on A Rock in the Weary Land. He led the rhythm section of the group during its "Big Music" phase, sometimes without the assistance of any bass guitar. Scott describes Wilkinson's drumming as "bright and angular, an unusual sound".[19]
Karl Wallinger joined the group in 1983, shortly after its formation. He left the group two years later, but in that relatively short period made important contributions to both A Pagan Place and This Is the Sea. He co-wrote "Don't Bang the Drum", the environmentalism anthem on the latter album. His keyboards and synthesiser work expanded the group's sound, and he also did some studio work for demo sessions. Wallinger's World Party project was heavily influenced by his work with the Waterboys and also featured other former members.
Roddy Lorimer's participation began in 1983, contributing his trumpet playing "on and off"[20] until 1990. He and Thistlethwaite took turns leading the brass section of the band, and Lorimer was also a featured soloist, most famously on "The Whole of the Moon" and "Don't Bang the Drum". 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.[21] Lorimer returned for some studio work in 2006.
Steve Wickham transformed the group when he joined in 1985; his interest in folk music directly resulted in the band's change of direction. 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 in 2000 and remained until 2022 (when he stepped down from regular involvement).[22] Described by Scott as "the world's greatest rock fiddle player",[23] he has written more songs for the band than anyone other than Scott, including the group's handful of instrumental recordings.Richard Naiff first recorded with the band in 1999, and joined permanently in 2000. As of 2007, he was a core member, along with Scott and Wickham. He is a classically trained pianist and flautist, and plays keyboards for the Waterboys. Ian McNabb described him as Scott's "find of the century"[24] and reviewers have described him as "phenomenally talented".[25] Naiff officially left the Waterboys in February 2009 to spend more time with his family.[26]
Other notable past members have included Ian McNabb, leader of Icicle Works; Sharon Shannon, who became Ireland's all-time best-selling traditional musician;[27] the experimental musician Thighpaulsandra, producer Guy Chambers, Patti Smith drummers Jay Dee Daugherty and Carlos Hercules, bassists Steve Walters and Mark Smith who was the band's bassist when he died on 3 November 2009.[28]
The Waterboys line-up as of 2010 appeared at the world premiere of An Appointment With Mr Yeats at The Abbey Theatre, Dublin.[29] They expanded into a 9-piece band in the autumn of 2017 for their tour of the UK, Ireland and Europe.
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Scott | all releases | ||||
| James Hallawell | |||||
| Brother Paul Brown | 2013–present | all releases from Modern Blues (2015) to present | |||
| Aongus Ralston | 2016–present | all releases from Out of All This Blue (2017) to present | |||
| Eamon Ferris | 2021–present | drums | none to date |
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Thistlethwaite | |||||
| 1982–1985 | |||||
| Norman Rodger | 1983 | The Waterboys (1983) | |||
| drums | "The Three Day Man" (1983) | ||||
| Karl Wallinger | 1983–1985 | ||||
| Roddy Lorimer | |||||
| Martyn Swain | bass | This Is the Sea (1985) | |||
| John Caldwell | 1984 | lead guitar | none | ||
| backing vocals | A Pagan Place (1984) | ||||
| 1984–1985 | drums | none | |||
| Frank Biddulph | 1985 | fiddle | |||
| Marco Sin | 1985 | ||||
| Max Edie | 1985 | vocals | This Is the Sea (1985) | ||
| Steve Wickham | |||||
| Dave Ruffy | |||||
| Guy Chambers | The Live Adventures of (1998) | ||||
| Trevor Hutchinson | |||||
| Peter McKinney | drums | Fisherman's Blues (1988) | |||
| Fran Breen | |||||
| Leo Moran | lead guitar | none | |||
| Vinnie Kilduff | 1987–1989 | Fisherman's Blues (1988) | |||
| Colin Blakey | 1987–1990 | ||||
| vocals | Fisherman's Blues (1988) | ||||
| Jay Dee Daugherty | drums | ||||
| Sharon Shannon | |||||
| Noel Bridgeman | 1989–1990 | ||||
| Ken Blevins | 1990–1991 | drums | none | ||
| Chris Bruce | 1992–1993 | lead guitar | Dream Harder (1993) | ||
| bass | |||||
| Carla Azar | drums | ||||
| Jeremy Stacey | |||||
| Livingstone Brown | 1999–2000 | A Rock in the Weary Land (2000) | |||
| Gordon Davis | 2000 | none | |||
| Adam Snyder | keyboards | ||||
| John Baggot | |||||
| Jo Wadeson | 2000–2001 | ||||
| Tom Windriff | |||||
| Ray Fean | 2001 | drums | |||
| Ian McNabb | All Souls Hill (2022) | ||||
| none | |||||
| Brad Waissman | 2002–2003 | bass | |||
| Paul Beavis | 2002 | drums | A Rock in the Weary Land (2000) | ||
| Carlos Hercules | Karma to Burn (2005) | ||||
| Steve Walters | 2003–2006 | bass | none | ||
| Liam Ó Maonlaí | 2005 | keyboards | |||
| Mark Smith | 2006–2009 | bass | |||
| 2006–2007 | lead guitar | Book of Lightning (2007) | |||
| Brady Blade | drums | ||||
| Damon Wilson | 2007–2008 | none | |||
| John McCullough | 2009 | keyboards | |||
| Katie Kim | vocals | An Appointment with Mr Yeats (2011) | |||
| Ash Soan | 2009–2010 | drums | none | ||
| An Appointment with Mr Yeats (2011) | |||||
| Marc Arciero | bass | ||||
| Blaise Margail | 2009–2011 | trombone | |||
| Sarah Allen | flute | ||||
| Simon Wallace | 2009–2010 | keyboards | none | ||
| Ruby Ashley | |||||
| Paul "Binzer" Brennan | drums | ||||
| Ralph Salmins | |||||
| 2011 | An Appointment with Mr Yeats (2011) | ||||
| Melvin Duffy | All Souls Hill (2022) | ||||
| 2013 | none | ||||
| Jay Barclay | 2013–2014 | guitar | |||
| Malcolm Gold | 2013 | bass | |||
| Daniel Mintseris | keyboards | ||||
| Elizabeth Ziman | vocals | ||||
| Chris Layer | flute | ||||
| Ezra Oklan | drums | ||||
| Chris Benelli | |||||
| Shane Fitzsimons | 2014 | bass | |||
| Niall C. Lawlor | lap steel | ||||
| Zach Ernst | 2014–2016 | guitar | |||
| David Hood | bass | ||||
| Neil Mahony | Out of All This Blue (2017) | ||||
| Zeenie Summers | vocals | ||||
| Jess Kavanagh | |||||
| Jon Green | 2017 | drums | none | ||
| Bart Walker | guitar | ||||
| Gavin Ralston | 2019 | Good Luck, Seeker (2020) | |||
| Jeff Adams | 2019 | Modern Blues (2015) |
| Period | Members | Releases | |
|---|---|---|---|
| April – August 1982(as The Red and The Black) |
| none | |
| November 1982 – March 1983(Unnamed and then as The Waterboys) |
with many session musicians |
| |
| May 1983 |
| none | |
| September – December 1983 |
|
| |
| February 1984 |
| none – one live performance | |
| April – July 1984 |
|
| |
| October – December 1984 |
| ||
| February 1985 |
| none [30] | |
|
| ||
| June – July 1985 |
| ||
| October – 3 November 1985 |
| none | |
| November 1985 |
| none | |
| December 1985 |
| none | |
| 18 December 1985 |
| ||
| 19 December 1985 |
| ||
| Early January 1986 |
| none | |
| Late January[31] – March 1986(only one show) |
|
| |
| April – July 1986 |
|
| |
| August 1986 |
| none | |
| September – November 1986 |
|
| |
| December 1986(sessions only) |
| none | |
| January – August 1987(sessions only) |
with many guest musicians |
| |
| April 1987[32] |
| none | |
| 22 May 1987 |
| none | |
| 24 May 1987 |
| ||
| September 1987 |
| none | |
| October 1987 |
| ||
| April – October 1988(sessions only) |
|
| |
| December 1988[33] |
| none | |
| Late January – March 1989[34] |
| ||
| June 1989 – May 1990(sessions only in 1990) |
|
| |
| July – December 1990[35] |
| none | |
| 1992 – 1993 |
With many other session musicians |
Also Top of the Pops performance | |
| On Hiatus 1994 – 1999 | |||
| January 1999 – 2000 |
with
|
| |
| June 2000 |
| none | |
| October 2000 |
| none | |
| October – December 2000 |
| ||
| January – February 2001 |
| ||
| March – April 2001 |
| none | |
| April 2001 |
| none | |
| June 2001 |
| none | |
| July – August 2001 |
| ||
| August – December 2001 |
| none | |
| January – March 2002 |
| none | |
| May 2002 |
| none | |
| June 2002 |
| none | |
| June – October 2002 |
| none | |
| January 2003 |
| none | |
| May 2003 |
|
| |
| June – July 2003 |
| none | |
| July 2003 |
| none | |
| July – September 2003 |
| none | |
| October – November 2003 |
|
| |
| December 2003 |
| none | |
| January – November 2004[36] |
| none | |
| 26 – 28 November 2004 |
| none | |
| April – May 2005 |
| none | |
| May 2005 |
with
| none | |
| July 2005 |
| ||
| December 2005[37] |
| ||
| January – August 2006[38] |
| none | |
| August 2006 – March 2007(sessions only)[39] |
|
| |
| February 2007[40] – February 2009[41] [42] |
| none | |
| February[43] – May 2009[44] |
| none | |
| May[45] – June 2009 |
| none | |
| July[46] – November 2009[47] |
| none | |
| December 2009[48] |
| ||
| January[49] – April 2010 |
| none | |
| June – July 2010[50] |
| none | |
| August 2010[51] |
| none | |
| August[52] – December 2010 |
| none | |
| January[53] – June 2011[54] |
|
| |
| May[55] – August 2011 |
| none | |
| September 2011[56] |
| ||
| November 2011 – March 2012[57] |
| ||
| April 2012[58] |
| ||
| January – early February 2013[59] |
| none | |
| March 2013[60] |
| none | |
| June 2013 |
| none | |
| June – July 2013[61] [62] [63] |
| none | |
| July – September 2013 |
| none | |
| September – October 2013 |
| none | |
| November 2013[64] |
| none | |
| December 2013[65] |
| ||
| June – August 2014 |
| none | |
| December 2014[66] – late July 2016 |
|
| |
| July – August 2016 |
| none | |
| June – August 2017 |
| none | |
| September 2017 – December 2018 |
|
| |
| May – September 2019 |
|
| |
| September – October 2019 |
| none | |
| November 2019 – January 2020 |
| ||
| August 2020 |
|
| |
| September 2021 – February 2022 |
| none | |
| February 2022 – present |
|
| |