The Waterboys

Mike Scott's band, formed in London in 1983, whose 1985 single "The Whole of the Moon" from This Is the Sea reached number three in the UK on re-release in 1991.

The Big Music

Mike Scott, a Scottish singer-songwriter and the only constant member, formed the Waterboys in London in 1983 and signed to Ensign. The early line-up, known for what Scott called the big music, had Anthony Thistlethwaite on saxophone and mandolin, Karl Wallinger on keyboards, Kevin Wilkinson on drums, Roddy Lorimer on trumpet and Martyn Swain on bass; Steve Wickham joined on fiddle in 1985. Records were The Waterboys (1983), A Pagan Place (1984) and This Is the Sea (1985). Wilkinson left for China Crisis, replaced by Chris Whitten, and Wallinger left to form World Party, replaced by Guy Chambers. Bono named This Is the Sea in his top ten albums.

Scott moved to Ireland and the band's sound turned to folk with Fisherman's Blues (1988), then Room to Roam (1990). Wickham left in 1990 and Thistlethwaite in December 1991. The Best of the Waterboys 81-90 (1991) reached two in the UK, and Dream Harder (1993), produced by Bill Price for Geffen, took a harder rock direction, with "The Return of Pan" and "Glastonbury Song" in the UK top 30. Scott dropped the name in 1993, went solo, and revived it for A Rock in the Weary Land in 2000; Wickham rejoined permanently in January 2001.

Since 2000

Later albums include Universal Hall (2003), Book of Lightning (2007), An Appointment with Mr. Yeats (2011), Modern Blues (2015, recorded in Nashville), Out of All This Blue (2017), Where the Action Is (2019), Good Luck, Seeker (2020), All Souls Hill (2022) and Life, Death and Dennis Hopper (2025). Archive releases include Fisherman's Box (2013), The Magnificent Seven (December 2021) and Atlantic Rain, scheduled for July 17, 2026. Wickham announced his second departure in February 2022 and is scheduled to return for a tour in August and September 2026. The fan site waterboys.org.uk counts 1,506 Waterboys shows from 1984 to 2025.