Biography of The Waterboys

A critically acclaimed folk-rock band led by Scottish singer/songwriter and guitarist Mike Scott. The group's first recording was a five-track mini-album, The Waterboys, released in 1984, at which time the only other regular band member was sax player Anthony Thistlewaite. By the time their second album, A Pagan Place, was released, they had added keyboard player Karl Wallinger. They first gained extensive recognition for their third album, This Is the Sea (1985), which got to number 37 in the U.K. charts and included the number 26 single "The Whole of the Moon." Wallinger then left to form World Party and Scott spent more than three years preparing Fisherman's Blues, which, when it appeared in late 1988, showed a distinct turn toward Irish folk music. It was followed two years later by Room to Roam.Scott backed away from Irish folk on 1993's Dream Harder, which featured a more straightforward, epic rock that recalled their earlier albums. ~ William Ruhlmann