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Mike Scott (musician)
Encyclopedia
Michael 'Mike' Scott is the founding member, lead singer and chief songwriter
of rock band The Waterboys
. He has also produced two solo albums, Bring 'em All In
and Still Burning
. Scott is a vocalist
, guitarist
and pianist
, and has played a large range of other instruments, including the bouzouki
, drums
, and hammond organ
on his albums.
Having begun a musical career in the 1970s which has continued to this day, Scott has been described as a "madman or genius, depending on your point of view" by Peter Anderson in Record Collector magazine and is well known for his radical changes in music genre
s throughout what Scott refers to as his "allegedly unorthodox" career.
Scott is divorced (from ex-wife Irene Keogh) and is currently remarried and living in Dublin, Ireland, when not touring with The Waterboys.
Scott was born and raised in Edinburgh. His father, Allan Scott, left the family when Mike was ten years old, but the two were reunited in 2007.
Scott was interested in music from an early age. At age twelve, after the family had moved to Ayr
, he began a serious interest in learning guitar
. Scott remembers that, "from the minute [he] bought" Last Night in Soho by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich
in 1968 "knew [he] had to be in music", and mentions listening to Hank Williams as a "life-changing" experience. The next year, Scott was playing in school bands and formed the band Karma, named after the tenet in Hinduism
, with a friend named John Caldwell. Karma's sound was inspired by David Bowie
, The Beatles
and Bob Dylan
.
In 1977 Scott entered the University of Edinburgh
, studying English literature
and philosophy
. Scott would later arrange poetry
from William Butler Yeats
, Robert Burns
, and George MacDonald
for The Waterboys recordings. Other literary influences on Scott's career include C. S. Lewis
and The Diary of Vikenty Angorov. Scott left Edinburgh University after his first year.
Scott became interested in the United Kingdom punk music scene, and began writing for fanzine
s, eventually starting his own, Jungleland. Scott was especially interested in the music of The Clash
and Patti Smith
, a tribute to whom, "A Girl Called Johnny", would become the first Waterboys' single.
, named New Pleasures, "obtained financial backing from the enigmatically named Z" and began releasing Another Pretty Face's singles. The band achieved remarkable success with their first single "All the Boys Love Carrie"/"That's Not Enough" when New Musical Express named it "Single of the Week". The band signed a contract with Virgin Records
, was featured on the cover of Sounds magazine, and toured with Stiff Little Fingers
. Virgin, after receiving a demo tape from Another Pretty Face, released the band four months after the signing. Nikki Sudden
, who had interviewed Another Pretty Face in Edinburgh for ZigZag magazine, asserts that "the APF stuff is still some of Mike Scott’s best work".
In 1980 through 1982 Scott, amongst other projects, worked occasionally with Sudden. Another Pretty Face continued to release music, and came to the attention of Nigel Grainge, founder of Ensign Records
. Grainge signed Another Pretty Face to the label, and the band moved to London, changing its name to Funhouse (taken from the name of The Stooges
' album Fun House). Scott had become dissatisfied with the band. He later described Funhouse's sound as "similar to a jumbo jet flying on one engine". Scott began working on solo songs and recordings, a decision that led to the creation of The Waterboys. A December 1981 session at Redshop Studios formed the beginnings of The Waterboys' first album, The Waterboys
.
The Waterboys' membership has changed a great deal throughout the group's existence. Anthony Thistlethwaite
, Karl Wallinger
, Kevin Wilkinson
and Steve Wickham
all made major contributions, but Scott describes the band as his project. "[T]o me there's no difference between Mike Scott and the Waterboys; they both mean the same thing. They mean myself and whoever are my current travelling musical companions." The Waterboys' first release was a single of "A Girl Called Johnny" in March 1983. The first album came out that June. Along with The Waterboys, the next two albums, A Pagan Place
and This Is the Sea
, released in 1984 and 1985, contained songs mostly written by Scott, and together formed the band's "Big Music" period. After the official addition of fiddler Steve Wickham
and a move to Ireland
, the next two albums Fisherman's Blues
(1988) and Room to Roam
(1990) were instead Celtic music
-inspired folk music
, a sound similar to that of We Free Kings, a band that Scott and Wickham performed with in 1986. Scott's musical style changed again when he, under the name The Waterboys but without any other members, recorded a hard rock
album, Dream Harder
, in 1993. It was the last album to come out under the band's name until 2000. The band had dissolved over personnel issues and Wickham's desire to remain with a folk-rock, or purely folk music
, sound. After two Mike Scott solo albums, A Rock in the Weary Land
was released under The Waterboys name, demonstrating yet another musical style, which Scott called "Sonic rock". 2002's Universal Hall
was a return to a folk-rock sound. It was followed by Karma to Burn, released in 2005, which was the groups' first official live album.
in north Scotland, with Mike Scott playing all instruments himself. Musician and author Daniel Levitin
ends his 2009 book The World in Six Songs with an extended discussion of the song "Bring 'em All In," calling it "one of the greatest love songs ever written."
For his second solo album, Still Burning
(1997), Scott assembled a group of session musicians including Pino Palladino
and Jim Keltner
. Guesting on the album was former Icicle Works
frontman Ian McNabb
. Songs from the two albums appeared on 1998's compilation album
The Whole Of The Moon: The Music Of Mike Scott And The Waterboys along with songs from The Waterboys.
Scott created his own record label Puck Records in 2003, which released The Waterboys' Universal Hall
. In 2005, Karma to Burn was released, also by Puck Records, and included tracks from Scott's solo career played by the current The Waterboys line-up.
After years in the making, Scott produced his show An Appointment with Mr. Yeats, which debuted in Dublin, in Yeats' own Abbey Theatre. In the show, Scott is accompanied by Steve Wickham and other musicians, and the poetry of W.B. Yeats is put to music by Scott. The show ran from 15 to 20 March 2010.
Singles
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
of rock band The Waterboys
The Waterboys
The Waterboys are a band formed in 1983 by Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Scotland, Ireland and England. Edinburgh, London, Dublin, Spiddal, New York, and Findhorn have all served as homes for the group. The band has played in a...
. He has also produced two solo albums, Bring 'em All In
Bring 'em All In
Bring 'em All In was Mike Scott's first of two solo albums, the other being 1997's Still Burning. Dream Harder was recorded by Scott and session musicians, but was credited to Scott's band, The Waterboys...
and Still Burning
Still Burning
Still Burning is 1997's follow-up to Bring 'em All In , and the last of Mike Scott's solo albums before re-forming The Waterboys in 2000...
. Scott is a vocalist
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
and pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
, and has played a large range of other instruments, including the bouzouki
Bouzouki
The bouzouki , is a musical instrument with Greek origin in the lute family. A mainstay of modern Greek music, the front of the body is flat and is usually heavily inlaid with mother-of-pearl. The instrument is played with a plectrum and has a sharp metallic sound, reminiscent of a mandolin but...
, drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, and hammond organ
Hammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
on his albums.
Having begun a musical career in the 1970s which has continued to this day, Scott has been described as a "madman or genius, depending on your point of view" by Peter Anderson in Record Collector magazine and is well known for his radical changes in music genre
Music genre
A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other types of music...
s throughout what Scott refers to as his "allegedly unorthodox" career.
Scott is divorced (from ex-wife Irene Keogh) and is currently remarried and living in Dublin, Ireland, when not touring with The Waterboys.
Early life and education
Scott was interested in music from an early age. At age twelve, after the family had moved to Ayr
Ayr
Ayr is a town and port situated on the Firth of Clyde in south-west Scotland. With a population of around 46,000, Ayr is the largest settlement in Ayrshire, of which it is the county town, and has held royal burgh status since 1205...
, he began a serious interest in learning guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
. Scott remembers that, "from the minute [he] bought" Last Night in Soho by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich
Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich
Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich , were a British pop/rock group of the 1960s. Two of their single releases sold in excess of one million copies each, and they reached Number One in the UK with the second of them, "The Legend of Xanadu".-Biography:Five friends from Wiltshire, David John Harman,...
in 1968 "knew [he] had to be in music", and mentions listening to Hank Williams as a "life-changing" experience. The next year, Scott was playing in school bands and formed the band Karma, named after the tenet in Hinduism
Karma
Karma in Indian religions is the concept of "action" or "deed", understood as that which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect originating in ancient India and treated in Hindu, Jain, Buddhist and Sikh philosophies....
, with a friend named John Caldwell. Karma's sound was inspired by David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
and Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
.
In 1977 Scott entered the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
, studying English literature
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
and philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
. Scott would later arrange poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
from William Butler Yeats
William Butler Yeats
William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and playwright, and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. A pillar of both the Irish and British literary establishments, in his later years he served as an Irish Senator for two terms...
, Robert Burns
Robert Burns
Robert Burns was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide...
, and George MacDonald
George MacDonald
George MacDonald was a Scottish author, poet, and Christian minister.Known particularly for his poignant fairy tales and fantasy novels, George MacDonald inspired many authors, such as W. H. Auden, J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, E. Nesbit and Madeleine L'Engle. It was C.S...
for The Waterboys recordings. Other literary influences on Scott's career include C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
and The Diary of Vikenty Angorov. Scott left Edinburgh University after his first year.
Scott became interested in the United Kingdom punk music scene, and began writing for fanzine
Fanzine
A fanzine is a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest...
s, eventually starting his own, Jungleland. Scott was especially interested in the music of The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
and Patti Smith
Patti Smith
Patricia Lee "Patti" Smith is an American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist, who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses....
, a tribute to whom, "A Girl Called Johnny", would become the first Waterboys' single.
Pre-Waterboys musical career
Scott and a guitarist named Allan McConnell formed a band, The Bootlegs, which gave way to Another Pretty Face in 1978 when Caldwell and two other friends joined. The friends created their own record labelRecord label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, named New Pleasures, "obtained financial backing from the enigmatically named Z" and began releasing Another Pretty Face's singles. The band achieved remarkable success with their first single "All the Boys Love Carrie"/"That's Not Enough" when New Musical Express named it "Single of the Week". The band signed a contract with Virgin Records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
, was featured on the cover of Sounds magazine, and toured with Stiff Little Fingers
Stiff Little Fingers
Stiff Little Fingers are a punk rock band from Belfast, Northern Ireland. They formed in 1977, at the height of the Troubles. They started out as a schoolboy band called Highway Star , doing rock covers, until they discovered punk. They split up after six years and four albums, although they...
. Virgin, after receiving a demo tape from Another Pretty Face, released the band four months after the signing. Nikki Sudden
Nikki Sudden
Nikki Sudden was a prolific English singer-songwriter and guitarist. He co-founded the post-punk band Swell Maps with his brother Epic Soundtracks while attending Solihull School in Solihull.-Career:...
, who had interviewed Another Pretty Face in Edinburgh for ZigZag magazine, asserts that "the APF stuff is still some of Mike Scott’s best work".
In 1980 through 1982 Scott, amongst other projects, worked occasionally with Sudden. Another Pretty Face continued to release music, and came to the attention of Nigel Grainge, founder of Ensign Records
Ensign Records
Ensign Records was started in 1976 by Nigel Grainge, as an independent Phonogram subsidiary.-History:Grainge had been the head of A&R at Phonogram in London for the previous two years and directly signed Thin Lizzy, 10cc, The Steve Miller Band, and a worldwide license for the successful All...
. Grainge signed Another Pretty Face to the label, and the band moved to London, changing its name to Funhouse (taken from the name of The Stooges
The Stooges
The Stooges are an American rock band from Ann Arbor, Michigan first active from 1967 to 1974, and later reformed in 2003...
' album Fun House). Scott had become dissatisfied with the band. He later described Funhouse's sound as "similar to a jumbo jet flying on one engine". Scott began working on solo songs and recordings, a decision that led to the creation of The Waterboys. A December 1981 session at Redshop Studios formed the beginnings of The Waterboys' first album, The Waterboys
The Waterboys (album)
This eponymously named debut album from The Waterboys was recorded in several studio sessions between December 1981 and November 1982. Allmusic describes the sound of the album as "part Van Morrison, part U2"....
.
The Waterboys
- For the main article, see The WaterboysThe WaterboysThe Waterboys are a band formed in 1983 by Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Scotland, Ireland and England. Edinburgh, London, Dublin, Spiddal, New York, and Findhorn have all served as homes for the group. The band has played in a...
.
The Waterboys' membership has changed a great deal throughout the group's existence. Anthony Thistlethwaite
Anthony Thistlethwaite
Anthony "Anto" Thistlethwaite is a British multi-instrumentalist best known as a founder member of the folk-rock group The Waterboys and later as a long-standing member of Irish rock band The Saw Doctors.After a year busking in Paris, playing tenor saxophone around the streets of the Latin...
, Karl Wallinger
Karl Wallinger
Karl Edmond De Vere Wallinger is a Welsh musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for leading the band World Party and for his mid-1980s stint in The Waterboys...
, Kevin Wilkinson
Kevin Wilkinson
Kevin Wilkinson was a musician based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England.- Career :Born Kevin Michael Wilkinson in Stoke-on-Trent, he is credited as a former official member of several successful British pop groups, including The League of Gentlemen , The Waterboys , China Crisis and Squeeze...
and Steve Wickham
Steve Wickham
Steve Wickham is an Irish musician described by Mike Scott as "the world's greatest rock fiddle player" and by New Musical Express as a "fiddling legend." Originally from Marino, Dublin, but calling Sligo home, Wickham has appeared on recordings by Elvis Costello, the Hothouse Flowers, Sinéad...
all made major contributions, but Scott describes the band as his project. "[T]o me there's no difference between Mike Scott and the Waterboys; they both mean the same thing. They mean myself and whoever are my current travelling musical companions." The Waterboys' first release was a single of "A Girl Called Johnny" in March 1983. The first album came out that June. Along with The Waterboys, the next two albums, A Pagan Place
A Pagan Place
A Pagan Place was an album released in June 1984 by The Waterboys. It was the first Waterboys record with Karl Wallinger as part of the band and also includes Roddy Lorimer's first trumpet solo for the band on the track "A Pagan Place"....
and This Is the Sea
This Is the Sea
This Is the Sea is the third and last of The Waterboys' "Big Music" albums. Considered by critics to be the finest album of their early rock-oriented sound, described as "epic" and "a defining moment", it was the first Waterboys album to enter the United Kingdom charts, peaking at number...
, released in 1984 and 1985, contained songs mostly written by Scott, and together formed the band's "Big Music" period. After the official addition of fiddler Steve Wickham
Steve Wickham
Steve Wickham is an Irish musician described by Mike Scott as "the world's greatest rock fiddle player" and by New Musical Express as a "fiddling legend." Originally from Marino, Dublin, but calling Sligo home, Wickham has appeared on recordings by Elvis Costello, the Hothouse Flowers, Sinéad...
and a move to Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, the next two albums Fisherman's Blues
Fisherman's Blues
Fisherman's Blues is the 1988 album by The Waterboys. The album marked a change in the sound of The Waterboys', abandoning their earlier grandiose rock sound for a mixture of traditional Scottish music, country music and rock and roll. Critics were divided on its release with some disappointed at...
(1988) and Room to Roam
Room to Roam
Room to Roam is an album by The Waterboys; it continued the folk-rock sound of 1988's Fisherman's Blues, but was less of a commercial success, reaching one-hundred and eighty on the Billboard Top 200 after its release in September 1990. Critical response continues to be mixed...
(1990) were instead Celtic music
Celtic music
Celtic music is a term utilised by artists, record companies, music stores and music magazines to describe a broad grouping of musical genres that evolved out of the folk musical traditions of the Celtic people of Western Europe...
-inspired folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, a sound similar to that of We Free Kings, a band that Scott and Wickham performed with in 1986. Scott's musical style changed again when he, under the name The Waterboys but without any other members, recorded a hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
album, Dream Harder
Dream Harder
Dream Harder is an album released in 1993 credited to The Waterboys, but recorded by Mike Scott with session musicians. It was the last Waterboys album before Scott spent seven year pursuing a formal solo career, with Bring 'em All In and Still Burning...
, in 1993. It was the last album to come out under the band's name until 2000. The band had dissolved over personnel issues and Wickham's desire to remain with a folk-rock, or purely folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, sound. After two Mike Scott solo albums, A Rock in the Weary Land
A Rock in the Weary Land
A Rock in the Weary Land was an album released in 2000 by The Waterboys. It was their first album after a seven year break...
was released under The Waterboys name, demonstrating yet another musical style, which Scott called "Sonic rock". 2002's Universal Hall
Universal Hall
Universal Hall is a 2003 album released by The Waterboys. It is named after the theatre and performance hall at the Findhorn Foundation, which is pictured on the album cover. The album shows much more influence from folk music than its predecessor, A Rock in the Weary Land...
was a return to a folk-rock sound. It was followed by Karma to Burn, released in 2005, which was the groups' first official live album.
Solo albums
In addition to the albums he released with The Waterboys, Scott released two solo albums in the nineties. The first Bring 'em All In (1995), was recorded at the Findhorn FoundationFindhorn Foundation
The Findhorn Foundation is a Scottish charitable trust registered in 1972, formed by the spiritual community at the Findhorn Ecovillage, one of the largest intentional communities in Britain....
in north Scotland, with Mike Scott playing all instruments himself. Musician and author Daniel Levitin
Daniel Levitin
Professor Daniel J. Levitin, Ph.D. is a prominent American cognitive psychologist, neuroscientist, record producer, musician, and writer...
ends his 2009 book The World in Six Songs with an extended discussion of the song "Bring 'em All In," calling it "one of the greatest love songs ever written."
For his second solo album, Still Burning
Still Burning
Still Burning is 1997's follow-up to Bring 'em All In , and the last of Mike Scott's solo albums before re-forming The Waterboys in 2000...
(1997), Scott assembled a group of session musicians including Pino Palladino
Pino Palladino
Pino Palladino is a Welsh bass guitarist who gained fame playing primarily rock and roll, blues rock, and rhythm and blues music, although he has been lauded for his ability to play most genres of popular music, including jazz, neo soul, and funk...
and Jim Keltner
Jim Keltner
James Lee "Jim" Keltner is an American drummer known primarily for his session work. He has contributed to the work of many well-known artists...
. Guesting on the album was former Icicle Works
Icicle Works
The Icicle Works were an English alternative rock band of the 1980s. Named after the 1960 short story "The Day the Icicle Works Closed" by science fiction author Frederik Pohl, The Icicle Works joined Liverpool's early 1980s 'neo-psychedelia' wave, which also propelled Echo & the Bunnymen and The...
frontman Ian McNabb
Ian McNabb
Robert Ian McNabb is a British singer-songwriter and musician from Liverpool, England. He is known both for his work as leader and songwriter-in-chief of The Icicle Works in the 1980s, and his critically acclaimed solo career throughout from the early 1990s to date...
. Songs from the two albums appeared on 1998's compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
The Whole Of The Moon: The Music Of Mike Scott And The Waterboys along with songs from The Waterboys.
Scott created his own record label Puck Records in 2003, which released The Waterboys' Universal Hall
Universal Hall
Universal Hall is a 2003 album released by The Waterboys. It is named after the theatre and performance hall at the Findhorn Foundation, which is pictured on the album cover. The album shows much more influence from folk music than its predecessor, A Rock in the Weary Land...
. In 2005, Karma to Burn was released, also by Puck Records, and included tracks from Scott's solo career played by the current The Waterboys line-up.
After years in the making, Scott produced his show An Appointment with Mr. Yeats, which debuted in Dublin, in Yeats' own Abbey Theatre. In the show, Scott is accompanied by Steve Wickham and other musicians, and the poetry of W.B. Yeats is put to music by Scott. The show ran from 15 to 20 March 2010.
Solo
- Bring 'em All InBring 'em All InBring 'em All In was Mike Scott's first of two solo albums, the other being 1997's Still Burning. Dream Harder was recorded by Scott and session musicians, but was credited to Scott's band, The Waterboys...
(1995) - Lion of Love (fan club only release.)
- Sunflowers (fan club only release.)
- Still BurningStill BurningStill Burning is 1997's follow-up to Bring 'em All In , and the last of Mike Scott's solo albums before re-forming The Waterboys in 2000...
(1997) - The Whole of the Moon: The Music of Mike Scott and the Waterboys (1998) (best-of collection)
Other contributions
- 107.1 KGSR Radio Austin - Broadcasts Vol.10 (2002) - "Bring 'Em All In"
Another Pretty Face
Albums- I'm Sorry That I Beat You, I'm Sorry That I Screamed, But For A Moment There I Really Lost Control (1981) (cassette)
Singles
- All the Boys Love Carrie b/w That's Not Enough (1979) (7"; the first run of 1,000 copies with green printing, the second run of 5,000 copies with red printing)
- Whatever Happened to the West? b/w Goodbye 1970s (1980) (7")
- Heaven Gets Closer Everyday b/w Only Heroes Live Forever (1980) (7")
- Soul to Soul (1981) b/w A Woman's Place and God on the Screen (7")
The Waterboys
- See The WaterboysThe WaterboysThe Waterboys are a band formed in 1983 by Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Scotland, Ireland and England. Edinburgh, London, Dublin, Spiddal, New York, and Findhorn have all served as homes for the group. The band has played in a...