Michael Scott (born 14 December 1958) is a Scottish singer, songwriter, and musician. He is the founding member,

lead singer The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

, guitarist and

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

of rock band

The Waterboys The Waterboys are a rock band formed in 1983 by Scottish musician and songwriter Mike Scott (Scottish musician), Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Britain and Ireland, with Scott re ...

. He has also produced two solo albums, '' Bring 'Em All In'' and '' Still Burning''. Scott is a

vocalist Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...

and

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

, and has played a large range of other instruments, including the

bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', , from Greek , from Turkish ) is a musical instrument popular in West Asia (Syria, Iraq), Europe and Balkans (Greece, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Turkey). It is a member of the long-necked lute fam ...

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

, and

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

on his albums. Scott is also a published writer, having released his autobiography, ''Adventures of a Waterboy'', in 2012. Having begun a musical career in the 1970s, Scott has been making music professionally since the 1980s and is well known for his radical changes in

music genre A music genre is a conventional category that identifies some pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions. Genre is to be distinguished from musical form and musical style, although in practice these terms are sometim ...

s throughout what he refers to as his "allegedly unorthodox" career.Scott, Mike.
The day I downloaded myself
. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''. 23 March 2007. Scott lives in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, Ireland.

Early life and education

Scott was born and raised in Edinburgh, the son of Allan and Anne Scott. His father left the family when Mike was ten years old, but the two were reunited in 2007. Scott's mother was an English teacher, exposing him to the greats of

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

from a young age. Scott was interested in music from an early age. At age 12, after the family had moved to

Ayr Ayr ( ; ; , meaning "confluence of the River Àir"), is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. A former royal burgh, today it is the administrative centre of South Ayrshire Council, and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With ...

, he began a serious interest in learning

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

. Scott remembers that, "from the minute ebought" '

Last Night in Soho ''Last Night in Soho'' is a 2021 British psychological horror film directed and co-produced by Edgar Wright, and co-written by Wright and Krysty Wilson-Cairns. It stars Thomasin McKenzie as a naive teenager who moves to London to study fashio ...

' by

Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich are an English rock band active during the 1960s. Formed in Salisbury in 1964, the band consisted of David Harman (Dave Dee), Trevor Ward-Davies (Dozy), John Dymond (Beaky), Michael Wilson (Mick) and Ian Ame ...

in 1968 "knew ehad to be in music", and mentions listening to

Hank Williams Hiram "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. An early pioneer of country music, he is regarded as one of the most significant and influential musicians of the 20th century. W ...

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 David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

and

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

. In 1977 Scott entered the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

, studying

and

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

. Scott would later arrange

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

from

William Butler Yeats William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th century in literature, 20th-century literature. He was ...

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...

, and

George MacDonald George MacDonald (10 December 1824 – 18 September 1905) was a Scottish author, poet and Christian Congregational minister. He became a pioneering figure in the field of modern fantasy literature and the mentor of fellow-writer Lewis Carrol ...

for The Waterboys recordings. Other literary influences on Scott's career include

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer, literary scholar and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Magdalen College, Oxford (1925–1954), and Magdalen ...

and '' The Diary of Vikenty Angarov''. Scott left the University of Edinburgh after his first year. Scott became interested in the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

punk music Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

scene, and began writing for

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleas ...

s, eventually starting his own, ''Jungleland''. Scott was especially interested in the music of

The Clash The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...

and

Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter, author, and photographer. Her 1975 debut album '' Horses'' made her an influential member of the New York City-based punk rock movement. Smith has fu ...

, a tribute to whom, " A Girl Called Johnny", would become the first Waterboys

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

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 label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

, named New Pleasures, "obtained financial backing from the enigmatically named Z" and began releasing Another Pretty Face's singles. The band achieved some success with their first single "All the Boys Love Carrie" / "That's Not Enough" when ''

New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a " rock inkie", the ''NME'' would become a maga ...

'' named it "Single of the Week". The band signed a contract with

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

, was featured on the cover of

Sounds (magazine) ''Sounds'' was a UK weekly pop/rock music newspaper, published from 10 October 1970 to 6 April 1991. It was known for giving away posters in the centre of the paper (initially black and white, then colour from late 1971) and later for covering ...

, and toured with

Stiff Little Fingers Stiff Little Fingers are a Northern Irish punk rock band from Belfast. They formed in 1977 at the height of the Troubles, which informed much of their songwriting. They started out as a schoolboy band called Highway Star (named after the Deep P ...

. Virgin, after receiving a demo tape from Another Pretty Face, released the band four months after the signing.

Nikki Sudden Adrian Nicholas Godfrey (19 July 195626 March 2006), known professionally as 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 ...

, who had interviewed Another Pretty Face in Edinburgh for

ZigZag (magazine) ''ZigZag'' was a British rock music magazine. It was started by Pete Frame and the first edition was published on 16 April 1969. The magazine was noted for its interviews, articles, innovative "rock family trees" by Frame, and support for Americ ...

, 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 recorded a

Peel Session John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

on 18 February 1981. The band eventually came to the attention of Nigel Grainge, founder of

Ensign Records Ensign Records was a record label started in 1976 by London-born Nigel Grainge, elder brother of UMG Chairman Sir Lucian Grainge. History Nigel Grainge began his career in the record business as a sales office assistant at Phonogram UK in 1 ...

. 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 or Iggy and the Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, were an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave Alexande ...

' album ''

Fun House A funhouse or fun house is an attraction found in amusement parks and funfair midways, equipped with various devices designed to surprise, challenge, or amuse visitors. Unlike thrill rides or dark rides, fun houses are participatory attractions ...

''). 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 Anthony "Anto" Thistlethwaite (born 31 August 1955, Lutterworth, Leicestershire, England) is an English-born Irish multi-instrumentalist best known as a founding member (with guitarist Mike Scott) of the folk rock group, The Waterboys and lat ...

Karl Wallinger Karl Edmond De Vere Wallinger (19 October 1957 – 10 March 2024) was a Welsh musician, songwriter and record producer. He was best known for leading the band World Party and for his mid-1980s membership of the Waterboys (contributing in parti ...

Kevin Wilkinson Kevin Michael Wilkinson (11 June 1958 – 17 July 1999) was an English drummer, who was based in Baydon, Wiltshire, England. Career Born in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, Wilkinson is credited as a former official member of several successful ...

and

Steve Wickham Steve Wickham is an Irish musician. Originally from Ballyfermot, Dublin, but calling Sligo home, Wickham was a founding member of In Tua Nua (left in 1985 replaced by Aingeala de Burca) and played violin on the classic U2 song " Sunday Blo ...

all made major contributions, but Scott describes the band as his project. " 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'' is the second studio album by the Waterboys, released by Ensign Records on 28 May 1984. 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 ...

'' and ''

This Is the Sea ''This Is the Sea'' is the third studio album by the Waterboys, released on 16 September 1985 by Ensign Records. The last of their "Big Music" albums, it is considered by critics to be the finest album of the Waterboys' early rock and roll, rock ...

'', 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

and a move to Ireland, the next two albums ''

Fisherman's Blues ''Fisherman's Blues'' is the fourth studio album by the Waterboys, released by Ensign Records in October 1988. The album marked a change in the band's sound, with them abandoning their earlier grandiose rock sound for a mixture of traditional Iri ...

'' (1988) and '' Room to Roam'' (1990) were instead

Celtic music Celtic music is a broad grouping of music genres that evolved out of the folk music traditions of the Celts (modern), Celtic people of Northwestern Europe (the modern Celtic nations). It refers to both orally-transmitted traditional music and ...

-inspired

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

,Scott, Mike (2006)
Fisherman's Blues, Roots and the Celtic Soul
"

D liner notes D, or d, is the fourth Letter (alphabet), letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is English alphabet#L ...

London: EMI 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 to a more guitar based sound when he, under the name The Waterboys but without any other members, recorded ''

Dream Harder ''Dream Harder'' is the sixth studio album by the Waterboys, released by Geffen Records on 24 May 1993. Led by Scottish singer-songwriter-instrumentalist Mike Scott, the album features none of the earlier UK-based band members and instead finds S ...

'', in 1993. It was a return to the "Big Music" sound but 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

, sound. After two Mike Scott solo albums, ''

A Rock in the Weary Land ''A Rock in the Weary Land'' is the seventh studio album by the Waterboys, released in 2000 by BMG International. It was the group's first album after a seven-year break, but mostly continues the hard rock vein of the previous album '' Dream Har ...

'' was released under The Waterboys name, demonstrating yet another musical style, which Scott called "Sonic rock". 2002's ''

Universal Hall ''Universal Hall'' is the eighth studio album by the Waterboys, released in 2003. 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 ...

'' was a return to a folk-rock sound. It was followed by ''

Karma to Burn Karma to Burn (commonly abbreviated as K2B) was an American Rock music, rock band from Morgantown, West Virginia. The band was noted for its heavy, mostly instrumental sound. Their name comes from a sleevenote on Bob Dylan's 1976 album ''Desir ...

'', released in 2005, which was the group's first official live album, '' Book of Lightning'', released in 2007, and '' An Appointment With Mr Yeats'', released in 2011.

Solo albums

In addition to the albums he released with The Waterboys, Scott released two solo albums in the 1990s. The first ''Bring 'Em All In'' (1995), was recorded at the

Findhorn 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.''The Dictionary of Alternatives: Utopianism and O ...

in north Scotland, with Mike Scott playing all instruments himself. Musician and author

Daniel Levitin Daniel Joseph Levitin, FRSC (born December 27, 1957) is an American-Canadian polymath, cognitive psychologist, neuroscientist, writer, musician, and record producer. He is the author of four ''New York Times'' best-selling books, including '' T ...

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 Giuseppe Henry "Pino" Palladino (born 17 October 1957) is a Welsh musician, songwriter, and record producer. A session bassist, he has played bass for a number of acts such as the Who, the John Mayer Trio, Gary Numan, Paul Young, Don Henle ...

and

Jim Keltner James Lee Keltner (born April 27, 1942) is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session work. He was characterized by Bob Dylan biographer Howard Sounes as "the leading session drummer in America". Howard Sounes. ''Do ...

. Guesting on the album was former Icicle Works frontman

Ian McNabb Robert Ian McNabb (born 3 November 1960) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Previously the frontman of the Icicle Works, McNabb has since embarked on a solo career and performed with Ringo Starr, Neil Young/Crazy Horse (band), Crazy ...

. Songs from the two albums appeared on 1998's

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

''The Whole of the Moon: The Music of Mike Scott and the Waterboys'' along with songs from The Waterboys. Scott's solo albums were positively received by critics but sales were significantly down from Waterboys releases. Following the commercial failure of ''Still Burning'' in 1997 Scott was dropped by

Chrysalis Records Chrysalis Records () is a British independent record label that was founded in 1968. The name is both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders' names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis. It started as the Ell ...

and decided to revive the Waterboys name to achieve wider marketplace exposure, a process described in detail in his autobiography. Scott created his own record label in 2003, Puck Records, which released The Waterboys' ''

''. In 2005, ''

'' was released, also by Puck Records, and included tracks from Scott's solo career played by The Waterboys line-up at the time. After years in the making, Scott produced his show ''An Appointment with Mr. Yeats'', which debuted in Dublin, in Yeats' own

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre (), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland () is a theatre in Dublin, Ireland. First opening to the public on 27 December 1904, and moved from its original building after a fire in 1951, it has remained active to the p ...

. In the show, Scott is accompanied by Steve Wickham and other musicians, and the poetry of

W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the ...

is put to music by Scott. The show ran from 15 to 20 March 2010.

Discography

Solo

Albums * '' Bring 'Em All In'' (1995) * ''Lion of Love'' (fan club only release.) * ''Sunflowers'' (fan club only release.) * '' Still Burning'' (1997) * '' The Whole of the Moon: The Music of Mike Scott and the Waterboys'' (1998) (best-of collection) Singles * " Bring 'Em All In" (1995) * " Building the City of Light" (1995) * " Love Anyway" (1997) * " Rare, Precious and Gone" (1998)

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")

DNV

*"Death in Venice" b/w "Mafia" and the intro to "Goodbye 1970s" (1979) (7")

Funhouse

*"Out of Control" (1981) b/w "This Could Be Hell" (12"; rarer 7")

The Waterboys

Personal life

Scott's first wife was Irene Keogh. He was married to his second wife Janet for 17 years. He was in a relationship with singer-actress

Camille O'Sullivan Camille O'Sullivan is an Irish singer, musician, and actress. She is known for her unique, dramatic musical style and Cover version, covers of artists such as Radiohead, Tom Waits, David Bowie, Nick Cave, Sinéad O'Connor, and Shane MacGowan, S ...

, with whom he has a daughter born in 2013. In October 2016, Scott married Japanese artist Megumi Igarashi, who calls herself Rokudenashiko. Their son was born on 2 February 2017. As of 2020, Scott resides in Dublin.

References

External links

Mike Scott Waterboys Official SiteThe Waterboys Fan Site, News, Tour, Discography, Memorabilia
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Mike 1958 births Living people The Waterboys members Scottish male singer-songwriters Scottish singer-songwriters 20th-century Scottish male singers Musicians from Edinburgh Ivor Novello Award winners People educated at Belmont Academy Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Scottish male songwriters 21st-century Scottish male singers