Maybe it’s having a sense of perspective. And no distractions. Whatever it is that makes the miracle happen. The Waterboys seem as fresh and relevant as ever. Bandleader Mike Scott lets us in on his trade secrets.
Sometimes there’s a fun, if daunting, element when talking with a genuine legend about their creative process. Don’t expect them to reveal to you how the miracle happens, it just does. Take Mike Scott, for example. The Waterboys’ bandleader wrote the classic song The Whole of the Moon by tapping into a universal theme - the idea of being enthralled to someone who seems to burn brighter than ourselves, someone more worldly wise - the brilliant friend. What made him do that?
“I dunno, I just got the idea from seeing the moon in the sky!”
Of course, there’s a bit more to it than that. Indeed, this simple song about the moon in the sky has taken on a mystical quality all of its own in the intervening 37 years since its creation.
“Really it’s just about a change of perspective. We’ve all experienced that sudden shift in growth that I talk about in the song. It’s a song that never lets me down live. Some of the songs from that era are bastards to play, but The Whole of the Moon is great to play. Musically, it’s got legs. I’ve been lucky with it.”
The song is such a true expression of Mike Scott’s musical philosophy - being ready to receive in the next idea, focus on it and capture it quickly - not to overthink it (although the end product of The Whole of the Moon did take a few months to make). Yeah, I guess you could say it has a mystical quality to it.
“I’ve recognised that music is sort of like an inner voice that is telling me what to do. When I was younger it was telling me what to sound like. As I became more sophisticated as a writer and performer, the instruction became more original. I just learned to be receptive to that. I’ve chosen to make my life like that”.
In doing so, Mike Scott has given the world a lot of pleasure. From celebs to fellow musicians to fans of all generations, The Waterboys have written a whole bunch of those songs one might describe as “life affirming”. Love songs, folk songs, protest songs and brilliant pop songs have come through Mike Scott with remarkable (and if you’re another songwriter, enviable) consistency.
In recent times, Scott has been nothing if not prolific. Recent album All Souls Hill came off the back of a trilogy of albums: 2017’s Out of All This Blue, 2019’s Where the Action Is, and 2020’s Good Luck, Seeker. The Waterboys had their fans wondering what direction they would go this time, musically speaking, but it looks like they will be left waiting another year or so before the next true phase of the band is revealed.
“I want to wait a bit longer before we release this next album. There’s a strong theme to it, and some interesting collaborators. It even opens with a song not sung by me”.
I noticed in listening to these later records that spoken-word numbers have become more of a thing for Mike Scott, and that many of his songs are also increasingly biographical - essentially documenting the life & times of Mike Scott (check out London Mick, Ladbroke Grove, In My Dreams and even recent single Glastonbury Fayre, wrote in celebration of the band’s recent 11th appearance at Glastonbury 2022).
Both these song styles are bang on trend, not that Scott has noticed. How would he? One simple secret to The Waterboys’ longevity is having no distractions. Mike doesn’t have a TV, never listens to the radio and uses socials in a pretty pointed, functional way. It’s a lifestyle that has given him the space to not just be productive, but prolific in recent years.
“Artists need space, not just to listen to what’s going on in your head, but also to feel what’s in your gut. If the idea in my head isn’t confirmed by my gut I don’t do it. But I need quiet to hear that”.
One of the major themes of longevity (as discovered through these conversations) is to ‘see line-up changes as an inevitable part of evolution’. The Waterboys are the undisputed heavyweight champions of line-up changes - a band with rolling members counting in at 80. So essentially The Waterboys is Mike Scott?
“I don’t agree with that…it wouldn’t be the same without the musicians. There is something about the way we play in a particular way that makes those musicians Waterboys. As much of it is as unspoken as it can be, that’s for the better. It’s the way we play!”.
Sometimes a band requires a style of leadership a Chairperson of the board would kill for. Mike Scott seems to have it. He can see the whole picture. Indeed, in our conversation he is most animated when talking about other band members, old and new. He is excited at the prospect of taking The Waterboys out on the road with a whole new line-up, this time with not one but two keyboard players (new addition James Halawell and Brother Paul Brown, now in his 7th year of tenure).
The Waterboys’ bandwagon rolls on.
Artists discussed in this episode: Velvet Underground, Neil Young, The Beatles, Television, Sam Fender, Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Radiohead, Madonna.