The Waterboys

Mike Scott on leading the band for almost four decades, and how being a dad helps with the songwriting.

Having led the Waterboys for the past 37 years, Mike Scott has overseen their journey from progenitors of Big Music to intrepid crusaders of folk, rock, Celtic soul and beyond. Good Luck, Seeker, the band’s fourteenth studio album, is the final part of the trilogy that includes 2017’s Out Of All This Blue and last year’s Where The Action Is, and it might just be the band’s most expansive yet. Over to Scott…

On the new record there’s R&B, dub, hip-hop, Celtic folk, spoken-word… It seems nothing was off limits. It was about having fun in my studio, just going where the music took me. For the last twenty years I’ve been preparing pre-gig mix tapes for Waterboys tours, editing favourite instrumental bits from favourite records. Sometimes I’ll turn them backwards or mash two instrumentals together, or overdub something myself. This album is largely an outgrowth of that process.

Does the grumpy character in The Soul Singer have anything to do with Van Morrison, by any chance? It could be about one person or it could be a mix of people. I’m a songwriter, I make confections. I know it invites people to make their own conclusions, but I’m teasing with it and I’m also sympathetic, singing about protecting himself in the way he knows best. I’ve been a band leader and singer for forty years, so I know the territory.

Mark E Smith once said: “If it’s me and yer granny on bongos, it’s The Fall”. Given The Waterboys’ equally large turnaround of members, do you relate to that? Not really. People often say that Mike Scott is The Waterboys. I know I’m the constant and the leader and responsible for the band’s direction, but it wouldn’t be The Waterboys without the other people. It takes something very special to be a part of this band and stay the course. Musicians have got to be very versatile, f lexible, creative, imaginative.

Did leading a band come naturally to you? In the very early days I used to find it difficult dealing with the different personalities. I’ve had some spectacularly difficult band members over the years – although I’m glad to say none for a very long time – and managed to survive it. I’ve just about mastered being a band leader now.

“It takes something very special to be a part of this band and stay the course.”

The Waterboys have been very prolific of late. Are you personally in a particularly good place right now? Creatively, yes. I’ve got a settled band and we’ve had some very inspiring players in the last few years, like Brother Paul, the keyboard player and co-producer. And David Hood from Muscle Shoals, the legendary bass player. He brought that classic soul feel. It’s also to do with being a dad. I became a dad in 2013, so I’m always making up stories and songs for my kids. And that means the creative wheels are always turning.

So what’s next? As well as finishing Good Luck, Seeker during lockdown, I remixed and remastered An Appointment With Mr. Yeats, from 2011. I also finished The Waterboys album that’s coming out after this one, in a year’s time. It’s quite different, all the songs are part of a theme. RH

Good Luck, Seeker, is release on August 21 via Cooking Vinyl.