Mike Scott这位具备诗词创作文采，同时精通多样乐器的苏格兰青年在1981年基于他个人对摇滚老将Lou Reed的&The Kids&这首歌曲中所触动的对于海洋的一个幻梦而创立The Waterboys这支乐团，当乐团在1983年发表首张同名专辑《The Waterboys》时，乐坛就对他们以苏格兰民谣摇滚为主干，再放进键盘、喇叭、大、小提琴与口琴等流行摇滚与古典乐的乐器配置感到相当新鲜，甚至还有乐评将他们酝酿歌曲戏剧化情境的编曲功力与U2相提并论。
 
在连续两张专辑的冲撞后，The Waterboys终于在1985年以第3张专辑《This Is The Sea》冲进英国金榜前40名。 The Waterboys逐渐确立新型态的英伦摇滚之声后，在1988年专辑《Fisherman's Blues》突然玩起爱尔兰传统民谣，搞得众人晕头转向。 90年代初期，Mike Scott前往纽约录制一张抢搭主流硬式摇滚风潮的专辑《Dream Harder》；2000年，The Waterboys端出一张Mike称之为「Sonic Rock」的实验摇滚专辑《A Rock In The Weary Land》，接着他又乐风大回归，在2003年专辑《Universal Hall》中，重新玩起居尔特民谣摇滚风。
 
by Jason Ankeny
Led by the literate singer/songwriter Mike Scott, the groups sole constant member, the mercurial Waterboys formed in London in 1981. Born December 14, 1958, in Edinburgh, Scotland, Scott first became involved in music as the creator of the fanzine Jungleland and later played in a series of local punk outfits. After college, where he studied English and philosophy, Scott and his band, Another Pretty Face, moved to London; following the groups breakup, he formed the Waterboys, so named after a line in the Lou Reed song The Kids but wholly appropriate given Scotts recurring lyrical fascination with sea imagery.
 
A newspaper advertisement calling for musicians led to a response from multi-instrumentalist Anthony Thistlethwaite; along with drummer Kevin Wilkinson, the Waterboys issued their self-titled debut in 1983. Keyboardist Karl Wallinger and trumpeter Roddy Lorimer joined for the 1984 follow-up, A Pagan Place, which expanded the groups rich, dramatic sound while further exploring Scotts interest in spirituality. With 1985s This Is the Sea, the Waterboys reached an early peak; a majestic, ambitious record, it earned the group a significant hit with the single The Whole of the Moon.
 
However, after the albums release, Wallinger departed to form World Party, which prompted Scott and Thistlethwaite to relocate to Ireland and begin with a clean slate. When the Waterboys returned in 1988 with the acclaimed Fishermans Blues, they were joined by traditional Irish players like fiddler Steve Wickham, drummer Dave Ruffy, keyboardist Guy Chambers, and bassist Marco Weissman, resulting in a stripped-down, folky sound that was continued on 1990s Room to Roam.
 
In 1991, Scott moved to New York without Thistlethwaite or any other bandmembers; the release of 1993s Dream Harder, cut with session musicians, marked a return to an electric, more rock-oriented sound. Soon Scott moved back to Scotland, where he began a lengthy stay at a spiritual commune; there he recorded the folk-tinged Bring Em All In under his own name, apparently putting the Waterboys to rest for good.
 
On July 17, 1999, drummer Kevin Wilkinson committed suicide in his countryside home in Swindon, Wiltshire, England, just prior to jetting off on an American tour with Howard Jones. Wilkinson, who had also worked with Squeeze, China Crisis, Bonnie Raitt, and the Proclaimers, was a member of the Waterboys since their 1983 self-titled effort.
 
Good fortune was in the wings, for Mike Scott resurrected the Waterboys name in 2000. Rock in the Weary Land marked the bands first release in seven years. Thistlethwaite and Wickham would return to the group, and tours across the world would prove successful. Fishermans Blues, Pt. 2, an album featuring previously unavailable material from the Fishermans Blues sessions, appeared in summer 2002. Scott returned to the studio for 2003s Universal Hall, followed by Book of Lightning in 2007.