The Art of Longevity The Art of Longevity Season 5, Episode 2: The Waterboys, with Mike Scott
“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”.
By listening to that inner voice, 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”.
Maybe it’s having that sense of perspective. And no distractions. Whatever it is that makes the miracle happen. The Waterboys seem as fresh and relevant as ever.
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