Q	Where did the name The Waterboys come from ?
A	From a line in a song on Lou Reed's "Berlin" album. "I just liked the sound of the word" said Mike Scott.
Q	What other bands did Mike Scott play in before The Waterboys ?
A	Mike played in several bands including Another Pretty Face (1978-81), Funhouse (1981-2), The Red And The Black (1982).
Q	Is The Waterboys a Scottish or Irish band ?
A	Mike Scott who formed the group is from Edinburgh in Scotland, and Steve Wickham is from Dublin, Ireland. Several other Irishmen and one Irishwoman have been members at various times and the group was based in Dublin from 1986 to 1991. At other times the group has been based in London or New York. The Waterboys have had English, Welsh, American and other Scottish members too.
Q	What is "The Big Music" ?
A	According to a 2000 Mike Scott interview it is "a metaphor for seeing God's signature in the world".
Q	Where did the Waterboys symbol originate and what does it mean ?
A	The "waves" sign was designed by Stephanie Nash in 1983 when she was a member of Island Records art department. It symbolises water.
Q	Is "Red Army Blues" a true story ?
A	Mike has said in interviews that the song was inspired by a book called "The Diary Of Vikenty Angorov" but that the story itself, though based on historical fact, was his own.
Q	Who inspired "The Whole Of The Moon" ?
A	Mike has often said that the character is a composite of many people. Some have said it was about Prince though Mike has denied this. He once mentioned that the author C.S.Lewis was "in there somewhere".
Q	Where is Spiddal and what did The Waterboys do there?
A	Spiddal is a few miles west of Galway City on the west coast of Ireland. The Waterboys recorded there between 1988 and 1990.
Q	Who are all the people on the cover of "Fisherman's Blues" ?
A	From left to right they are (back) : Jake Kennedy (crew), Colin Blakey, Pat McCarthy (recording engineer), Jimmy Hickey (crew), John Dunford (co-producer), Trevor Hutchinson, Fran Breen (front) : Anthony Thistlethwaite, Mike Scott, Steve Wickham
Q	What does the term "A Bang On The Ear" mean ?
A	It's a term of affection.
Q	Is Mike Scott a Christian?
A	No.
Q	Will all the great unreleased Waterboys songs ever come out ?
A	A number were released on "Too Close To Heaven" (2001, titled "Fisherman's Blues Part Two" in North America), an album of unreleased songs from the "Fisherman's Blues", and many others have been issued since 2002 in the Waterboys remaster series of albums ("The Waterboys" and "A Pagan Place" with half a dozen extra songs on each, and "This Is The Sea" and "Fisherman's Blues" each with a full CD of previously unissued music).
Q	Who is the second lead voice on "A Life Of Sundays" ?
A	Drummer Noel Bridgeman.
Q	Who drew the cartoons that appear inside several of the Waterboys album sleeves ?
A	They were drawn by various members of the band and crew during "Fisherman's Blues" sessions. "The comic", as it was called, was left lying around the studio and whoever wanted to would draw the next frame of the story. It ran to about 50 pages, each with 6 or more frames. Mike still has the original. Many of the frames on the album covers were Steve Wickham's drawings including "The power of the music gives everybody wings".
Q	Why did The Waterboys "raggle taggle" band split in 1990 ?
A	Mike and Anto Thistlethwaite wanted to take the music in a harder, more rock direction. Steve didn't.
Q	What is Anto up to these days ?
A	Anto has made three solo albums - "Aesop Wrote A Fable", "Cartwheels" and "Crawfish And Caviar" and now plays bass and sax for Irish band The Sawdoctors. He also contributed electric slide mandolin to "Crown" on the Waterboys 2000 album "A Rock In The Weary Land".
Q	What musicians have played in The Waterboys ?
A	What musicians have played in The Waterboys ? Whew.....here goes. Mike Scott (vocals, guitar, piano etc, 1981-present), Anthony "Anto" Thistlethwaite (Sax, bass, mandolin, guitar, 1982-1991, studio 1999), Kevin Wilkinson (drums 1983-4, studio 1985, 1987, 1999), Karl Wallinger (keyboards, 1983-5, now with World Party), Norman Rodger (bass, 1983, TV and studio only), Preston Heyman (drums, 1983, TV only), Roddy Lorimer (trumpet, on and off 1983-1990, studio 2006), Eddi Reader (backing vocals, 1984, 2 shows only), John Caldwell (lead guitar, 1984, 2 shows only), Martyn Swain (bass, 1984), Chris Whitten (drums, 1984-5), Frank Biddulph (fiddle, 1985, one show only), Steve Wickham (fiddle 1985-1990, 2001-present), Marco Weissman (stage name Marco Sin, bass 1985), Dave Ruffy (drums 1985-6), Guy Chambers (piano 1985-6), Trevor Hutchinson (bass 1986-91, now with Lunasa), Peter McKinney (drums, 1986), Vinnie Kilduff (Irish pipes, whistle, mandolin 1988-9), Fran Breen (drums 1987-8), Tomas Mac Eoin (guest vocals, on and off 1988-9), Jay Dee Daugherty (drums, 1989, 2000), Colin Blakey (flute, whistle, piano, 1988-90), Noel Bridgeman (drums 1989-90), Sharon Shannon (accordion, fiddle, 1989-90), Ken Blevins (drums (1990-1), The Kick Horns (Roddy Lorimer's section, 1990), Carla Azar (drums 1992-3, studio & TV only), Scott Thunes (bass, 1992-3, studio & TV only), Chris Bruce (lead guitar, studio & TV only, 1992-3, recording 2006), Richard Naiff (1999-present), Jeremy Stacey (2000, studio 2006), Livingston Brown (1999-2000), Tom Windriff (drums, 2000-1), Gordon MacLean (bass, 2000), Jo Wadeson (bass, 2000-1), John Baggott (keyboards, 2000), Ian McNabb (keyboards 2001, bass 2002), Ray Fean (drums, 2001), Geoff Dugmore (drums, 2001-3), Brad Waissman (bass, 2002-3), Paul Beavis (drums, 2002), Carlos Hercules (drums 2003-06), Steve Walters (bass, 2003-6), Brady Blade (drums, 2006-present), Mark Smith (bass, 2006-present).
Q	What is The Findhorn Community and what did Mike Scott do there ?
A	It's a holistic spiritual community in the north-east of Scotland. Now called The Findhorn Foundation, the community was founded by Peter and Eileen Caddy and their friend Dorothy MacLean in 1962. Mike attended several holistic workshops at The Foundation and stayed there as a long-term guest in 1994. He worked in the kitchens and gardens and recorded "Bring 'Em All In" in the Foundation's little recording studio. In 2002 he and his wife, Janette, bought a house in Findhorn. The Waterboys' 2003 album "Universal Hall" was recorded there. The Waterboys have played series of midsummer shows at the community's Universal Hall theatre most years since 2001.
Q	What or where is Iona ?
A	Iona is a small island off the west coast of Scotland. It has been a place of pilgrimage since before history.
Q	Who is Pan ?
A	Pan is the Greek god of wild places.
Q	Where are The Waterboys now based ?
A	The band rehearses in London, and sometimes acoustically in Findhorn, where Mike Scott lives. Steve Wickham lives in Sligo, Ireland and Richard Naiff lives in Brighton, England.