Formed in London in 1983 by Scottish musician and songwriter Mike Scott, The Waterboys has been composed mainly of musicians from Scotland and Ireland throughout its history, with Scott remaining the only constant member.
A new line-up emerged at the end of 1985, and the band spent 1986 recording in Dublin and touring the UK, Ireland, and Europe. By early-mid 1987, the blueprint of the album that would become Fisherman’s Blues had been established, but ongoing delays and the recording of huge amounts of material meant the record would not actually come out until October ’88. The amount of time spent recording however, would mean that in 1987, The Waterboys played very few shows, save for a handful of benefit gigs.
Among the finest of these took place on October 7th at Dublin’s Olympic Ballroom, in support of the ecological organisation The Green Alliance. The performance was recorded for live FM radio broadcast, and transmitted across Ireland, and synched too via a number of US stations.
1 On My Way To Heaven 4:19
2 Medicine Bow 2:57
3 Fisherman’s Blues 6:14
4 When Ye Go Away 4:41
5 Has Anybody Here Seen Hank? 3:01
6 World Party 4:37
7 Be My Enemy 3:25
8 Too Hot For Cleanhead 4:09
9 When Will We Be Married? 2:42
10 Old England 5:23
11 Spirit 2:31
12 And The Healing Has Begun/Sweet Thing 6:47
13 Heading Down The Highway 2:56
14 Savage Earth Heart 9:53
15 The Whole Of The Moon 5:28
16 Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 5:34