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Steve Wickham
Steve Wickham is an Irish musician. Originally from Ballyfermot, Dublin, but calling Sligo home, Wickham was a founding member of In Tua Nua (left in 1985 replaced by Aingeala de Burca) and played violin on the classic U2 song " Sunday Bloody Sunday", as well as recordings by Elvis Costello, the Hothouse Flowers, Sinéad O'Connor, and World Party. He is a long-standing member of The Waterboys. Wickham plays both rock and roll and traditional Irish music, and has developed a rock music technique for violin he calls the "fuzz fiddle". Wickham is also accomplished with the mandolin, tin whistle, concertina, saxophone, piano, guitar and bones. He identifies Lou Reed, Van Morrison, Toni Marcus, and Mozart as musical influences, amongst others. He has been described by Mike Scott as "the world's greatest rock fiddle player" and by ''New Musical Express'' as a "fiddling legend." Career with The Waterboys Scott invited Wickham to participate in The Waterboys after hearin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Waterboys
The Waterboys are a rock band formed in 1983 by Scottish musician and songwriter Mike Scott (Scottish musician), Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Britain and Ireland, with Scott remaining the only constant member. Over a four-decade career, the band has drawn on multiple styles of music including punk rock, rock and roll, folk music (in particular Irish and Scottish music), Celtic soul, noise rock, country music, rhythm & blues and chamber music. Having originally dissolved in 1993 (when Scott departed to pursue a solo career), the group reformed in 2000, and continue to release albums and to tour worldwide. Scott emphasises a continuity between the Waterboys and his solo work, saying that "To me there's no difference between Mike Scott and the Waterboys; they both mean the same thing. They mean myself and whoever are my current travelling musical companions." The early Waterboys sound became known as "The Big Musi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Concertina
A concertina is a free-reed musical instrument, like the various accordions and the harmonica. It consists of expanding and contracting bellows, with buttons (or keys) usually on both ends, unlike accordion buttons, which are on the front. The concertina was developed independently in both England and Germany. The English version was invented in 1829 by Sir Charles Wheatstone, while Carl Friedrich Uhlig introduced the German version five years later, in 1834. Various forms of concertina are used for classical music, for the traditional music of Ireland, England, and South Africa, and for tango and polka music. The concertina has historically been a favorite instrument among people who travel often (due to its small and compact size), leading it to be a common instrument among soldiers, sailors, and cowboys. One was even brought aboard Robert Peary's 1891 expedition of the Greenland Arctic. Despite the pop-culture association of the concertina with the Golden Age of Piracy, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Universal Hall
''Universal Hall'' is the eighth studio album by the Waterboys, released in 2003. It is named after the theatre and performance hall at the Findhorn Foundation, which is pictured on the album cover. The album shows much more influence from folk music than its predecessor, '' A Rock in the Weary Land''. It is the first Waterboys album to feature Steve Wickham since '' Room to Roam'', and therefore the first Waterboys album with all three core members of the post-reunion band. Mike Scott describes the album as a "record containing one Irish reel and eleven spiritual songs that articulate - to the best of my ability - the vision that drives, challenges, sustains and transforms me". The cover was designed by art director Steve Manson. James Christopher Monger, writing for Allmusic, describes "Every Breath Is Yours" as "simplified", and "Nick Drake-cloned". Scott thanks Liebe Pugh for the song. "Seek the Light" is unique amongst Waterboys recordings for borrowing heavily from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Rock In The Weary Land
''A Rock in the Weary Land'' is the seventh studio album by the Waterboys, released in 2000 by BMG International. It was the group's first album after a seven-year break, but mostly continues the hard rock vein of the previous album '' Dream Harder'' (1993). The album cover photography is by Steve Gullick. Recording sessions for the album began in early 1999. It was the first album Mike Scott had recorded without the backing of a record label. Once it was completed, Scott's manager, Philip Tennant, negotiated a deal with BMG and Scott decided to have the album, originally a solo project, released under the Waterboys' name. He recruited some of the musicians who had played on ''A Rock in the Weary Land'' as official band members for an upcoming UK tour. The album marked the return of old collaborator Anthony Thistlethwaite after a decade. Reception Critic John Mulvey, writing for ''NME'', described the album as "largely excellent" except for "We Are Jonah", which he describes as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anthony Thistlethwaite
Anthony "Anto" Thistlethwaite (born 31 August 1955, Lutterworth, Leicestershire, England) is an English-born Irish multi-instrumentalist best known as a founding member (with guitarist Mike Scott) of the folk rock group, The Waterboys and later as a long-standing member of Irish rock band The Saw Doctors. Career After a year busking in Paris, where he played tenor saxophone around the streets of the Latin Quarter, Thistlethwaite moved to London in 1980. In 1981, he played saxophone on Robyn Hitchcock's '' Groovy Decay'' album as well as Nikki Sudden's ''Waiting on Egypt''. Mike Scott heard the saxophone solo on Nikki's "Johnny Smiled Slowly" and invited Thistlethwaite to come and play with his fledgling band, The Red and The Black. Their first record together, " A Girl Called Johnny", was released as The Waterboys' first single in March 1983 and featured Thistlethwaite on tenor sax. Although Thistlethwaite is mainly known as a saxophonist, he has also featured heavily on ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fisherman's Blues
''Fisherman's Blues'' is the fourth studio album by the Waterboys, released by Ensign Records in October 1988. The album marked a change in the band's sound, with them abandoning their earlier grandiose rock sound for a mixture of traditional Irish music, traditional Scottish music, country music, and rock and roll. Critics were divided on its release with some disappointed at the change of direction and others ranking it among the Waterboys' best work. The album was the Waterboys' best selling album, reaching a number 13 placing on the U.K. charts on release, and 76 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Production history The history behind ''Fisherman's Blues'' begins with Steve Wickham's contribution to "The Pan Within" on the preceding Waterboys album '' This Is the Sea''. Wickham joined the group officially in 1985 after ''This Is the Sea'' had been released. Mike Scott, the Waterboys' leader, spent time in Dublin with Wickham, and moved to Ireland in 1986. That year, the Waterboys ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Traditional Scottish Music
Scottish folk music (also Scottish traditional music) is a genre of folk music that uses forms that are identified as part of the Scottish musical tradition. There is evidence that there was a flourishing culture of popular music in Scotland during the late Middle Ages, but the only song with a melody to survive from this period is the "Pleugh Song". After the Reformation, the secular popular tradition of music continued, despite attempts by the Kirk, particularly in the Lowlands, to suppress dancing and events like penny weddings. The first clear reference to the use of the Highland bagpipes mentions their use at the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh in 1547. The Highlands in the early seventeenth century saw the development of piping families including the MacCrimmons, MacArthurs, MacGregors and the Mackays of Gairloch. There is also evidence of adoption of the fiddle in the Highlands. Well-known musicians included the fiddler Pattie Birnie and the piper Habbie Simpson. This tradition ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Traditional Irish Music
Irish traditional music (also known as Irish trad, Irish folk music, and other variants) is a Music genre, genre of folk music that developed in Ireland. In ''A History of Irish Music'' (1905), W. H. Grattan Flood wrote that, in Gaelic Ireland, there were at least ten instruments in general use. These were the ''crwth'' (a small rubbed strings harp) and ''Celtic harp, cláirseach'' (a bigger harp with typically 30 strings), the ''tiompán'' (a small string instrument played with a Bow (music), bow or plectrum), the ''feadán'' (a Fife (musical instrument), fife), the ''buinne'' (an oboe or flute), the ''guthbuinne'' (a bassoon-type Natural horn, horn), the ''beannbhuabhal'' and ''corn'' (Hornpipe (musical instrument), hornpipes), the ''cuislenna'' (bagpipes – see Great Irish warpipes), the ''stoc'' and ''storgán'' (Clarion (instrument), clarions or trumpets), and the ''cnámha'' (bones (instrument), bones). [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
This Is The Sea
''This Is the Sea'' is the third studio album by the Waterboys, released on 16 September 1985 by Ensign Records. The last of their "Big Music" albums, it is considered by critics to be the finest album of the Waterboys' early rock and roll, rock-oriented sound, described as "epic" and "a defining moment". It peaked at number 37 in the UK Albums Chart. Steve Wickham makes his Waterboys recording debut playing violin on "The Pan Within" and subsequently joined the band. ''This Is the Sea'' is the last Waterboys album with contributions from Karl Wallinger, who left the group to form his own band, World Party. The album was recorded between March and July 1985, and released that October. Mike Scott (Scottish musician), Mike Scott, the album's principal songwriter and leader of the Waterboys, describes ''This Is the Sea'' as "the record on which I achieved all my youthful musical ambitions", "the final, fully realised expression of the early Waterboys sound", influenced by The Velvet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Musical Express
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a " rock inkie", the ''NME'' would become a magazine that ended up as a free publication as well as a webzine, and the brand has also been used for their NME Awards show, the NME Tours and the former NME Radio station. As a "rock inkie", ''NME'' was the first British newspaper to include a singles chart, adding that feature in the edition of 14 November 1952. In the 1970s, it became the best-selling British music newspaper. From 1972 to 1976, it was particularly associated with gonzo journalism then became closely associated with punk rock through the writings of Julie Burchill, Paul Morley, and Tony Parsons. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s and 1990s, changing from newsprint in 1998. The magazine's website NME.co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mike Scott (Scottish Musician)
Michael Scott (born 14 December 1958) is a Scottish singer, songwriter, and musician. He is the founding member, lead singer, guitarist and songwriter of rock band The Waterboys. He has also produced two solo albums, ''Bring 'Em All In'' and ''Still Burning''. Scott is a Singing, vocalist, guitarist and pianist, and has played a large range of other instruments, including the bouzouki, Drum kit, drums, and Hammond organ on his albums. Scott is also a published writer, having released his autobiography, ''Adventures of a Waterboy'', in 2012. Having begun a musical career in the 1970s, Scott has been making music professionally since the 1980s and is well known for his radical changes in music genres throughout what he refers to as his "allegedly unorthodox" career.Scott, Mike.The day I downloaded myself. ''The Guardian''. 23 March 2007. Scott lives in Dublin, Ireland. Early life and education Scott was born and raised in Edinburgh, the son of Allan and Anne Scott. His father le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age resulted in List of compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, more than 800 works representing virtually every Western classical genre of his time. Many of these compositions are acknowledged as pinnacles of the symphony, symphonic, concerto, concertante, chamber music, chamber, operatic, and choir, choral repertoires. Mozart is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers in the history of Classical music, Western music, with his music admired for its "melodic beauty, its formal elegance and its richness of harmony and texture". Born in Salzburg, Mozart showed Child prodigy, prodigious ability from his earliest childhood. At age five, he was already competent on keyboard and violin, had begun to compose, and performed before European r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
