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 vocalist, guitarist and pianist, and has played a large range of other instruments, including the bouzouki, 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 currently lives in Dublin, Ireland. Scott was born and raised in Edinburgh, the son of Allan and Anne Scott. His father left the family when Mike was ten years old, but the two were reunited in 2007. Scott's mother was an English teacher, exposing him to the greats of English literature from a young age. Scott was interested in music from an early age. At age 12, after the family had moved to Ayr, he began a serious interest in learning guitar. Scott remembers that, "from the minute [he] bought" Last Night in Soho by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich in 1968 "knew [he] had to be in music", and mentions listening to Hank Williams as a "life-changing" experience. The next year, Scott was playing in school bands and formed the band Karma, named after the tenet in Hinduism, with a friend named John Caldwell. Karma's sound was inspired by David Bowie, The Beatles and Bob Dylan. In 1977 Scott entered the University of Edinburgh, studying English literature and philosophy. Scott would later arrange poetry from William Butler Yeats, Robert Burns, and George MacDonald for The Waterboys recordings. Other literary influences on Scott's career include C. S. Lewis and The Diary of Vikenty Angarov. Scott left the University of Edinburgh after his first year.