The Waterboys: A Dennis Hopper rock opera? Weirdly, it works a treat

Telegraph

02-05-2025

In front of 1,400 people in the relatively modest environs of the Anvil in Basingstoke, The Waterboys reminded us once again that they really deserve to be acknowledged as one of the great bands of our time. Leader Mike Scott strode out alone on stage to start up the stirring acoustic guitar rhythm of his 1984 song A Pagan Place, with current band members filing out one by one to add their own flavours to the building sound. Piano, organ, drums and bass introduced layer after layer of melody and texture until the room seemed to be consumed in a wild storm, everything weaving and crashing together as Scott howled through his epic of spiritual mystery.
As the band tore on into the heavy stomp of The Glastonbury Song, the frontman strapped on an electric guitar, jiggling about the stage, tearing out frenetic solos and singing about finding God where he always was. The rich Hammond organ of 'Brother' Paul Hallawell intermingled with the dazzling piano runs of 'Famous' James Hallawell in a blazing stew of rock and soul.
Honestly, The Waterboys have been so good for so long it baffles me why they are still treading the boards in relatively modest venues, rather than arenas or even stadiums – but I suspect Scott might prefer it this way. It is a space that allows the 66-year-old maverick creative freedom to keep introducing new work in new formats.
After charging through four of their most beloved anthems, Scott did the thing that strikes dread into audiences everywhere: introduce a selection of new songs from his latest album, which only came out last month. What's more, it is a double concept album, a biographical song suite about a late American movie star, director and artist of quite marginal fame, entitled Life, Death and Dennis Hopper. Call it a Rock Hoppera, perhaps. Yet there was no sudden shift to the bar. The audience remained raptly intent as three backing singers joined the line-up, and Scott led us through 12 songs and instrumentals from his new opus.
The accessibility of the material was helped by pithy introductions and a huge screen projecting judiciously chosen photos and footage; the elegance of the music and flamboyance of the band's playing did the rest. The album has slightly passed me by, but I found myself completely absorbed and eager to listen to it again. That is quite a win for a veteran band playing to old fans.
We were rewarded with a final section of the Waterboys' most thrilling anthems, including a fierce Don't Bang the Drum, rousing The Whole of the Moon and absolutely wild The Pan Within that had Scott grinning in delight as his keyboard players went head-to-head like a pair of duelling musos. The Waterboys line-up has never been fixed in stone, and Scott likes to claim there have been more members than any other band, upwards of 80 over their 42-year career.
Latest recruit, 27-year-old Barny Fletcher, considerably lowers the average age of the ensemble. He sang counterpoint and harmony vocals in a strange, ethereal high voice, and during encores took the lead on his own emotional ballad, Wasted Sunset, to huge applause. Again, the promotion of a new, young talent is just not the kind of thing you expect to see at a vintage rock show, and speaks volumes of Scott's sheer love of music, and his audience's willingness to go on a journey with him.
An absolutely storming romp through Fisherman's Blues provided an enormously satisfying finale. The sound of people singing 'wooh-hoo-hoo' could still be heard as the crowd filed out into the Basingstoke night.