#161: The Whole Of The Moon by the Waterboys

City: Ottawa, ON
Radio Station: CFRA
Peak Month: April 1986
Peak Position in Ottawa ~ #10
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Australian Singles chart ~ #12
Peak Position on Dutch Singles chart ~ #19
Peak Position on New Zealand Singles chart ~ #19
YouTube: “The Whole Of The Moon”
Lyrics: “The Whole Of The Moon”

The Waterboys were formed in 1983 by Mike Scott. He was born in 1958 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Scott was interested in music from an early age. At the age of ten, he was turned onto pop music from hearing hits in the UK by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich. At age 12, after the family had moved to Ayr, he began a serious interest in learning guitar. He later studied the poetry of Irish poet William Butler Yeats, and Scottish poets Robert Burns and George MacDonald in university. Lines from their poetry was worked into arrangements in some of the songs Mike Scott later composed on albums for The Waterboys. In 1978, Scott formed a punk band called The Bootlegs. By 1979, the band morphed into Another Pretty Face and released an album and four singles. New Musical Express (NME) reviewed their single All the Boys Love Carrie”. Mike Scott was also with DNV who in 1979 released the single “Death In Venice”. Meanwhile, Another Pretty Face changed their name to Fun House in 1981. But by the end of the year, Scott was underwhelmed by Fun House and began writing songs that would become tracks for The Waterboys self-titled album release in 1983.

Waterboys bandmate Anthony Thistlethwaite was born in the market town of Lutterworth in Leicestershire, England, in 1955. 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 1982 Groovy Decay album as well as Nikki Sudden’s 1982 album Waiting on Egypt.

Karl Edmond De Vere Wallinger was born in 1957 in Prestatyn, Wales. From the age of nine he studied classical piano, and oboe from the age of ten. He was in a boys choir at Eton College (boarding school) and won a music scholarship at Charterhouse. After being in several bands, he became music director of a production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. In 1983, he answered an ad placed by Mike Scott for auditions for a guitarist. At the audition, he convinced Scott that the new band needed a keyboard player. In 2012, Mike Scott would recalled in an interview that “Karl was always there for me. He was a great engineer, got great sounds, [and] was very patient while I would play nine different guitars. Reefers may have been involved, and some all-nights. We had a lot of laughs and philosophical discussions.” Wallinger joined the band in 1984 on their second album A Pagan Place.

The Waterboys first single was “A Girl Called Johnny”, which was a tribute to Patti Smith. The song climbed to #12 in the Netherlands.

In addition to the principal members of The Waterboys, were four session musicians Kevin Wilkinson (from 1983), Roddy Lorimer (from 1984), Steve Wickham (from 1985) and Chris Whitten (from 1985).

Kevin Wilkinson was born in Stoke-on-Trent, in Staffordshire, England, in 1958. He learned to play the drums in his youth and was with The League of Gentlemen in 1980.

Roddy Lorimer was born in 1953 in Glasgow, Scotland. He was with The Waterboys for the recording of A Pagan Place and then This Is The Sea. He toured with the band through the 1980s and 90s. He toured with The Who in 1989. He was part of Eric Clapton’s backing band on world tours from 1993 to 1996, and again in 2006. In addition, he was a member of Pete Townshend’s brief supergroup Deep End in 1985.

Dublin’s Steve Wickham was born in 1960. In 1982, he cofounded the Irish folk-rock band Tua Nua. The band had a Top 20 charting single in January 1985 in Ireland titled “Take My Hand”. Wickham soon left the band to join The Waterboys. Chris Whitten was born in Blackpool, England, in 1959. He learned to play drums.

In 1985, The Waterboys released their second album titled This Is The Sea. From the album came the single “The Whole Of The Moon”.

Mike Scott wrote “The Whole Of The Moon”. It’s a love song of sorts to somebody exceptionally talented, who seems to excel in everything they try. The lyrics show the person’s admiration for his love, which he sees as perfect and true. His constant allusions to divinity or fantasy praise the lover in a symbolic way, portraying her as divine, almost unable to be with a mortal like him. The song contrasts the suitor with his lover.

• “I pictured a rainbow – you held it in your hands”
• “I had flashes – but you held the plan”
• “I saw the crescent –  you saw the whole of the moon”
• “I was grounded – while you filled the skies”
• “I saw the rain dirty valley – you saw Brigadoon”
• “I spoke about wings – you just flew”
• “I wondered, I guessed and I tried – you just knew”

The excellence of the lover portrayed in the lyrics contains a caution: “You came like a comet, blazing your trail. Too high, too far, too soon, you saw the whole of the moon.” It seems however amazed the guy is at the woman he adores, the contribution she is making is one that people aren’t ready for. She’s blazing her trail “too soon.”

“The Whole Of The Moon” peaked at #10 in Ottawa, #16 in Boulder (CO), and #17 in Austin (TX). Internationally, “The Whole Of The Moon” peaked at #2 in Ireland, #3 in the UK, #12 in Australia, #19 in the Netherlands and New Zealand.

In 1988, The Waterboys released “Fisherman’s Blues” from the album of the same name. It reached #13 in Ireland. In 1989, “And a Bang On the Ear” climbed to number-one in Ireland.

In 1993, the band released Dream Harder. The lead single was “The Return Of Pan” which climbed to #10 in Portugal. That year the “Glastonbury Song” reached #3 in Portugal and #12 in Ireland. Over the decades The Waterboys has released 16 studio albums. The most recent is Life, Death and Dennis Hopper.

Mike Scott has remained the only continuous member of The Waterboys. After years in the making, Scott produced his show An Appointment with Mr. Yeats, which debuted in Dublin, in Yeats’ own Abbey Theatre. In the show, Scott is accompanied by Steve Wickham and other musicians, and the poetry of W.B. Yeats is put to music by Scott. The show ran from 15 to 20 March 2010. The Waterboys continue to tour, fronted by Mike Scott. Their current tour began in Cork, Ireland, on July 10, 2025. They will appear in Belgium(1 concert), Ireland (3 concerts), the Netherlands(7 concerts), Spain (5 concerts), Sweden (3 concerts), and the USA (20 concerts). Their tour dates in Canada are in Montreal (September 10), Toronto (September 11), and Vancouver (September 20). The Tour is scheduled to wind up in Pamplona, Spain, on December 2, 2025.

Karl Wallinger left The Waterboys at the end of 1985. He was a session musician on Sinead O’Connor’s debut album The Lion and the Cobra in 1987. From 1986, he formed a band called World Party who released five studio albums between 1987 and 2000. “Ship of Fools” reached #4 in Australia in 1987, while “Way Down Now” reached #10 on the pop chart in the Netherlands, and number-one on the Billboard Alternative Rock chart in 1990. Wallinger was a session musician on Bob Geldof’s 1992 solo album The Happy Club. In 1994, he was the musical director for the soundtrack and music for the film Reality Bites. He also contributed in the recording studio to work by David Bowie and Peter Gabriel, among others. Karl Wallinger died from a stroke in 2021 at the age of 66.

Kevin Wilkinson became a member of China Crisis in 1983, overlapping his stint with the Waterboys. He remained with China Crisis until 1989. When he left The Waterboys in 1985, he joined Squeeze. Wilkinson remained with Squeeze until 1997. He was also a session musician on recordings by The Proclaimers, Howard Jones and others. Wilkinson got married and was the father of three children. He died by suicide in 1999 at the age of 41 by hanging himself.

Roddy Lorimer has been a session musician in the studio, including with Eric Bibb, Beyonce, Eric Clapton, Erasure, China Crisis, Dr. John, Iron Maiden, Tom Jones, Michael McDonald, The Pretenders, The Rolling Stones, Jimmy Somerville, The Spice Girls, Rod Stewart, Wham and The Who. He currently plays with Thailand’s Bangkok-based best blues rock band, and Rolling Stones tribute band, the Midnight Ramblers.

Chris Whitten went on to play drums on Edie Brickel & The New Bohemian’s 1988 Top Ten hit “What I Am”. He has been a session musician with Paul McCartney, Johnny Cash, Tom Jones, The Pretenders, ABC, Swing Out Sister, The The, and Dire Straits.

Steve Wickham went on to record with the Hothouse Flowers, Sinead O’Connor, U2, World Party and Elvis Costello.

August 22, 2025
Ray McGinnis

References:
“Magic Mike… the Waterboys’ Mike Scott,” Irish Independent, October 25, 2015.
“A Brief Biography of The Waterboys,” Waterboys.org.co.
“Bio: Anthony Thistlethwaite,” anthonythistlethwait.com.
Tim Bullamore, “Obituary: Kevin Wilkinson,” Independent, July 22, 1999.
James McNair, “Karl Wallinger Remembered: “Music is the greatest thing for me, because it takes me somewhere that it’s safe to be,” Mojo4music.com, December 2021.
Bairbre Power, “The Waterboys’ Steve Wickham: ‘When I was younger, I looked a bit like Stephen Rea, and people would confuse me for him the odd time’,” Irish Independent, June 24, 2022.
“The Waterboys Tour 2025,” 2025.

CFRA 580-AM Ottawa Top Ten | April 11, 1986