Anthony "Anto" Thistlethwaite (born 31 August 1955,
LutterworthLutterworth is a market town and civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England. The town is located in southern Leicestershire, north of Rugby, in Warwickshire and south of Leicester. It had a population of 8,293 in the 2001 UK census....
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
) is a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
multi-instrumentalist best known as a founder member (with Mike Scott) of the folk-rock group
The WaterboysThe Waterboys are a band formed in 1983 by Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Scotland, Ireland and England. Edinburgh, London, Dublin, Spiddal, New York, and Findhorn have all served as homes for the group. The band has played in a...
and later as a long-standing member of Irish rock band
The Saw DoctorsThe Saw Doctors are an Irish rock band. Formed in 1986 in Tuam, County Galway, they have achieved eighteen Top 30 singles in Ireland, including three number ones. Their first number one, "I Useta Lover," topped the Irish charts for nine consecutive weeks in 1990, and still holds the record for the...
.
After a year busking in Paris, playing tenor saxophone around the streets of the Latin Quarter, in 1980 Thistlethwaite moved to London and in 1981 his saxophone could be heard on Robyn Hitchcock's "Groovy Decay" album as well as Nikki Sudden's "Waiting on Egypt". Mike Scott heard the sax 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 recording together "A Girl Called Johnny" was to be released as The WaterboysThe Waterboys are a band formed in 1983 by Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Scotland, Ireland and England. Edinburgh, London, Dublin, Spiddal, New York, and Findhorn have all served as homes for the group. The band has played in a...
' first single in March 1983 and featured Thistlethwaite's trademark tenor sax howl.
Although Thistlethwaite is mainly known as a saxophonist he has also featured on mandolin, harmonica, Hammond organ, guitar and bass-guitar with The WaterboysThe Waterboys are a band formed in 1983 by Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Scotland, Ireland and England. Edinburgh, London, Dublin, Spiddal, New York, and Findhorn have all served as homes for the group. The band has played in a...
and other acts. During the 1980s and 90s he also featured on recordings by: World Party, Fairground Attraction, Psychedelic Furs, Sharon Shannon, Bob Dylan, China Crisis, Johnny Thunders, Donovan, The Vibrators, Chris De Burgh, Bruce Foxton, The Mission etc.
He released three solo albums during the 1990s which included contributions from the likes of: Kirsty MacColl, Eddi Reader and Ralph McTell as well as many musicians including ('Rolling Stones' guitarist) Mick TaylorMichael Kevin "Mick" Taylor is an English musician, best known as a former member of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and The Rolling Stones...
and Sonny LandrethSonny Landreth is an American blues musician from southwest Louisiana who is especially known as a slide guitar player. He was born in Canton, Mississippi, but soon after, his family moved to Jackson, Mississippi, before settling in Lafayette, Louisiana...
. His third album "Crawfish and Caviar" consisted of songs recorded in St. Petersburg, Russia and Lafayette, Louisiana. For the past twelve years Thistlethwaite has been a full-time member of The Saw DoctorsThe Saw Doctors are an Irish rock band. Formed in 1986 in Tuam, County Galway, they have achieved eighteen Top 30 singles in Ireland, including three number ones. Their first number one, "I Useta Lover," topped the Irish charts for nine consecutive weeks in 1990, and still holds the record for the...
from County Galway, Republic of Ireland.
Sharon ShannonSharon Shannon is an Irish musician. She is best known for her work with the accordion and for her fiddle technique. She also plays the tin whistle and melodeon. Her 1991 album Sharon Shannon is the best selling album of traditional Irish music ever released there...
, also a member of The Waterboys, recorded a song that she named "Anto's Cajun Cousins", after his Louisiana Thistlethwaite relatives, on her eponymous debut album.
Discography
Thistlethwaite has released five solo albums:
- Aesop Wrote a Fable (1993)
- Cartwheels (1995)
- Crawfish and Caviar (1997)
- Back to The Land. The Best of... (2002)
- Stinky Fingers (2011) With Mick Taylor
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