The Waterboys' 'A Wild and Beautiful Ride' Documentary Premiere This Week

05-07-2025

(TPH) A Wild and Beautiful Ride, a new 48-minute documentary exploring the creation of The Waterboys' latest album Life, Death and Dennis Hopper, will premiere exclusively on Night Flight Plus (nightflightplus.com) on Friday, May 9. The film will be released globally on YouTube the following Friday, May 16.

Directed by Mick Puck and Duende Visions, A Wild and Beautiful Ride takes viewers behind the scenes of a bold musical and spiritual journey. The film includes music from the album, location footage shot in New Mexico, and intimate reflections from the band's lead singer and guitarist Mike Scott, who spent four years crafting the record.

Released on Sun Records on April 4, Life, Death and Dennis Hopper is a 25-track epic that traces the arc of a cultural icon while tackling the deeper questions of existence. Written and produced primarily by Scott alongside bandmates Famous James and Brother Paul, the album features guest appearances by Bruce Springsteen, Fiona Apple, Steve Earle, and Taylor Goldsmith.

"It begins in his childhood," says Scott. "It ends the morning after his death, and I get to say a whole lot along the way-not just about Dennis, but about the whole strange adventure of being a human soul on planet Earth. The arc of his life was the story of our times. He was at the big bang of youth culture in Rebel Without a Cause with James Dean; the beginnings of Pop Art with the young Andy Warhol. He was part of the counterculture, hippie, civil rights, and psychedelic scenes of the '60s. In the '70s and '80s, he went on a wild 10-year rip, almost died, came back, got straight, and became a five-movies-a-year character actor-without losing the sparkle in his eye or the sense of danger or unpredictability that always gathered around him."

The album has received widespread acclaim in the U.K., Europe, and the United States - just ahead of The Waterboys launching a worldwide tour on May 2 in support of the release.

Night Flight Plus, the exclusive streaming home for the documentary, is a premium subscription service inspired by the legendary 1980s TV series Night Flight, created by Stuart S. Shapiro. Described by Pitchfork as "the Punk Criterion Collection" and named "the best overall value among the subscription streamers" by The New York Times, Night Flight Plus offers a curated trove of cult classics, music documentaries, and hard-to-find cultural gems.

For more information on the film, visit nightflightplus.com