Karl Wallinger of World Party and The Waterboys Passes Away At 66

Then there followed days of kings
Empires and revolution
Blood just looks the same
When you open the veins
But sometimes it was faith, power or reason as the cornerstone
But the furrowed brow has never left his face

Throughout the 1980s and 90s, Karl Wallinger, whose roots were deeply entrenched in the verdant landscapes of Wales, rose to prominence as the charismatic leader of World Party and as an erstwhile collaborator with The Waterboys. Sadly, he has departed from this mortal coil at 66 years old, as confirmed by his publicist. No official cause of death has yet been given.

“Karl leaves behind a loving family including wife Suzie Zamit, son Louis Wallinger, daughter Nancy Zamit and two grandchildren. The family invites Karl’s friends and fans to share their thoughts on his Facebook page or Instagram.”

Born in Prestatyn, Wales, in October 1957, Wallinger’s formative years unfolded within the storied walls of Charterhouse, an esteemed English boarding school renowned for nurturing the talents of the original Genesis. Although their paths at Charterhouse never crossed, Wallinger would later collaborate with Peter Gabriel’s Big Blue Ball project.

Wallinger dipped his toes in the water with his first band, Pax, which later evolved into Quasimodo and included future members of The Alarm, Dave Sharp and Nigel Twist. However, it was his role as a keyboardist for The Waterboys where he truly found his first brush with success. Contributing to the albums ‘A Pagan Place‘ (1984) and ‘This Is the Sea’ (1985), Wallinger played a pivotal role in shaping the band’s sound. His creative influence extended to arranging the music for iconic tracks such as ‘The Whole Of The Moon‘ and earning a writing credit for ‘Don’t Bang the Drum.’

“Having Karl in the studio was like having a one-man orchestra around. There might have been a This Is the Sea without him, but it wouldn’t have been the same – or as good,” Mike Scott of the Waterboys once commented.

In 1986, Wallinger, following his parting from the Waterboys, sowed the seeds of World Party. The endeavor was a solitary pilgrimage at its inception, with Wallinger ensconcing himself within the confines of his abode to forge the group’s inaugural album, Private Revolution. The album emerged as an unexpected beacon of success, heralded by the anthem Ship of Fools.

The ensemble, buoyed by this triumph, embarked upon a journey of artistic creation and public performances, bequeathing to the world a total of four additional albums by the turn of the millennium. Their odyssey was punctuated with memorable harmonies such as Put The Message In the Box and, arguably his greatest masterpiece, Is It Like Today?

Wallinger, an avid Beatles fan, was also no stranger to side projects: he collaborated with Sinead O’Connor on her debut album The Lion and The Cobra, and  1990’s Goodbye Jumbo garnered widespread acclaim. He spent some time as a musical director for a stage production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Hollywood also came calling for a time, as Karl Wallinger became musical director for Reality Bites, and contributed to the soundtrack of Clueless with a cover of Mott The Hoople’s All The Young Dudes.

Wallinger’s arduous recovery from a 2001 aneurysm required tseveral years of rehabilitation in order for him to re-learn to speak and play instruments. World Party later embarked on extensive tours, yet during this period, new albums were notably absent from their repertoire. Nevertheless, in a 2022 interview, Wallinger sparked anticipation by promising fresh material on the horizon.

“It’s good to write songs about stuff that people think about, that I thought about,’ Wallinger once told The Big Takeover. “It’s just a resonance with other people that you get from thinking about things that we’re all thinking about. You put in music, and it becomes a recognizable emotion, and people lock onto that. It’s strange, but amazing. I’ve always thought it should be something to do with healing or finding things out about the world that have truth. It maybe sounds a little idealistic, but it’s what music is about. It’s kind of a pure thing, music. I’m not left or right wing; I don’t even think of in terms of that. I just want people to have what they need to get through living on the planet.”

Former bandmate Mike Scott left a tribute to Wallinger on social media, calling him “one of the finest musicians I’ve ever known.”