Karl Wallinger
| Karl Wallinger | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Karl Edmond De Vere Wallinger |
| Born |
19 October 1957 Prestatyn, Wales |
| Genres | Pop, folk rock, indie rock, psychedelic rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitars, drums, keyboards, bass, programming |
| Associated acts | The Waterboys, The Saw Doctors |
Karl Edmond De Vere Wallinger (born 19 October 1957, Prestatyn, Wales) is a Welsh musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for leading the band World Party and for his mid-1980s stint in The Waterboys. He also wrote and originally released the song "She's the One", which was later covered by Robbie Williams and became a hit single.
Wallinger is a multi-instrumentalist, enabling him to demo and record the bulk of World Party material as a one-man band. He plays the guitar left-handed.
Wallinger was born and spent his early childhood in Prestatyn, Wales, but was educated at Charterhouse (a public school in Surrey). From a young age, he was immersed in the music of The Beatles, Beach Boys, Bob Dylan and Love. Echoes of these childhood heroes permeated the records he was to release himself 33 years later.
Wallinger's musical career began in Prestatyn in 1977 as a keyboard player with Pax, before forming the short-lived band Quasimodo with Dave Sharp and Nigel Twist (who both went on to be in The Alarm). He then had a brief job in music publishing, after which he became musical director of The Rocky Horror Show.
Wallinger was recruited into Mike Scott's band The Waterboys as a keyboard player in 1983, initially touring the first album and contributing to the two following albums (A Pagan Place and This Is the Sea), as well as playing on subsequent live tours. Initially hired to play piano and organ (and to sing occasional backing vocals), Wallinger's multi-instrumental and production skills impressed Mike Scott and ensured that he played a far greater role on This Is the Sea than he had on the previous album, significantly contributing to the band's 'Big Music' sound. While Scott concentrated on Steve Reichian orchestrations of the songs using multitracked pianos and guitar, Wallinger fleshed out the material with a variety of synthesised orchestrations, synth bass and percussion instruments. Wallinger also wrote the original music for 'Don't Bang the Drum' (the opening track for This Is the Sea). Aware that his own musical ambitions would bring him into conflict with Scott, Wallinger opted to leave The Waterboys in late-1985 towards the end of their 'This Is the Sea' tour (he was replaced as keyboard player by Guy Chambers, his future collaborator).
...
Wikipedia