Karl Wallinger is dead, the musician, known as the singer and songwriter of World Party, has died at the age of 66. This news was confirmed by his publicist.
“Karl Wallinger, the Welsh-born musician and composer better known as the singular force behind World Party, died on Sunday March 10th. With songs like “Ship Of Fools”, “Put The Message In The Box” and “Is It Like Today?” as well as the magic of “She’s The One” and “The Whole Of The Moon” by the Waterboys, Wallinger was far ahead of his time ahead and was 66 years old.”
“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.”
Wallinger was born in October 1957 in Prestatyn, Wales, and attended Charterhouse, an English boarding school that the five founding members of Genesis also attended. (Wallinger later worked with Peter Gabriel on his Big Blue Ball project, although the two men were not at school at the same time).
Wallinger’s first band, Pax – later Quasimodo – featured two later members of The Alarm, Dave Sharp and Nigel Twist. Wallinger left the band and founded World Party. Their debut album, Private Revolution (1986), offered a mix of soul and folk, and the influence of Prince, Bob Dylan, the Beatles, the Stones and the Beach Boys continued on Goodbye Jumbo (1990), an acclaimed album with the hits “Message In The Box” (a Top 40 hit in the UK in June 1990) and “Way Down Now”, which topped the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart that same year.
Prince was enthusiastic about the hit song “The Whole of the Moon,” which was about him – and was supposed to cover the song himself.