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| Outstanding talent: Karl Wallenger on stage with The Waterboys in Leicester on October 11, 1985. This was his penultimate appearance with the group in the UK before he left to form his own band World Party. |
Karl Wallenger, a remarkable musician and a standout talent of the past 40 years, has died at 66.
As an early member of The Waterboys he was part of the trio - alongside founder Mike Scott and Anthony Thistlewaite - responsible for the band's epic opus This is The Sea. The 1985 album contained the ageless The Whole of The Moon.
A music paper article that year stirred my interest in the up-coming but relatively little-known group. The writer commented on the possibility that Scott and Wallenger might be the Lennon-McCartney of the 1980s. I bought This is The Sea and the single The Whole of The Moon.
Despite The Whole of The Moon becoming a radio staple and regarded as one of the defining tracks of the decade, on its initial release it stalled at No.25 in the UK charts. This was possibly due to the group's refusal to mime to the track on Top of The Pops. (The song became a major success when re-released in 1991 after it had was used on a TV advert).
In October 1985, I forked out £2.50 to see the group at Leicester Polytechnic. I wasn't disappointed. The energy and musicianship was unquestionable. The venue was jumping and I'd taken along my first SLR camera to capture the scene, holding it aloft - like the crazy photographer in Apocalypse Now - to take ambient-lit shots above the heads of the jostling, swaying audience.
On stage were Scott, Thistlewaite (Leicestershire-born, so a local lad) and Wallenger. They were augmented by fiddle player Steve Wickham who, alongside Scott, became a mainstay of the group for most of the subsequent four decades. Wallenger certainly looked the part wearing coloured Lennon-esque grandad glasses. His backing vocals and keyboard talent were clear; listen to the latter stages of The Whole of The Moon to appreciate the impact his synth bass has on the crescendoing classic.
But even in the excitement of that gig Wallenger seemed distracted in the moment, in a way that the others in the group weren't. Although not known at the time, it was to be his last but one UK appearance with The Waterboys. He departed the group before the tour concluded.
The reason for the split, reportedly, was Wallenger's realisation that his musical ambition would bring him into conflict with the group's leader Scott. So much then for that hint at a Lennon-McCartney styled partnership. But would Scott and Wallenger fade without the input of the other, or would one emerge as the leading talent?
Initially, I kept my eyes on both, buying Wallenger's first post-Waterboys record, the single Ship of Fools. It was a stunner. He'd formed the group World Party (incidentally, the same name as a song on the album This is The Sea). Ship of Fools was a poppy but poignant lament at the state of the world; a song that rings as true today as it did in the mid-80s.
It became apparent that Wallenger had a striking ability to craft meaningful lyrics and pare them with winningly harmonious pop music; music that leant towards joyfulness. That was the case with the track Put the Message in the Box, a song I defy anyone to listen to and not feel their mood lift.
As things turned out, I tracked the musical output of The Waterboys more closely than World Party. In the wake of losing Wallenger, The Waterboys' musical direction shifted to create the folk-orientated masterpiece albums Fisherman's Blues and Room To Roam. Experimentation with other sounds and genres have kept them sounding fresh to this day.
Meanwhile, Wallenger's musical furrow with World Party brought a string of successful albums and a top 20 single. He also worked with Sinead O'Conner. A cover version of the Wallenger-penned She's The One was taken to number one by Robbie Williams.
In 2001, Wallenger suffered a brain aneurysm. However, he returned to making music and performing five years later.
The collaboration of Wallenger and Scott on two Waterboys albums gave a tantalising glimpse of what might have been had they formed a lasting working partnership. However, their separate paths mean we have two distinct and very rich musical careers to enjoy.
Reacting to the passing of Wallenger, Scott posted the following on X: "Travel well my old friend. You are one of the finest musicians I've ever known."
