By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
April 5, 1987
Welsh musician Karl Wallinger doesn’t seem comfortable doing interviews. The singer-songwriter has no trouble coming up with answers, but isn’t used to the attention.
“The last time I was in America, I was with the Waterboys,” Wallinger said by phone from New York. “Since Mike (Scott) was essentially the Waterboys, I got to sleep while he did most of the interviews. It was rather nice, actually.”
As the sole member of World Party, however, Wallinger is in charge of promoting his debut solo album for Chrysalis, “Private Revolution.”
Though Wallinger joked that he wished he had formed the group with somebody else – anybody else – so that they could handle the interviews for him, he said he decided to go solo because he is a difficult person to please. “It’s so much easier to just do what it is in your head than to try to relay those feelings to someone else,” he
said. “That’s one of my worst vices. I’m impatient.”
Impatient, but not an egomaniac. While it would’ve been logical for the 29-year-old musician to put his own moniker on the record cover, he chose to go by a group’s name. “I don’t know. I suppose I’m not very secure of myself yet,” Wallinger said. “I thought that if people didn’t like my record I could hide behind the group’s name. No one would have to know it was me.”
He said he also wanted a group name because he might add permanent members in the future. “It wouldn’t be fair to them to have to be billed under my name, then,” Wallinger said. “I know I wouldn’t like it.”
“Private Revolution” is a collection of songs Wallinger wrote in the past year. (The record, which features the single “Ship of Fools (Save Me From Tomorrow)” is in the Top 40 of Billboard’s pop album chart.) Except for an ethereal cover of Bob Dylan’s “All I Really Want to Do,” the songs are his originals. He said he is never at a loss for coming up with new songs, but he can’t crank them out at whim. “They just come to me, like when I’m taking walks in the country with my girlfriend,” he said. “I can’t go, `Right, I’m going to write a song.’ It never works well that way ’cause you’re not relaxed.”
Being relaxed is important to him. That’s why he has chosen to reside in Wales. Though this is his third trip to America, he still hasn’t gotten used to what he called the fast-paced life of Americans.
“What I miss most when I’m here is fresh air and silence,” he said.
Growing up on the seaside of northern Wales, Wallinger didn’t dream of becoming a rock star. He got the bug for music when he began taking piano lessons at the age of 9. He also listened to his older brother and sister’s records. Listening to the Beatles, Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, Rolling Stones, Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran, Wallinger developed a love of all kinds of music.
“I don’t think any true musician can afford to specialize,” he said. “It really bothers me when I hear a singer say, `Oh, well, I love rock but hate heavy metal or country.’ Music is music. Done well, it’s all enjoyable to listen to and play. I think a country musician can learn from a blues artist and vice versa.”
Though he’s not a household name, Wallinger said he has dealt with fans who’ve asked for autographs and “chatted me up about being a pop star.” He said he doesn’t take any of this too seriously because longevity in the business is only as long as the success of the next record.
“It sounds strange but in a way, I kind of hope I don’t get too popular,” Wallinger said. “I’d like to be known enough so that I can keep on making music. When I see someone like Prince who has absolutely no privacy and leads kind of a strange life, well, I have no craving for it. I don’t see how you can get famous and have people treat you differently and not change. For me, respect is more important than the pomp and glory that goes with being a pop star. Besides, I’m not pretty enough to be a rock idol.”
