Karl Wallinger, who fronted the band World Party and was an early member of the Waterboys, died March 10 at the age of 66. His family announced today (March 22) that the singer and multi-instrumentalist died from a stroke.
In a post on World Party's official Facebook account, a message from the family read: "We can now share that Karl died suddenly from a stroke last week. We have been overwhelmed by the love and support the World Party community has shown since then. Thank you all so much."
In 2001, Wallinger suffered a brain aneurysm that left him with damaged eyesight and unable to speak or play instruments, but after a five-year hiatus from music, he was eventually able to recover and perform again.
World Party debuted with the 1987 album Private Revolution, which featured Wallinger singing and playing the bulk of the instruments. Sinead O'Connor was featured on backing vocals on one track, returning the favor for Wallinger who worked on her debut album, The Lion and the Cobra. Private Revolution included the hit single "Ship of Fools," which reached No. 5 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and crossed over to the Hot 100, peaking at No. 27.
Goodbye Jumbo, World Party's second album, was released in 1990 and included the alternative hit "Way Down Now" as well as the follow-up track "Put the Message in the Box."
Wallinger's greatest success came at the hands of Robbie Williams, who topped the charts in 1999 with a cover of World Party's "She's the One."
Prior to venturing out on his own to start World Party, Wallinger was a member of the Waterboys in which he served as a multi-instrumentalist on 1984's A Pagan Place and 1985's This Is the Sea.
Waterboys' frontman Mike Scott was among those who paid tribute to Wallinger on X, formerly Twitter, following the news of his passing. "Travel on well my old friend," he wrote. "You are one of the finest musicians I've ever known."
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