World Party - Hero of the green crowds

After a stint as musical director of a West End performance of the Rocky Horror Picture Show, Wallinger joined a funk band dubbed The Out, before signing on with Mike Scott's Waterboys in 1984 to record the LP A Pagan Place. After 1985's superb This Is the Sea, Wallinger amicably departed to form World Party, a one-man project heavily indebted to Revolver-era Beatlesque pop modified for the eco-generation; recorded at Wallinger's home, his debut album Private Revolution from late-1986 scored a UK Top 40 hit with the infectious lead single "Ship of Fools."
After the 1991 stopgap EP Thank You World (including a cover of the Beatles' "Happiness Is a Warm Gun"), Wallinger recruited guitarist David Catlin-Birch and drummer Chris Sharrock as full-fledged members for 1993's big hit album Bang!, which reached the number two position on the British album charts and re-launched Wallinger as a hero of the Glastonbury and green crowds.