World Party

World Party was the longtime musical project of Karl Wallinger, a prodigiously talented multi-instrumentalist with a fondness for writing thoughtful, Beatlesque pop. The band released five albums, garnering critical acclaim and yielding a small clutch of hits including "Ship of Fools," "Put the Message in the Box," and "Is It Like Today?" Prior to forming World Party he was a member of the Waterboys on their landmark 1985 album This Is the Sea. Wallinger achieved success in the early '90s with the artful Goodbye Jumbo (1990) and Bang! (1993), the latter of which reached number two on the U.K. charts. As a songwriter, Wallinger received a boost when Robbie Williams' 1999 cover of "She's the One" became a chart-topping hit. Wallinger suffered a brain aneurysm after 2000's Dumbing Up and although he recovered enough to resume touring, it proved to be the final World Party album released during his lifetime.