Richard "Rik" Waller (born 1981) is an English pop singer. After appearing as a contestant on the TV series ''

Pop Idol ''Pop Idol'' is a British music competition television series created by Simon Fuller which ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. The aim of the show was to decide the best new young pop singer (or "pop idol") in the UK based on viewer voting and par ...

'', he had two

UK Top 40 The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

hits with cover versions of "

I Will Always Love You "I Will Always Love You" is a song written and originally recorded in 1973 by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. Written as a farewell to her business partner and mentor Porter Wagoner, expressing Parton's decision to pursue a solo career, ...

" and "

(Something Inside) So Strong "(Something Inside) So Strong" is a song written and recorded by British singer-songwriter Labi Siffre. Released as a single in 1987, it was one of the biggest successes of his career, peaking at number four on the UK Singles Chart. The song was ...

Early life

Waller was born in

Gillingham, Kent Gillingham ( ) is a large town in the unitary authority area of Medway in the ceremonial county of Kent, England. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Rochester, Strood and Rainham. It is also the largest town in the ...

in 1981.

Career

''Pop Idol''

Waller was to be a finalist in the first series of the British

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

television series ''

'' having initially made it into the last ten of the show, but then pulled out due to severe

laryngitis Laryngitis is inflammation of the larynx (voice box). Symptoms often include a hoarse voice and may include fever, cough, pain in the front of the neck, and trouble swallowing. Typically, these last under two weeks. Laryngitis is categorised ...

, and his place was taken by

Darius Danesh Darius may refer to: Persian royalty ;Kings of the Achaemenid Empire * Darius I (the Great, 550 to 487 BC) * Darius II (423 to 404 BC) * Darius III (Codomannus, 380 to 330 BC) ;Crown princes * Darius (son of Xerxes I), crown prince of Persia, ma ...

EMI

Following the show, Waller signed a

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...

with

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

in a deal worth approximately £400,000. His first single was a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

's song "

" which made No. 6 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. He followed this up with another top 40 hit, recorded originally by

Labi Siffre Claudius Afolabi Siffre (born 25 June 1945) is a British singer, songwriter and poet. Siffre released six albums between 1970 and 1975, and four between 1988 and 1998. His best known compositions include " It Must Be Love" which reached number 1 ...

, "

". Both of these songs appear on Waller's album ''From Now''.

Red Admiral Records

When he was dropped by EMI, Waller formed his own band to take his music out on the road. He then signed an album deal with Red Admiral Records. Two months into Waller's Beyond Reality Tour 2004, three concerts were cancelled due to poor ticket sales. Among them was a show at the Princess Theatre in

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignton ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, for which only two tickets were sold. His second album ''Innocence'' was released in September 2005. The band was subsequently renamed 'Rik Waller's Mighty Soul Band', and then renamed again to 'Rik Waller's Unfinished Business'.

TV appearances

Waller has appeared as himself on several TV shows. In 2002, he appeared on

Celebrity Fit Club ''Celebrity Fit Club'' is a reality television series that follows eight overweight celebrities as they try to lose weight for charity. Split into two competing teams of four, each week teams are given different physical challenges, and weighed t ...

but he was kicked off the show when he was caught binge eating. On 28 February 2007, Waller appeared on ''

Never Mind the Buzzcocks ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' is a British comedy panel game show with a pop music theme. It has aired on Sky Max since September 2021, having originally aired between November 1996 and January 2015 on BBC Two. The original series was first hoste ...

'' in the Identity Parade Round and briefly replaced captain

Phill Jupitus Phillip Christopher Jupitus (, ''né'' Swan; born 25 June 1962) is an English stand-up and improv comedian, actor, performance poet, cartoonist and podcaster. Jupitus was a team captain on all but one BBC Two-broadcast episode of music quiz ''N ...

when it became clear who was the real Rik Waller. He has not appeared on TV since.

Personal life

He was educated at The Howard School, Rainham, Kent. Waller's singing career ended in 2007 after he had lost his singing voice due to problems with severe laryngitis. In 2013, Waller revealed in an interview with the

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...

that due to being jobless and penniless, he was receiving unemployment benefits. In 2014, he was working as an exam invigilator in

Sittingbourne Sittingbourne is an industrial town in Kent, south-east England, from Canterbury and from London, beside the Roman Watling Street, an ancient British trackway used by the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons and next to the Swale, a strip of sea separa ...

, Kent. Waller also said that, alongside his dad, he was for once running a mobile karaoke and disco business.

Discography

Albums

*'' From Now...'' (July 2002) *''Innocence'' (July 2005)

Singles

" (March 2002) – UK No. 6 *"

" (June 2002) – UK #25

Filmography

References

External links

Red Admiral Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waller, Rik English male singers People from Gillingham, Kent Pop Idol contestants 1981 births Living people People educated at The Howard School Musicians from Kent EMI Records artists 21st-century English singers 21st-century British male singers