Waliou Jacques Daniel Isheola "Wally" Badarou (born 22 March 1955) is a French musician. Born in France with ancestry from

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...

, West Africa, Badarou is known for his close association with the English group

Level 42 Level 42 is an English jazz-funk band formed on the Isle of Wight in 1979. They had a number of UK and worldwide hits during the 1980s and 1990s. Their highest-charting single in the UK was " Lessons in Love", which reached number three on the ...

, and for his prolific work as a

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

with a wide variety of performers from around the world.

Biography

Badarou was the long-time associate of the British band

, contributing on keyboards, synthesizers and programming. He has co-written and performed on a number of the band's tracks since their recording début in 1980, later co-producing them. Though never an official member of Level 42, he could be considered a ''de facto'' "fifth member" of the band's classic line-up from 1980 through 1994, as he played keyboards and synths on all their studio albums, and co-wrote and/or co-produced much of their material. However, Badarou did not play with Level 42 on concert dates, and he has not been involved with the revived version of the group, which reunited in the early 2000s. Badarou was close to

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

's founder

Chris Blackwell Christopher Percy Gordon Blackwell (born 22 June 1937) is an English businessman and former record producer, and the founder of Island Records, which has been called "one of Britain's great independent labels". According to the Rock and Roll ...

, and he was one of the

Compass Point All Stars Compass Point Studios was a music recording studio in the Bahamas, founded in 1977 by Chris Blackwell, the owner of Island Records. The concept of the studio was of a recording facility supported by in-house sets of artists, musicians, producer ...

(with

Sly and Robbie Sly and Robbie were a prolific Jamaican rhythm section and production duo, associated primarily with the reggae and dub genres. Drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare teamed up in the mid-1970s after establishing themselves separa ...

Barry Reynolds Barry Reynolds (born 27 October 1949, in Bolton, Lancashire) is a British guitar player, songwriter, composer and producer, best known for his long-lasting collaboration with Marianne Faithfull. Reynolds first emerged with the band Pacific Drift ...

Mikey Chung Michael Chung (1950 – 28 December 2021) also known as Mao Chung, was a Jamaican musician who played keyboards, guitar and percussion instruments. He was also an arranger and record producer of Jamaican music, and worked with a wide array of m ...

and

Uziah "Sticky" Thompson Uzziah "Sticky" Thompson (1 August 1936 – 25 August 2014) was a Jamaican percussionist, vocalist and deejay active from the late 1950s. He worked with some of the best known performers of Jamaican music and played on hundreds of albums. Biog ...

), the in-house recording team of

Compass Point Studios Compass Point Studios was a music recording studio in the Bahamas, founded in 1977 by Chris Blackwell, the owner of Island Records. The concept of the studio was of a recording facility supported by in-house sets of artists, musicians, producer ...

responsible for a long series of

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

s of the 1980s recorded by

Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a model, singer and actress. Born in Jamaica, she and her family moved to Syracuse, New York, when she was a teenager. Jones began her modelling career in New York state, then in Paris, working for ...

Tom Tom Club Tom Tom Club is an American new wave band founded in 1981 by husband-and-wife team Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth and as a side project from Talking Heads. Their best known songs include " Wordy Rappinghood", " Genius of Love", and a cover ...

Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles were recordings of son ...

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

Black Uhuru Black Uhuru is a Jamaican reggae group formed in 1972, initially as Uhuru ( Swahili for 'freedom'). The group has undergone several line-up changes over the years, with Derrick "Duckie" Simpson as the mainstay. They had their most successful per ...

, Gwen Guthrie,

Jimmy Cliff James Chambers OM (born 30 July 1944), known professionally as Jimmy Cliff, is a Jamaican ska, rocksteady, reggae and soul musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and actor. He is the only living reggae musician to hold the Order of Merit, t ...

and

Gregory Isaacs Gregory Anthony Isaacs OD (15 July 1951 – 25 October 2010)Thompson, p. 127. was a Jamaican reggae musician. Milo Miles, writing in ''The New York Times'', described Isaacs as "the most exquisite vocalist in reggae".Miles, Milo (1992),RECORDI ...

. Badarou's keyboard playing could also be heard on albums by Robert Palmer,

Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (born 29 December 1946) is an English singer and actress. She achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her hit single " As Tears Go By" and became one of the lead female artists during the British I ...

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...

, M (

Pop Muzik "Pop Muzik" is a 1979 song by M, a project by English musician Robin Scott, from the debut album ''New York • London • Paris • Munich''. The single, first released in the UK in early 1979, was bolstered by a music video (directed by Br ...

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, Foreigner,

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Melissa Etheridge Melissa Lou Etheridge (born May 29, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and guitarist. Her eponymous debut album was released in 1988 and became an underground success. It peaked at No. 22 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and its lead ...

, Manu Dibango and

Miriam Makeba Zenzile Miriam Makeba (4 March 1932 – 9 November 2008), nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, and civil rights activist. Associated with musical genres including African popular music, Afropop, jazz, a ...

. He produced albums by

Fela Kuti Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997), also known as Abami Eda, was a Nigerian musician, bandleader, composer, political activist, and Pan-Africanist. He is regarded as the p ...

Salif Keita Salif Keïta () (born 25 August 1949) is a Malian singer-songwriter, referred to as the "Golden Voice of Africa". He is a member of the Keita royal family of Mali. Biography Early life Salif Keita was born a traditional prince in the village o ...

Wasis Diop Wasis Diop (born 1950 in Dakar, Senegal) is a Senegalese musician of international renown, known for blending traditional Senegalese folk music with modern pop and jazz. Early life The son of a Senegalese high official and member of the Lebou ethn ...

Trilok Gurtu Trilok Gurtu (born 30 October 1951) is an Indian percussionist and composer whose work has blended the music of India with jazz fusion and world music. He has worked with Terje Rypdal, Gary Moore, John McLaughlin, Jan Garbarek, Joe Zawinul, M ...

, Carlinhos Brown; wrote for the films ''Countryman (film), Countryman'', and ''Kiss of the Spider Woman (film), Kiss of the Spider Woman''; plus directed and wrote for Jean-Paul Goude's French Bicentennial parade, Bastille Day 1989. His solo instrumental work includes two albums: ''Echoes'' (1984) and ''Words Of A Mountain'' (1989). The former included "Chief Inspector", "Mambo" (Sampling (music), sampled for Massive Attack's "Daydreaming (Massive Attack song), Daydreaming" (''Blue Lines'' album)), and "Hi-Life". "Chief Inspector" peaked at #46 in the UK Singles Chart in October 1985. The ''Words Of A Mountain'' album is believed to be one of the first fully tapeless recordings in contemporary/new-age history: co-pioneering the computerised home studio concept with other electronic musicians of his generation, Badarou established a reputation on the field with his extensive use of Sequential Circuits Prophet 5, New England Digital Synclavier, and custom voice-controlled Yamaha Corporation, Yamaha digital mixers.Keyboard Magazine, May 1986, p. 69. Badarou also helped organise the Kora All Africa Music Awards in 1997, while co-writing and producing ''So Why'', a charity album for the International Committee of the Red Cross, ICRC, conceived as a call against ethnic cleansing in Africa, featuring Youssou N'Dour and Papa Wemba. He has embraced stage acting since the early 2000s, showing interest in aviation, movies, science-fiction and philosophy. By the end of 2009, starting with ''Fisherman'', a 15 mn long "''marathon in afro-beat territory'' ",Official Wally Badarou web site http://www.wallybadarou.com . Badarou released his latest album (''The Unnamed Trilogy''): online exclusively, one single at a time, via the JukeSticker, a direct and sharable transaction tool: "''At very long last, my fans are to receive the music that never stopped haunting me all these years. The whole of it will be available as a physical collector set, once the three albums are fully revealed'' ".

Discography

Solo

*1979: ''Back to Scales Tonight'' *1984: ''Echoes'' *1985: ''Chief Inspector'' (EP) *1989: ''Words of a Mountain'' *1997: ''So Why'' *2001: ''Colors of Silence : Musical poetry for Yoga'' *2009: ''The Unnamed Trilogy''

Movie scores

*1981: Dickie Jobson: ''Countryman'' *1982: Nathalie Delon & Yves Deschamps: ''They Call It an Accident'' *1985: Hector Babenco: ''Kiss Of The SpiderWoman'' (additional music) *1991: Lol Creme: ''The Lunatic'' *1997: Idrissa Ouedraogo: ''Kini & Adams'' *1997: Don Letts & Rick Elgood: ''DanceHall Queen'' *1999: Chris Browne: ''Third World Cop'' *2000: John Berry (country singer), John Berry: ''Boesman & Lena''

Producer (and co-producer)

*1979: Janic Prévost - ''J'veux d'la Tendresse'' *1981: Alain Chamfort - ''Amour Année Zéro'' *1983:

- ''A Child's Adventure'' (& co-writer) *1985:

- ''World Machine'' (& co-writer) *1986: Alain Chamfort - ''Tendres Fièvres'' (& co-writer) *1986: Fela Anikulapo Kuti - ''Teacher Don't Teach Me Nonsense'' *1987: Level 42 - ''Running in the Family'' (& co-writer) *1988: Level 42 - ''Staring at the Sun (Level 42 album), Staring at the Sun'' (& co-writer) *1990: Level 42 - ''Guaranteed (Level 42 album), Guaranteed'' (& co-writer) *1993: Level 42 - ''Forever Now (Level 42 album), Forever Now'' (& co-writer) *1995:

- ''Folon'' *1996: Carlinhos Brown - ''AlfaGamaBetizado'' *1998: Yannick Noah & Zam Zam - ''Zam Zam'' *1998: Wasis Diop - ''Toxu'' *2000: Trilok Gurtu -''The Beat Of Love'' (& co-writer) *2001: i Muvrini - ''Umani''

Session player

*1979: M - ''New-York, London, Paris, Munich'' ("

") *1979:

- ''Comme une symphonie d'amour'' *1980: Bernie Lyon - ''Bernie Lyon'' *1980:

- ''Warm Leatherette'' *1980: M - ''The Official Secrets Act'' *1980: Lizzy Mercier Descloux - ''Mambo Nassau'' *1980:

- ''The Early Tapes'' (& co-writer) *1981:

- ''Nightclubbing'' *1981:

- ''Level 42'' (& co-writer) *1981: Bernie Lyon - ''I'm Living In The Sunshine'' *1981: Gibson Brothers - ''Quartier Latin'' *1981: Barry Reynolds - ''I Scare Myself'' *1981: Will Tura - ''Tura 81'' *1981:

- ''Give The People What They Want'' *1982: Charlélie Couture - ''Pochette Surprise'' *1982:

- ''Sheffield Steel'' *1982:

- ''Chill Out'' *1982:

- ''Night Nurse'' *1982:

- ''Living My Life'' *1982: Gwen Guthrie - ''Gwen Guthrie'' *1982: Robin Scott (singer), Robin Scott & Shikisha - ''Jive Shikisha !'' *1982:

- ''The Pursuit Of Accidents'' (& co-writer) *1983:

- ''Standing In The Light'' (& co-writer) *1983:

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talkin ...

- ''Speaking In Tongues'' *1983: Tom-Tom Club - ''Close To The Bone'' *1984:

- ''True Colours'' (& co-writer) *1984: Foreigner - ''Agent Provocateur'' *1985:

- ''She's The Boss'' *1985:

- ''Some Like It Hot'' *1985:

- ''World Machine'' *1985: Gwen Guthrie - ''Just For You'' *1985: Sly & Robbie - ''Language Barrier'' *1985: Robert Palmer - ''Riptide'' *1988: Manu Dibango - ''Electric Africa'' *1988:

- ''Melissa Etheridge'' *1988:

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talkin ...

- ''Naked'' *1988: Julio Iglesias - ''Libra'' *1994:

- ''Living In Fear'' *2008:

- ''Hurricane'' *2009: Phil Gould (musician), Phil Gould - ''Watertight''

Bibliography

* Melissa Chemam, ''"Massive Attack: Out of the Comfort Zone"'', Tangent Books, , (2019).

References

External links

Official websiteWally Badarou discographywww.cosmicdisco.co.uk 'The Prophet Speaks' Exclusive Wally Badarou InterviewWally Badarou RBMA video lecture session
{{DEFAULTSORT:Badarou, Wally 1955 births Living people Level 42 members Tom Tom Club members Beninese musicians French keyboardists French people of Beninese descent Island Records artists

Biography

Discography

Solo

Movie scores

Producer (and co-producer)

Session player

Bibliography

See also

References

External links