Randall A. Wulff, better known by his stage name Lewis, and also known as Lewis Baloue and Randy Duke, is a Canadian singer and musician. He released a number of albums in the 1980s, but did not become widely known until they were re-released in 2014.

Early and personal life

Lewis' family live in

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

but he is estranged from them; in August 2014 his brother stated that he had not seen Lewis since 2007. His father and uncle had lost touch with him some years previously. During the recording process of his 1980s albums Lewis worked as a

stockbroker A stockbroker is an individual or company that buys and sells stocks and other investments for a financial market participant in return for a commission, markup, or fee. In most countries they are regulated as a broker or broker-dealer and ...

, and lived in

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

. He lived with his girlfriend in an apartment with all-white furniture.

Career

Lewis recorded two albums in 1983 and 1985 (''L'Amour'' and ''Romantic Times'') that were mostly forgotten until a record collector discovered ''L'Amour'' in an

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

flea market. They were both re-released by Seattle-based record label Light in the Attic in 2014. ''L'Amour'' was recorded in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in 1983. Lewis disappeared soon after the photoshoot by Edward Colver for the album cover, after his cheque to Colver bounced. ''Romantic Times'' was originally released in 1985 under the 'Lewis Baloue' pseudonym. An original copy of the album sold on

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in 2014 for $2,000. Two further albums - ''Love Ain't No Mystery'' (recorded under the 'Randy Duke' pseudonym) and ''Hawaiian Breeze'' were also released by different record labels in 2014 and 2015 respectively. Under a different pseudonym, Lewis is also believed to have recorded a number of "very soft, religious music" albums in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

in the mid-2000s which were never released. In 2014 Lewis stated that he was continuing to perform music, but that he was not interested in his earlier releases.

Recent activity

In 2022, a short film concerning Lewis, entitled ''I Thought the World of You'' directed by Canadian filmmaker Kurt Walker, toured the film festival circuit and garnered praise: ″Walker’s film perfectly captures the hauntology of dollar-bin, vanity-pressing gold. He recreates the edges of Lewis’s life with a lush romanticism, following his white convertible down tree-lined highways, spying him through the window of his recording booth. All the while, Walker keeps Lewis turned away from the camera, reserving him a certain privacy.″ Chloe Lizotte (September 13th, 2022).
Toronto Dispatch: Future Days
. MUBI. Retrieved August 6th, 2023.

Discography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis Date of birth missing (living people) Living people Canadian male singers Year of birth missing (living people) Canadian male singer-songwriters Canadian singer-songwriters Rediscovered musical works