Wally Badarou facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Wally Badarou
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Wally Badarou in 2016
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Waliou Jacques Daniel Isheola Badarou |
| Born | 22 March 1955 Paris, France |
| Genres | Synthpop, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, progressive rock, African music, neoclassical, minimalist |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, songwriter, musician, record producer |
| Instruments | Keyboards, guitar, programming |
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Labels | Barclay Records (1978–1982) Island Records (1982–1995) Blue Mountain Music (1995–2002) Ishe Music (2002–present) |
| Associated acts | Level 42, Compass Point All Stars, M, Robert Palmer, Tom Tom Club, Talking Heads |
Waliou Jacques Daniel Isheola "Wally" Badarou (born on March 22, 1955) is a talented musician from France. His family comes from Benin, a country in West Africa. Wally Badarou is famous for working closely with the British band Level 42. He is also known for being a very busy session musician, which means he plays music for many different artists from all over the world.
Contents
About Wally Badarou
Wally Badarou worked with the British band Level 42 for a long time. He played keyboards and synthesizers for them. He also helped create the sounds for their music. He wrote songs and performed on many of their tracks starting in 1980. Later, he also helped produce their music.
Even though he was never an official member of Level 42, many people thought of him as a "fifth member." This is because he played on all their studio albums from 1980 to 1994. He also helped write and produce a lot of their songs. However, Badarou did not play with Level 42 during their live concerts. He has not been involved with the band since they got back together in the early 2000s.
Badarou was good friends with Chris Blackwell, who started Island Records. He was part of a special group called the Compass Point All Stars. This group included famous musicians like Sly and Robbie. They were the main recording team at Compass Point Studios. They helped make many albums in the 1980s for artists like Grace Jones, Tom Tom Club, and Mick Jagger.
You can also hear Badarou's keyboard playing on albums by many other artists. These include Robert Palmer, Marianne Faithfull, Herbie Hancock, Talking Heads, and Foreigner. He also worked with African music legends like Manu Dibango and Miriam Makeba.
Wally Badarou has produced albums for famous musicians such as Fela Kuti and Salif Keita. He also wrote music for films like Countryman and Kiss of the Spider Woman. In 1989, he directed and wrote music for a big parade in France called the French Bicentennial parade.
Solo Music and Innovations
Wally Badarou has released his own instrumental music. His solo albums include Echoes (1984) and Words of a Mountain (1989). The album Echoes features songs like "Chief Inspector" and "Mambo." "Mambo" was even used (or sampled) in a song called "Daydreaming" by the group Massive Attack. "Chief Inspector" was a popular song in the UK, reaching #46 on the music charts in October 1985.
His album Words of a Mountain was one of the first albums to be recorded completely without tape. This means it was made using computers and digital equipment. Badarou was a pioneer in creating a home studio setup using computers. He was known for using advanced electronic instruments like the Sequential Circuits Prophet 5 and the Synclavier.
Other Projects and Interests
In 1997, Badarou helped organize the Kora All Africa Music Awards. He also helped write and produce a charity album called So Why. This album was made to speak out against ethnic cleansing in Africa. It featured famous singers like Youssou N'Dour and Papa Wemba.
Since the early 2000s, Wally Badarou has also been interested in acting on stage. He enjoys aviation, movies, science fiction, and philosophy.
Since 2009, Badarou has been releasing his new music online. He releases one song at a time, including his latest work, The Unnamed Trilogy. He plans to release all three albums as a physical collection later.
In 2012, he was chosen to be on the board of SACEM. This is a French organization that helps manage the rights of music authors. In 2014, he helped start the African Music Academy (AMA) with other well-known musicians.
Discography
Solo Albums
- 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: Boesman & Lena
- 2024: Mati Diop: Dahomey
Producer (and co-producer)
- 1979: Janic Prévost – J'veux d'la Tendresse
- 1981: Alain Chamfort – Amour Année Zéro
- 1983: Marianne Faithfull – A Child's Adventure (& co-writer)
- 1985: Level 42 – 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 (& co-writer)
- 1990: Level 42 – Guaranteed (& co-writer)
- 1993: Level 42 – Forever Now (& co-writer)
- 1995: Salif Keita – 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
- 1977: Fireball - Drive Me To Hell
- 1979: M – New-York, London, Paris, Munich ("Pop Muzik")
- 1979: Miriam Makeba – Comme une symphonie d'amour
- 1980: Bernie Lyon – Bernie Lyon
- 1980: Grace Jones – Warm Leatherette
- 1980: M – The Official Secrets Act
- 1980: Lizzy Mercier Descloux – Mambo Nassau
- 1980: Level 42 – The Early Tapes (& co-writer)
- 1981: Grace Jones – Nightclubbing
- 1981: Level 42 – 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: Jimmy Cliff – Give The People What They Want
- 1982: Charlélie Couture – Pochette Surprise
- 1982: Joe Cocker – Sheffield Steel
- 1982: Black Uhuru – Chill Out
- 1982: Gregory Isaacs – Night Nurse
- 1982: Grace Jones – Living My Life
- 1982: Gwen Guthrie – Gwen Guthrie
- 1982: Robin Scott & Shikisha – Jive Shikisha !
- 1982: Level 42 – The Pursuit of Accidents (& co-writer)
- 1983: Level 42 – Standing in the Light (& co-writer)
- 1983: Talking Heads – Speaking in Tongues
- 1983: Tom-Tom Club – Close to the Bone
- 1984: Level 42 – True Colours (& co-writer)
- 1984: Foreigner – Agent Provocateur
- 1985: Mick Jagger – She's The Boss
- 1985: Power Station – Some Like It Hot
- 1985: Level 42 – World Machine (& co-writer)
- 1985: Gwen Guthrie – Just For You
- 1985: Sly & Robbie – Language Barrier
- 1985: Robert Palmer – Riptide
- 1987: Level 42 – Running in the Family (& co-writer)
- 1988: Manu Dibango – Electric Africa
- 1988: Melissa Etheridge – Melissa Etheridge
- 1988: Julio Iglesias – Libra
- 1994: Power Station – Living in Fear
- 2008: Grace Jones – Hurricane
- 2009: Phil Gould – Watertight
