World Party Then: Kurt Wallinger started out in bands in 1976, moved to London and worked for a music publishing company before becoming musical director of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. From 1983-86 he was a member of the Waterboys until he broke away to debut with World Party and the album Private Revolution in 1987. Private Revolution was written, produced and played almost entirely by Wallinger as would all World Party recordings. The album was raved about by the critics and the single "Ship Of Fools (Save Me From Tomorrow)" sneaked it's way up the U.S. charts to #27. After proving himself in the studio, Wallinger took the act on the road to prove it was the music not the production. Now: Goodbye Jumbo followed in 1990 and was voted Album of the Year by Q Magazine. The album contained radio friendly hits like "Message In The Box" and "Way Down Now." As if it were a 3 year trend, World Party's third album Bang! popped up in 1993 containing their biggest single to date (U.K. #19), "Is It Like Today." The album was barely held from the U.K. #1 spot by R.E.M.'s Automatic For The People. In 1994, Wallinger tried his hand as musical director for the soundtrack of Ben Stiller's romantic comedy, Reality Bites, starring Winona Ryder and Ethan Hawke. Egyptology was released in 1997 and contained some brilliant songs but none really hit.