Private Revolution

Private Revolution
Private Revolution
Studio album by World Party
Released	August 1986
Recorded	January – March 1986
Studio	Baby'O Recorders (Hollywood)
Length	44:48
Label	Chrysalis
Producer	Karl Wallinger
World Party chronology
Singles from Private Revolution
	"Private Revolution"; Released: 1986; "Ship of Fools"; Released: 25 November 1986; "All Come True"; Released: 1987;

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[2]
Q	^[3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	^[4]
The Village Voice	C^[5]

Private Revolution is the debut album by the Welsh-British rock band World Party. At this point, singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Karl Wallinger was the only member of World Party, and the only person pictured on the cover.

Wallinger is assisted on this album by several session musicians, including Anthony Thistlethwaite, Steve Wickham and Sinéad O'Connor. Several other musicians listed in the credits are actually whimsically named pseudonyms for Wallinger himself.^[6]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Karl Wallinger, except where noted.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Private Revolution"		4:01
2.	"Making Love (To the World)"		2:30
3.	"Ship of Fools"		4:27
4.	"All Come True"		5:52
5.	"Dance of the Hoppy Lads"	Wallinger, Steve Wickham	0:44
6.	"It Can Be Beautiful (Sometimes)"		3:00
7.	"The Ballad of the Little Man"		5:02
8.	"Hawaiian Island World"		4:20
9.	"All I Really Want to Do"	Bob Dylan	4:43
10.	"World Party"		4:36
11.	"It's All Mine"		5:33
Total length:			44:48

Personnel

World Party

Karl Wallinger – vocals, guitars, bass, sampling keyboards, drum programming

with:

Rufus Dove – guitars (probably a pseudonym for Wallinger - pun on "rufous dove")
Will Towyn – sampling keyboards (probably a pseudonym for Wallinger - pun on "will to win")
Delahaye – percussion (possibly a pseudonym for Wallinger, or for Mike Scott - this is an alias also used on several Waterboys albums)
Millennium Mills – piano (probably a pseudonym for Wallinger - name taken from Millennium Mills building in London Docklands)
Ahmed Gottlieb – sitar and tabla (probably a pseudonym for Wallinger)

Special guests

Anthony Thistlethwaite – saxophone (3)
Stephen Wickham – violin (4, 5)
Martin Finnucane – harp (5) (probably a pseudonym for Wallinger - this is the name of a character in the Flann O'Brien novel The Third Policeman)
Sinéad O'Connor – backing vocals (8)

Technical

Produced by Karl Wallinger
Cover photography – Steve Wallace assisted by Mathew Stevens
Back cover photography – Edward Durdey
Design – Josh Riley and Stephanie Nash

Charts

Chart (1986–1987)	Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)^[7]	13
Canadian Albums Chart^[8]	60
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[9]	18
UK Albums (Official Charts)^[10]	56
US Billboard 200^[11]	27

References

↑ "News and Star - August 23, 1986 Issue". newspapers.com. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
↑ Erlewine, Iotis. "Private Revolution – World Party". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
↑ Gittins, Ian (January 2001). "World Party: Private Revolution / Goodbye Jumbo / Bang! / Egyptology". Q. No. 172. p. 137.
↑ Evans, Paul (1992). "World Party". In DeCurtis, Anthony; Henke, James; George-Warren, Holly (eds.). The Rolling Stone Album Guide (3rd ed.). Random House. pp. 786–787. ISBN 0-679-73729-4.
↑ Christgau, Robert (5 May 1987). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
↑ Graham, Cheryl (1 March 2022). "World Party's 'Private Revolution' Tackled Environmental Concerns 35 Years Ago". popmatters.com. Retrieved 2025-01-29.
↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 343. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
↑ "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 46, No. 6 May 16, 1987". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
↑ "Charts.nz – World Party – Private Revolution". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
↑ "World Party Songs and Albums | Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
↑ "World Party Chart History > Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved 24 April 2019.

[1] "News and Star - August 23, 1986 Issue". newspapers.com. Retrieved June 6, 2026.

[2] Erlewine, Iotis. "Private Revolution – World Party". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 February 2019.

[3] Gittins, Ian (January 2001). "World Party: Private Revolution / Goodbye Jumbo / Bang! / Egyptology". Q. No. 172. p. 137.

[4] Evans, Paul (1992). "World Party". In DeCurtis, Anthony; Henke, James; George-Warren, Holly (eds.). The Rolling Stone Album Guide (3rd ed.). Random House. pp. 786–787. ISBN 0-679-73729-4.

[5] Christgau, Robert (5 May 1987). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 5 February 2019.

[6] Graham, Cheryl (1 March 2022). "World Party's 'Private Revolution' Tackled Environmental Concerns 35 Years Ago". popmatters.com. Retrieved 2025-01-29.

[aus-7] Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 343. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.

[8] "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 46, No. 6 May 16, 1987". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 20 August 2021.

[ac_New_Zealand_World_Party-9] "Charts.nz – World Party – Private Revolution". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 September 2024.

[UK-10] "World Party Songs and Albums | Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 September 2024.

[11] "World Party Chart History > Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved 24 April 2019.

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v t e World Party
Karl Wallinger David Catlin-Birch Chris Sharrock Guy Chambers Jeff Trott Amanda Kramer John Turnbull
Studio albums	Private Revolution Goodbye Jumbo Bang! Egyptology Dumbing Up
Singles	"Ship of Fools" "Way Down Now" "She's the One"
Compilations	Arkeology
Related articles	The Waterboys Big Blue Ball