Scott Walker

Scott Walker's solo path underscored an enduring tension between mainstream appeal and creative exploration. Leading the pop trio the Walker Brothers, he navigated the mid-'60s with widespread chart recognition, his gliding baritone anchoring multiple standout singles for the ensemble. Branching into solo work in 1967 through a series of bold yet still accessible albums, he pivoted sharply in the '80s toward experimental territory. The sparse output spanning the '90s, 2000s, and 2010s diverged sharply from the melancholic Baroque pop that defined his initial phase, yet pieces such as the 2012 album Bish Bosch and his score for the 2016 release Childhood of a Leader stood out as dense, abrasive, and deeply compelling.

Born in 1943 in Hamilton, Ohio, Scott Walker first appeared on record under the name Scotty Engel, issuing little-known singles in the late '50s and early '60s within the teen-idol style. He soon joined forces with John Maus and Gary Leeds to establish the Walker Brothers. Though unrelated by blood or surname and hailing from outside England, the group integrated into the British Invasion following their relocation to the U.K. in 1965. For several years they achieved substantial popularity there, along with select U.S. chart entries, in a style reminiscent of the Righteous Brothers. Serving as principal songwriter and full-throated lead vocalist, Walker exerted the strongest artistic influence within the trio, which disbanded in 1967.

Despite remaining largely unrecognized in the United States, Walker built an extensive solo following in Britain through a distinctive fusion of lush, near-MOR orchestrations and introspective, somber lyrics. Amid the psychedelic era he drew openly from crooners including Sinatra, Jack Jones, and Tony Bennett, while sourcing much of his repertoire from Jacques Brel. Few conventional balladeers of that stripe, however, would have explored the dark themes—suicidal figures, epidemics, Joseph Stalin—that filled Walker's material. His initial four albums all reached the U.K. Top Ten, with the second achieving number one in 1968, right at the peak of the hippie period. By the release of 1969's Scott 4 he had assumed full songwriting responsibility; although the record was meticulously crafted, its commercial underperformance led him to include outside material on later efforts.

The '70s proved an uneven stretch for Walker, marked by irregular releases and a largely unsuccessful mid-decade reunion with his former bandmates. His contributions to the Walkers' concluding 1978 album earned praise from David Bowie and Brian Eno. Emerging from an extended hiatus, he returned in 1984 with Climate of Hunter, which earned critical acclaim for its minimalist, trance-like atmosphere that reflected awareness of contemporary '80s rock developments. A famously private individual rarely seen or interviewed since his early fame, he resurfaced in 1995 with the album Tilt.

Over subsequent years he supplied music for soundtracks including To Have and to Hold, The World Is Not Enough, and Pola X, while also lending support to projects by Ute Lemper and Pulp. His next full-length did not appear until 2006. That same year he provided the track "Darkness" for Plague Songs, part of the Margate Exodus initiative organized by the British arts group Artangel, which reimagined the biblical plagues from the Book of Exodus. Early 2007 saw the premiere of the documentary Scott Walker: 30 Century Man. Later that year he issued the limited-edition EP And Who Shall Go to the Ball? And What Shall Go to the Ball?, a single 24-minute instrumental work commissioned by the Candoco Dance Company for ballet and performed by the London Sinfonietta with cellist Philip Sheppard.

In November 2008 the stage production Drifting and Tilting: The Songs of Scott Walker ran for three nights at London's Barbican, drawing exclusively on material from Tilt and The Drift. Walker did not sing but oversaw every aspect of direction, staging, lighting, and orchestration; vocal duties fell to an ensemble that included Damon Albarn, Dot Allison, and Jarvis Cocker. The 2009 collection Music Inspired by Scott Walker: 30 Century Man presented original songs responding to the documentary, performed by Laurie Anderson and additional admirers. Also in 2009 he collaborated with Natasha Khan on a duet for her Bat for Lashes album Two Suns. With the 2012 release of Bish Bosch he viewed the record as completing a trilogy begun by Tilt and continued on The Drift.

After the customary long intervals between projects, Walker surprised observers in mid-2014 by revealing a completed collaboration with the metal-drone experimentalists Sunn O))), issued as Soused on 4AD in October. He composed an original orchestral score for director Brady Corbet's debut feature The Childhood of a Leader, co-produced with Peter Walsh. Longtime associate Mark Warman served as musical director and led a 62-piece orchestra. Released in August 2016, the album marked his first complete film-score effort since scoring Leos Carax's Pola X in 1999. Two years afterward the soundtrack for Vox Lux incorporated additional music by Walker. Several months later, in March 2019, he succumbed to cancer.