Lewis (musician) explained

Lewis
Birth Name:Randall A. Wulff
Alias:Lewis Baloue, Randy Duke
Origin:Canada
Instrument:Guitar, vocals
Years Active:1980s–present
Label:Light in the Attic

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 but he is estranged from them; in August 2014 his brother stated that he had not seen Lewis since 2007.[1] His father and uncle had lost touch with him some years previously.[2]

During the recording process of his 1980s albums Lewis worked as a stockbroker,[3] and lived in Calgary.[2] He lived with his girlfriend in an apartment with all-white furniture.[2] [3]

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 flea market. They were both re-released by Seattle-based record label Light in the Attic in 2014.[1]

L'Amour was recorded in Los Angeles in 1983.[2] [4] Lewis disappeared soon after the photoshoot by Edward Colver for the album cover, after his cheque to Colver bounced.[1] [3]

Romantic Times was originally released in 1985 under the 'Lewis Baloue' pseudonym.[5] An original copy of the album sold on eBay in 2014 for $2,000.[6]

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.[7] [8]

Under a different pseudonym, Lewis is also believed to have recorded a number of "very soft, religious music" albums in Vancouver in the mid-2000s which were never released.[1] [3]

In 2014 Lewis stated that he was continuing to perform music, but that he was not interested in his earlier releases.[9]

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.″ [10]

Discography

Original releaseRe-releaseTitle
19832014L'Amour
19852014Romantic Times
Unknown2014Love Ain't No Mystery
Unknown2015Hawaiian Breeze

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The mystery of Canadian musician 'Lewis'. August 1, 2014. January 13, 2020. CBC.
  2. Web site: Let Me Whisper in Your Ear: On the mysterious Lewis. July 6, 2014. January 25, 2015. Charles Taylor. LA Review of Books.
  3. Web site: The 101 strangest records on Spotify: Lewis – L'Amour. June 25, 2014. January 25, 2015. Rob Fitzpatrick. The Guardian.
  4. Web site: Album review - L'Amour. May 20, 2014. January 25, 2015. Stephen M. Deusner. Pitchfork.
  5. Web site: Album review - Romantic Times. August 1, 2014. January 25, 2015. Stephen M. Deusner. Pitchfork.
  6. Web site: Lewis and Mystery in the Age of Information. August 6, 2014. January 25, 2015. Sarah Geffen. Pitchfork.
  7. Web site: Album review - Love Ain't No Mystery. October 21, 2014. January 25, 2015. Marc Marsters. Pitchfork.
  8. Web site: Another Lewis Album, Hawaiian Breeze, Surfaces. January 8, 2015. January 25, 2015. Jeremy Gordon. Pitchfork.
  9. Web site: The Synth-Pop Folk Artist Known As Lewis, Previously Thought Missing or Dead, Is Alive. August 8, 2014. January 25, 2015. Molly Beauchemin . Pitchfork.
  10. Chloe Lizotte (September 13th, 2022). "Toronto Dispatch: Future Days". MUBI. Retrieved August 6th, 2023.