The Evasions

Last updated

The Evasions
Genres Novelty/rap
Years active1981–96
Labels Groove Production
Past members
  • Graham de Wilde
  • Nigel Martinez

The Evasions was a novelty band which had a UK hit single in 1981.

Contents

History

In 1980, The Sugarhill Gang introduced rap music into a mainstream UK audience with the hit single "Rapper's Delight". Over the next couple of years, a number of British music acts released rap singles, but most were novelties, such as Kenny Everett's "Snot Rap", The Brat's "Chalk Dust", and Roland Rat Superstar's "Rat Rapping".

The Evasions was in similar vein. The act was songwriter Adrian Sear, producer Nigel Martinez, and television music composer Graham de Wilde. [1] For the single, de Wilde performed an impersonation of television presenter and broadcaster Alan Whicker, purportedly analysing the dance music scene in Whicker's trademark detached anthropological style. The backing included samples of "Good Times" by Chic and "Funkin' for Jamaica" by Tom Browne. [2]

Released on the Groove Productions label, based out of the Groove Records shop in Soho, [3] under the title "Wikka Wrap" in June 1981, the song became a surprise hit, with The Evasions performing the track on Top of the Pops on 25 June; [4] ultimately it peaked at no. 20 in the UK singles charts for the week ending 4 July 1981. [5]

The Evasions had one follow-up single - "Jock's Rap", this time being a parody of "The Message" by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five [6] - but it was not a hit. Nor was a 1988 "update" version of the original single (entitled "Wikka Wrap 2 & The Beat Goes On"). [7]

The track gained an unexpected afterlife in 1996 when Coolio sampled it - including de Wilde's vocals - on the single "1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin' New)". [8] As a result de Wilde re-interpreted the single under the title "1, 2, 3, For Real" on the SMP label in 1996. [9]

Shortly after "Wikka Wrap" became a hit, Sear and de Wilde worked with Whicker on Whicker's World (for which de Wilde had written the theme), [10] and found that Whicker "took our parody very well. He was a genuinely charming man." [11]

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Groove Production was a record label formed by Chris Palmer. The majority of recordings were in the dance and disco genre. Artists to have their material released on the label include Bunny Brown, Cayenne, T. C. Curtis, The Evasions, K.I.D., Morrissey-Mullen, Surface Noise, and Linda Taylor. Hits that came though the label include "Body Shake", "(You're) In The Pocket", "You and Me Just Started", "Roberto Who?" and "Wikka Wrap" etc.

References

  1. ↑ "The Evasions". discogs. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  2. ↑ "Songs sampled in Wikka Wrap". whosampled. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  3. ↑ "Groove Records". British Record Shop Archive. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  4. ↑ "The Evasions - Wikka Rap [sic] (TOTP 1981)" . Retrieved 14 February 2024– via YouTube.
  5. ↑ "The Evasions". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  6. ↑ "Grandmaster Flash vs The Evasions Jocks Rap" . Retrieved 14 February 2024– via YouTube.
  7. ↑ "The Evasions - Wikka Wrap 2" . Retrieved 14 February 2024– via YouTube.
  8. ↑ "1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin' New)". genius. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  9. ↑ "The Evasions featuring Graham De Wilde – 1, 2, 3, For Real". discogs. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  10. ↑ "Graham De Wilde - Threshold". discogs. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  11. ↑ "Wikka Wrap by The Evasions". Songfacts. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
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