Les Wampas is a French group formed in 1983 by Didier Wampas, whose real name was Didier Chappedelaine, who was soon joined by Francis, Alain and François. A group whose name would be a reference in truth to the comic strip Rahan, the son of the fierce ages and his tribe the Men-Wampas...
Group which released a first single "Dracu bop" two years later in 1985, a first title which unfortunately went somewhat unnoticed...
A year later, their first album "Tutti frutti" was released in 1986, an album very accessible musically speaking on rockabilly and which, failing to be a hit, will above all immediately impose the brand of Fabrique of the group with a Didier Wampas with an atypical song, often at the limit of falsehood...
New album "Hot, dirty and humid" in 1989, an album which sees the group completely reorienting its musical sound for a much more rock style. But it is especially on stage that the group will be noticed with a Didier Wampas who often exceed the limits in terms of eccentricities...
It was the year 1990 that brought them their first real success with the release of the album "Les Wampas vous aime", an album that produced their first major Single with the title "Petite fille".
The signature with the BMG label in 1993 will allow the group to move up a gear and obtain with the new album "Simple et tender" a nice success of esteem in particular with the Singles "Les îles du soleil", "Comme un ange qui pleure" and "Les bottes rouges"...
New album "Too precious" in 1996, an album with a certain interest but which will not prevent them from being thanked by BMG, which does not renew the contract which binds them.
Return to the independent circuit and release of the albums "Chicoutimi" in 1998 and "Kiss" in 2000. Albums with mixed success...
The group will finally achieve a semblance of consecration in 2003 with the release of the album "Never trust a guy who after having been a punk, is now playing Electro". Major success that they will not be able to reissue later despite the release of many other albums in the years that will follow...
To discover or rediscover.
Discography (among others…) :
Dracu bop 1985
Ballroom blitz 1986
Une bombe sur Washington 1986
Le seigneur est une fleur 1988
Yeah yeah 1988
Ver de terre 1988
Tataratatata 1990
C'est facile de se moquer 1990
Petite fille 1990
Simple et tendre 1993
Comme un ange qui pleure 1993
Les bottes rouges 1993
Trop précieux 1996
Il viendra 1996
Twist a Chicoutimi 1998
Ma mère me rend folle 1998
J'ai rencontré Marilou 2000
J'ai avalé une mouche 2000
Comme un Kényan 2003
Je t'ai donné ma vie 2003
Vol à voile 2003
Rimini 2006
Christine 2006
Hélicoptère 2006
Chirac en Prison 2006
Persistance rétinienne 2009
Je me suis noyé 2009
La plus belle chanson d'amour 2009
Je voudrais 2014
Marfa 2014
Toi et moi 2014
Patricia 2017
Electrodoowop 2017
The return of the little Daewoo 2017
Jenny 2019
C'est politique 2019
Le dernier Cormoran 2019
Mike love I love you 2022
L'amour c'est comme le Tour d'Italie 2022
J'aurais moins mal 2022
Clips :
1985...the first steps of those who will become in a few years one of the most crazy groups of the decade on the French side. In any case, we have been warned...
1986...for now their basic model is overspeed. It's not easy in these conditions to respond favorably to the expectations of the general public...
1986...it must be said that their style of music is atypical to say the least in the mid-1980s. A daring bet and above all totally assumed...
1988...the style as well as the sound have evolved somewhat but not enough to allow them to fight on equal terms with the top names of the moment, that's clear...
1988...we should not wait for major developments during this decade of the 80s. The group gives free rein to its totally unbridled imagination, even if it means living on the fringes of the system...
1988... so there is necessarily a price to pay in these cases. The group knows it but adapts to it without too much problem...
1990...and still this overspeed which delights the basic fans but completely confuses the uninitiated. But that's also the trademark of this group...
1990...without counting a Didier Wampas who sing in an atypical way and without really respecting the habits and customs of professional singing...
1990...but that's also the 80s, excess, freedom, the right to do anything and everything. Oh what a beautiful time...
1993...as incredible as it may seem they can also do light and air. At least in their own way because once again they don't really respect the codes related to this particular area...
1993...even though the decade has changed, there are no major changes in the group's strategy. We will therefore have to be a little patient to see things evolve in a noticeable way...
1993...a group which will never have done anything like the others and which assumes it fully. Standing out from the crowd is good but too much can kill too much as they say...
1996... after a good number of groups go through phases of evolution and this one will not cut it. But it's not for the moment anyway...
1996...we feel like a semblance of evolution in their style and above all an already more measured excess. It's definitely going in the right direction...
1998... well, it won't be for this one again. It is the basic fans who continue to be delighted but it is at the expense of wider recognition...
1998...after all, depends on what the group is after : mass recognition or simply having fun without really taking into account the criticisms that can be made to them ? Good question...
2000... the decades follow each other and are more or less alike concerning them. But it could still be that this decade of the 2000s has some nice surprises in store for them...
2000...a decade when they will finally ask themselves the right questions and tell themselves that in the end they could perhaps expand their audience. But this necessarily goes through a phase of questioning, to say the least drastic...
2003...questions that will bear fruit with this new opus. A new opus which will remain as their most successful and which will above all finally bring them the semblance of consecration after which they have run - or not - since their debut...
2003...everything is structured, ordered as rarely with them. No more excess in favor of a more affordable style for ordinary mortals...
2003...we can only rejoice to see them finally get back on track. This does not prevent them from keeping this slight touch of madness which in no way taints what they now produce...
2006...a 2000 decade that saw them calmer and much more structured, at least on the front. Hope it lasts as they say...
2006...the fundamentals remain rock, that's undeniable. But the group has finally found the right balance between its wacky side and what the general public expects. Finally...
2006...at least they will have succeeded in meeting the expectations of their basic fans and those of ordinary mortals. All it took was a little willpower to get there...
2006...they are making efforts to 'normalise' themselves but that doesn't prevent them from keeping a rebellious part that is just waiting to come to the surface. The proof with this title...
2009...probably the group's best decade in terms of quantity and quality. Some groups succeed from the start, others later. For them, it will be the second option of course...
2009...nevertheless they will have been able to last, which is not the case for everyone, that's clear. They will have passed the years, then the decades with relative ease all the same, it is clear...
2009...now remains to be seen how they plan to position themselves over the next decade. Going back or moving forward, good question...
2014...neither one nor the other my Captain. At this stage, we find their rock fundamentals but that they manage to channel well once again...
2014...the group has now fully mastered its art and is making real efforts to stay on the right path. We can only congratulate them...
2014... in the end a discography for the less extensive and which will have seen them go through all styles. But they will have been able to find the right one in the end and who would complain about it...
2017... what makes them strong today is that they have managed to mix old and new musical influences. A most effective mix !
2017... groups having started at the same time as them there are not many left, that's for sure. And inevitably, only the most creative will have known how to cross eras and fashions...
2017 ... yet at their beginnings it was not won, far from it. Because their side hotheads did not go in the direction of a long-term career. Their ability to evolve made all the difference...
2019...and the adventure is far from over. Their desire to believe in it always and again commands respect and can only take them a little further...
2019 ... we wonder in any case what could stop them at this stage. Because at first glance they have no intention of stopping there anyway...
2019... they end here a new decade which will have seen them stay afloat without too much difficulty. So we imagine that we risk seeing them again next decade...
2022...and here they are again as planned ! They will have gone through the 80s, then the 90s, then the 2000s, then the 2010s and here they are at the dawn of this new 2020s. An exceptional longevity...
2022... with each new opus, the basic fans are delighted and it's been going on like this for a hell of a lot of years. A beautiful and long story between the group and its public which lasts, which lasts, which lasts...
2022...and which is not ready to stop at first sight. It remains to be seen when they will decide to come back but they will come back, that's for sure...
Wiki :
Official Website :
Greatest Hits :
Discography :