Les Wampas

Formed in 1983, Les Wampas, who take their name from a tribe mentioned in an episode of Rahan, revolve around the eccentric and charismatic personality of Didier Chappedelaine, the group's singer, who was very quickly renamed Didier Wampas.

This stage surname would also be adopted by other members of the line-up, such as Niko Wampas (drums) and, more occasionally, Philippe Martinot, aka Philippe Wampas, one of the band's first guitarists.

Drawing obviously on the punk wave, but also on rockabilly and French "yé-yé" rock, the group released their first single, "Dracu bop", in 1985, followed by their debut album "Tutti Frutti" in 1986.

Recognised by the wider public in 2004 for their appearance in the final of the Victoires de la Musique, Les Wampas enjoyed a second spell in the spotlight in 2005 thanks to their single "Chirac en prison", which was banned from airplay.

The group, which had already made a mark two years earlier with the scathing "Manu Chao", has no equal when it comes to combining punk rock with absurd lyrics, as they do with determination on "Rock'n'Roll Part 9" (2006) and "Les Wampas Sont la Preuve Que Dieu Existe" (2009).

In 2014, after two solo outings, Didier Wampas and his band returned to celebrate thirty years of career, as is only fitting, with "Les Wampas Font la Gueule".

Ignoring every convention, the group did not use this round number to release its first compilation and waited a further two years before releasing "Never Trust a Best-Of".

On their latest album to date, "Tempête, Tempête", three years after the very good "Sauvre Le Monde", the group surrounded itself well: Lionel Limiñana (The Limiñanas) as producer, and Nicolas Quéré (The Arctic Monkeys, Delgres) for recording and mixing.