Straight Outta… Spalding?
How a Lincolnshire power-pop legend ended up on a hip hop classic
The N.W.A. classic “Fuck tha Police” really needs no introduction. One of the most notorious hip hop songs of all-time, it has retained its edge and aged exceptionally well. While the iconic verses from Ice Cube, MC Ren and Eazy-E are no doubt central to its enduring potency, Dr. Dre and DJ Yella’s superb production work is also key.
So everyone knows “Fuck tha Police” — but how well do you know it? Do you know about its secret link to a Lincolnshire power-pop legend? A lot of stories have been told about this song; as an ardent fan of classic hip hop and obscure power-pop, I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to share this one.
Many of hip hop’s most distinctive hits are built around a recurring central motif. Wu Tang Clan’s “C.R.E.A.M" is a great example, defined as it is by that killer hook from “As Long As I’ve Got You” by The Charmels. “Fuck tha Police” is a different beast, with its concussive beat dominating the listener’s attention, at least until Ice Cube takes the stand and delivers a verse of shock and awe.
An obscure Roy Ayers Ubiquity number called “The Boogie Back” provides the funky loop that gives “Fuck tha Police” its swagger, but it’s not exactly front and centre in the mix. If I played the original to a room full of music fans, I’m not sure many would make the connection. There are a couple of James Brown drum breaks (hardly surprising) and a few other odds and ends, but nothing particularly jumps out when you listen to the finished product. It really is an expertly crafted piece of work, very much more than the sum of its parts.
Of all samples cited on the “Fuck tha Police” WhoSampled.com page, there is one clear outlier, guaranteed to raise eyebrows — an artist more accustomed to the mean streets of Louth than those of Compton.
That’s right, contributing a small yet significant drum break (during the intro at 0:13, 0:22 and 0:32) is none other than Lincolnshire’s very own Bram Tchaikovsky.
Let’s fill in a little background, as I’m mindful we’re not talking about The Knack here. Bram Tchaikovsky was a band formed by (and named after) the Lincolnshire pub-rocker turned power-pop frontman of the same name. Peter Bramall to his family.
Having achieved success with the Motors (famous for “Airport”, but the far superior “Dancing The Night Away” is their truly essential track), Bramall fully embraced power-pop, scored a U.S. top 40 hit with “Girl of My Dreams” (is it me or does that chorus hook have a certain “Born to Run” vibe?) and went on to support The Cars.
He subsequently returned to obscurity, opening a recording studio in Louth of all places, only to (very briefly) return to the limelight on one of hip hop’s most infamous tunes. Talk about career goals.
The break used by N.W.A. is taken from the intro of Bram’s live cover of “Whiskey and Wine”, an early album cut from his previous band, the Motors.
It’s an undeniably cool drum break, but the rest of the performance is forgettable at best. It’s also wildly obscure. Prior to the release of “Fuck tha Police” in 1988, “Whiskey and Wine” had only surfaced on a limited edition 2x7” version of “Girl of my Dreams”. So how did Dre and Yella stumble upon this particular break?
Perhaps the two young producers spent their weekends scouring the power-pop sections of L.A.’s finest record stores, flicking through singles by the likes of Shoes, Dwight Twilley Band, and the Nerves in the search of the one? I certainly couldn’t recall that scene in the Straight Outta Compton movie, but a power-pop nerd can dream, right? Sadly, the truth turned out to be a little more mundane.
From 1986 to 1991, Street Beats Records put out an influential series of compilations called Ultimate Breaks & Beats. Curated by “Breakbeat Lou” Flores, these releases were highly coveted by producers from the burgeoning hip hop scene. A glance at the label’s discography — and a cursory search for the songs these beats and breaks inspired — confirms why.
It wasn’t long before I found it. Nestled alongside the Pointer Sisters and Kool & the Gang on 1987’s SBR 517, sits Bram Tchaikovsky’s “Whiskey and Wine”. Interestingly, I also spotted the Roy Ayers Ubiquity track used on “Fuck tha Police” on the tracklist for SBR 502, so it’s safe to assume Dre and Yella were keen fans of the series.
With a hint of sadness, the mystery was solved, but one burning question remained. Did Dr. Dre ever found his way to the Records, for my money the finest British power-pop act of the era? It’s a conundrum for another day.
So, next time you crank out “Fuck tha Police”, keep an ear out for that shuffling drum break and ponder the sheer improbability of this brief snippet of music, performed live onstage at the Hammersmith Odeon on 14th January 1979, finding its way onto one of the greatest hip hop songs of all time.
Below is a Spotify playlist featuring the key songs mentioned in this article. “Whiskey and Wine” isn’t in Spotify’s library, but it’s safe to say you’re not missing much.
This is why I love hip-hop/rap....discovering songs/artists who have been sampled in a new song.