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The Wiseguys was a British electronica hip hop band that was responsible for creating the song "Start the Commotion" that was in a Mitsubishi TV advertisement, as well as the films Zoolander and Kangaroo Jack; and "Ooh La La", which was used in Budweiser commercials. Both tracks of which came from The Wiseguys second album, The Antidote.
The band was formed in 1994 with two members, Touche (Theo Keating, born 1972) and Regal (real name Paul Eve). They were partners from 1990 and released an EP called "Ladies Say Ow!" in the same year on the Blackmarket record label. The record label Wall of Sound signed the duo and released the double A-side "Nil by Mouth" / "Too Easy" in 1995. Their first album Executive Suite was released in 1996 to critical acclaim, feature downtempo jazz beats and happy optimistic hip-hop numbers, and is now considered a cult classic.
Regal left the band in 1997 to pursue other interests, and Touche worked on the second Wiseguys album, The Antidote. This was released in 1998, and contained their two most famous songs "Ooh La La" and "Start the Commotion". In 1999, "Ooh La La" was released as a single and got to #2 in the UK Singles Chart. In 2001, "Start the Commotion" was shown on a Mitsubishi Motors television commercial in the United States, and that song reached the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100.
The Wiseguys name disbanded in 2002, and Touche worked solo on house music under Fatboy Slim's Southern Fried record label. In July 2006, Regal released his first solo single "Shock Ya Mind" on the Funk Weapons label.
On 31 December 2006, Executive Suite made its way onto the US version of iTunes. Touche is currently in a duo called The Black Ghosts.
In the history of recorded music, sometimes great songs fall between the cracks only to be re-discovered years later. The Wiseguys are the latest case in point. Their debut album The Antidote was released in 1999 to critical raves and was a smash success in DJ Touche's homeland in the UK where he scored a Number Two single with "Ooh La La." However, thanks to a hard working new Mammoth Records staff and the folks at Mitsubishi USA, The Antidote now has a second life. "Now that we have assembled an amazing new team at Mammoth, it's time to break some records. And we realized we had this great treasure in our own backyard with The Wiseguys. 'Start the Commotion' is a stunning track, which hadn't been given a proper shot before," commented Mammoth label head Rob Seidenberg. "We're giving it that shot now."
Just a few weeks ago, the biggest radio station in the country, New York's Z100 added The Wiseguys song to their playlist. Needless to say, the rest of the country is starting to pay very close attention.
"Every station needs at least one or two secret weapon records, The Wiseguys "Start The Commotion" is blowing up here in New York. I guess it's not a secret anymore," commented Paul "Cubby" Bryant the music director for Z100.
Program Director Tim Richards of WKQI in Detroit tested the song as well and raved that "Start The Commotion" "is the biggest test they've ever had" at the station.
It has certainly taken a while for audiences to uncover and digest the endless layers of funk, booty-bumping soul and old school bounce The Antidote has to offer. Over the course of 15 tracks, DJ Touche (real name: Theo Keating) pays tribute to all the seminal music influences in his life, from the thundering dance grooves of "Start The Commotion" to the classical undercurrents of "Face The Flames." His main concern, however, is keeping the tunes firmly rooted in his one true love, hip-hop.
"I'm just part of that generation where hip-hop came out of America and hit Europe and captured the imagination of kids around the world," DJ Touche says. "I took it onboard wholesale. It was almost like I had found my own home. It was where I fit. It was so different from everything else that had come before it. It was so different from band culture; it was much more creative. It gave me a chance to express myself without having loads of training and expensive equipment and instruments."
Having already conquered Britain, engaged in transcendental turntable battles with Norman Cook (aka Fatboy Slim) at Manumission in Ibiza, and turned Australian club kids on their heads last winter, DJ Touche is now ready to drop his skills American style.
"It's interesting to see mainstream American radio come around to non-guitar-led music," DJ Touche says. "It definitely opens the door, which is why the hip-hop thing is the perfect grounding for taking it on from. If you train yourself in hip-hop you can't help but make good music."
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