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'{{Short description|1988 single by the Escape Club}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}} {{Infobox song | name = Wild, Wild West | cover = Escape Club WWW.jpg | alt = | type = single | artist = [[the Escape Club]] | album = [[Wild Wild West (album)|Wild Wild West]] | B-side = "We Can Run" | released = 1988 | recorded = | studio = | venue = | genre = <!-- Do not add unsourced genres --> | length = * 5:44 * 3:59 (7-inch version) * 7:54 (12-inch version) | label = [[EMI Records|EMI]], [[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]] | writer = The Escape Club | producer = [[Chris Kimsey]] | next_title = [[Shake for the Sheik]] | next_year = 1988 | misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|6ES3iNPcPL8|"Wild, Wild West"}}}} }} "'''Wild, Wild West'''" is a song by English [[pop rock]] band [[the Escape Club]] from their debut studio album, ''[[Wild Wild West (album)|Wild Wild West]]'' (1988). The single reached No. 1 on the US [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] the week of 12 November 1988, making the Escape Club the only British artist to have a No. 1 hit in the United States while never charting in the UK. ==Background== Singer Trevor Steel said, {{quote|John had heard a [[Run-DMC]] track on the TV the previous night and rushed upstairs to put a hip-hop drum beat onto his drum machine. The journey to the drum machine doubled the speed though and when I came round to see him the next morning and started singing over it, it turned into “Wild Wild West”. I think we wrote that song in the space of two hours. It was originally going to be three minutes long and the extended section with the rap was only meant for the 12″ single. We loved it so much full length though that we put the whole thing out.<ref name="autoref">{{cite web|url=https://www.rediscoverthe80s.com/2021/10/interview-with-trevor-steel-of-escape-club.html|title=Interview with Trevor Steel of The Escape Club |website= Kickin' it Old School|date=6 April 2012 |accessdate=1 November 2021}}</ref>}} ===Banned=== The music video was banned from British Television for unclear reasons. The Florida Sun Sentinel claimed it was due to sexism. At the time, band members speculated it was due to the use of disembodied limbs through special effect. At the time, the band is reported to have said this was intentional, "designed to make fun of the more overtly sexist promo videos of the era." In a 2012 interview, lead singer Trevor Steel said, "I can’t remember why the video was banned in the UK, I think some kids got scared looking at the disfigured legs."<ref name="NME Rock 'N' Roll Years">{{cite book | first= John | last= Tobler | year= 1992 | title= NME Rock 'N' Roll Years | edition= 1st | publisher= Reed International Books Ltd | location= London | page= 450 | id= CN 5585}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1989-03-24-8901160328-story.html|title=ESCAPE CLUB HAS A WILD BEGINNING|last=Wilker|first=Deborah|date=24 March 1989|website=Sun Sentinel|access-date=7 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rediscoverthe80s.com/2021/10/interview-with-trevor-steel-of-escape-club.html|title=Interview with Trevor Steel of The Escape Club|date=April 6, 2012|website=Kickin' it Old School via Redisover the 80s|access-date=14 April 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://rqsretrouniverse.blogspot.com/2009/05/escape-to-club-wild-wild-west.html|title=Escape To Club Wild Wild West|last=Jones|first=Rhys|date=5 May 2009|website=Retro Universe|access-date=14 April 2022}}</ref> One recent reviewer said of the ban and disembodied limbs, "British censors would’ve been acting in the public interest. [...] It’s [a] pretty easy psychedelic trick-shot, and it’s also pure nightmare fuel. I hate looking at it."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.stereogum.com/2149974/the-number-ones-the-escape-clubs-wild-wild-west/columns/the-number-ones/|title=November 12, 1988: The Number Ones: The Escape Club’s “Wild, Wild West”|last=Breihan|first=Tom|date=7 June 2021|website=Stereogum|access-date=14 April 2022}}</ref> ==Lyrics and music== The lyrics, with phrases such as "I love her eyes and her wild, wild hair", "heading for the '90s, living in the wild, wild west", are augmented with gunshot, laser and blaster (a la ''Star Wars'') sound effects. Critics have noted that, due to the distinct drum beat and vocal patterns during the verses,<ref>{{cite book|last1=English|first1=Timothy|title=Sounds like teen spirit : stolen melodies, ripped-off riffs, and the secret history of rock and roll|date=2007|publisher=iUniverse Star|isbn=9781583480236|oclc=191820511|page=55|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j0ZU_SZR9FQC&pg=PA55|access-date=7 July 2014}}</ref> portions of the song bear a strong similarity to [[Elvis Costello]]'s "[[Pump It Up (Elvis Costello song)|Pump It Up]]". On the lyrical content, singer Trevor Steel said, "I guess it was just a reflection of the times, living in the '80s with all the yuppies getting rich quick and living under the fear of the Cold War and AIDS. The “Ronnie” in the song was a reference to Ronald Reagan."<ref name="autoref"/> ==Track listings== '''7-inch vinyl''' # "Wild Wild West" &ndash; 3:59 # "We Can Run" &ndash; 3:40 (B-Side previously unreleased) '''12-inch vinyl''' # "Wild Wild West" (remix) – 7:54 # "Wild Wild West" (Artillery Mix) – 5:58 # "Wild Wild Dub Club" – 7:20 # "Bacapella" – 5:45 ==Charts== {{col-begin}} {{col-2}} ===Weekly charts=== {|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" !Chart (1988) !Peak<br/>position |- {{single chart|Australia|6|artist=The Escape Club|song=Wild, Wild West|rowheader=true|access-date=26 May 2021}} |- !scope="row"|Canada Top Singles (''RPM'')<ref>{{cite magazine |title=RPM 100 Singles|magazine=[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]] |volume=49| issue=9| page=10 |date=26 November 1988| access-date=14 July 2019| url=https://worldradiohistory.com/CANADA/RPM/80s/1988/RPM-1988-11-26.pdf}}</ref> |2 |- !scope="row"|Canada Dance/Urban (''[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]]'')<ref>{{cite magazine |title=RPM 20 Dance Singles|magazine=[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]] |volume=49| issue=10| page=10 |date=2 December 1988| access-date=14 July 2019| url=https://worldradiohistory.com/CANADA/RPM/80s/1988/RPM-1988-12-02.pdf}}</ref> |1 |- {{single chart|New Zealand|12|artist=The Escape Club|song=Wild, Wild West|rowheader=true|access-date=26 May 2021}} |- {{single chart|Billboardhot100|1|artist=The Escape Club|rowheader=true|access-date=26 May 2021}} |- {{single chart|Billboardalternativesongs|3|artist=The Escape Club|rowheader=true|access-date=26 May 2021}} |- {{single chart|Billboarddanceclubplay|36|artist=The Escape Club|rowheader=true|access-date=26 May 2021}} |- {{single chart|Billboarddancesales|10|artist=The Escape Club|rowheader=true|access-date=27 December 2021 2021}} |- {{single chart|Billboardmainstreamrock|45|artist=The Escape Club|rowheader=true|access-date=26 May 2021}} |} {{col-2}} ===Year-end charts=== {|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" !Chart (1988) !Position |- !scope="row"|Canada Top Singles (''RPM'')<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Top 25 Dance Singles of '88 |magazine=[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]] |volume=49| issue=10| page=10 |date=24 December 1988| access-date=14 July 2019| url=http://rpmimages.3345.ca/pdfs/Volume%2049-No.%2010-December%2024,%201988.pdf}}</ref> |31 |- !scope="row"|Canada Dance/Urban (''RPM'')<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Top 25 Dance Singles of '88 |magazine=[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]] |volume=49| issue=10| page=10 |date=24 December 1988| access-date=14 July 2019| url=http://rpmimages.3345.ca/pdfs/Volume%2049-No.%2010-December%2024,%201988.pdf}}</ref> |2 |- !scope="row"|US ''Billboard'' Hot 100<ref>{{cite magazine|title=1988 The Year in Music & Video: Top Pop Singles|magazine=Billboard|volume=100|issue=52|page=Y-20|date=24 December 1988}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://longboredsurfer.com/charts/1988|title=Billboard Top 100 – 1988|access-date=3 October 2016}}</ref> |18 |} ===All-time charts=== {|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" !Chart (1958–2018) !Position |- !scope="row"|US ''Billboard'' Hot 100<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100-60th-anniversary|title=Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart|website=Billboard|access-date=10 December 2018}}</ref> |597 |} {{col-end}} ==Certifications== {{Certification Table Top}} {{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=single|artist=Escape Club|title=Wild, Wild, West|award=Gold|relyear=1988|certyear=1989|access-date=26 May 2021}} {{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true}} ==References== {{Reflist}} {{The Escape Club}} {{Authority control}} [[Category:1988 debut singles]] [[Category:1988 songs]] [[Category:Atlantic Records singles]] [[Category:Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles]] [[Category:Cashbox number-one singles]] [[Category:EMI Records singles]] [[Category:The Escape Club songs]] {{1980s-pop-song-stub}}'