Singing Fools was a short-lived Canadian non-performing musical group based in Ottawa,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Canada, composed of musicians Tim Dunlop and Kevin Murphy. The pair wrote and recorded hip hop-style songs with politically focused lyrics.

History

The Singing Fools came together in November 1982. The released a self-produced 1982 vinyl single, ''The Bum Rap'', which received wide airplay on campus radio and was a criticism of the Canadian government's wage and price control program. Its sparse guitar and drum box arrangement was overlain by excerpts of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau's infamous exhortation during the 1970

October Crisis The October Crisis (french: Crise d'Octobre) refers to a chain of events that started in October 1970 when members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) kidnapped the provincial Labour Minister Pierre Laporte and British diplomat James Cr ...

to "

just watch me "Just watch me" is a phrase made famous by Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau on October 13, 1970, during the October Crisis. The term is still regularly used in Canadian political discussion. Trudeau, who had in previous years been a stron ...

". The song was later touted as Canada's first

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

record, even though it was actually preceded by several 1979 singles by the lesser-known rapper Mr. Q.Michael Rancic
"Finding Mr. Q"
'' Hazlitt'', March 17, 2021. By 1985 the pair had released their third "civil defencercise" themed record ''The Apocalypso'' and its accompanying video which was given regular rotation on MuchMusic. The nuclear war-themed clip featured a cameo dance appearance by Ottawa Mayor

Marion Dewar Marion Hilda Dewar, (February 17, 1928 – September 15, 2008) was a prominent member of the New Democratic Party (NDP), mayor of Ottawa from 1978 to 1985 and a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1987 to 1988. Early life Dewar ...

. The extended-play vinyl disc also featured a track entitled "Grave Expectations," a drum-backed recitation by English historian and anti-nuclear activist,

E.P. Thompson Edward Palmer Thompson (3 February 1924 – 28 August 1993) was an English historian, writer, socialist and peace campaigner. He is best known today for his historical work on the radical movements in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, in ...

, of his apocalyptic 1950 verse on atomic war, "The Place Called Choice". That year the Singing Fools were signed by A&M Records; A&M re-released ''The Apocalypso'', but dropped the group after a few months and the band released its self-produced

mini-LP A mini-LP or mini-album is a short vinyl record album or LP, usually retailing at a lower price than an album that would be considered full-length. It is distinct from an EP due to containing more tracks and a slightly longer running length. A ...

, ''Call Me Lucky'' in 1986. The same year, Singing Fools were nominated (by themselves) as "best independent artist" in the

CASBY Awards The CASBY Awards were a Canadian awards ceremony for independent and alternative music, presented annually by Toronto, Ontario radio station CFNY, currently branded as 102.1 The Edge. CASBY is an acronym for Canadian Artists Selected By You. The a ...

References

{{Authority control Canadian hip hop groups Musical groups from Ottawa Musical groups established in 1982 Musical groups disestablished in 1990 1982 establishments in Ontario 1990 disestablishments in Ontario