Trapped (Colonel Abrams song)

"Trapped" is a song by American musician Colonel Abrams, released in 1985 as the first single from his self-titled debut album. It has since become known as Abrams' signature song and still receives airplay on dance radio stations in the UK and the US.

"Trapped"
Single by Colonel Abrams
from the album Colonel Abrams
Released1985
Recorded1984
GenreHouse[1]
Length4:13 (Vocal Version)
LabelMCA (US MCA-23568)
Songwriter(s)Colonel Abrams, Marston Freeman
Producer(s)Richard Burgess
Colonel Abrams singles chronology
"The Truth"
(1985)		 "Trapped"
(1985)		 "I'm Not Gonna Let"
(1985)

This song has arguably remained Abrams' biggest hit on both sides of the Atlantic, topping the US Hot Dance Club Play chart for one week in September 1985 and peaking at number 20 on the soul chart.[2] Overseas, it went to number three on the UK Singles Chart.

Produced by Richard James Burgess in 1984, "Trapped" is widely considered as the precursor to house music,[3] referred to as a proto-house track and a precursor to garage house.[4]

Mike Stock of Stock Aitken Waterman claims that "Trapped" was a big influence on the 1987 Rick Astley smash hit "Never Gonna Give You Up".[5]

"Trapped" was also remixed by Boards of Canada under their Hell Interface pseudonym. The resulting track, also called "Trapped", was released on Skam Record's MASK 200.[6]

Legacy

On the October 9, 2014 episode of BBC television program Mock the Week, "Trapped" featured as a large constituent of a section concerning the use of private browsing, in which comedians Dara Ó Briain (hosting) and Ed Byrne (panelist) could not stop laughing during its recording.[7]

In 2014, the track was sampled by Belgian band the Subs in their cover of the track, reaching the charts, and released on their album Hologram.

Track listing
  • 12" single
Radio Version (A-side)
No.TitleLength
1."Trapped (Vocal Version)""4:13
2."Trapped (Dub Version)"4:06
3."Trapped (A Cappella Version)"4:16
Dance Version (B-side)
No.TitleLength
1."Trapped (Vocal Version)"6:30
2."Trapped (Dub Version)"6:44

Charts and certifications

Weekly Charts
Chart (1985) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play[8] 1
US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales[8] 1
US Billboard Hot Black Singles 20
UK Singles Chart 3

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[9] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

References
  1. "House Hunting #64 – Colonel Abrams – "His huge house hit 'Trapped' transcended the underground clubs and ascended the top ten charts in the US and beyond especially over the Atlantic in Europe..."". The Ransom Note.
  2. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 22.
  3. "History of House Music". Housegroove.net. Archived from the original on 7 October 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  4. Burgess, Richard James (17 August 2014). The History of Music Production. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199357178 – via Google Books.
  5. Jonze, Tim (28 March 2017). "'I crawled on my knees to Kylie' – the inside story of Stock, Aitken and Waterman". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  6. "Hell Interface Sample". WhoSampled. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  7. "Private Browsing Has Seen Too Much! | Mock The Week". Mock the Week. BBC. October 9, 2014. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  8. "Colonel Abrams - Billboard singles on Allmusic". Billboard.com/Allmusic. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
  9. "British single certifications – Colonel Abrams – Trapped". British Phonographic Industry. Select singles in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Trapped in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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