Hammer Studio earlier evacuated stranger (8)
I believe the answer is:
outsider
'stranger' is the definition.
(outsider is a kind of stranger)
'hammer studio earlier evacuated' is the wordplay.
'hammer' indicates anagramming the letters (I've seen 'hammered' mean this (I've seen this in other clues)).
'evacuated' suggests removing the centre.
'earlier' with its centre removed is 'er'.
'studio' is an anagram of 'outsid'.
'outsid'+'er'='OUTSIDER'
(Other definitions for outsider that I've seen before include "One who doesn't belong (or isn't fancied)" , "Unfancied competitor" , "Stranger" , "Foreigner" , "Someone not accepted by society" .)