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Chumbawamba

Band, 1980-2012 GB, City of Leeds
Rock
A.k.a. Alice Nutter, Lou Watts, Danbert Nobacon, Neil Ferguson, Boff Whaley, Harry Hamer, Dunstan Bruce & Jude Abbot. Enemy Within (3) Hassle Bastards Scab Aid Skin Disease (2)

This anarchist pop punk band is probably best known for the single "Tubthumping", which was everywhere in 1997, but probably less well known is the fact that this was taken from their eighth studio album, "Tubthumper". Formed in a squat in Leeds, England, in 1982, Chumbawamba released their first single, "Revolution", in 1985. Up to a point they self-released most of their material on labels they ran themselves, such as Sky & Trees and Agit Prop. Their musical style has changed through the years, initially a shouting punk band, later recording some folk songs, then, with the "Jesus H Christ" album, they discovered electronic music. That album, however, was built around numerous samples of other groups and, when they found out how much clearing them would cost, they scrapped it (though, it was released as a bootleg and, in recent years, via their chumbawamba.tv site as mp3s) and rerecorded the album without the samples and with a new focus on censorship. "Anarchy" was their response to criticism from their contemporaries for their move into pop music, funny, political and musically experimental. The anti-Nazi song "Enough is Enough", recorded with regular collaborator MC Fusion, was released as a single and launched Fusion's new group Credit to the Nation. They had minor chart success, but nothing compared to what was to come. The disappointing "Swingin' with Raymond" followed and was the end of their relationship with One Little Indian. Deciding that there's no such thing as a good capitalist, big or small, they signed with EMI, whom they had criticised in the past. The band were heavily criticised once again, but the massive worldwide success of "Tubthumper" allowed the band to fund numerous political campaigns around the world. They were never to repeat the success of that single and proudly proclaimed themselves one hit wonders and their relationship with EMI only lasted one more album and a few singles. Independent again with Mutt Records, and with long-time producer Neil Ferguson now officially a member, they have continued to experiment with their style, recording "Readymades", mixing folk samples with dance beats, the soundtrack to the Alex Cox film "Revengers Tragedy" and their latest release, "UN", recorded on a mini disc in Latin America and at Chumbawamba's Bradford studio, mixing styles and sounds from different parts of the world. Since then, the group slimmed down to just Lou, Neil, Boff and Jude, and added Phil Moody on accordion to play folk music with pop influences. The other members have moved on to their own projects. Always controversial, often under attack from the left and the right, Chumbawamba have always done things their own way and, in their own words, "Never do what you are told." In August 2012 the band decided to call it quits after some final gigs in their 30th year of existence mainly because "the rest of our lives got in the way and we couldn’t commit the time and enthusiasm that the band demanded."

     
Members
PortraitNeil Ferguson
key, g
Simon Lanzon
voc, key, acc
PortraitLou Watts
voc, key
PortraitDunstan Bruce
voc, perc *1960 GB
PortraitJude Abbott
voc, tr GB
Paul Greco
b GB
Mavis Dillon
tr, voc
Cobie Laan
voc
Nigel Hunter
GB
PortraitPhil Moody
acc, voc
PortraitAnne Holden
PortraitDarren Hamer
PortraitAllan Whalley
Popular Tracks   
Tubthumping on Tubthumper by Chumbawamba
Tubthumping on All-Star Sports Jams by Various Artists
El Fusilado on The Boy Bands Have Won by Chumbawamba
Amnesia on Tubthumper by Chumbawamba
Give the Anarchist a Cigarette on Anarchy by Chumbawamba
Timebomb on Anarchy by Chumbawamba
Mary, Mary on Tubthumper by Chumbawamba
Nazi on Showbusiness! by Chumbawamba
Enough Is Enough on Anarchy by Chumbawamba
Drip, Drip, Drip on Tubthumper by Chumbawamba

Track list and 30sec audio provided by


Band Membership
Discography



Title Artist Year Type
Chumbawamba 1985Chumbawamba2015Album
Going, Going - Live At Leeds City VarietiesChumbawamba2012Album
Big Society!Chumbawamba, Red Ladder Theatre2012Album
ABCDEFGChumbawamba2010Album
The Black SessionsChumbawamba2009Album
Bo(red) Humo(red)Chumbawamba2009Single
Un & A Singsong And A ScrapChumbawamba2008Compil.
The Boy Bands Have WonChumbawamba2008Album
MTV Music HistoryChumbawamba2008Compil.
Get On With It LiveChumbawamba2007Album
A Singsong And A ScrapChumbawamba2005Album
Fade Away (I Don't Want To)Chumbawamba2005Single
On eBayChumbawamba2004Single
The Wizard Of Menlo ParkChumbawamba2004Single
UnChumbawamba2004Album
Revengers TragedyChumbawamba2003Album
Tubthumping (Remix)Chumbawamba2003Single
'Shhhlap!'Chumbawamba2003Compil.
2 Track Sampler - ReadymadesChumbawamba2002Album
ReadymadesChumbawamba2002Album
Salt Fare, North SeaChumbawamba2002Single
ReadymadesChumbawamba2002Album
Jacob's Ladder (Not in My Name)Chumbawamba2002Single
Home With MeChumbawamba2002Single
Her MajestyChumbawamba2002Single
WYSIWYGChumbawamba2000Album
Pass It AlongChumbawamba2000Single
Songs From WYSIWYG - Played In A Fetchingly Acoustic Neobilly StyleChumbawamba2000Album
She's Got All The Friends That Money Can BuyChumbawamba2000Single
Enough Is Enough (Kick It Over)Chumbawamba2000Single
WYSIWYG - Media Markt Teaser-CDChumbawamba2000Album
Tony BlairChumbawamba1999Single
The ABCs Of AnarchismNegativland / Chumbawamba1999Album
Uneasy Listening & TubthumperChumbawamba1998Compil.
Top Of The World (Olé, Olé, Olé)Chumbawamba1998Single
Uneasy ListeningChumbawamba1998Compil.
Japan Only Mini-Album - AmnesiaChumbawamba1998Album
Mouthful Of ShitChumbawamba1998Single
No-One But You / TubthumpingQueen / Chumbawamba1997Single
TubthumperChumbawamba1997Album
TubthumpingChumbawamba1997Single
AmnesiaChumbawamba1997Single
Drip Drip DripChumbawamba1997Single
For A Free Humanity: For AnarchyNoam Chomsky / Chumbawamba1997Album
Knock Hard... Life Is DeafChumbawamba1997Album
i - Portraits Of AnarchistsChumbawamba1996Album
Just Look At Me NowChumbawamba1996Single
Swingin' With RaymondChumbawamba1995Album
Ugh! Your Ugly Houses!Chumbawamba1995Single
First 2Chumbawamba1994Compil.
AnarchyChumbawamba1994Album
HomophobiaChumbawamba With The Sisters Of Perpetual Indulgence1994Album
Showbusiness!Chumbawamba1994Album
Give The Anarchist A CigaretteChumbawamba1994Album
Criminal InjusticeChumbawamba meets DiY1994Album
PromoChumbawamba1993Album
Enough Is EnoughChumbawamba & Credit To The Nation1993Single
TimebombChumbawamba1993Single
I Never Gave UpChumbawamba1992Album
(Someone's Always Telling You How To) BehaveChumbawamba1992Single
Jesus H ChristChumbawamba1992Album
ShhhChumbawamba1992Album
Slap!Chumbawamba1990Album
English Rebel Songs 1381-1914Chumbawamba1988Album
Smash Clause 28! / Fight The Alton Bill!Chumbawamba1988Single
Never Mind The BallotsChumbawamba1987Album
We Are The World?A State Of Mind And Chumbawamba1986Single
Pictures Of Starving Children Sell Records: Starvation, Charity And Rock & Roll - Lies & TraditionsChumbawamba1986Album
RevolutionChumbawamba1985Single
First YearsChumbawambaAlbum
Tracks Taken From The New Album "Swingin' With Raymond"ChumbawambaSingle
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Acknowledgements
To all the music fans that are contributing on Discogs, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia. Thanks to Franz Flückiger for providing Storygram used to visualize band membership.
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