Del.icio.usChumbawamba
Fact Sheet
| Musical genre: | Rock |
| Country | England, UK |
| Years active | 1984- |
| Official site | http://www.chumba.com/ |
Origins
Originally called The Mirror Boys, Chumabawamba were formed in 1982 from two other bands based in Yorkshire in the North of England, The Passion Killers and Chimp Eats Banana. Inspired musically by The Fall and the anarchist politics of Crass, Chumbawamba's activities in their early years were based around a communal house in Armley, Leeds. Stalwarts of the cassette culture scene, Chumbawamba were at the forefront of the 1980s anarcho-punk movement, frequently playing benefit gigs in squats and small halls for causes such as animal rights, the anti-war movement, and community groups.By the mid-1980s Chumbawamba had progressed to releasing their material using vinyl format on their own Agit-Prop record label, which had evolved from an earlier project, Sky and Trees Records. Their first LP, Pictures Of Starving Children Sell Records (1986) was a scathing and articulate critique of the then current Live Aid concert organised by Bob Geldof, which they argued was primarily a cosmetic spectacle designed to draw attention away from the real political causes of world hunger. By the late 1980s and early 1990s, Chumbawamba (now signed to the larger but still independent One Little Indian record label) had begun to absorb influences from techno music and dance culture. Moving away from their original anarcho-punk roots and evolving a pop sensibility, releases such as Slap (1990), the sample-heavy Shhh! (1992) (originally intended to be released as Jesus H Christ!, this album had to be withdrawn and re-recorded because of copyright problems) and Anarchy! (1994) lyrically remained as politically uncompromising as ever, continuing to address issues such as homophobia, the Criminal Justice Act and the rise of fascism in the UK following the election of a British National Party candidate in south-east London in 1993.
EMI controversy
Chumbawamba drew criticism from their original following in 1997 when they signed to the major label EMI, particularly as much of their earlier output had explicitly attacked this corporation and they had even been involved with a compilation LP called Fuck EMI in 1989. However, the band argued that this move brought with it the opportunity to communicate their message to a far wider audience and make some money, although ironically their biggest chart hit, "Tubthumping", features what are probably the most apolitical of any of their lyrics. It was also during this period that Chumbawamba gained some notoriety when male vocalist Danbert Nobacon poured a jug of water over the UK Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott at the 1998 Brit Awards.Post-EMI
Chumbawamba parted from EMI in 2001, and in 2002 released their eleventh official album Readymades, as well as Sic- Adventures In Anti-capitalism, a paperback book of political and musical writings by friends and aquaintances of the band.General Motors paid Chumbawamba $100,000 to use their song, "Pass it Along" for a Pontiac Vibe television advertisement in 2002. Chumbawamba then gave the money to anti-corporate activist groups, IndyMedia and CorpWatch.
In 2004 they released an album of 'world music' influenced songs entitled Un.