Chumbawamba

A long career involving various line-ups has seen anarchist band Chumbawamba lead the anarcho-punk movement, become darlings of the left wing underground scene, hit Number 1 all over the world with pop single Tubthumping and cause a storm at the 1998 BRIT Awards by throwing a bucket of iced water over deputy Prime Minister John Prescott. They were initially formed by Boff Whalley and Danbert Nobacon, who'd previously played together in the band Chimp Eats Banana. With other members joining, they lived together in a squat in Leeds and became involved in various political movements, playing anti-war, animal rights and community group benefits and recording a cassette - Common Ground - of songs about the miners' strike. They formed their own Agit Prop record label and in 1987 released an album to coincide with the General Election called Never Mind The Ballots...Here's The Rest Of Your Lives. The following year the group released an album of traditional music, English Rebel Music 1381-1914. Through the 1990s their music incorporated a more pop-flavoured approach and they struck it big in 1997 after signing to EMI, releasing the smash hit Tubthumping with its anthemic chorus "we get knocked down, but we get up again". Follow-up Amnesia was also a Top 10 single, but Chumbawamba showed their enduring commitment to left wing causes with their demonstration at the BRIT Awards in support of the Liverpool Dockworkers Strike. They also criticised Prime Minister Tony Blair in song and, after leaving EMI, were adopted by the British folk scene as they continued to write and release barbed songs about social issues.

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