Chumbawamba

Chumbawamba are a group from Leeds, United Kingdom, active from 1982 to 2012. They form in the Leeds squatting community and, before settling into a later acoustic phase, draw on punk rock, pop, world music and folk music. Their recorded output spans anarcho-punk, alternative rock, alternative dance, art punk, britpop and contemporary folk.

Political stance and early identity

The group’s work is closely tied to anarchist politics, with lyrics and public statements reflecting syndicalist, pacifist, communist, multicultural and feminist positions. Their early years include material released on their own Agit-Prop label, including albums such as Pictures of Starving Children Sell Records and the a cappella set English Rebel Songs. Chumbawamba begin as a collaboration between members of two Yorkshire bands, The Passion Killers and Chimp Eats Banana.

Label changes and stylistic shifts

In the early 1990s they move to One Little Indian and release Slap!, Shhh and Anarchy, where techno influences become more noticeable. They also record the live album Showbusiness! from a Leeds performance during the Anarchy tour. Their 1995 album Swingin’ with Raymond follows on the same label.

By 1997 they sign to EMI and gain wider attention with the singles “Tubthumping” and “Amnesia,” both taken from Tubthumper. They also release Uneasy Listening, a compilation covering work from 1986 to 1998. Their move to a major label draws criticism from parts of the anarchist punk scene, while the band state that even small labels operate within capitalism and that they use the wider platform to spread their message.

Later releases and acoustic period

In 2000 they issue WYSIWYG, a 22-track set combining rock, folk, country and pop, including a cover of the Bee Gees song “New York Mining Disaster.” They later re-form their own label, Mutt Records, and release Readymades and the world-music-influenced Un in 2004.

From 2005 they move toward an acoustic line-up. At that stage the group comprises Boff Whalley, Lou Watts, Jude Abbott and Neil Ferguson, with Phil Moody joining as accordionist and vocalist. This period produces the fully acoustic A Singsong and a Scrap, released on No Masters, followed by the live album Get On With It, then The Boy Bands Have Won, which contains 25 new acoustic tracks and guest contributions from acts including the Oyster Band and Roy Bailey. Their final studio album, ABCDEFG, continues in a folk-based acoustic style and focuses on the power of music in communities and in struggle.

Members and performance history

Over the years the line-up includes Dunstan Bruce, Harry “Daz” Hamer, Danbert Nobacon, Alice Nutter, Lou Watts, Boff Whalley, Mavis Dillon, Paul Greco, Jude Abbott, Neil Ferguson, Michelle Plum, Phil Moody, No Masters Co-operative, Cobie Laan and Simon Lanzon. Former members appear at their last concert at Leeds City Varieties, and the band also perform with radical theatre company Red Ladder in the same venue.

Best-known songs

Chumbawamba are best known for “Tubthumping.” Other singles include “Amnesia,” “Enough Is Enough” with MC Fusion, “Timebomb,” “Top of the World (Ole, Ole, Ole)” and “Add Me.” Their final EP is the five-track In Memoriam, a sound collage issued after the death of Margaret Thatcher.