Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
    • Television
      • TV by Decade
        • TV – 1950s
        • TV – 1960s
        • TV – 1970s
        • TV – 1980s
        • TV – 1990s
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Kids TV
      • Variety
      • News & Sport
      • Advertisements
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • Music – 1950s
        • Music – 1960s
        • Music – 1970s
        • Music – 1980s
        • Music – 1990s
      • Artists – A to K
        • Artists – A
        • Artists – B
        • Artists – C
        • Artists – D
        • Artists – E
        • Artists – F
        • Artists – G
        • Artists – H
        • Artists – I
        • Artists – J
        • Artists – K
      • Artists – L to Z
        • Artists – L
        • Artists – M
        • Artists – N
        • Artists – O
        • Artists – P
        • Artists – Q
        • Artists – R
        • Artists – S
        • Artists – T
        • Artists – U
        • Artists – V
        • Artists – W
        • Artists – X
        • Artists – Y
        • Artists – Z
      • Artists – 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Playlists
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • Movies – 1950s
        • Movies – 1960s
        • Movies – 1970s
        • Movies – 1980s
        • Movies – 1990s
      • Movies – 0 to 9
      • Movies – A to K
        • Movies – A
        • Movies – B
        • Movies – C
        • Movies – D
        • Movies – E
        • Movies – F
        • Movies – G
        • Movies – H
        • Movies – I
        • Movies – J
        • Movies – K
      • Movies – L to Z
        • Movies – L
        • Movies – M
        • Movies – N
        • Movies – O
        • Movies – P
        • Movies – Q
        • Movies – R
        • Movies – S
        • Movies – T
        • Movies – U
        • Movies – V
        • Movies – W
        • Movies – X
        • Movies – Y
        • Movies – Z
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Music»Artists - A to K»Artists - C
    Artists - C Music - 1980s Music - 1990s 3 Mins Read

    Chumbawamba

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    Chumbawamba formed in the early 1980s and were closely allied with anarcho-punk collective Crass (their first release was a track on the Crass Records compilation Bullshit Detector Vol. 2).

    The band centred around a communal squat in Armley, Leeds, and frequently played benefit gigs for animal rights groups, anti-war groups and other causes.

    Practical jokes were part of the anarchist’s armoury after Crass had managed to fool a wedding magazine into giving one of their flexidiscs away and Chumbawamba followed suit in conning Garry Bushell (then an avid proponent of the Oi! punk movement) into including the band’s I’m Thick (recorded as ‘Skin Disease’) on a compilation put together by Bushell.

    Most of their early recordings were released on cassette but by the mid-1980s, the band started to release records, often with a striking message designed to provoke comment.

    Their first single, Revolution, was startling, opening with the sound of John Lennon‘s Imagine before the record is taken off and smashed. It was just as precise lyrically: “The history books from every age, have the same words written on every page, always starting with revolution, always ending with capitulation, always silenced by the truncheon, or bought out with concessions, always repetition…”. It was a powerful introduction, finishing at #6 in John Peel‘s 1985 Festive Fifty.

    The follow-up, We Are The World, was banned from airplay, owing to its explicit support of direct action.

    Pictures of Starving Children Sell Records was an obvious dig at Bob Geldof’s Band Aid project and the following year (1987) saw the release of Never Mind The Ballots to coincide with the general election of that year.

    After years of releasing records on small labels and maintaining their anarchist outlook, they surprised everybody by signing to the archetypal establishment label, EMI. They justified the decision by stating that ALL record labels are out to make money – it’s just that some are better at it than others.

    Almost immediately Tubthumping (1997) hit it big across the world and was followed by two further hits – as well as a well-publicised soaking of Labour politician John Prescott at an awards ceremony.

    Despite line-up changes, the band continues to operate today, although musically they are much more inclined to folk tunes than rabble-rousing punk oratory.

    Alice Nutter  
    Vocals
    Billy ‘Boff’ McCoid  

    Guitar, vocals, clarinet
    Louise Watts  

    Vocals, guitar
    Mavis Dillan  

    Bass, trumpet, french horn
    Darren ‘Harry’ Hammer  

    Drums
    Danbert Nobacon (Alan Whaley) 

    Vocals
    Dunston Bruce  

    Vocals, saxophone, percussion
    Neil Ferguson  

    Guitar, keyboards
    Geoff Slaphead  

    Fiddle
    Howard Storey  

    Vocals 

    Video

    Related Posts

    • Teenage Radio Stars/James Freud & Berlin
      Teenage Radio Stars/James Freud & Berlin
      Singer/guitarist Sean Kelly's first band was Spred, which he formed in Melbourne (Australia) in 1977 with his school chum James…
    • GBH
      GBH
      In 1980, four Brummie drinking buddies got together and formed a band inspired by the mid-70's punk acts. Initially called Charged GBH,…
    • Crass
      Crass
      Crass was formed in 1978 by Steve Ignorant and Penny Rimbaud, who lived a commune-type life in a farmhouse called Dial…
    • Infa-Riot
      Infa-Riot
      Infa-Riot was originally formed in late 1979 by vocalist Lee Wilson and his bass playing brother Floyd together with guitarist…
    • Sacred Cowboys, The
      Sacred Cowboys, The
      Comprised of former members of some of the most notorious punk and new wave bands in Melbourne (Australia), The Sacred…
    • Suicidal Tendencies
      Suicidal Tendencies
      Suicidal Tendencies were formed in Venice, California in 1981 as a punk/hardcore band, and virtually came to define the phrase "skate-punk."…
    • Arctic Circles, The
      Arctic Circles, The
      1960s-influenced band The Arctic Circles played the Melbourne (Australia) independent scene in the mid-1980s. The band's sound fused garage-punk, psychedelia…
    • Mekons, The
      Mekons, The
      The Mekons formed in late 1976 around a core of fine art students from Leeds University including Jon Langford and…

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleChuck Willis
    Next Article Cilla Black

    Comments are closed.

    Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    You May Also Like
    • Hospital, The (1971)
      This splendid black comedy stars George C Scott as Dr Bock, the […]
    • Knowing Me Knowing You . . . With Alan Partridge
      1 9 9 4 – 1 9 9 5 (UK) 6 x 30 minute episodes 1 x 45 […]
    • Cool For Cats
      1 9 5 6 – 1 9 6 1 (UK) 31 December 1956 heralded the […]
    • Adventures Of A Private Eye (1977)
      Following on from the surprisingly profitable Adventures of a […]
    • Day Of The Triffids, The
      1 9 8 1 (UK) 6 x 60 minute episodes Evil walking plants take […]
    • Top Beat 
      1 9 6 4 – 1 9 6 5 (UK) Top Beat was a monthly BBC show […]
    Twitter Feed
    Please note


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Popular Tags
    1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 Action Figures Amicus Arcade games Australia Beach movies Beatles Blaxploitation Board games Britpop Canada Crime Disco Disney Doo-Wop Elvis Presley Girl groups Glam Goth Hammer Heavy Metal Irwin Allen Labels Merseybeat Mod revival Motown New Romantic New Wave NWOBHM Oi! One-hit wonders Power Pop Pub rock Punk Radio Scotland Ska Soul music Surf music
    Search Nostalgia Central
    Copyright © 1998, 2022 Nostalgia Central
    • About
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.