Chumbawamba consists of Alice Nutter (vocals), Boff "beagle" (guitar), Danbert Novacon (banjo, vocals), Dunstan Bruce (sound effects, vocals), Harry Hamer (drums), Jude Abbott (trumpet, vocals), Lou Watts (keyboards, vocals), Neil Ferguson (bass).
Chumbawamba is a band from the UK who play pop music with influences of folk, punk, dance and other styles of popular music. They use their music to promote anarchist ideas. They only had one mainstream success, with the single Tubthumping, although they have maintained an underground following.
Originally called The Mirror Boys, Chumbawamba was 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, the band featured on many compilations. 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 begun to release their material using the 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 ( 1992) (originally intended to be released as Jesus H Christ!, this album had to be withdrawn and re-recorded because of copyright problems) and Anarchy!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 (see song "Homophobia" , the music video of which features the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence), 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.
