On 7th July 2012 Chumbawamba announced their impending breakup before the end of the year. Their very last concert was given at the Leeds City Varieties. At this show former members of the band, such as Harry Hamer and Danbert Nobacon made their appearance. At this theatre, Chumbawamba already performed 'Big Society!' with radical theatre company Red Ladder.
The last EP of the band was released April 8th, 2013, when Margaret Thatcher passed away. The Margaret Thatcher EP 'In Memoriam' is a 5-track sound collage featuring a few small songs, which could only be pre-ordered. It was mailed to all who pre-ordered on that very day.
Early years (1982-1991)
The band was formed in 1982 from two other bands based in Yorkshire, The Passion Killers and Chimp Eats Banana. They released a series of albums (such as Pictures of Starving Children Sell Records and the a capella album English Rebel Songs) and singles on their own Agit-Pop label before moving to One Little Indian in the early 90s.
One Little Indian (1991-1997)
On One Little Indian, Chumbawamba released three albums, Slap!, Shhh, and Anarchy, on which influences of techno music are noticeable. The songs for these albums were written in a period when dance culture was thriving and the band were also influenced by it. The music had turned into a more popular sound, which they emphasized was to spread the message more effectively. Touring for Anarchy, the concert at Leeds was recorded for the live album "Showbusiness!".
The last album released on One Little Indian is Swingin' with Raymond (1995). The albums first six songs are about (the right to) love and ends with seven songs loaded with hate (in the broadest sense of the word: it includes a song about anorexia nervosa).
The EMI years (1997-2000)
Anarchy or not, the band signed to EMI by 1997. At EMI, Chumbawamba had brief mainstream success, with the singles Tubthumping and Amnesia, taken from Tubthumper. Like Slap! and Shhh, the album was noticeably influenced by techno music. The new Chumbawamba fans needed for an overview, EMI might have thought. So Uneasy Listening, a compilation of work from 1986-1998 was released by 1998.
This move alienated much of the anarchist punk scene that yielded Chumbawamba in the 80's. To their former cohorts, this new Chumbawamba -one that licensed songs for commercials and signed to a major label- was different than the one that took part in the Fuck EMI compilation record a decade before. In 1998, Scottish punk band Oi Polloi put together a 7 band compilation EP with other bands like Riot/Clone and Bus Station Loonies in response. The name of the record was "Bare Faced Hypocrisy Sells Records(The Anti Chumbawamba EP)" as a nod to Chumbawamba's first record. Chumbawamba responded by noting that even the smaller labels they had worked with were capitalist by definition and were often only driven by profit. They added that, with the help of good lawyers, they were doing what the Sex Pistols had done two decades earlier – what punk had initially set out to do before it was beset by righteous puritans looking for "a new set of rules", as the band put it. But also, in the words of Chumbawamba vocalist Danbert Nobacon, they "needed things to change", needed to "shake things up". According to the band, "even radical politics can get stagnant and repetitive." Much of the profits from the album were donated to radical groups, pirate radio stations, community organisations and anarchist projects.
By 2000, the album WYSIWYG was released, being entirely different from previous work (and thus defying the idea that the band just wanted to make commercial hits): a 22-track soundscape, comprising rock, folk, country and pop music. It includes a cover of the Bee Gees song New York Mining Disaster.
Return to independance (2002-2010)
In 2002, Chumbawamba formed their own label again, now naming it Mutt Records. On this record label, they released Readymades, followed by the world music influenced Un (2004). These two albums brought Chumbawamba to what it is now: a folk group.
Since 2005, the band decided it would be better to turn into an acoustic band. The line-up has changed to: Boff Whalley, Lou Watts, Jude Abbot and Neil Ferguson (former producer of the band). It was this line-up that released the fully acoustic album A Singsong and a Scrap on the small UK Folk and Folk-Rock label NoMasters by 2006. The album uses more traditional instruments and features English Folk artists such as Coope, Boyes & Simpson and Andy Cutting. In 2007 followed by the live album Get On With It.
In 2008, another No Masters album, The Boy Bands Have Won, was released. It contained 25 tracks of new acoustic material, some derived from traditional folk, such as Charlie. It also had guest performances by, amongst others, the Oyster Band on Hull or Hell and Roy Bailey on Word Bomber. It's this album where Phil Moody joined Chumbawamba as accordionist and vocalist.
The third album that Chumbawamba recorded on NoMasters, ABCDEFG, was released. The album is cut from very much the same cloth as the The Boy Bands Have Won, but is richer in sound. ABCDEFG stands for every note in the Western music scheme, and the album itself is about the power that music can bring to communities (Voices, That's All) and deliver to people in struggle (Wagner At The Opera). It's the first Chumbawamba album fully dedicated to music matters, though Shhh (1991) preceded this release, criticising pop culture.
On ABCDEFG, next to the five Chumbas, (amongst others) Ray Cooper plays cello and harmonica, Belinda O'Hooley plays the piano and Jo Freya plays alt and tenor saxophone.
Former members of Chumbawamba
Apart from the moment that Chumbawamba changed from electric band to acoustic band, Chumbawamba's line-up has changed several times after its first gig at January 8th, 1982.
Danbert Nobacon: Singer and keyboard player of the band, famous for wearing the brick suit, and for throwing a jug of water over UK Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott who showed up at the Brit Awards. He's still making music, see Danbert Nobacon and the Pine Valley Cosmonauts.
Dunstan Bruce: Vocalist, bass and saxophone player, percussionist and turntablist of the band.
Alice Nutter: Singer and percussionist of the band, famous for the drunk nun act she performed during live shows. Now writing scripts for radio, tv and theatre pieces.
Harry Hamer: Singer, drummer, programmer and percussionist of the band.
Mavis Dillon: Dillon did vocals, trumpet, french horn and bass for ten years, until he was replaced by Jude Abbot by 1995.
Paul Greco: Bass guitar, entered the band by 1992. He was replaced by Neil Ferguson in 1999.
Other former members include Coby Laan, Simon Commonknowledge, Midge (former Chimp Eats Banana) and Diane. There were actually loads of band members, especially in the early years. An extensive band history can be found at the Chumbawamba FAQ.
Butterflies
Chumbawamba Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Move over moorland
So pretty and colourful
Wings catch the sun
Such simple beauty attracting a mate
For creation of life
For the cycle to carry on
To carry on
Ugly and lifeless and serving no purpose
Save war
And the politics of war
What are wings for?
They borrowed nature's skill
And taught it how to kill
How to kill
So crossing their bypass?? and crossing their purpose
The butterfly shadowed by bomber above
Alone and distracted and thus unaware
Of the butterfly collector
A butterfly collector
A butterfly collector
A butterfly collector
"Hehe, well I'm outraged..."
The song "Butterflies" by Chumbawamba starts with an observation of a butterfly moving over moorland. The beauty and colors of the butterfly's wings captivate the attention of the listener. The simplicity of the beauty of the butterfly attracts a mate for the creation of life, which allows the cycle of life to carry on. The contrast is then made between the butterfly and the bomber in the sky. The bomber is ugly, lifeless, and serves no purpose other than war and the politics of war. The question is then asked, "What are wings for?" They were borrowed from nature's skill and taught how to kill. The butterfly's purpose is to create life, while the bomber's purpose is to destroy life. The butterfly is alone and distracted by the bomber above and thus unaware of the butterfly collector. The song ends with "A butterfly collector" repeated three times.
The first two verses of the song describe the contrasting beauty of nature and the ugliness of war. The butterfly represents nature, peace, and beauty, while the bomber represents war, destruction, and politics. The lyrics suggest that the purpose of nature's beauty is to create life, while the purpose of war's ugliness is to end life. The bombers are machines that have borrowed nature's wing designs to be deadly. The butterfly collector represents those who capture, profit from, and exploit nature's beauty and peace, distorting its purpose and meaning for their own gain.
Line by Line Meaning
Watching a butterfly
Observing the beauty of a butterfly
Move over moorland
Flying over an open area of land
So pretty and colourful
Appealing due to its vibrant and attractive appearance
Wings catch the sun
The wings of the butterfly reflecting the sunlight
Such simple beauty attracting a mate
The butterfly's natural beauty is an effective way of attracting a partner for mating
For creation of life
Mating is necessary for the continuation of the species
For the cycle to carry on
The process of mating and reproduction is essential for the continuation of the species
To carry on
The continuation of the species is crucial
Contrast the bomber that turns in the sky
Drawing comparison between the butterfly and the bomber aircraft
Ugly and lifeless and serving no purpose
The bomber is an unattractive machine with no natural beauty and has no purpose other than to engage in war
Save war
The bomber plays a role in war and conflict
And the politics of war
The bomber's existence is tied to the politics of war and military conflict
What are wings for?
Expressions of doubt about the natural purpose of wings in reference to bomber aircraft
They borrowed nature's skill
The design of aircraft borrowed from the natural abilities of organisms such as birds and insects
And taught it how to kill
The skills translated from natural organisms have been implemented to develop weapons of warfare
How to kill
The focus of the development of bomber aircraft is on their capacity to kill in war
So crossing their bypass?? and crossing their purpose
Bomber aircraft diverge from natural design and purpose and serve solely as weapons of destruction
The butterfly shadowed by bomber above
The butterfly's natural flight patterns crossed with the flight paths of bombers
Alone and distracted and thus unaware
The butterfly was not cognizant of the presence of the bomber aircraft
Of the butterfly collector
Shifting focus to the metaphorical 'butterfly collector' who may capture and harm the beautiful and natural aspects of life
A butterfly collector
The individual or entity that seeks to capture or put on display the natural beauty of organisms such as butterflies
A butterfly collector
Repetition of the phrase as emphasis
Contributed by Tristan M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@Neytiri...
The lyrics of the song and Polish translation - below description.