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.
Salome
Chumbawamba Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Part fuck you part Mr. X ray eyes
- I didn't choose to be
Shouting for a living, it happened
Something snapped; and I don't know why
Too many slaps? Too many priests?
Fumbled sex in parks?
Or just a part of the me me me generation
Coming home to roost
If the old school cap fits, wear it
But I'll take my cake and share it
Burning down a bonfire made of teachers
Pay your vat bills on the cinders
Just you and little Molly Flinders
Doing the twist at all the dances
Don't look to me for answer
Let's twist again, see them sing
Let's twist again, hear them sing
Let's twist again
Bring on the dancing girls!
Part sussed part amateur
Part love you part Mr. bleeding heart
I singalonga, jump uppa-downa,
Watch this space
I've got lungsfuls of this stuff
Both sides together in the commons bar
Just who the fuck
Do they think they are?
I am not a pop star -
I am a part of the class war
'Every revolutionary
is motivated by love'
I see the newsreels: 200 bodies
In a shallow grave in East Timor;
What am I supposed to do?
Forget it Pretend it never happened?
Whilst politicians circle-jerk around
Legal jargon totem poles
Let's twist again, see them sing
Let's twist again, hear them sing
Let's twist again
Bring on the dancing girls!
You tell me
Where does entertainment end
And responsibility begin?
Oh Salome waits
She says 'Bring me all the heads
Of all the heads of state'
Let's twist again, see them sing
Let's twist again, hear them sing
Let's twist again
Bring on the dancing girls!
The lyrics to Chumbawamba's "Salome" explore the complexity of identity and social responsibility. The opening lines "Part punk part god almighty, part fuck you part Mr. X ray eyes" express a sense of internal conflict and the struggle to reconcile different sides of oneself. The singer wonders whether their tendency towards shouting may have been caused by various traumatic experiences, including physical abuse or sexual exploration. They also question whether their actions are simply a result of their generational context, coming of age in Thatcher's Britain.
The refrain "Let's twist again, see them sing" serves as a satirical commentary on the role of entertainment in society. It suggests that while music and dancing can be a powerful form of self-expression and rebellion, they can also be a way for people to ignore or avoid responsibility for the world's injustices. The singer asks rhetorical questions about when entertainment ends and responsibility begins, while also recognizing the power of revolutionary love to motivate change.
The final line of the song, "Salome waits, she says 'Bring me all the heads of all the heads of state'" highlights the possibility of radical action. The biblical character Salome famously demanded the head of John the Baptist, and by invoking her name, the lyrics suggest a desire to overthrow oppressive systems of power. Overall, "Salome" is a song that challenges its listeners to grapple with the difficult questions of social justice and personal responsibility.
Line by Line Meaning
Part punk part god almighty
I am both a rebel and an almighty being
Part fuck you part Mr. X ray eyes
I am rebellious and see through the lies of those in power
I didn't choose to be
Shouting for a living, it happened
Something snapped; and I don't know why
Too many slaps? Too many priests?
Fumbled sex in parks?
Or just a part of the me me me generation
The thatcher youth
Coming home to roost
I didn't plan to be a singer, but something inside me made me shout out. I don't know if it was because of past trauma or just a reflection of our self-centered generation.
If the old school cap fits, wear it
But I'll take my cake and share it
Burning down a bonfire made of teachers
Pay your vat bills on the cinders
Just you and little Molly Flinders
Doing the twist at all the dances
Don't look to me for answer
If you want to follow the old ways, so be it, but I will choose to share my gifts. We'll party and dance together, but I am not the one to give you answers.
Let's twist again, see them sing
Let's twist again, hear them sing
Let's twist again
Bring on the dancing girls!
Let's just have fun and party like we used to! Bring on the entertainment!
Part sussed part amateur
Part love you part Mr. bleeding heart
I singalonga, jump uppa-downa,
Watch this space
I've got lungsfuls of this stuff
Both sides together in the commons bar
Just who the fuck
Do they think they are?
I may have a mix of skills and passions, but I'm here to make myself heard. I'm not going to limit myself to one side or the other, and I won't let the powers above push me around.
"Every revolutionary
is motivated by love"
I see the newsreels: 200 bodies
In a shallow grave in East Timor;
What am I supposed to do?
Forget it Pretend it never happened?
Whilst politicians circle-jerk around
Legal jargon totem poles
I am motivated by love for change, but the constant stream of negative news can be overwhelming. What am I supposed to do when politicians ignore the atrocities committed under their watch?
You tell me
Where does entertainment end
And responsibility begin?
How can we balance enjoyment with our responsibility as citizens to make a change?
Oh Salome waits
She says 'Bring me all the heads
Of all the heads of state'
A metaphorical Salome waits, eager to demand justice from those who hold power.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ROBERT HUNTER, WILLIAM H PAYNE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@aaronl1913
Little did you know, that chumba once played this song at a concert and there was a little kid at that concert who got so inspired by this song that they grew up and became a singer, the kid in question?, ed sheeran ;)
@henryishuman
my favourite anarcho-punk street musician, ed sheeran, was the guy who egged john prescott
@aprilhoy4010
The I get knocked down people on Salome: What is the moral duty of an entertainer so sought after they can set their price as high as they wish? As artists who can command some price, what are our demands?
All of Christendom prior to 1995 on Salome: Evil sexy lady do sexy dance
@arianrhodhyde7482
i'm going to read oscar wilde's play salome then get back to you if it turns out he had a good take on her