Chumbawamba

Chumbawamba were one of the most stubbornly political bands British punk ever produced, and their biggest moment came in 1997 with "Tubthumping", a pub-sized, fist-in-the-air chant of a single that got them a Brit Award nomination for Best British Single and an MTV nod for Best New Artist. Not bad for a band of anarcho-communists.

They formed in Burnley in 1982, and for most of their run they were a sprawling 7- or 8-piece: Dunstan Bruce, Boff Whalley, Lou Watts, Alice Nutter, Danbert Nobacon and Harry Hamer at the core, later joined by Jude Abbott, Paul Greco and Neil Ferguson. Their politics were anarcho-communist and never hidden, running from animal rights and pacifism in the early days to class struggle, feminism and anti-fascism later on. The music roamed just as freely. The first two albums were punk and pop, the third was entirely a cappella traditional songs, and by Anarchy in 1994, with "Timebomb", dance music was in the mix too. "Enough Is Enough", with Credit to the Nation, "Homophobia" and "Amnesia" were singles too.

Several long-term members left in 2004, and the band carried on as a smaller acoustic group leaning toward folk. They called it a day in 2012, after 30 years, and filmed the final show that November for a DVD.

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