Anarchist music collective and tubthumping one-hit-wonders Chumbawamba break up.
Chumbawamba
The UK band, mostly known for the 1997 smash hit ‘Tubthumping’ much to their chagrin, are calling it a day after 30 years together.
They posted a message on their website, which begins “That’s it then, it’s the end. with neither a whimper, a bang or a reunion”.
The reason, they write, is that the recording/writing/touring cycle that they ended up in was antithetical to the initial mission of the band.
They write, “We were always as much about ideas as music, and that meant doing more than writing, recording and touring songs. It meant trying to be relevant and active and up-to-date, while trying to avoid the dreaded rut of routine or repetition. being up-to-date meant giving plenty of time and energy to the band, constantly, for those thirty years; a constancy we plainly couldn’t keep up with in the end.”
Fans will get to see them “a few final times” before they call it quits before the end of the year.
They do say that the break-up is not absolute, “We do, of course, reserve the right to re-emerge as Chumbawamba doing something else entirely (certainly not touring and putting out albums every 2 or 3 years),” but say, “frankly, that’s not very likely.
The statement ends, “Thirty years of being snotty, eclectic, funny, contrary and just plain weird. What a privilege, and what a good time we’ve had.”
Chumbawamba released 17 albums across their career, retaining their protest aesthetic throughout. They knocked back a $1.5 million offer from Nike to use ‘Tubthumping’ in an advertisement, but the song has appeared in multiple films and video games.
Check out this mini-doc about their “one hit wonder” status. And the Simpsons homage.
