Sh*t Sandwich

[EFM The Firm, The Voice]

Chumbawamba - never being a band that are bothered what people think about them have released just a selection (I imagine) of bad reviews over the years - quite amusing (albeit long - well what did you expect, nobody likes them apart from me and the hooded man)

 

“Sting, bless him, has kept tilting at windmills, but it’s been awfully quiet of late. Perhaps Chumbawamba have given the idea of protest through pop such a bad name that no one wants to raise their freak flag anymore.” Nick Compton, from an article on protest in pop, The Independent on Sunday, February 2003

“Whither the protest song? Dead by ecstasy, irony, complacency and Chumbawumba, last time anyone checked.” Nick Compton, Review of Matthew Herbert’s “Mechanics of Destruction” I-D magazine, August 2002

 

“Just time for one last abomination though ... morally commendable it may well be, , but Chumbawamba’s anti-war single “Jacob’s ladder (Not In My Name) is truly bad enough to trigger America’s itchy missile fingers and have the ‘Axis of Evil’ begging, pleading. screaming “JUST [censored] BOMB US NOW!!!!’. Review of “Jacob’s Ladder(Not in my Name) www.bleed-music.com December 2002

 

“Oh goody. just what we needed. Chumbawamba are here to tell us that Bush and Blair’s special relationship is a bad thing and that the US is willing to trade lives in exchange for oil and power. As well as giving us that humdinger to chew on, they spout their bleedingly obvious rhetoric over a hybrid of folk and breakbeat (yes, it’s as bad as it sounds) that will have that al-Qaida lot running for the caves again. The only good reason for this single ever existing.” A.W. review of “Jacob’s Ladder(Not in my Name) NME, November 2002

 

NIGEL HUNTER: An Apology. In last week’s column I implied it was somehow amusing that crazy Chumbawumba’s singer DANBERT NOBACON‘s real name was NIGEL HUNTER. A Nigel Hunter of Doncaster has written to say he’s borne the name for 40-odd yeras and there’s nothing sad about it. Or as he puts it: “My boss knows I’m King of I.T. and my wife know’s I’m God’s gift to women.” Clearly, I couldn’t have been wider of the mark.” Marina Hyde The People December 2002

 

“There’s the odd ear-catching lyric but it’s all ruined by Chumbawamba’s music - anaemic ska, toytown techno, dusty old folk samples. The stories behind the songs , summarised in the booklet are far more interesting than the songs themselves. Think of it as a social history booklet with a free silver coaster. “ Simon Price, Review of “Readymades” The Indepenedent on Sunday, August 2002

 

“It isn’t very good, wrapping up their admirable ‘up the working class’ sentiments in a wafer-thin film of smug, coffee-table, folk-tinged electronica of which Seal would be proud ... The best thing about Chumbawamba: they’ll split up one of these days. It has to happen.” David Pollock Review of “Readymades” The List August 2002

 

“I’ve always wondered what it’s like to be a victim of your own success. Chumbawamba certainly know ... the music is so bland and uninspiring in places that it makes the likes of Kosheen and the Stereophonics seem dangerous and innovative. Chumbawamba’s fifteen minutes of fame are up, so maybe it’s time the for the band to realise, in the words of one of their own minor hits, that enough is enough.” Dom Gourlay, Review of “Readymades” Rock City Review (online) August 2002

 

“Presumably sent to us because of the violence done to Davey Graham’s “Angie” on “Jacob’s Ladder” must make this a guitar record. Our view is that it’s a shame that such idea-free techno rubbish is released at all. Avoid at all costs. Nil points” Review of “Readymades” Guitar Magazine, August 2002

 

“Sometimes reviewing isn’t so much fun, Chumbawamba! Whenever I think of them my brain hurts. It hurts because of that stupid song about drinking ... my brain hurts because I see them all sat round in their garret or their squat or their Eco-friendly, guff powered caravan reading history books ... My brain hurts because I want stuff like this to be good. My brain hurts because this needn’t sound like a bunch of sixth-formers.” Review of “Readymades” Muzik Online August 2002

 

“Needless to say this is WAMBA’s middle finger to the Jubilee and again needless to say IT’S CRAP and just like the Royals seemingly a complete waste of time and money!” Review of “Her Majesty” Here Be Monsters August 2002

 

“ ... they could throw the towel in and stop inflicting pathetic [****!!****] like this on an uninterested public. I save the prestigious mark of 0/10 for special occasions - this is one of them. Totally without redeeming features this is the worst album I have heard in recent memory - a true disgrace to all involved.”

David Coleman Review of “Readymades” No Rip Cord Review July 2002

 

“With massive chart success making a new life in Iceland more attractive, the Chumbas dissapeared, until now alas. Thinking controversy is a replacement for talent, this anti-royal rant, only makes me wish hanging still applied for treason” JG, review of “Her Majesty” What’s On South West July 2002

 

A mini-album of remixes from their “Feminist Sweepstakes” album, intent on fusing radical politics with hardcore dance. Fortunately Chumbawumba wern’t invited to this particular party, so we end up with some solid reworkings ...” Darren Wall Review of Le Tigre “Remixes” 7 Seven Update, June 2002

 

... “we are treated to a sub two minute acoustic whine from these so called anarchists. Cliff Richard is less offensive than this trash ... if this was the true voice of disenchanted generation, we’d be as good as dead. Chumbawamba: Your five minutes of fame is over. Give up now. 1/10 Mark Dixon review of “Her Majesty” Spark, Reading University magazine. May 2002

 

#5 CHUMBAWAMBA The anarcho-pop combo have created a song from samples of bands - including Dr Dre, Metallica and Eminem - who oppose free Internet music-sharing sites like Napster. And it still sounds [censored]. Melody Maker League of Debauchery and Depravity, November 2000

 

Chumbawamba - 'Jacob's Ladder (Not In My Name)' (Mutt) Release date: 09/12/02 This apparent anti-war song from political activists Chumbawamba is a mildly annoying track, that mixes Celtic craic with indie pop and cockneyised rapping. This was originally released on their last album 'Readymades' and went no-where so the band have changed the lyrics to something a bit more topical in the hope of it getting some undeserved attention. The best bit on this record is Irish/Red Indian sounding chant of "And they sent him Goldie Hawn to be slain" bit. Class. ~ AD www.gigwise.com

 

The First Church of Chumbawamba Official band website. The usual stuff (news, discography) is supplemented with links to anarchist websites, a collection of bad reviews they've received... NME.COM rates this site a 0.0 www.nme.com

 

Chumbawhat the Hell Were They Thinking? What You See Is What You Hate for this Disappointing Group of Rebels. In a music industry more enamored by boy bands and sultry teenage female vocalists than with political rock, bands with any more substance or motives than simplistic love tunes are often forced to choose between going the way of the unglamorous underground or selling out their music to satisfaction of the masses. Chumbawamba, the supposedly anarchist group from Leeds, England, is caught in this trap, with one defining exception - its self-proclaimed political messages are more irritatingly obvious and adolescent than the pop culture it claims to protest. Alison Banks, Hoya Staff Writer

 

"This year, protest has moved back into the mainstream and music has become intertwined more than ever - with hundreds of thousands taking to the streets, gee'd on by Damon, 3-D and, when they're awake, Primal Scream. The punchline? In the midst of it all Chumbawamba, a band who only ever sing about politics, pen a song about how good life can be. A ditty that celebrates the times when all goes right. Being by Chumbawamba, it's [censored] obviously. But, heaven help them, it's [censored] with nothing to say." Julian Marshall, Review of "Home With Me" NME, October 2002

 

Chumbawamba. Remember them? Sadly so do we. The one hit wonders that recorded "Tubthumping" recently recorded the Beatles ballad "Golden Slumbers" for a German tribute CD that raises money so kids get the opportunity to swim with dolphins. 'That's really nice of them," commented a boy in Calcutta. "Anyway, I'm kinda busy starving over here. But thanks for getting my opinion." Number 2 in "Our Monthly ranking of the truly rank" "Stuff For Men" magazine

 

"Readymades" sounds less like an album created by members of the early '70s' Brit-punk scene and more like a soundtrack to a Japanese anime film ... even if "Readymades" was graded on effort, it would not rise above a "D" ... "Readymades" is the death rattle of a group that began its slow demise after the release of its only American hit, "Tubthumping." These one-hit-wonders have dug a deep hole for themselves, and it will take a shovel a lot more dynamic than "Readymades" to dig up some record sales." Review of "Readymades" by William Mills in the University of South Carolina magazine "The Gamecock" 21.06.02.

 

"Judging by the sound of its latest CD, you would never guess Chumbawamba is one of the angriest bands on the planet. Sure, the lyrics in these new songs blast racism, capitalist oppression and police brutality, but the gently grooving, ambient pop production suggests the group recorded the tracks while under the influence of large doses of sedating, anti-anxiety drugs ... other tunes come off as fey, sleepy Britpop. Hmm ... wonder if corrupt government agents slipped something in their water during the album sessions?" Review of "Readymades" by Elysa Gardner in "USA Today" June 2002

 

"Readymades" sounds less like an album created by members of the early '70s' Brit-punk scene and more like a soundtrack to a Japanese anime film ... even if "Readymades" was graded on effort, it would not rise above a "D" ... "Readymades" is the death rattle of a group that began its slow demise after the release of its only American hit, "Tubthumping." These one-hit-wonders have dug a deep hole for themselves, and it will take a shovel a lot more dynamic than "Readymades" to dig up some record sales." Review of "Readymades" by William Mills in the University of South Carolina magazine "The Gamecock" 21.06.02.

 

Chumbawamba. Remember them? Sadly so do we. The one hit wonders that recorded "Tubthumping" recently recorded the Beatles ballad "Golden Slumbers" for a German tribute CD that raises money so kids get the opportunity to swim with dolphins. 'That's really nice of them," commented a boy in Calcutta. "Anyway, I'm kinda busy starving over here. But thanks for getting my opinion." Number 2 in "Our Monthly ranking of the truly rank" "Stuff For Men" magazine

 

THE ENEMY WITHIN - "God Save the Queen" (NEW RELEASE JUNE 2002) For THE ENEMY WITHIN to sample what is surely the Pistols most stupid and pathetic moment in The Bill Grundy Affair (even more than the Ronnie Biggs incident) and mix it with what was surely their greatest piece of blatant self publicity - releasing an anti-royal record in the Silver Jubilee year - seems to be missing the point to put it mildly. The Grundy affair, frankly, was as pathetic a piece of juvenile behaviour on all parts as ever seen on television. All participants should have known better and the whole affair was about as clever as a room full of Labour spin doctors. As I've said before on the site, swearing isn't big and clever and to basically loop bits of it over snippets of "God SaveThe Queen", especially this year, just reeks of cash in.

Sure, the SEX PISTOLS are doing it, but cash in is their earned right by now isn't it?

At least CHUMBAWAMBA have done the whole thing with more style, grace and (more importantly) humour with "Her Majesty." To summarise, not big, not clever. (4/10) James Blundell, Whisperinandhollerin.com June 2002

 

"More mature readers may remember that in the olden days, Chumbawamba had a hit with a song about being drunk, and threw some water at John Prescott. Here, in a stroke of situationist genius, they cover a Beatles song that Macca's actually performing at the Palace! With added lyrics! Like, "Her Majesty's a pretty nice girl and she's pretty much obsolete"! Look guys, sorry to spoil your fun but her sister and mum have died and Phil Collins is appearing in her back garden; do you think she gives a royal [censored]?" NME 1st June 2002

 

“There are some minor disappointments. (Chumbawamba are typically vapid; the Sleater-Kinney interview focuses too much on the price of fame; the Noam Chomsky interview is fairly mediocre). “ Mark Earnest reviewing the book “We owe you nothing - Punk Planet” in the Reno Gazette 30.03.2001

 

“Stuff cooking when it comes to entertaining it’s what’s on the stereo that counts, says Stuart Maconie ... It’s that time. Tunes to scare off your guests: (including) - Chumbawumba (sic) Pictures Of Starving Children Sell Records.” The Times 27.03.2001

 

“Safe Devil Music: Want another strange site? Give the Strange-O-Matic a spin ... Do you like pop music, but aren’t necessarily in love with the lyrics? (then see Re-Versed Lyrics at www.zdnet.com) a site that provides insight into how the writers of today’s hottest rock songs might have done things differently had they been fundamentalist christians. Witness “Biblethumping” (to the tune of Chumbawamba’s “Tubthumping”): My God got killed, but he rose up again? Death could never keep him down!” Yahoo Internet Life New York

 

“Chumbawamba is that guy at a party who knows every single thing ... no cheap shot goes unshot here, no cultural reference unrefered ... the band’s first single, the cheesy “She’s Got All The Friends” pretty much sums up the whole project, as does the cover photo of humping dogs. And there are other insightful gems such as ... “I’m With Stupid.” Actually, it’s all with stupid, but like that know-it-all guy at the party, it's interesting as a psychological phenomenon.” Jackson City Patriot, MI. , May 2000

 

“ ... songs like “Smart Bomb” and “Hey, Hey, We’re The Junkies” sound like bad disco for senior citizens. The horns on these songs would not sound out of place on a "Huey Lewis and the News" record. The beats are weak, the jokes are duds, and any future revolution deserves a better soundtrack than this.” Adam Bregman, L.A. Weekly, CA. May 2000

 

“... no bar anthems here, just dreary short songs that won’t grab you. The time reads 14:59 on the 15-minutes-of-fame meter. Think Chumbawamba could squeeze out another album in a minute?” Greg Simms Jr., Dayton Daily News, OH., May 2000

 

Recently as I walked down a treeless Pleasanton Street, a rotund woman in a red four door cut me off to make a left into a parking lot. Her elbow hung out of the window, a cigarette teetered from two slug-like fingers, and her left thumb was entrenched in her nose. Somehow fittingly, her car stereo blared “Tubthumping,” the infectious ditty turned soccer anthem/mega hit for the British group Chumbawumba (sic) that reached No. 1 on our fair country’s Billboard music chart. Ironically, mere days before, correctly spelling C-H-U-M-B-A-W-U-M-B-A (sic) netted me a correct answer-in the-form-of-a-question during a mock game of “VH1’s Rock & Roll Jeopardy” ... ” Alameda Times-Star, CA., May 2000

 

“... the usual swipes at the rich, upper class, corporate mentality and all things considered non-PC in the Chumba household. Trouble is, now, post Tubthumping, it all sounds remarkably smug and irritating, even more fifth form let’s annoy the teachers than ever. That the best track here is an a capella version of “New York Mining Disaster” a la Prelude’s “After The Goldrush,” suggests maybe their future lies doing the chicken in the basket cabaret for working men’s clubs.” Beat, November 2000

 

“Label Misfires: do we have to talk about that? The follow-up to “Tubthumper” was an absolute bust. There’s not much to talk about there. That came and went and no one really noticed they had a new record. I don’t think we’ve heard the last of them, but the follow up just did not connect. They got what they were looking for. Is Vanilla Ice getting another album? Shut Up.” Avery Lipman, President of Republic Records interviewed in Music Connection, November 2000.

 

“Worst albums of 2000

No.9 Chumbawamba WYSIWYG. The anarchist ensemble’s tirades grow tiring, and there’s not enough melodic savvy to prop up the strident speils” USA Today, December 27th 2000

 

“ ... Alice Nutter still looks fetching in her nun’s habit, though she’s started to look disturbingly like Cilla Black.” Live review of Oxford Zodiac gig from “Nightshift” Jan 2001

 

Feeble-minded, self-styled revolutionaries Chumbawumba [sic] seem to have been finally ridiculed into oblivion. Tom Cox, Daily Telegraph, Dec 30th 2000

 

“ The British self-ascribed ‘anarchists’ Chumbawamba, who brought the U.S. one of the most annoying songs of 1997, 'Tubthumping' are back again. For the year 2000 they’ve got ‘WYSIWYG’ - an equally irritating and trite album stuck on spewing forth mindless cynicism and boring pop melodies ... Chumbawamba’s weak attempt at social reform just doesn’t cut it.” Barry McGuire - Arizona Daily Wildcat. March 1st 2000

 

"Chumbawamba should appear in Webster’s Dictionary as ‘a form of pretentious, pseudo-political, lighter-than-air pop music full of sound and fury signifying nothing’. This album is a tale told by an idiot and only an idiot would pay good money for it ... “‘WYSIWYG’ is chock full of plastic, anti-American sentiment posing as serious social commentary. Even people who hate America couldn’t possibly be fooled ... thank you [****!!****] for showing how frivolous we really are ... this album sucks." Greg Jerrett - Iowa State (University) Daily. April 12th 2000

 

“... but there’s a sense of hypocrisy wafting like old Roquefort here. The group covers the Bee Gees’ 1967 tune ‘New York Mining Disaster 1941’ faithfully and praises it in the liner notes. But then they turn around with a thinly veiled attack on the Bee Gees’ “white suits” period ... funny, but Chumbawamba’s giddy, ear-candy pop here is as mainstream as an ABBA album. Who are they to point fingers?” Howard Cohen - Miami Herald. April 14th 2000

 

“If you spend a portion of your 40 hours on this, you WILL utter the phrase, ‘what the [censored] is this?’ Lifted straight from the Benny Hill school of thought. The lyrics are intended for laughs or maybe even sarcasm. But do you really care about Happy Meals, their plastic toys, and some chick with a ‘hole in her knickers?’ All this over a surf/disco/house/country soundtrack. Yikes ...” Aquarian Arts and Music Weekly. April 19th - 26th 2000

 

“On its 1997 release, “Tubthumper,’ the Britsih outfit Chumbawamba joined the legion of the one hit wonder with ‘Tubthumping’, a catchy yet inane piece of dance pop. Listening to (that) whole album made it painfully clear that the rest of the songs were thrown together as quickly as possible to capitalize on the one hit single ... “WYSIWYG” doesn’t even have the benefit of a marketable single to its credit ... a lame attempt at a concept album “WYSIWYG” ends up attempting to be humourous and witty, but accomplishing neither goal ... a horrid version of the Bee Gees ‘New York Mining Disaster’ make one wonder where it is all going. Sadly, the answer to that question doesn’t even seem evident to Chumbawamba.” F - Post And Courier, Charleston SC. April 20th 2000

 

“What you see is ostensibly a modern anarcho-rock collective, but what you get is second-hand agit-prop from the age of Greenham Common and Red Wedge, and it hasn’t aged very well ... (this album is) an absolute dog” Kevin Courtney - The Irish Times. April 21st 2000

 

“ ... Exactly how are these folks so revolutionary? From their 31 flavors of bouncy pop music to lyrics that take on such obvious targets as McDonald’s and People magazine, Chumbawamba just comes off as a very watered down version of the Mekons ... when Beck followed up ‘Loser’ with ‘Odelay,’ it became clear he was bigger than his one novelty hit. You can’t say the same about Chumbawamba.” Keith Harrison - Pop Music Critic, College Press Sevice. April 2000

 

Chumbawamba WYSIWYG (2 stars) “Amounting to a jaundiced A-Z of New Britain WYSIWYG is like some ill-starred West End musical based on the Poll Tax riots ... it’s slapdash, chuggingly dreary stuff. Maybe they should stick to leafletting the Dome.” Review of WYSIWYG - Neil Davenport, Select, May 2000

 

“This is not a Chumbawamba show, all rhetoric and soul-sucking agit-pop theory. ADF make you want to dance, not fight.” Review of Asian Dub Foundation live at Coventry Colosseum - Stephen Dalton - New Musical Express - April 8th 2000

 

“... it’s such a shame that Chumbawamba are such total c***s (sic). Slagging off Prada while looking like eugenic extras from “American Pyscho.” Singing ‘They’re keeping out the deviants to protect the residents” in “Celebration Florida” like we should all invite a f***ing (sic) paedophile into our homes because - hey! - they’re a f***ing (sic) minority group too ... “ Review of Chumbawamba live at London Rocket - Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker - April 5-11th 2000

 

“... as much as we believe that these folks truly don’t care when the wild ride ends - they’ve stated as much convincingly in interviews - it’s hard to believe that they’d deliberately try to end it with this flaccid collection of nowhere songs. Judging from this effort, it’s safe to say that the experiment of delivering scathing social and political commentary in Disney-friendly melodies is artistically bankrupt ... the joke is old ... this formula seems to have reached its expiration date.” Review of WYSIWYG - Mike Wolf, New York Time Out, April 6-13th 2000

 

Not CD of the week Chumbawamba WYSIWYG (No stars) As life’s pleasures go, a new Chumbawamba album generally ranks somewhere between shingles and a breakfast of lightly toasted gravel. This time, however, they’ve outdone themselves. You’d have to sustain a dose of unusually voracious crabs and lock yourself in a tannery for a fortnight to duplicate the pettifogging aggravation and queasy monotony induced by this record in a mere 45 minutes ... with luck, and the wind at their backs , Chumbawamba will now sail into the obscurity they so richly deserve.” Review of WYSIWYG - David Bennun, The Guardian, April 7th 2000

 

“ ...in and age of Rage and Asian Dub, is the Chumbas funny-spectacled concious cabaret really what the world needs?” Review of Chumbawamba live at London Rocket - Kitty Empire - New Musical Express - April 8th 2000

 

Chumbawamba WYSIWYG (1 and 1/2 stars) One-hit anarchist pop collective gets back up again. If there’s one iron clad rule of pop history it’s this: The monkey types ‘Hamlet” only once ... for all the snazzy politics “Tubthumper” was just an expensive rip-off, and so is WYSIWYG; nothing even comes close to the magic of “Tubthumping.” At least Right Said Fred knew when to quit gracefully. Review of WYSIWYG - Rob Sheffield - Rolling Stone, April 13th 2000

 

Chumbawamba WYSIWYG (1 star) “The new Chumbawamba album is called WYSIWYG - or What You See Is What You Get. Appropriately, the cover is a picture of a dog. Enough said, really” (full extent of ) review WYSIWYG - Marcus Dunk, Daily Express, April 15th 2000

 

Chumbawamba WYSIWYG (2 stars) “Amounting to a jaundiced A-Z of New Britain WYSIWYG is like some ill-starred West End musical based on the Poll Tax riots ... it’s slapdash, chuggingly dreary stuff. Maybe they should stick to leafletting the Dome.” Review of WYSIWYG - Neil Davenport, Select, May 2000

 

Chumbawamba - “She’s Got All The Friends That Money Can Buy” (EMI) The ‘Wamba have turned their back on all things political with this perky little number aboout an avid video collector. I prefer ‘Seinfeld’ myself Chris Salmon - London Time Out March 29th-April 5th 2000

 

“... To qualify for true greatness all bands must at some stage showcase new songs at a stuffy, seated venue, with fishermen as special guests. ADF do so tonight and still blow the place apart. 'Will The Real Great Britain Stand Up' is pure gunpowder for the dancefloor. 'Collective Mode' uses Bollywood dub for some post-Blair analysis whilst remaining light years away from Chumbawamba-isms. “ Review of Asian Dub Foundation - London Barbican Centre - Keith Cameron, New Musical Express, 28th July 1999

 

“... AAAARGH! See how EASY it is to be sucked in?!? Only a completely unlistenable clompety-clomp novelty hit can save us from this sickening counter-revolutionary compromise. Get me Chumbawamba... Well, maybe not. The point is, Stereolab's woozy post-easy grooves have never sounded so comfortable in a pop setting than on 'Dots And Loops' ... Now that Chumbawamba-style distrust of pop's cheap potency has gone and the 'Lab have created a warm-blooded, intoxicating, tropical masterpiece. Review of STEREOLAB album “Dots And Loops” - Stephen Dalton, New Musical Express, 20th September 1997

 

I’ll drink a lager drink, I’ll drink a cider drink, several probably, and this’ll still sound like naive political posturing from a bunch of soft, middle class student TWATS. It’s a 20-track “best-of” form Norbert Nobacon and his Tubthumping tosspot pals. Review of "Uneasy Listening", Daily Sport, 22.03.99.

 

“Top Ten One-Hit Wonders” (for the 1990’s) Number 9: Chumbawamba “Tubthumping” (1997) Almost the exact same band as Right Said Fred, except (1) one of them wore sunglasses; (2) they had an even sillier name; (3) they failed to use the word “tush.” Rob Sheffield - “Rolling Stone” May 13th 1999

 

Q. Do You think there is a difference between you jumping on stage at the Brits and waving your [****!!****] at Michael Jackson, and Chumbawamba chucking a bucket of water over John Prescott? JARVIS COCKER: I wouldn’t want to say. I think if you’re trying too hard to make a big statement then you wind up not saying anything. It’s like them coming on stage with “Corporate Whores” on their T-shirts. I just thought, well if you don’t like it, do something else then. Get another job.” “Heat” magazine 20-26 February 1999

 

This collection of 20 prototypes only serves to remind that the self-styled pop anarchists are about as radical as a mediocre student revue. Chumba wamba sound like they have graduated with honours ... (in) setting slogans to nursery rhyme melodies ... make(s) Socialist Worker vendors’ sales pitch sound like profound political rhetoric. Pointless. [*] Review of "Uneasy Listening", Scotland On Sunday, 21.03.99.

 

You have to question the merits of this collection, but I guess it’s an act of desperation. And despearte this album is. I tried very hard to listen to this all the way through, but I have to admit that I failed. It is truly terrible, and as for their musical abilities, see the first paragraph.[*] Review of "Uneasy Listening" by Asad, South Kensington Felix, March 1999

 

For the past thirteen years this band have inflicted aural torture on the innocent listening public absolutely relentlessly ... forget revolution, a decent tune would be nice ... Everyone should buy this album, just to remind themselves that there is music this bad out there. Review of "Uneasy Listening" by Dion, Notts Impact, March 1999

 

Sometimes Chumbawamba seem like a brilliant wheeze dreamt up by Conservative Central Office. What better propaganda for rock’s say-nothing Tory tendency than an anarcho-leftie collective whose rabble rousing anthems are invariably as inviting as a turd sandwich?... “Big Mouth Strikes Again” defends Lenny Bruce, dead since 1966, while “Give The Anarchist A Cigarette” attacks the young Bob Dylan a mere 30 years later. Dangerously topical protest music or what? [5] Review of "Uneasy Listening" by Stephen Dalton, NME, 6th March 1999.

 

All the songs seem to have a political message, from singing about nazis to politicians to gays. This gets tiresome very quickly. They are better when they write party songs like “Tubthumping” ... it’s not a greatest hits or a best of album because that would only contain one song, the aforementioned “Tubthumping”, so for your money you get a load of old [****!!****]. [3/10] Review of "Uneasy Listening" by AS in Surrey B’facts, March 1999.

 

A long time ago Chumbawamba were important. They had a reputation for being a ranting political punk band with a sprinkling of sweet harmonies. Then all of a sudden they lost it. Maybe now they see this, which is why they have brought out an album of songs which maps out their career. I despise the new Chumbawamba, but their old stuff is very good ... If you have ever been interested in Chumbawamba then buy this. But only this, as their other stuff is crap. Review of "Uneasy Listening" by Robert Mayhew, Notts Platform, March 1999

 

Yeah ... Chumbawamba sort of lost the plot a little bit didn’t they? Upbeat post punk angst with a sound social message. Good, well done. All that anarchy cobblers? [censored] off! In their own way the Chumb turned into the fascists they hated so much ... but hey this is getting far too heavy (to be continued down the pub). This record is really just a best of package some faves like “Mouthful Of [censored]” and “Enough Is Enough” go down quite nicely thank you but quite a bit of the rest is definitely missable, Shame really. Review of "Uneasy Listening" in The Crack, February 1999

 

"You've got Chumbawamba and you've got Freddie and the Dreamers," argues Peter Noone. "Who you gonna listen to?" Before you've even started to consider the enormity of the question, he's answered it for you. "Freddie and the Dreamers, that's who." he warms to his theme. "I don't want some half-witted uneducated people telling me what to think." He's referring to the politically perfect but ragged army of tubthumpers from Leeds. "I'd rather have half-witted uneducated people like Freddie entertaining me. The entertainment business should be about having fun." Peter Noone, charismatic lead singer with Herman's Hermits, in Bradford Telegraph & Argus, January 1999

 

After three songs of this 22-track compilation, you’ll be wanting to shove that damned trumpet so far up Danbert so-called Nobacon’s [****!!****] that the next Chumbawamba album will sound as if it’s performed by Sooty Review of “Uneasy Listening” by Peter Robinson, ‘Melody Maker’ January 23rd 1999

 

Other highlights (included) the semi-surreal sounds of the ultra-pop Chumbawumba who remind me of The Human League on steroids. Review of New York Fleadh by Stephen Williams in Long Island ‘Newsday,’ June 15th 1998

 

(Former Congressman), ultra-conservative BOB DORNAN incurred the wrath of the members of the anarchist band Chumbawamba this week, when he used a sample of “Tubthumping” on his election website. DORNAN says that despite learning of CHUMBAWAMBA’s anarchist politics, he’d still like to keep using the song, assuming he can get legal clearance. VERBATIM: “I’ll probably keep using it for the message. But if they go METALLICA, acid rock, uh, “Cop Killer,” on me, then uh, we probably wouldn’t run anything. But I’ve got to get their latest CD and familiarize all their cuts” Bob Dornan quoted on “Rockwire Audio” June 10th 1998

 

Best Games 1998: Number 7 - 'World Cup 98' Change history! Stick Gazza in the team, make England win! Shame about the Chumbawamba soundtrack. Sky Magazine, January 1999

 

Worst single 1998: Number 3 - Chumbawamba - 'Top Of The World' The Chumbers goaded those that loathe 'em with this appalling World Cup song. Sky Magazine, January 1999

 

"There was this guy (Nobacon) who decided he wanted to make this message, jumped on the table, and just threw it," he recalls. "My wife was totally terrified. Why should she be subjected to that? I made her sit there, of course. I wasn't gonna let the bugger chase me off. I mean I don't particularly like Fleetwood Mac but ..." He pauses to laugh. "For a moment it went through my mind that I would have liked to put my foot on his (Nobacon's) bloody throat but the photographers would have seen it, I would have been destroyed. I would have been on the front of the Sun wouldn't I?" This is his ultimate strength - he's a real person at the heart of the government. If he had decked Nobacon, it would only have improved his popularity, and the fact that he nearly did speaks volumes. John Prescott, Deputy Prime Minister of UK being interviewed by Simon Rogers in 'The Big Issue' Nov 1998

 

Fat Les are basically an event-led band. The last event was the World Cup and the next one is Christmas... I'm releasing the (Christmas) single to stop Chumbawamba getting a Number One. My favourite Christmas single of all time is Slade. The worst one would be anything by Chumbawamba because they're crap. We're taking on everyone this time. Keith Allen of Fat Les in NME 19th September 1998

 

There's nothing heroic about Chumbawamba, the Transformers of pop. Robots barely in disguise, they trot out the same old, leaden bilge, wheel on the usual striking bloke (today's victim is brought to you by Chelmsford Fire Station) and shame themselves disgracefully. If there were any content behind their self-satisfied squawking, if their targets weren't so barn-sized and if they didn't come across as such cold bastards, they might be, well, tolerable. As it is, all you can do is pray they go on strike themselves. Soon. And take f***ing 'Tubthumping' with them. Review of V98 festival appearance, Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker 29.08.98

 

...and the smugly tedious anarchy of Chumbawamba. Seven word review of V98 festival appearance, James Oldham, NME 29.08.98

 

I'll definitely miss Chumbawamba. We were on a show with them in Italy recently and we were gonna pummel them with baseball bats to see if they really could get knocked down and then get back up again. Paul Godfrey of Morcheeba, being asked which groups he would be watching at the V98 festival, in Melody Maker 22.8.98

 

Chumbawamba: The worst group in history that has ever been created. (Begins shouting) If you're going to wear a skirt at least make an effort to look like a woman! You can't just put a [censored] bit of rag on and look like an ugly bloke at a stag night! Put it this way, if Richey was here and someone said: "Chumbawamba are trying to be like you," he'd probably cut his whole forearm off on the spot! Nicky Wire of the Manic Street Preachers, being interviewed in NME, 8.8.98

 

"Don't you envy Chumbawamba? Wouldn't you like your songs to be heartily sung by the American proletariat in the smoke-filled halls of Pittsburgh and Chicago? "No no no NO!!!!" spasm Thurston, Kim, Steve and Lee... "It would be embarrasing" says Kim. Sonic Youth, being interviewed in the NME 2nd May 1998

 

At the moment Shirley's pet hates are Space and Chumbawamba. Yup the same Space and Chumbawamba who are sharing a stage with Garbage at T In The Park. 'Chumbawamba?' spits Manson. 'What was it that someone did that was so terrible that the Gods decided to inflict Chumbawamba on us? That record ('Tubthumping') is like a curse on modern humanity. It's truly awful. That woman (Lou)'s vocal... that voice is like a f***ing headmistress. It is Miss Jean Broadie! And that song's everywhere, all over the f***ing world. You can see why the jocks have latched on to it so much in America. It's because it's so dunderheaded. It's just sweat, shorts, bad bloody hair, big teeth and... burgers! Horrible. Shirley Manson in Melody Maker, 22nd July 1998

 

ZOE BALL: " ... they're lovely people. JO WHILEY: "You didn't seem too keen on that record? ZOE BALL: "Oh I can't stand it. I hate their music. And you know, I just find it horrendous. The worst thing about it - and I'm sure she's a great woman - the woman sings (mocks high pitched) "Ohh Danny boy." She sings like that child. Have you ever seen that Peter Greenaway film "The Cook, The Thief, His Wife And Her Lover." The little boy going (mocks high pitched) "Ooohh Lah lah lah." Oh goodness me. If she didn't sing maybe it wouldn't be so bad." Zoe Ball on Jo Wiley TV Show, Channel 4, May 1998

 

It was supposed to be an act of political protest from this turd in a leather skirt whose real name is Nigel and today gets another award ... KNOBHEAD OF THE WEEK. Sunday Sport 15th February 1998

 

Here is Prescott, probably the only working class guy in the Cabinet, being soaked by some twit in a kilt whose real name is Nigel. Prescott is an easy target, but he had more right to be there than they did. Billy Bragg, in The Observer 15th Feb 1998

 

TUB-PUMPING. Here's another rebellious Chumbawamba star - singer Alice Nutter out jogging in her tracksuit! She may be in an anarchist band proud of their boozy, non-conformist image but secretly Alice is a keep-fit nut. The Sun, 14th February 1998

 

The birds in the band aren't good looking enough for me to splash out on the LP even though it has been described as a classic. Their new single, Amnesia has just shot into the charts, and if they keep this up they'll have more hits than Geoff Boycott's ex-bird! Graham Hey, Daily Star 2nd February 1998

 

[censored] Alice Nutter! Did [censored] Madonna buy the first Chumbawamba [censored] seven-inch! I don't [censored] think so! I [censored] did. Punk rock Marxism is a male rite of [censored] passage. That's all it is. It's nothing to do with females. We have no place in it, we never did. Alice Nutter can maybe contend me on this, but you know Alice Nutter prefers Madonna over me anyway, because Madonna 'never tried to be authentic'. Courtney Love being interviewed in Vox magazine June 1998

 

"[****!!****] innit?" Jim decides after three milliseconds of the Chumba's blatantly steroid-enhanced grunting. "On principle, I can't like it," Saul gurns between fits of vomiting. "Why are Chumbawamba doing a World Cup record? They must have asked themselves to do it, sent a fax to themselves. Are they Spanish?" Jim Glennie and Saul Davies of the band James, discussing World Cup songs in NME 30.5.98

 

As my nine year old said to me after watching (Chumbawamba's) performance on the Brits: "They don't like New Labour... does that mean they're Conservative?" And in a curious kind of way they are indeed. Tom Morton, The Scotsman 14.2.98

 

Sir, This Nobacon fellow appears to be a bad egg. C.S.S. Buckel in a letter to The Times, February 1998

 

I remember listening to the album ("Tubthumper") on release day and my initial reaction was one of disappointment as it seemed there were no further hits on the album ... whilst deleting the single ("Tubthumping") to sell millions of albums in the US may have seemed a good idea at the time , it's doubtful whether those punters will want the next album after feeling like they've bought a turkey. Jonathan Urquhart - The Tip Sheet 2.2.98

 

"Amnesia" a banal dirge ... the lyrics are so f---ing patronising and the music is just so bloody vile that it's really impossible to feel anything but contempt. Tony Blair must be quaking with terror. Tommy Udo - review of "Amnesia" NME 17.1.98

 

Chumbawamba sound like they came out of a 1990 time capsule: white British twits trying to play that funky music, all in the service of the revolution ...Their dilettante funk makes INXS sound like the JB's at the Apollo, with a blaring horn section that would get laughed out of a high school football game. The hit single "Tubthumping" combines pub-rock chanting, spoken-word samples, "Danny Boy," ChuckMangione horns, and an antidrinking sermon into a landmark of mediocrity; in case you didn't learn from the Spice Girls, English people should never be allowed to rap. Worst lyric of 1997: "Smell of faeces lingers / Echo of light fingers." RATING: 3 Details, December 1997

 

"Tubthumper" is an unpredictable mishmash of styles and influences. The combination of jazz, new wave, pop, new age, house/techno and other styles become so overused that the songs, though diverse, result in a recycled watered down racket ...Meanwhile, the album takes a breather between tracks with jazzier interludes and movie sound clips, which leave the listener unprepared for the cheesy din that follows. Such silliness is demonstrated in the choral refrains of "Amnesia" and the "Good Ship Lifestyle," which sounds as if the vocals were being belted out by the high school cast of "Fame." ...Talented but unoriginal, the members of Chumbawamba should keep their day jobs, if they have any. All style and no substance, "Tubthumper" is not the sort of thing upon which a 15-year career should be built. Cornell Daily Sun, New York, Oct 9th 1997 - Jennifer Chen

 

The rest of the album doesn't measure up to the first song. It instead sounds like a cheesy 80's dance album a la Roxette. With power chords on the keyboard, Chumbawamba's attempt to be shocking comes off as stupid. It's attempt to be deep comes off as stupid. Basically the whole album comes off as stupid. It steals techniques from everyone. On the track "the Big Issue," the beginning is clearly a version of the Talking Heads' "A Road To Nowhere" and they need to thank Madonna for the beginning of "Mary, Mary." If these guys couldn't sample they'd have no album. University Daily Kansan, Kansas, Oct 3rd 1997

 

You may think this review is about the album "Tubthumper" by that spunky new Brit band Chumbawamba. You'd be wrong. This is actually a review of the first five songs on "Tubthumper" because that's all I was able to stomach. Once groups start putting out this kind of slop the fair and objective ideal goes right down the crapper cuz I'm not sitting through an album worth of moronic [censored] cheese rock ...Once "Tubthumper," the opening track is over the album falls off into unbearable drivel ...Ah well, if nothing else this group will make good Brit joke fodder ...those Spice Girls jokes were starting to get stale. Badger Herald, Wisconsin, Oct 10th 1997 - Travis Ott

 

Although this first track ("Tubthumping") comes charging out of the gate, the album quickly takes a nose-dive and falls flat on its face. The following cuts are nothing like the first and simply do not measure up, which is disappointing. Save money, buy the single. Aquarian Weekly, Montclair New Jersey, Oct 1st 1997 - Erin O' Brien-Kenna

 

On the best track, the single "Tubthumping," the group pairs the refrain of a drinking song with an infectious pop harmony. In the end however, Chumbawamba can't overcome the fact that its appeal is strictly as a novelty act. San Diego Union-Tribune, Oct 9th 1997 - Jeff Niesel

 

Liam Howlett has also become involved in a war of words with Chumbawamba who recently criticised "Smack My Bitch Up." Chumbawamba have recorded their own version of the Prodigy single called "Smack My Keith Up" ...Liam countered: "I heard that Chumbawamba got together in 1982 - so it's taken them fifteen years to come up with one piece of [censored] record. I'd like to point out that any one of my cymbal patterns is more radical than their entire recorded output - which is basically just a waste of plastic". NME, News October 18th 1997

 

ARE CHUMBAWAMBA A ONE-HIT WONDER? 'FRAID SO, SAYS GARTH CARTWRIGHT: ...speeches aside, the band played a loud, vigorous set which was as bland as their politics are radical. Their shouty, dance-pop anthems rarely left an after-taste: they could have been generated by a machine. For all their political notoriety, their music is little more than post modern Gary Glitter, all fat drums and big choruses.The Guardian, October 16th 1997, review of London Forum gig

 

"Tubthumper" fails to break the mould. Stylistically, little's changed since the "Anarchy" album - big keyboards, big guitars and shouty choruses are still the order of the day. Occasional departures into cheesy techno and cod-jungle do little to relieve the sense of deja vu. Select , October 1997 issue, review of Tubthumper by Dan Phelan

 

First major label album ... starting to sound suspiciously like Chumba-by-numbers ...less convincing, less politics - a half-arsed attempt at compromise. Making Music, September 1997, review of Tubthumper by AT

 

...there is the amusing irony of seeing an anarchist band on EMI. Good attitude, subverting from within and all that jazz, although it will quite clearly end in tears. But let's enjoy the spectacle while it lasts... (Chumbawamba) have reinvented themselves successfully as a happy-clappy pop act, and the fact that they have succeeded with a song like "Tubthumping" where many others have failed before suggests the great British public is prepared to accept them as such. They may have less sympathy for Chumbawamba when they read of their daft student politics - they advocate not organizing trade unions to fight disputes, and hitting policemen (as long as they don't have to do it themselves) ...deep within a maze of corridors in Whitehall, the very seat of government is quaking. You can hear the cry all over London - "Did you see 'Top of the Pops' last night? I like that 'drinks a lager drink' song." NME, August 30th 1997, review of Tubthumper by Johnny Cigarettes

 

Never thought you'd see the day that these career anarchists almost got to number one? ...What ultimately works against them is the tunes' determined upfulness. There's only one true stinker, 'Smalltown', which involves a drum machine - the rest just bounce along annoyingly. The Guardian, August 29th 1997, review of Tubthumper by Caroline O'Sullivan

 

SHOCK OF THE POPS - The band behind the lager-lout anthem 'Tubthumper' -tipped to top the charts today - cashed in on the death of tragic teenager Leah Betts to promote drugs. Punk band Chumbawamba is expected to knock Will Smith's 'Men in Black' off Number 1 this afternoon. They have been slammed by anti-drugs campaigners for using a picture of Leah to promote Ecstasy ...Posters went up around the country with the slogan "Sorted - just on Ecstasy tablet killed Leah Betts." But Chumbawamba handed out postcards at their gigs and sent them to fans using the same picture, with the word "Distorted," and said "Statistically, you're just as likely to die from swallowing a bay leaf as an Ecstasy tablet." The advertising firm behind the"Sorted" posters accused Chumbawamba of "staggeringly bad taste". 'Tubthumper,' their first single since they signed with the music giant EMI, outraged anti-drink campaigners with the foul mouthed lyrics, which rant about downing vodka, whiskey, lager and cider. They have appeared on 'Top of the Pops' along with singers like Danni Minogue, a favourite of young children. Sunday Mail August 31st 1997

 

POP GOES ANARCHY AS BAND CASHES IN - An anarchist pop group made up of squatters and punk rockers has commited the ultimate sell-out by reaching number two in the UK charts. To their bemusement the members of Chumbawamba, which opposes the commercialisation of rock music ...have become overnight stars. The Times, August 19th 1997, by Carol Midgley, media correspondent

 

FURY OVER 'DRINKING SONG' ON MAYO SHOW - A hit record which praises the joys of drinking was condemned yesterday. The anarchist band Chumbawamba has its first hit with Tubthumping, which went into the chart at number two after it was played regularly on Radio 1 as DJ Simon Mayo's single of the week. Alcohol Concern says the song's apparent references to binge drinking are irresponsible ...spokesman Mark Bennett said: "No one would want to suggest that drinking is harmful in itself, but drinking large amounts in an individual session as the song suggests can be potentially fatal." ...The band's record company EMI said the group was unable to comment on the controversy as they were travelling. Daily Mail, August 19th 1997, by Richard Alleyne

 

'COP DEATH' PUNK REBELS SPARK FURY - A Punk band tipped to top the charts today have sparked outrage by declaring : "We like it when cops get killed." ...Alice Nutter, singer with the Yorkshire-based revolutionaries, said: "Nothing can change the fact that we like it when cops get killed. We mean that. You choose sides, don't you?" SICK - Her amazing outburst ...was condemned by the Police Federation vice-chairman Ian Westwood. He said; "It is sick that those comments are made when our members are putting their lives at risk to protect the public." Tubthumping is top of Radio 1 listeners' request list. News of the World, August 17th 1997, by Jules Stenson

 

Blimey, why aren't our friendly bobbies out catching real criminals? In other words, why weren't they they down at the SEX PISTOLS' Finsbury Park farrago trying to arrest JOHN LYDON for Money-Grabbing With Menaces? ... And there was even an outbreak of terrace violence as well when a foolhardy nutter kept walking calmly over to the massive backstage bar TV, where several hundred mohicanites were watching the footie, and switching it off. Amazingly he survived four or five trips before the assembled supporters took a democratic vote to beat him to a pulp, at which point none other than ALICE NUTTER from CHUMBAWAMBA stepped in with a few calming words along the lines of, "Ey! We should all live together in harmony an' tha' like! Why don't we all start a commune or sommat?" and stopped the punch-up in seconds! Phew, anarchy in N4 or what? N.M.E. on Sex Pistols' 30.06.96 gig at Finsbury Park London, the same day that Chumbawamba were playing at the Roskilde Festival in Denmark.

 

CHUMBAWAMBA were cancelled to enormous cheers. Melody Maker special on Essential Music Festival, Brighton 08.06.96

 

Chumbawamba were great! N.M.E. special on Essential Music Festival, Brighton 08.06.96

 

Rock and Roll, for all its sins, can be about a lot of things: love, sex, death, money, hedonism, free living ... the list is endless. Well, nearly endless: rock and roll should never appeal to the head. Rock and roll is dumb. It should have nothing to do with politics. Add your name to the worthwhile lists, get yourself seen at marches for causes you believe in, but never, never, never think that a pop song is a better place for polemic than a pamphlet. It isn't. Which brings us around to Chumbawamba, the would-be pamphleteers of pop. Chumbawamba have very good opinions. If they had a penny for each of their very good opinions, they would have enough money to leave Leeds. Good opinions do not a good pop song make. You need a tune and a singer too. Did you leave them at home? Chumbawamba are living proof that the Kit-Kat advert is a lie: you look crap, you can't sing ... er ... you'll stay in Leeds and do the same crap, year in and year out (at least they recycle, the fan cries). Peter Wild - Big Issue North 27.02.96

 

Now for the bad news - the elpee 'Swingin' With Raymond' is crummy. I always get the vibe that Los Chumbas don't really dig music, it's just a caddy on the road to messageville. Review of 'Swingin' With Raymond' - News From Nowhere January 1996

 

Cool to see the SCUMBAWAMBA backlash at last. Mind you I've always called them arrogant sloganeering [****!!****]' sell-out ride-on-the-bandwagon-of-gay-rights liberal-chanting [censored]- music playing good-for-nothing-except-laughing-at [****!!****]' corporate whores. Know what I'm sayin? And you can [****!!****]' print that too, just make sure you credit it to me. I'm making my position clear on this. Russell, Hull - letter in Bald Cactus zine, number 11 January 1996

 

Po-faced like home: Chumbawamba, the band who are to irony what Dr Stephen Hawking is to pole-vaulting, release a new album 'Swingin' With Raymond' and are also pushing a new single 'Ugh! Your Ugly Houses!' which takes a clumsy swing at Loyd Grossman and his 'Through The Keyhole' television programme. The single also features covers of Wire's 'Mannequin' and 'Hunchback of Notre Dame', which was first performed by Mick Hucknall's ancient punk band Frantic Elevators. Honestly - how old are these people? And why do they bother? Ikon - December 1995

 

I am not in the habit of slagging off bands because they lack an image, popularity and any sign of talent. I think care in the community should be supported, so let's give Chumbawamba a nice, polite round of applause for doing so well. Well done, Chumbawamba. Now sod off. (4) Review of 'Swingin With Raymond' - Student, November 1995

 

Terrible band. People might take notice of their spot-on politics if they wrote listenable songs. This single, by the way, is aimless (but mercifully short) and full of irritating Christmas-style 'ding-dongs'. I've seen more anarchy at a Royal British Legion meeting. Review of "Ugh! Your Ugly Houses!', Ripple - October 1995

 

Now, I'm as much of an anarchist as the next man, but something about Chumbawamba has always bored me. Maybe it's the fact that even this far down the line it's easy to tell they are political before they are a band rather than the other way around. This new thing is, for some reason, a double album, even though the total playing time clocks in at just forty seven minutes. The only justification offered for this wasteful format is that the record is split into two halves; Love and Hate (a concept album? A little hippyish no?) The Love half contains seven love songs. It opens with the hugely reverential 'This Girl' and continues in the same glistening jangle-pop vein, nothing to write home about. The Hate half contains six songs. Here the band sound like Madness on 'Hey! You! Outside Now!', Spandau Ballet on 'Waiting, Shouting', Wham! on 'All Mixed Up' and themselves (mock-exuberant punk-pomp) on 'Ugly Houses'. Unconvincing guises all. I don't mind Chumbawamba's attempts to hijack the medium to put their message over, it's just that if they'd chosen to write pamphlets instead, I wouldn't have to listen to their dull records. Big Issue North West - 10.10.95

 

As their manifesto has become increasingly cumbersome, and as they've run low on their Molotov cocktails, the Chumbas finally decide to try out all those funny knobs on the mixing desk and hey presto, a concept album is born. (5) Review of "Swingin' With Raymond' - Mark Beaumont, Vox December 1995

 

It's an idea so crass it'd embarrass Roger Waters. Yes, Leeds' cuddly cartoon anarchists have decided that love and hate are two sides of the same emotional coin. Hence, disc one of this double-CD album finds Alice Nutter singing fluffy-wuffy ballads, while disc two drags us back to politics for a hefty bout of shouting. Love and hate, geddit? Bet they were up for months thinking of that one. (7) Review of 'Swingin' With Raymond' - Mark Beaumont, N.M.E. 21.10.95

 

I would sincerely listen to Chumbabastardwamba on a tape loop rather than hear this again. No offence, like... Review of PJ & Duncan's "U Krazy Katz' - John Mulvey N.M.E. 14.10.95

 

If I took notes, they'd say... 'CHUMBAWAMBA - chumber-chunder Christian rock', very popular though... but I don't... I need no notes for CHUMBAWAMBA. They play precisely the same set, with precisely the same musicians (a man in his underpants, someone crashing cymbals, someone clutching a lightbulb, the girl with the strident voice pretending she's in a Christian rock band), with precisely the same weird call-to-arms jollity as they did at the Brighton Festival last year. Leeds Heineken Festival. Everett True Melody Maker 29/7/95

 

Some festival line-ups... are bills redolent of the 'Throw a load of [censored] at the wall and see how much of it sticks' theory. Today is most definitely in (this) category, what with three bands - Chumbawamba , The Wedding Present and The Fall - being refugees from a late 80's Reading line-up ... Phoenix Festival. John Mulvey N.M.E. 22/7/95

 

Mistake Number One: what makes "Homophobia/The worst disese"? What of poverty, racism and sexism, eh? Too many syllables for the rhyme-scheme, perhaps. Number Two: there's nowt anarchic about playing subsidised universities, releasing records on a highly respected record label, or taking part in establishment-friendly fests a la Glasters. Is There? Number Three: chubby maths graduates cannot rap. Sheffield University. Emma Morgan N.M.E. 08/4/95

 

Chumbawamba would doubtless dismiss such nit-picking as reactionary, but r igidly PC rhetoric simply won't pass for life-affirming humanity in the minds of ordinary pop fans they seem to think they are addressing. 'Showbusiness!' is the sound of the converted being preached to, and just how subversive is that? Review of Showbusiness! LP. Stephen Dalton, Vox, April 1995

 

Rubbish, of course, but almost worth stealing for the sleeve booklet, eight pages of band history which for sheer woolly-mindedness, pious self-justification and a bullheaded refusal to look truth in the face beats anything you'll find outside the covers of "Thatcher: The Downing Street Years"... Chumbawamba are a one-legged man at an [****!!****] kicking party. Review of Showbusiness! LP. Andrew Mueller Melody Maker 11/3/95

 

Veteran agit-rockers Chumbawamba are all set for a mini-tour, which will take in, among other venues, the Parr Hall, in Warrington on March 9th... I bet Warrington's gonna be transformed into Rio De Janiero during carnival week for that one, isn't it? Absolutely f***ing pathetic! You'd have thought that maybe, say halfway through their set, thrashing along to total audience indifference save for the barking of a dog and two men telling it to shut the f*** up, that it might just f***ing occur to the various members of Chumbawamba that if after 15 years together they're still playing the likes of the f***ing Parr Hall in Warrington, the f***ing game is more or less up! Just think, they probably all had jobs in the civil service, pushing tea trolleys up and down the f***ing corridors before they had the f***wit notion of forming a band! If they'd stuck at the f***ing day jobs, they'd probably have graduated to the f***ing canteen by now! Twats! Mr Agreeable Melody Maker 11/3/95

 

"There's a lot to be said for PC bands", says Paddy, "but there's too many Chumbawambas and not enough Rolling Stones" from an interview with These Animal Men (a pop group, once) in Melody Maker, October 1994

 

CHUMBAWAMBA do their best to spoil it though. Just as everyone is turning shades of lobster pink in the mid-afternoon sun, they scramble onto the main stage and attempt to convince us that their Steeleye Span-goes- Socialist Worker folk rock is somehow a musical form. So ticky-ticky timebombs and ultra-crass chant-a-longs spill out from the stage, and all the wiser souls head for the Wah Wah Hut tent where S*M*A*S*H are about to show how it ought to be done. Strathclyde T in the Park. Ted Kessler and Paul Moody N.M.E. 6/8/94

 

Ever taken hallucinogenic drugs and wondered what it would be like if Jesus Jones met Steeleye Span at a Socialist Worker meeting? No need. Go and see CHUMBAWAMBA. End of Review. Glastonbury Festival. John Harris N.M.E. 2/7/94

 

CHUMBAWAMBA's supposed shift from "dour" to "fun" has yet to have me clutching at my sides. Dressing up as nuns and game show hosts isn't funny, just desperate. Next! Glastonbury Festival. Ian Gittins Melody Maker 2/7/94

 

Incredible. Sounds exactly like the kind of song Spitting Image would write to take the piss out of charity records. The intention is undoubtedly sincere - write an upbeat, bouncy pop tune about a serious subject matter - but the upshot is spectacularly atrocious... singing about homophobia as if you were a showbiz ensemble trying to save the baby seal is not the way to go about challenging it. Review of Homophobia (Sisters Mix) single. N.M.E. 11/6/94

 

Chumbawamba have the same fake optimism about them as schoolteachers trying to jolly up a museum trip... this ain't rock 'n' roll, this is f***ing children's hour. Brighton Stanmer Park. Sarah Kestle Melody Maker 11/6/94

 

If there's one thing we should have stopped expecting from lefty pop groups long ago, it's consistency. Chumbawamba have taken just over a decade to achieve a sound of a budget New Order, or a less mischievous Carter ... what remains is laboured irony masquerading as profundity, jumbled samples attempting to communicate a U2-esque connection with the void at the heart of the media storm, and an overbearing tone of sanctimonious vindication, as if the release of another indie record is actually gonna change a thing. Review of Anarchy LP. Andrew Mueller Time Out 27/4/94

 

This, then, is the new Chumbawamba ... and with the asset of the Credit connection, this new model is slightly better than the old one. That is to say, there is only one song here which sounds like 'Jackanory' anarcho folk music, being the jolly (and jolly silly) 'Timebomb' with its still hilarious lyric, "I'm

[EFM Trev]

You see - I really want to buy it now, just to see how bad it really is. Do you think that they might have made it deliberately that bad on purpose? Bought it yet, Thornsy?

[EFM The Firm, The Voice]

I do actually have most of the records that they are reviewing

[EFM Trev]

are they that bad, then?

 

i feel as if i know the answer to this already...

[EFM The Firm, The Voice]

Just a aquired taste.

I'm sure most of the reviewers don't think of the music just the politics/anarcy which they can't comprehend.