Butthole Surfers

Download sample of "Pepper" from Electriclarryland. In December 2000, The Chemical Brothers aired one of their new tracks, "It Began in Afrika" at their New York DJ gigs, supporting U2. Shortly after Creamfields, Tom and Ed played the main stage at the Glastonbury festival. Highlights of their live set included "Out Of Control" and "Hey Boy, Hey Girl". In August 2000 they played to a large crowd at the main stage at Creamfields festival, Ireland.

A CD copy of Surrender was placed in the third Blue Peter time capsule, buried in January 2000. The final single from Surrender, in February 2000, was the five track "Music: Response" EP, containing the title track and two remixes, plus a new track, "Freak of the Week", and a track called "Enjoyed", which was essentially a remix of "Out Of Control" by the Brothers themselves. The release also contained the much anticipated Sasha remix. In November, "Out Of Control", featuring Sumner and Gillespie on vocals, was released as single.

Later that he summer, The Brothers headlined the Glastonbury dance tent on the Friday night, followed by a UK tour which ended in December and included Homelands Scotland on September 4. The Michel Gondry-directed music video for "Let Forever Be", which utilized groundbreaking video and film effects in its depiction of a young woman's nightmares, also received a lot of attention. It reached Number 1 in the UK album charts, and was widely praised in the print media. On one of the album's stand out tracks, "Out Of Control", Primal Scream's Bobby Gillespie and New Order's Bernard Sumner provided vocals.

As "Hey Boy, Hey Girl" had suggested, the album was more house-orientated than the previous two. It featured vocals from Noel Gallagher, Mercury Rev's Jonathan Donahue and Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval. The third album Surrender was released in June 1999. The track was also one of their more commercially accessible tracks and went to number 3 in the UK charts.

In interviews at the time, Rowlands and Simons indicated that the track was inspired by nights out at Sheffield club "Gatecrasher". This was more house influenced than hip-hop. Also that month, they released their first new original material in two years, a track called "Hey Boy, Hey Girl". In May 1999 The Chemical Brothers played three UK dates in Manchester, Sheffield and Brighton, their first since December 1997.

It contains some of their own tracks and remixes, as well as songs from artists who have influenced their sound, such as Renegade Soundwave, Meat Beat Manifesto and Kenny 'Dope' Gonzales. In September 1998 the Chemical Brothers release their second mix album Brother's Gonna Work It Out. Another remix completed by the Brothers was "Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp", from Mercury Rev. This was another extension in the association between the two bands, since Mercury Rev's Jonathon Donahue contributed to "The Private Psychedelic Reel" on Dig Your Own Hole. Each came in at over seven-and-a-half minutes.

Both a vocal remix and an instrumental remix were included in the single release. In 1998, they concentrated more on DJing, although some remixes did see the light of day, including "I Think Im In Love" from Spiritualized. Also in December, following four sold-out US shows, The Chemical Brothers toured the UK, finishing with a sold-out gig at London's Brixton Academy. The b-side consisted of a live version of "Setting Sun", recorded at the Lowlands Festival, Netherlands on August 24, 1997.

At the end of the year, Dig Your Own Hole's final track, the nine minute-long "The Private Psychedelic Reel" gave rise to a limited-edition mini-EP of the same name. They also begin a US tour in Detroit. In November, the pair played at Dublin's Point Theatre, with support from Carl Cox. In September, the next single from Dig Your Own Hole, "Elektrobank" was released.

Metallica asked the Brothers several times to remix "Enter Sandman", but were repeatedly turned down. They themselves also became highly sought-after for remixes for other artists. In August, the Chemical Brothers achieved rapprochement with the US Dust Brothers, and asked them to remix forthcoming single "Electrobank". During the Summer of 1997, the Brothers toured extensively, particularly in the States. They also became residents at Tokyo's Liquid Rooms.

Mixmag rated it 10/10 and gave it the "Album of the Month" label, calling it "mad enough to be thrilling, slick enough for not even remotely coffee tables". The album was well received in most circles. It was recorded at the band's own south London studio, with the title taken from graffiti on the wall outside. On April 7, 1997 the Chemical Brothers released their second album, Dig Your Own Hole.

Sales from Exit Planet Dust were also around 150,000. Things were quite promising for the Brothers in the US at this time, "Setting Sun" was sitting at Number 80 in the Billboard Top 100, after selling around 80,000 copies, an excellent achievement for a European "dance" act. The NME named it Single Of The Week and said "It throbs like your head might if you had just done a length underwater in a swimming pool full of amyl." It later won a Grammy award for Best Rock Instrumental. "Block Rockin' Beats" goes straight to #1 in the UK, thanks, this time, to its Schoolly D vocal sample.

In March 1997, the Brothers released the second track from their forthcoming album, to give the world a further taster of what to expect. Virgin Records hired a musicologist to prove that they did not sample the classic 1960s psychedelic song. The three remaining Beatles' lawyers later wrote to the Chemical Brothers, mistakenly claiming that they had sampled "Tomorrow Never Knows". It entered the UK charts at the top, giving the duo their first ever Number One single. "Setting Sun" was backed by a longer instrumental version, and also a new track "Buzz Tracks", which was not much more than a DJ tool.

The track was called "Setting Sun" and was finally released in October 1996. He worked on it overnight, and left a message with them early the next morning that he was ready to record it. They sent Gallagher a tape of what they had done so far. However, the duo did later on have a track which they thought would benefit from having a vocal on it.

They didn't think much of the offer at the time, given how busy Gallagher would be with the release of Oasis' "What's The Story Morning Glory", plus the complexities of dealing with each others record companies. Gallagher told them how much he liked Exit Planet Dust, and asked if he could sing on a future track, similar to the way Tim Burgess had worked on "Life Is Sweet". During the 1995 Glastonbury festival, Rowlands and Simons had had another conversion with Noel Gallagher. In August 1996, The Chemical Brothers supported Oasis at Knebworth, where 125,000 people attend each of the two shows.

"Exit Planet Dust" was listed at Number 39. In February 1996, Select Magazine published a list of the 100 best albums of the 1990s thus far. The EP also contained a Dave Clarke remix of "Chemical Beats", and two other new tracks "Get Up On It Like This" and "(The Best Part Of) Breaking Up". NME described the lead track as "splashing waves of synths across hard-hitting beats".

It entered the UK charts at #13. The four track release was limited to 20,000 copies. The Chemical Brothers released their first new material in 6 months on Virgin, the "Loops Of Fury" EP. In January 1996 Exit Planet Dust went gold.

Just before Christmas, 1995, they played their biggest gig to date, with The Prodigy, at the Brixton Academy. The Chemical Brothers confessed to not being too bothered; "because he's Keith from the Prodigy, and he can do whatever the fuck he likes" Rowlands said later. This resulted in a power cable being kicked loose, bringing the show to a temporary close. A few from the crowd subsequently joined in.

During the encore, however, Keith Flint from The Prodigy jumped up on stage to dance, wearing a t-shirt sporting the slogan "Occupation: mad bastard". At this time the Chems usually used a fusion of "Chemical Beats" and The Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows" as their encore. In November, The Chemical Brothers played the Astoria Theatre in London. They then become residents at the Heavenly Social on Saturdays at Turnmills.

In October 1995 the duo returned to the Heavenly Sunday Social for a second and final run of DJ dates. After beginning work on a remix which they viewed as having potential, the Stone Roses changed their minds and the project was cancelled. Around this period, The Stone Roses asked the Chemical Brothers to remix "Begging You", from their "Second Coming" album. Later, Simons put on Leftfield's "Check One", which removed Jarvis from the floor.

Some viewed it as a "one person dancing" night, the "one person" being Jarvis Cocker, from Pulp. He subsequently favoured obscure psychedelic material to the displeasure of the crowd. Gallagher proceeded to kick the Chemical Brothers off the turntables and procured a friend from The Verve to continue to DJ. The closest that they could come to pleasing him was the Happy Mondays' "Wrote For Luck".

For their next single, in September 1995, they again used a guest vocalist, for the release of "Life Is Sweet", featuring their friend Tim Burgess, singer with The Charlatans. Shortly after its release, The Chemical Brothers signed to Virgin Records, to which they took their own offshoot label, Freestyle Dust. It eventually went on to sell over a million copies worldwide. It entered the UK charts at #9 and featured guest vocalist Beth Orton on the song "Alive Alone".

In July 1995 The Chemical Brothers released their debut album Exit Planet Dust on Freestyle Dust/Junior Boy's Own. "The Chemical Brothers go for big hip-hop beats, howling sirens and persistent vocals reciting 'The Brothers gonna work it out'" -- NME. 17. "Leave Home" was released on Junior Boy's Own, as a preview of the imminent debut album and became the band's first chart hit, peaking at No.

In June 1995 they released their fourth single, the first under their new identity. They decided to then call themselves "The Chemical Brothers" after "Chemical Beats" (Ed's grandmother had suggested they call themselves "The Grit Brothers"!). Also around this time, the original Dust Brothers threatened legal action over the use of their name, and so Rowlands and Simons had to decide on a new name quickly. In March 1995 The Dust Brothers began their first international tour, which included the US - where they played with Orbital and Underworld - then a series of European festivals.

The track was called "Wonderwall". Gallagher told the duo that he had a Balearic inspired track which he had written, which he would like the Dust Brothers to remix. However, over time, Gallagher changed his mind, and in the end the Brothers did not remix it. Early in 1994 however, The Dust Brothers were approached in the club one Sunday by Noel Gallagher, from Oasis, who at the time were becoming one of the most prominent guitar bands in Britain. These two remixes received television exposure, being playlisted MTV Europe's "The Party Zone" in 1995.

The Dust Brothers were subsequently asked to remix tracks by Manic Street Preachers and The Charlatans, plus Primal Scream's "Jailbird" and The Prodigy's "Voodoo People". The likes of Noel Gallagher, Paul Weller, James Dean Bradfield and Tim Burgess were regular visitors. In October 1994, The Dust Brothers became resident DJs at the small, but hugely-influential, Heavenly Sunday Social Club at the Albany pub in London's Great Portland Street. "14th Century Sky" was followed later in 1993 by the "My Mercury Mouth" EP.

Both "One Too Many Mornings" and "Chemical Beats" would later appear on their debut album. The EP also contained "One Too Many Mornings", which for the first time showed the less intense, more chilled-out side of The Dust Brothers. It contained the groundbreaking "Chemical Beats", which epitomized the duo's genre defining big beat sound, later taken up by Fatboy Slim and many more. Late in 1993, The Dust Brothers completed work on their "14th Century Sky" EP, released in January 1994.

The first was "Packet Of Peace" for Robertson's Lionrock outfit, followed by tracks for Leftfield, Republica and The Sandals. Around June 1993, the Dust Brothers did their first remixes. The duo completed university with good results, each obtaining upper-second class degrees. In May 1993, Junior Boy's Own released 'Song To The Siren'.

Weatherall also signed the band to his Junior Boy's Own label. They sent a copy to London DJ Andrew Weatherall, who made it a permanent fixture in his DJ sets. and took them to various dance record shops around London, but none would play it, saying that it was too slow (The track played at 111 BPM). In October 1992, they pressed 500 white-label copies.

"Song To The Siren" was released on their own record label, called "Diamond Records" (after Ed's nickname). Using a Hitachi hi-fi system, a computer, a sampler and a keyboard, they recorded "Song To The Siren", which sampled Meat Beat Manifesto. After a while, they began to run out of suitable instrumental hip hop tracks to use, so they started to make their own. Rowlands and Simons called themselves The Dust Brothers, after the US production duo famous for their work with the Beastie Boys.

Other DJs at Naked Under Leather were Alex Kohler and Phil South. The pair would play hip hop, techno and house. Rowlands and Simons then started to DJ at a club called "Naked Under Leather", in the back of a pub, in 1992. "One of the blokes went a bit mad, but now he's back at college, and the other one drives our van" -- Tom Rowlands on Ariel, in 1995.

Other songs, mostly released on 12" included "Mustn't Grumble" and their most well-known, "Rollercoaster". Their first single was "Sea of Beats". Ariel was formed in London by Rowlands and his friends Brendan and Matt before they all moved up to Manchester. Rowlands was also in a band, called Ariel, prior to meeting up with Simons.

the letters a and b. Linotype (http://www.linotype.com/) is holding the License for this font where it's possible to buy it. I.e. The chemical brothers original logo is only in a few details different from Sho. Hoefer died a few years ago.

The Font which was used to write the typical "The chemical brothers" logo is Sho, designed by Karlgeorg Hoefer in 1992. He also decided to go to Manchester for further study because of its music scene, and specifically the Hacienda. Rowlands left school with 9 O levels and 3 A levels. Rowlands started collecting a lot of hip hop records, by people like Eric B and Schoolly D, but was also a large fan of My Bloody Valentine.

He described the first Public Enemy album as the record which probably changed his life, and says he thought "Miuzi Weighs a Ton" was one of the most amazing records he had ever heard. Later on in his teens, Rowlands progressed to The Jesus and Mary Chain. Initially, one of his favorites was the "Oh What A Lovely War" soundtrack, then 2-Tone, and in his early teens, the synth-pop of artists as Heaven 17, Kraftwerk and Cabaret Voltaire. Later, he became interested in other music.

Rowlands became obsessed with Scotland when he was a child, and loved the bagpipes in particular. He later went to school in Reading. His father was a lighting cameraman. When Rowlands was very young, his family relocated to Henley. Rowlands was born in 1971, in Kingston-Upon-Thames.

Another student in Simon's class was Tom Rowlands. Simons studied Medieval History at theUniversity of Manchester. By the time he left school, his two main musical interests were two Manchester bands, New Order and The Smiths. Ed developed a fondness of rare groove and hip hop, having frequented a club called The Mud Club when he was 14.

Simons went to school in Allays in South London, and left with 11 O levels and 3 A-levels. Ed's two main interests when he was young were airplanes and musicals. Ed Simons was born in Herne Hill, South London, England in 1970, to a barrister mother and a father who was not around much when Ed was growing up. Along with The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim and a few other lesser-known acts they were pioneers of the big beat electronic dance genre, and are known for high-quality live sets.

Initially they called themselves "The Dust Brothers", after the noted US production duo of the same name, but their burgeoning popularity and the threat of legal action from the originals led them to change their name in 1995. The Chemical Brothers are an English electronic music duo, comprised of Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons. 2005 "Believe" (yet to be released). 2005 "Galvanize" #3.

2003 "Get Yourself High" (chart ineligible EP). 2003 "The Golden Path" #17. 2002 "Come with Us/The Test" #14. 2002 "Star Guitar" #8.

2001 "It Began in Afrika" #8. 2000 "Music:Response" (chart ineligible EP). 1999 "Out of Control" #21. 1999 "Let Forever Be" #9.

1999 "Hey Boy Hey Girl" #3. 1997 "The Private Psychedelic Reel" (chart ineligible EP). 1997 "Elektrobank" #17. 1997 "Block Rockin' Beats" #1.

1996 "Setting Sun" #1. 1996 "Loops of Fury EP" #13. 1995 "Life is Sweet" #25. 1995 "Leave Home" #17.

Singles 93-03 (2003) #9 UK. Brother's Gonna Work It Out (1998) #7 UK (In The Compilations Chart). Push the Button (2005) #1 UK, #59 US. Come With Us (2002) #1 UK, #32 US.

Surrender (1999) #1 UK, #32 US. Dig Your Own Hole (1997) #1 UK, #14 US. Exit Planet Dust (1995) #9 UK.