This page will contain external links about The Chemical Brothers, as they become available.The Chemical BrothersThe Chemical Brothers are an English electronic music duo, comprised of Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons. 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. 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. HistoryBackgroundEd 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. Ed's two main interests when he was young were airplanes and musicals. Simons went to school in Allays in South London, and left with 11 O levels and 3 A-levels. Ed developed a fondness of rare groove and hip hop, having frequented a club called The Mud Club when he was 14. By the time he left school, his two main musical interests were two Manchester bands, New Order and The Smiths. Simons studied Medieval History at theUniversity of Manchester. Another student in Simon's class was Tom Rowlands. Rowlands was born in 1971, in Kingston-Upon-Thames. His father was a lighting cameraman. When Rowlands was very young, his family relocated to Henley. He later went to school in Reading. Rowlands became obsessed with Scotland when he was a child, and loved the bagpipes in particular. Later, he became interested in other music. 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 on in his teens, Rowlands progressed to The Jesus and Mary Chain. 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. 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. Rowlands left school with 9 O levels and 3 A levels. He also decided to go to Manchester for further study because of its music scene, and specifically the Hacienda. FontThe Font which was used to write the typical "The chemical brothers" logo is Sho, designed by Karlgeorg Hoefer in 1992. Hoefer died a few years ago. The chemical brothers original logo is only in a few details different from Sho. I.e. the letters a and b. Linotype (http://www.linotype.com/) is holding the License for this font where it's possible to buy it. ArielRowlands was also in a band, called Ariel, prior to meeting up with Simons. Ariel was formed in London by Rowlands and his friends Brendan and Matt before they all moved up to Manchester. Their first single was "Sea of Beats". Other songs, mostly released on 12" included "Mustn't Grumble" and their most well-known, "Rollercoaster". Their record label, deConstruction, insisted that they get a female singer, and after some disappointing songs like "Let It Slide" (Rowlands would later describe it as "a stinker") the band fell apart. One of the last things Ariel did was the song "T Baby" which was remixed by the pair.
Naked Under LeatherRowlands and Simons then started to DJ at a club called "Naked Under Leather", in the back of a pub, in 1992. The pair would play hip hop, techno and house. Other DJs at Naked Under Leather were Alex Kohler and Phil South. The Dust BrothersRowlands and Simons called themselves The Dust Brothers, after the US production duo famous for their work with the Beastie Boys. After a while, they began to run out of suitable instrumental hip hop tracks to use, so they started to make their own. Using a Hitachi hi-fi system, a computer, a sampler and a keyboard, they recorded "Song To The Siren", which sampled Meat Beat Manifesto. "Song To The Siren" was released on their own record label, called "Diamond Records" (after Ed's nickname). In October 1992, they pressed 500 white-label copies. 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). They sent a copy to London DJ Andrew Weatherall, who made it a permanent fixture in his DJ sets. Weatherall also signed the band to his Junior Boy's Own label. In May 1993, Junior Boy's Own released 'Song To The Siren'. The duo completed university with good results, each obtaining upper-second class degrees. Around June 1993, the Dust Brothers did their first remixes. The first was "Packet Of Peace" for Robertson's Lionrock outfit, followed by tracks for Leftfield, Republica and The Sandals. Late in 1993, The Dust Brothers completed work on their "14th Century Sky" EP, released in January 1994. 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. 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. Both "One Too Many Mornings" and "Chemical Beats" would later appear on their debut album. "14th Century Sky" was followed later in 1993 by the "My Mercury Mouth" EP. The Heavenly SocialIn 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. The likes of Noel Gallagher, Paul Weller, James Dean Bradfield and Tim Burgess were regular visitors. 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". These two remixes received television exposure, being playlisted MTV Europe's "The Party Zone" in 1995. 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. 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. The track was called "Wonderwall". From Dust To Chemical...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. 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. They decided to then call themselves "The Chemical Brothers" after "Chemical Beats" (Ed's grandmother had suggested they call themselves "The Grit Brothers"!). In June 1995 they released their fourth single, the first under their new identity. "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. 17.
Exit Planet DustIn July 1995 The Chemical Brothers released their debut album Exit Planet Dust on Freestyle Dust/Junior Boy's Own. It entered the UK charts at #9 and featured guest vocalist Beth Orton on the song "Alive Alone". It eventually went on to sell over a million copies worldwide. Shortly after its release, The Chemical Brothers signed to Virgin Records, to which they took their own offshoot label, Freestyle Dust. 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. It reached #25 in the singles charts. The single was also Select Magazine's Single Of The Month for October. The release included a Daft Punk remix of "Life Is Sweet".
In August 1995, the Chemical Brothers DJed for Oasis at a Sheffield gig. The gig began to backfire when it became apparent that Liam Gallagher didn't seem to like any of the tracks they were spinning. The closest that they could come to pleasing him was the Happy Mondays' "Wrote For Luck". Gallagher proceeded to kick the Chemical Brothers off the turntables and procured a friend from The Verve to continue to DJ. He subsequently favoured obscure psychedelic material to the displeasure of the crowd. Some viewed it as a "one person dancing" night, the "one person" being Jarvis Cocker, from Pulp. Later, Simons put on Leftfield's "Check One", which removed Jarvis from the floor. Around this period, The Stone Roses asked the Chemical Brothers to remix "Begging You", from their "Second Coming" album. After beginning work on a remix which they viewed as having potential, the Stone Roses changed their minds and the project was cancelled. In October 1995 the duo returned to the Heavenly Sunday Social for a second and final run of DJ dates. They then become residents at the Heavenly Social on Saturdays at Turnmills. In November, The Chemical Brothers played the Astoria Theatre in London. At this time the Chems usually used a fusion of "Chemical Beats" and The Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows" as their encore. 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". A few from the crowd subsequently joined in. This resulted in a power cable being kicked loose, bringing the show to a temporary close. 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. Just before Christmas, 1995, they played their biggest gig to date, with The Prodigy, at the Brixton Academy. In January 1996 Exit Planet Dust went gold. The Chemical Brothers released their first new material in 6 months on Virgin, the "Loops Of Fury" EP. The four track release was limited to 20,000 copies. It entered the UK charts at #13. NME described the lead track as "splashing waves of synths across hard-hitting beats". 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". In February 1996, Select Magazine published a list of the 100 best albums of the 1990s thus far. "Exit Planet Dust" was listed at Number 39. In August 1996, The Chemical Brothers supported Oasis at Knebworth, where 125,000 people attend each of the two shows. "Setting Sun"During the 1995 Glastonbury festival, Rowlands and Simons had had another conversion with Noel Gallagher. 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". 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. However, the duo did later on have a track which they thought would benefit from having a vocal on it. They sent Gallagher a tape of what they had done so far. He worked on it overnight, and left a message with them early the next morning that he was ready to record it. The track was called "Setting Sun" and was finally released in October 1996. 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 three remaining Beatles' lawyers later wrote to the Chemical Brothers, mistakenly claiming that they had sampled "Tomorrow Never Knows". Virgin Records hired a musicologist to prove that they did not sample the classic 1960s psychedelic song. In March 1997, the Brothers released the second track from their forthcoming album, to give the world a further taster of what to expect. "Block Rockin' Beats" goes straight to #1 in the UK, thanks, this time, to its Schoolly D vocal sample. 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. 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. Sales from Exit Planet Dust were also around 150,000. Dig Your Own HoleOn April 7, 1997 the Chemical Brothers released their second album, Dig Your Own Hole. It was recorded at the band's own south London studio, with the title taken from graffiti on the wall outside. The album was well received in most circles. 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". During the Summer of 1997, the Brothers toured extensively, particularly in the States. They also became residents at Tokyo's Liquid Rooms. In August, the Chemical Brothers achieved rapprochement with the US Dust Brothers, and asked them to remix forthcoming single "Electrobank". They themselves also became highly sought-after for remixes for other artists. Metallica asked the Brothers several times to remix "Enter Sandman", but were repeatedly turned down. In September, the next single from Dig Your Own Hole, "Elektrobank" was released. In November, the pair played at Dublin's Point Theatre, with support from Carl Cox. They also begin a US tour in Detroit. 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. The b-side consisted of a live version of "Setting Sun", recorded at the Lowlands Festival, Netherlands on August 24, 1997. 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. More mixingIn 1998, they concentrated more on DJing, although some remixes did see the light of day, including "I Think Im In Love" from Spiritualized. Both a vocal remix and an instrumental remix were included in the single release. Each came in at over seven-and-a-half minutes. 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. In September 1998 the Chemical Brothers release their second mix album Brother's Gonna Work It Out. 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 May 1999 The Chemical Brothers played three UK dates in Manchester, Sheffield and Brighton, their first since December 1997. Also that month, they released their first new original material in two years, a track called "Hey Boy, Hey Girl". This was more house influenced than hip-hop. In interviews at the time, Rowlands and Simons indicated that the track was inspired by nights out at Sheffield club "Gatecrasher". The track was also one of their more commercially accessible tracks and went to number 3 in the UK charts. SurrenderThe third album Surrender was released in June 1999. It featured vocals from Noel Gallagher, Mercury Rev's Jonathan Donahue and Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval. As "Hey Boy, Hey Girl" had suggested, the album was more house-orientated than the previous two. 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. It reached Number 1 in the UK album charts, and was widely praised in the print media. 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. 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. In November, "Out Of Control", featuring Sumner and Gillespie on vocals, was released as single. The release also contained the much anticipated Sasha remix. 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. A CD copy of Surrender was placed in the third Blue Peter time capsule, buried in January 2000. "It Began in Afrika"In August 2000 they played to a large crowd at the main stage at Creamfields festival, Ireland. Highlights of their live set included "Out Of Control" and "Hey Boy, Hey Girl". Shortly after Creamfields, Tom and Ed played the main stage at the Glastonbury festival. In December 2000, The Chemical Brothers aired one of their new tracks, "It Began in Afrika" at their New York DJ gigs, supporting U2. According to Rowlands, the new track was described as having:
In 2001, they were quite active with releases and live performances. Early in the year, they began working on a fourth album, provisionally titled "Chemical Four". The first track which fans got a taste of was "It Began In Afrika", as previously played in their DJ set in New York. The track would made its live debut in California in April 2001, at the Coachella Festival, to much acclaim. Another new track also got its public debut at Coachella, "Galaxy Bounce". As has become customary for their releases and experiments, "It Began In Afrika" was first pressed as a promo, as part of the "Electronic Battle Weapon" series. It received much airplay on dance music radio shows in the UK, and became more and more popular in clubs over the course of the summer. It also became one of the "anthems" in Ibiza as the summer progressed. It was given a full commercial single release in September, reaching #8 in the UK singles chart, even though no promotional video was made for the track. Rowlands and Simons also remixed a track from Fatboy Slim's "Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars", entitled "Song For Shelter." Come With UsThe Chemical Brothers finished work on another album, Come With Us, in October 2001 . It featured collaborations with Richard Ashcroft ("The Test"), formerly of The Verve, and long time collaborator Beth Orton ("The State We're In"). The album was released in January 2002, preceded by a single, "Star Guitar", a melodic, Balearic number, with a promotional video by Michel Gondry. It featured the view from a train window at the passing scenery, with everything outside the train moving to the time of the music and sounds in the track. "Star Guitar" was also released as a DVD single, the pair's first time. The album, "Come With Us" was less well received than their previous albums, but nonetheless went straight in at #1 in the UK album charts in the first week of its release, selling 100,000 copies. In April the title track from the album was released as a single, with remixes by Fatboy Slim, as part of a double-A sided release, with "The Test". During the Summer of 2002, they travelled the festival circuit, to promote the album. Later in 2002, they released two EPs, one specifically aimed at Japan and the other the US (entitled "American EP"). Both contained remixes, live versions and b-sides. Ten Years of The Chemical BrothersLate 2002 and early 2003 saw Rowlands and Simons back in the studio, working on new material, including "The Golden Path", a collaboration with Wayne Coyne, the lead singer of The Flaming Lips. This was released in September 2003, at the same time as a "best of" album, entitled Singles 93-03, marking ten years of The Chemical Brothers' releases. Singles 93-03 included most, but not all, of their singles. A second new track, in addition to "The Golden Path", was included on the album, called "Get Yourself High". Singles 93-03 was also released on DVD, whose extra features included selected live performances and interviews with Rowlands, Simons and many of their collaborators from throughout the period. "Get Yourself High", which featured Canadian rapper k-os on vocals, was released as a single in November 2003. In late 2003 and 2004 The Chemical Brothers continued to work in the studio, on new material and a remix of "Slow" by Kylie Minogue. After being released on rare white label vinyl, it was subsequently given a commercial release in March on CD (on her next single "Red Blooded Woman") and on exclusive 12" vinyl picture disc (containg two other Kylie remixes). In Summer 2004 they returned to the festival circuit, including appearances at the Glastonbury Festival, Tokyo, Scotland and Ireland. It was during these sets that they played new material, including "Acid Children", which proved to be one of the most popular new tracks. In September 2004 The Chemical Brothers released the seventh Electronic Battle Weapon. "Electronic Battle Weapon 7" was being released as a one-sided promo-only 12", containing "Acid Children". It featured a distinctive vocal sample "You Are All My Children Now!", which is lifted from an old horror film, A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge. The Electronic Battle Weapon series of promo releases have typically been newly recorded Chemical Brothers tracks, released on promo to allow DJs to test them in a club environment, and to gauge their popularity. Push the ButtonIn 2004, The Chemical Brothers began work on Push the Button, their fifth studio album, which features collaborations with Tim Burgess, Kele Okereke and Anwar Superstar, amongst others. The album was released on January 24, 2005. "Galvanize", which features Q-Tip on vocals, was the first single to be taken from Push the Button, and premiered exclusively on iTunes. The single was released on January 17, 2005, and entered the UK chart at #3. The track "Electronic Battle Weapon 7" features as a B-side on the CD and 12" version. DiscographyAlbums
Compilations
Hit singlesSingles chart positions are for the UK, they haven't had a Top 40 US hit single as of 2005.
This page about The Chemical Brothers includes information from a Wikipedia article. Additional articles about The Chemical Brothers News stories about The Chemical Brothers External links for The Chemical Brothers Videos for The Chemical Brothers Wikis about The Chemical Brothers Discussion Groups about The Chemical Brothers Blogs about The Chemical Brothers Images of The Chemical Brothers |
|
Singles chart positions are for the UK, they haven't had a Top 40 US hit single as of 2005. VCDs. The track "Electronic Battle Weapon 7" features as a B-side on the CD and 12" version. Laserdiscs. The single was released on January 17, 2005, and entered the UK chart at #3. VHSs:. "Galvanize", which features Q-Tip on vocals, was the first single to be taken from Push the Button, and premiered exclusively on iTunes. DVDs:. The album was released on January 24, 2005. With 8 Grammy Awards, Sheryl Crow is a legend and her music is close to everyone's heart. In 2004, The Chemical Brothers began work on Push the Button, their fifth studio album, which features collaborations with Tim Burgess, Kele Okereke and Anwar Superstar, amongst others. Picture (Kid Rock featuring Sheryl Crow). The Electronic Battle Weapon series of promo releases have typically been newly recorded Chemical Brothers tracks, released on promo to allow DJs to test them in a club environment, and to gauge their popularity. Other Hits. It featured a distinctive vocal sample "You Are All My Children Now!", which is lifted from an old horror film, A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge. Crow was a main stage act at Lilith Fair and has contributed many songs to movie soundtracks and special projects that were never made available elsewhere, among them: "D'yer Maker" (Encomium: Led Zeppelin Tribute), "Mother Nature's Son" (I Am Sam Soundtrack), "Ci Darem la Mano Don Giovanni" (Pavarotti & Friends For War Child), and "Resuscitation" (The Faculty). "Electronic Battle Weapon 7" was being released as a one-sided promo-only 12", containing "Acid Children". She is now in a relationship with cycling great Lance Armstrong. In September 2004 The Chemical Brothers released the seventh Electronic Battle Weapon. Her performance within the film of the Porter classic "Begin the Beguine" was critically panned by film reviewers. It was during these sets that they played new material, including "Acid Children", which proved to be one of the most popular new tracks. 2004 saw Crow appear as a musical theater performer in the Cole Porter biopic De-Lovely. In Summer 2004 they returned to the festival circuit, including appearances at the Glastonbury Festival, Tokyo, Scotland and Ireland. Among them was the ballad "The First Cut is the Deepest" (a song originally composed and performed by Cat Stevens), which became her biggest radio hit since her first, "All I Wanna Do". After being released on rare white label vinyl, it was subsequently given a commercial release in March on CD (on her next single "Red Blooded Woman") and on exclusive 12" vinyl picture disc (containg two other Kylie remixes). It featured many of her hit singles as well as some new tracks. In late 2003 and 2004 The Chemical Brothers continued to work in the studio, on new material and a remix of "Slow" by Kylie Minogue. In 2003 Crow released a greatest hits compilation called The Very Best of Sheryl Crow. "Get Yourself High", which featured Canadian rapper k-os on vocals, was released as a single in November 2003. The official reason for the closure was "technical difficulties". Singles 93-03 was also released on DVD, whose extra features included selected live performances and interviews with Rowlands, Simons and many of their collaborators from throughout the period. [1] (http://www.artistsnetwork.org/news7/news319.html) Her opposition caused such a political rift to develop between her fans that the message boards on her website were closed for a number of weeks. A second new track, in addition to "The Golden Path", was included on the album, called "Get Yourself High". Bush!" during a performance on Good Morning America and posting an open letter explaining her opposition on her website. This was released in September 2003, at the same time as a "best of" album, entitled Singles 93-03, marking ten years of The Chemical Brothers' releases. Singles 93-03 included most, but not all, of their singles. Crow opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq, wearing a shirt that read "I don't believe in your war, Mr. Late 2002 and early 2003 saw Rowlands and Simons back in the studio, working on new material, including "The Golden Path", a collaboration with Wayne Coyne, the lead singer of The Flaming Lips. 2002 also found Crow collaborating with Stevie Nicks on her project, and releasing a successful single called "Picture" with rumored boyfriend Kid Rock. Both contained remixes, live versions and b-sides. Crow also performed the song "Safe & Sound" from this album at a television benefit for the victims of September 11th, 2001 disasters. During the Summer of 2002, they travelled the festival circuit, to promote the album. Later in 2002, they released two EPs, one specifically aimed at Japan and the other the US (entitled "American EP"). Crow stated she was making a statement that women over 40 were still sexy. Whether a statement or a marketing tool, C'mon, C'mon spawned hits in "Soak Up the Sun" and 2002 Best Female Rock Performance Grammy winner "Steve McQueen". In April the title track from the album was released as a single, with remixes by Fatboy Slim, as part of a double-A sided release, with "The Test". Videos and promotional photos also found Crow more scantily clad than ever before, in bikinis and hot pants. The album, "Come With Us" was less well received than their previous albums, but nonetheless went straight in at #1 in the UK album charts in the first week of its release, selling 100,000 copies. Musically unlike any of her other records, the project had a more pop feel. It featured the view from a train window at the passing scenery, with everything outside the train moving to the time of the music and sounds in the track. "Star Guitar" was also released as a DVD single, the pair's first time. In 2002, after a break and some touring, Crow released C'mon, C'mon. The album was released in January 2002, preceded by a single, "Star Guitar", a melodic, Balearic number, with a promotional video by Michel Gondry. The record found Crow singing many of her hit singles with new musical spins and guest appearances by many other musicians including Stevie Nicks, The Dixie Chicks, and Eric Clapton. It featured collaborations with Richard Ashcroft ("The Test"), formerly of The Verve, and long time collaborator Beth Orton ("The State We're In"). She also released a live album called Sheryl Crow and Friends: Live From Central Park. The Chemical Brothers finished work on another album, Come With Us, in October 2001 . In 1999 Crow also made her acting debut (barring a cameo in the film "54") as ill-fated drifter Laurie Bloom in the suspense/drama The Minus Man. Rowlands and Simons also remixed a track from Fatboy Slim's "Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars", entitled "Song For Shelter.". Other singles included "There Goes the Neighborhood", "Anything But Down" and "The Difficult Kind". "There Goes the Neighborhood" was released as a single in 2000 and won a Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. It was given a full commercial single release in September, reaching #8 in the UK singles chart, even though no promotional video was made for the track. This song won the 1999 Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. It also became one of the "anthems" in Ibiza as the summer progressed. The album won Best Rock Album at the 1998 Grammy Awards; interestingly, it was re-released in 1999 with a bonus track, Crow's cover of the Guns N' Roses song "Sweet Child O' Mine". It received much airplay on dance music radio shows in the UK, and became more and more popular in clubs over the course of the summer. The debut single from this album, "My Favorite Mistake", was rumored to be about him, though Crow claims otherwise. As has become customary for their releases and experiments, "It Began In Afrika" was first pressed as a promo, as part of the "Electronic Battle Weapon" series. She discussed in press interviews having gone through a deep depression, and she also had a highly publicized relationship with music legend Eric Clapton. The track would made its live debut in California in April 2001, at the Coachella Festival, to much acclaim. Another new track also got its public debut at Coachella, "Galaxy Bounce". In 1998 Crow released a third album, called The Globe Sessions. The first track which fans got a taste of was "It Began In Afrika", as previously played in their DJ set in New York. In 1997 Crow contributed the theme song to the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies. The song of the same title was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Song Written Specifically For a Motion Picture or Television. Early in the year, they began working on a fourth album, provisionally titled "Chemical Four". Other singles included "A Change Would Do You Good", "Home" and "Everyday is a Winding Road". In 2001, they were quite active with releases and live performances. She also won for "Best Rock Album" for the record. It's like Body & Soul, but really, really hard and twisted, it's like high-impact, full-on, but with more organic sounds, and quite intense, without the good vibe.". The debut single "If It Makes You Happy" became a radio hit, and netted her another Grammy award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Live conga playing, quite spaced out. Featuring a darker and grittier look and sound, the album was also far more political, with songs about abortion, homelessness and nuclear war. "quite a lot of percussion, big, sweeping sort of stuff. In 1996 Crow released her second album, which was self titled. According to Rowlands, the new track was described as having:. Crow received several Grammy awards in 1994: Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "All I Wanna Do"; Record of the Year for "All I Wanna Do"; and Best New Artist. In December 2000, The Chemical Brothers aired one of their new tracks, "It Began in Afrika" at their New York DJ gigs, supporting U2. The singles "Run, Baby, Run" and "Strong Enough" were also released. Shortly after Creamfields, Tom and Ed played the main stage at the Glastonbury festival. However the album was slow to garner attention until the one song Crow did not write, "All I Wanna Do", became an unexpected smash radio hit. Highlights of their live set included "Out Of Control" and "Hey Boy, Hey Girl". The album featured many of the songs written by Crow and her friends, including the first single, "Leaving Las Vegas". In August 2000 they played to a large crowd at the main stage at Creamfields festival, Ireland. Bottrell and Crow began a romance and a professional relationship, eventually creating her debut album, called Tuesday Night Music Club. A CD copy of Surrender was placed in the third Blue Peter time capsule, buried in January 2000. They would get together and improvise songs until they had finished works. 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. She teamed up with record producer Bill Bottrell and other musicians to form what they called The Tuesday Night Music Club. The release also contained the much anticipated Sasha remix. Crow signed a record deal with A&M Records in 1990 and was ready to release her debut album in 1991. However, she did not like the slick and well-produced pop sound of the record and implored the label to allow her to start anew; they agreed. In November, "Out Of Control", featuring Sumner and Gillespie on vocals, was released as single. She has stated that she was not allowed to make eye contact with the singer except when on stage. 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. Crow began her adult life as a school teacher and in the 1980s she moved to Los Angeles and quickly found work as backup vocalist for many major label acts. She was recruited to perform as a backup singer for Michael Jackson on his Bad tour, where she was forced to wear a 4 1/2 foot fright wig and change her name to "Shirley". 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. Sheryl Crow (born February 11, 1962 in Kennett, Missouri, USA) is an American blues rock singer, guitarist and song writer. It reached Number 1 in the UK album charts, and was widely praised in the print media. Live in London (1996). 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. Rockin' the Globe (1999). As "Hey Boy, Hey Girl" had suggested, the album was more house-orientated than the previous two. Live in London (1996). It featured vocals from Noel Gallagher, Mercury Rev's Jonathan Donahue and Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval. Live in London (1996). The third album Surrender was released in June 1999. Rockin' the Globe (1999). The track was also one of their more commercially accessible tracks and went to number 3 in the UK charts. Rockin' the Globe (1999). In interviews at the time, Rowlands and Simons indicated that the track was inspired by nights out at Sheffield club "Gatecrasher". The Very Best of Sheryl Crow - the videos (November 2003). This was more house influenced than hip-hop. C'mon America 2003 (December 2003). Also that month, they released their first new original material in two years, a track called "Hey Boy, Hey Girl". Cocky (2001). In May 1999 The Chemical Brothers played three UK dates in Manchester, Sheffield and Brighton, their first since December 1997. The Very Best of Sheryl Crow (2003) #2 UK #3 USA. 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. C'mon C'mon (2002)#2 UK #1 USA. In September 1998 the Chemical Brothers release their second mix album Brother's Gonna Work It Out. Sheryl Crow and Friends: Live From Central Park (1999). 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. The Globe Sessions (1998)#2 UK #3 USA GRAMMY for Best Rock Album. Each came in at over seven-and-a-half minutes. Sheryl Crow (1996)#5 UK #4 USA GRAMMY for Best Rock Album. Both a vocal remix and an instrumental remix were included in the single release. Tuesday Night Music Club (1993) #8 UK #1 USA GRAMMY for Best New Artist. 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". The gig began to backfire when it became apparent that Liam Gallagher didn't seem to like any of the tracks they were spinning. In August 1995, the Chemical Brothers DJed for Oasis at a Sheffield gig. And crunchy on the inside too." -- NME, awarding it Single Of The Week. Crunchy on the outside. "The Brothers are in absolutely inspired, jackhammering, Underworld-fondling form. The release included a Daft Punk remix of "Life Is Sweet". The single was also Select Magazine's Single Of The Month for October. It reached #25 in the singles charts. 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. That was the final nail in the coffin". -- Ed Simons. "Ariel symbolically ended when Deconstruction asked us for a Dust Brothers remix of an Ariel track. One of the last things Ariel did was the song "T Baby" which was remixed by the pair. Their record label, deConstruction, insisted that they get a female singer, and after some disappointing songs like "Let It Slide" (Rowlands would later describe it as "a stinker") the band fell apart. 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. |