Tubthumper
| Tubthumper | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Chumbawamba | ||||
| Released | 1 September 1997 | |||
| Recorded | 1996–1997 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 58:49 | |||
| Label |
EMI (UK) Universal Records (US) |
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| Chumbawamba chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Tubthumper | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+ |
| Robert Christgau |  |
| Rolling Stone |  |
Tubthumper is the eighth studio album by British band Chumbawamba. Tubthumper was the band's first major commercial success, and remains their most successful album, selling 3.2 million units in the United States alone, largely on the strength of the hit lead single "Tubthumping". It spawned three singles, including the UK top 10 hits "Tubthumping" and "Amnesia," and received positive reviews from critics upon its release.
The album catapulted the group into the mainstream, released by EMI in the UK and in the US by Universal Records, and was noted for its departure from the group's typical style of outspoken punk rock in favor of a more mainstream sound.
The cover for the album's US release was designed by Michael Calleia at Industrial Strength Design in New York City.
The album was released as a CD, and on cassette in select regions.
Following the success of their previous two albums ("Anarchy" and "Swingin' with Raymond", both of which reached the Top 75 on the UK Albums Chart), Chumbawamba signed to EMI Records in hopes of reaching a larger audience. The move caused a huge upheaval in Chumbawamba's fan base, with many of their older fans feeling the band had trivialised all that they had stood for in signing to EMI. The band was targeted by many as being sell-outs and hypocrites, after having been sternly do-it-yourself for their fifteen-year history.
The band's actions were made the subject of a compilation EP released in 1998 titled The Anti-Chumbawamba EP, featuring music from other English acts. One of the songs from the EP was once available to download on the Chumbawamba official Web site, with accompanying text from the band stating, "It's all true."
The band's official FAQ has the following to say on the subject: "We signed to EMI/Universal not because we'd been co-opted into the 'If you can't beat capitalism ... join it' school of thought, but because experience had taught us that in a capitalist environment almost every record company operates on capitalist principles. Our previous record label One Little Indian didn't have the evil symbolic significance of EMI BUT they were completely motivated by profit. Our [Chumbawamba's] position was that whoever we signed with would want us not for our ideas but for the potential profit, so we'd battle for a contract where we still had autonomy."
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Wikipedia