In Memoriam - Margaret Thatcher

Not that we are heartless and cruel or anything, but Chumbawamba hereby present a small selection of music to be played as the more discerning portion of this nation celebrates the death of Britain’s first woman Prime Minister.

Featuring several new songs commemorating the most viciously dismissive and destructive leader we’ve had since long before any of us were born, this CD has the peculiarity of not having a fixed release date. That is, unless you count ‘the day Thatcher dies’ as a firm enough date.

Already recorded, pressed and ready to go, this EP will be mailed out to everyone who orders it in advance – mailed out on the day the Milk Snatcher waves a less-than-fond farewell.

Pay your £5 now in the knowledge that, come the morning after the glorious day, you’ll have this exclusive and unavailable-elsewhere CD dropping tombstone-like onto your doormat.

The songs on the EP won’t be available as downloads, give-aways or bad cassette copies; the only way to secure the In Memoriam EP will be by ordering in advance. It may happen next month, it may happen in five years, but by ordering now you can rest easy in the knowledge that you’ve put a down-payment on a small and perfectly-formed segment of the celebrations.

Chumbawamba – In Memoriam: Margaret Thatcher is available to order from www.chumba.com and at forthcoming Chumbawamba concerts.

Chumbawamba 2009 - Viva La Evolution!

2009 sees the 200th birthday of English naturalist Charles Darwin, ‘Father of Evolution’, and since Chumbawamba are touring the UK in March they’ll be using the shows to illuminate and commemorate Darwin’s ideas. For despite 200 years of scientific progress and discovery, it seems that people are still fighting the battle that Darwin fought all those years ago; a battle perpetuated by fundamentalist beliefs and blind faith.

The ‘Vive La Evolution!’ tour runs through March, beginning in Liverpool and ending in Wolverhampton.

Evolution has long been a watchword for Chumbawamba, who more than most bands realise the need to change. Over the years they’ve gone from punk rock to dance to acapella to chart-pop and to acoustic, always trying to respond to the changing culture around them. This tour sees a five-piece Chumbawamba, acoustic/accordion/trumpet and vocals, veering ever-closer to stand-up as they tackle the issues of the day and steer their set according to the audience.

As a response to the X-Factor obsession with slickness, routine and homogenised culture, Chumbawamba’s shows are becoming ever-more chaotic, unpredictable and unexpected – an unedited chat show with a soundtrack of folk, pop and harmonies.

2009 is also the 150th anniversary of the publication of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, the study that turned Darwin from a scientist to a standard-bearer for common sense. While the USA has elected its first black President, it can also claim that 90% of its population support the teaching of Creationism – the teaching of the Old Testament as literal fact – in school. At the same time, Islamic terrorists around the world slaughter innocent people while shouting “God is Great!”

Chumbawamba aim to bombard the audience at these shows not with bombs but with ideas, tunes and a good time (and the occasional overstretched metaphor). Vive La Evolution!