• Source: Tubthumping

"Tubthumping" is a song by British rock band Chumbawamba, released in August 1997 by EMI, Universal and Republic Records as the first single from their eighth studio album, Tubthumper (1997). It is the band's most successful single, peaking at number two on the UK Singles Chart. It topped the charts in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand and reached number six on the US Billboard Hot 100. At the 1998 Brit Awards, "Tubthumping" was nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Single. It sold 880,000 copies in the UK.




Background


The song was the group's lead single from Tubthumper, their major-label debut. It was released on 11 August 1997. Vocalist Dunstan Bruce retrospectively observed that, before the group wrote it, they "were in a mess: we had become directionless and disparate". He credited "Tubthumping" with changing that, telling The Guardian, "It's not our most political or best song, but it brought us back together. The song is about us – as a class and as a band. The beauty of it was we had no idea how big it would be."




Writing and composition


A Leeds pub named the Fforde Grene served as the group's inspiration for the song. Guitarist Boff Whalley told The Guardian that it was written about "the resilience of ordinary people"; musically, "Tubthumping" is a dance-rock, alternative rock, and dance-punk song in D major. The intro to the song includes an excerpt from the British film Brassed Off.
In 2024, after the song was used by New Zealand politicians deemed to be anti-liberal, Whalley said, “Let me be clear: the song "Tubthumping" was written to celebrate the resilience and tenacity of working-class folk who keep fighting when the chips are down. It has nothing whatsoever in common with wealthy politicians with extremist anti-liberal agendas. ...The right doesn't have any good songs. That's why they keep trying to nick ours."




Critical reception


Larry Flick from Billboard wrote, "Some records just demand attention: 'Tubthumping' is one of the rare few. You can spend three times the track's running time plucking out the seemingly disparate sounds and assorted genre references—starting with the forceful alterna-rock guitar scratches, the hip-hop-derived beats, and the swing-style horns. Holding it all together are the kind of rousing, gang-like chants that you hear at football games. Sounds odd, eh? Well, you won't soon forget this jam after first listen. And you'll likely be hearing it on pop and modern rock stations for months to come. If this gem is indicative of the tone of the act's forthcoming album, it should be quite a head trip." A reviewer from Daily Record described it as an "irritating catchy drinking anthem from the anarchist band". It was also named a "raucous anthem". Pan-European magazine Music & Media said, "After a decade and a half spent as indie heroes this collective is likely to break into the mainstream in a big way". Music Week gave the song four out of five, noting that it "combines their unique sound with a very infectious chant that could have come from the terraces. Radio One's Simon Mayo has been heavily championing the song which should prove to be their biggest hit to date." Ian Hyland of the Sunday Mirror rated it eight out of ten, writing, "Sing a terrace chant, mention lager and the rugby boys will be making boozed-up human pyramids on the dance floor in seconds. And you'll have a monster hit – good work, chum." Troy J. Augusto from Variety named it a "drinking-and-dancing anthem" and "the quirk hit of the season".
In The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop poll for 1997, "Tubthumping" was voted the second-best single of the year. Australian radio station Triple J ranked it No. 3 in its Triple J Hottest 100 for the same year. Author Bruce Pollock included it in his 2005 book "The 7,500 Most Important Songs of 1944-2000". "Tubthumping" also placed at No. 12 in Rolling Stone's 2007 list of the "20 Most Annoying Songs" and at No. 8 in the magazine's 2011 list of the "Top 10 One-Hit Wonders of All Time". In 2017, Billboard ranked it No. 38 in their list of "The 100 Greatest Pop Songs of 1997".




Commercial performance


Upon its release, the song became an international hit. On the UK Singles Chart, it debuted at number two on the chart dated 23 August 1997; it spent three consecutive weeks at number two, held off the top spot by Will Smith's "Men in Black." The song spent 11 consecutive weeks in the top 10, and 20 consecutive weeks on the top 100. On the chart dated 24 January 1998, three weeks after its last week on the chart, the song reentered the singles chart at number 88; the next week, it fell to number 96 before exiting the chart.
In the US, the song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 dated 13 September 1997, at number 79. The next week, it rose to number 63, attaining the week's biggest gain in airplay. Two weeks later, on the chart dated 4 October 1997, the song was again the biggest airplay gainer of the week, entering the top 40 in its rise from 47 to 35. In its 12th week on the chart, 29 November 1997, the song reached its peak of number six, where it spent two weeks. In total, it spent 31 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100.
The single was also present on many year-end singles charts for 1997. In the UK, it ranked as the year's seventh most-popular single, while it placed at number three on Australia's top 100 songs of the year. The single also placed in the top 20 of the year-end chart in Sweden and in the top 100 of 1997 in Belgium, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United States. In the US, it placed at number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100's year-end ranking for 1998.




Track listings and formats






Charts






Certifications






Release history






"Tubthumping" (2003 remix)



"Tubthumping (remix)" was released in 2003 as a promotional CD by Chumbawamba on Koch Records. The remixed version of the song was done by The Flaming Lips and Dave Fridmann.
The single was released promotionally by Mutt Records, with their previous single, "Jacob's Ladder (Not in My Name)", as a B-side. It was also included on the bonus DVD accompanying Readymades and Then Some, the rerelease of their 2002 album Readymades. Stereogum also made the song available as a free MP3 download in June 2004.




= Track listing

=
US promo CD
"Tubthumping" (remix) (by the Flaming Lips and Dave Fridmann) – 5:20
"Salt Fare, North Sea" – 4:28
"Jacob's Ladder (Not in My Name)" – 2:52




Legacy



A neon sculpture on the Leeds Playhouse features the lyric "I get knocked down but I get up again". During the COVID-19 pandemic in Leeds, the song was given a remix by local young musicians and sportspeople.
Alternative rock band They Might Be Giants covered "Tubthumping" for The A.V. Club's A.V. Undercover series, and included on the compilation album Album Raises New and Troubling Questions.
In 2024, New Zealand deputy prime minister Winston Peters used the song at a political rally. Chumbawamba accused Peters of hijacking the song and asked their record label to issue a cease and desist letter. Peters responded on X, "there's nothing to 'cease or desist'. [...] The song worked like a charm for our first public meeting after the election. The over 700 people in the crowd thought so too."
The song was also used briefly in the 1998 comedy film Dirty Work starring Norm Macdonald and directed by Bob Saget.




See also


List of number-one singles in Australia during the 1990s
List of RPM number-one alternative rock singles
List of number-one singles of 1997 (Ireland)
List of number-one singles from the 1990s (New Zealand)
List of Billboard Mainstream Top 40 number-one songs of the 1990s
List of Adult Top 40 number-one songs of the 1990s




References






External links


Song Review at AllMusic

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