The duo originally called themselves The Dust Brothers after the U.S. producers who worked on the Beastie Boys albums. Later they changed their name to the Chemical Brothers. This also inspired the title of their first album Exit Planet Dust.

They were nearly called The Grit Brothers.

Both members of the Chems are qualified to teach History.

The duo are considered Big Beat’s pioneers, influencing acts like Fatboy Slim.

The title Dig Your Own Hole comes from graffiti the Chems saw outside their studio.

The Prodigy’s Keith Flint once accidentally disrupted a Chems set when he jumped on the stage to dance and the subsequent crowd knocked out a power cable.

Oasis and the Chems have been close since their respective beginnings, thought he relationship has been rocky at times. They were once booted off stage by Noel Gallagher during an Oasis-opener set, but they have also remixed tracks for the Britpop guitar band.

USELESS TRIVIAKNOWLEDGE BLOCK ROCKING BEAT

push the button(2005)

surrender(1999)

exit planet dust(1995)

come with us(2002)

dig your own hole(1997)

tom rowlands aka. chemical tomKnown as an enthusiastic biker (the pedal kind), Rowlands was born in London, 1971, but his family soon relocated to Henley-on-Thames. He attended school in Berkshire and found an early interest in bagpipes. Fortunately his musical tastes expanded and he soon developed a liking for hip-hop (he called Public Enemy’s Yo! Bum Rush the Show as the album that changed his life). He met Simons in Manchester while attending the university there and the two soon started to DJ together.

ed simons aka. chemical edBorn in South London, 1970, Simons was interested in two things when he was a kid: music and aeroplanes. He indulged in groove and hip-hop music during his school years – after finishing school he attended the University of Manchester, mainly for the music scene. There he met Tom Rowlands, but the two didn’t immediately start producing tracks together. At that time Simons was in the band Ariel, which released a few tracks and was signed to a label. But Ariel eventually fell apart and Simons joined forces with Rowlands to mix tracks under the name The Dust Brothers.

we are the night(2007)

further(2010)

are you ready for those block-rockin’ beats? legendary rapper schoolly d might have said those words first, but the chemical brothers made them a new generation’s anthem.

Some would argue that the duo from Manchester changed the face of dance music – and it’s hard to refute, given that the Chems influenced acts like Fatboy Slim and picked up the torch from alternative dance trailblazers The Prodigy. The Chems started in the U.K. pub scene. At first they called themselves The Dust Brothers, after the same-named Hip-

Hop producers and released anthems like Song To The Siren and Chemical Beats, the latter considered the song that created the Big Beats sound. When the duo became more famous, the original Dust Brothers threatened legal action, so they hastily changed their name to The Chemical Brothers. Apart from fitting perfectly with the underground dance culture of the time, the name also became iconic in a style of dance music that was defiantly original, obviously deeply influenced by the duo’s love for Hip-Hop music. Since then they have become one of the best-selling dance acts of all time.

chEmicaL brOthErs

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mEEt thE baND

DiscOGraphy

godfathers of big beat, they have encouraged us to dig our own holes, go with them, surrender and push the button. it’s the

64 juNE 2010