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Biography
The successful double act, often grouped with other dance music stars of the 90’s such as Fatboy Slim and The Progidy, are considered innovators of the Big Beat sound and have achieved commercial and critical success.
Simons and Rowlands were both born in London and were childhood friends attending the same school. The pair shared similar music tastes growing up, with a mutual fondness for late 80’s hip-hop such as Eric B and Public Enemy.
The duo ended up at the University of Manchester together in 1989, where they began DJing at Hip-Hop and Techno nights under the name “The Dust Brothers.” They claim that they only decided to start producing tracks when they had “ran out” of music to play at clubs.
The Dust Brothers found moderate success, with their initial tracks being played by various DJ’s around the country. But they started to gain recognition upon the release of their debut EP, “Fourteenth Century Sky”, with the standout track “Chemical Beats”, announcing their trademark “Big Beat” sound onto the world.
They eventually ended up playing at celebrity hangouts in London during the 90’s and remixed the likes of The Charlatans and Manic Street Preachers, however as they grew, they were forced to change their name for legal reasons, and thus The Chemical Brothers were born.
In 1995 the Chemical Brothers signed to Virgin Records released their successful debut album “Exit Planet Dust”, which launched them as bona fide dance music stars. Since then they have regularly released popular and much played anthems, such as the massive “Hey Boy, Hey Girl” and the robot inspired single “Push The Button.”
The Chemical Brothers have become known for their epic, arena style live shows, whatever the venue. They have played around the world from Ibiza and the USA, to festivals such as Glastonbury and Reading and Leeds.
Live reviews
Chemical Brothers is up there on my list of favorite live performances. They were the headliners of Coachella 2010 and I could not be more excited. I waited for what felt like more than 30 minutes for the group to arrive on stage. They were having technical difficulties as one of the segments on the giant screen was not working properly. Even though they were not able to get it going, it did not make a difference at all. I have never felt so much joy watching a live performance with seemingly thousands of my best friends. There were indeed tears of love and delight. They are always one of the first artists I go to when I am going on a long road trip. Each of their albums follows a feeling of cohesiveness and brilliant flow in its entirety. They manage to tell a story with minimal lyrics. They also tell / assist in telling stories with some of the films they appear in. They released a documentary not too long ago which followed a night at one of their shows in Japan. I saw it in theaters and without a doubt I felt like I was thousands of miles away in that very crowd. The next best thing was for us to dance in the theater isles, and that we did. The score for the 2010 film Hana was also composed by them, it turned out to be one of my favorite movies. This of course had a lot to do with the Chem Bros.
Where to begin... They have been around for a long long time and this shows on their ability to put out great music and great shows. They understand music composition and what it is all about, a great experience! I have seen them live a few times and every time they have been able to blow my mind. Not only is their music great, their visuals are in sync with the music to the point that you get sucked into them and they take you on a little adventure. They play everything from "Lost in the K Hole" to "Swoon," mixing them very smoothly.
The atmosphere has always been great when I have seen them as they tend to attract an older crowd in their late 20s / early thirties. Overall this is an experience I recommend to everyone that has appreciation for electronic music and is looking to get their mind blown. I must point out that I do not take any substances other than cold brews to enjoy my music. If you do, any bass is good for you so please keep your zombie self away from the Chemical Brothers. If you enhance feelings with substances and are functional, I am sure you will have your mind blown by them.
juan-martinez-27
The Chemical Brothers, otherwise known as Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons were a driving force in the UK garage and electro movement of the 90's releasing an innovative take on traditional dance music. Scoring a string of number one albums from 1997 to 2007, the duo have a huge amount of material to wow crowds with during their immersive and surreal live show.
Alongside their experimental music, the pair were known for experimenting with their live show. Innovators of their time, the visual elements now amaze the crowds and help to emphasise classic tracks such as 'Galvanize' and 'Setting Sun'. A barrage of light illuminates the entire audience throughout the show and makes the fragmented dance beats of 'Out Of Control' even more trippy.
The oversized human shadows who frolic on the huge screens behind the duo's heads keep the vibe surreal before they delight the crowd with fan favourites such as 'Superflash'. The finale of 'Block Rockin' Beats' is amass of light, fire and music; a euphoric and hedonistic climax as the stage lights continues to pulse ominously long after the music fades away.
sean-ward
Absolutely amazing show. Well worth the money. Light show and graphics were mesmerising. The lasers are truly wonderful. I’ve never seen CB before and I would love to see them in an open air environment, you know....a summers evening, a bit pissed with a lot of like minded people. Love their ♫ and beat was an earth moving experience. Only disappointment was the venue. Birmingham Arena sucks ass..... Big time. I’m from Birmingham so it doesn’t make me happy to say that. But it is a crap venue. Food and beer too expensive. Bar staff are on downers or some kind of relax drug I’m sure. Toilets are too few and the queuing system to get in!!!!! Shoddy and disorganised. However CB are more than worth seeing again and again.
melanie-green-9
Incredible. The best.
The was unquestionably the best concert I've ever been to - despite how great The Prodigy and Justice were recently. I had high expectations but I was totally blown away. It was exactly what I was looking for as a high-energy dance catharsis. I knew all of their songs, the mix had seamless transitions and hyped the energy at all the right times. The lighting design had perfect synchronicity between colour, timing and effect for what the music represented. It was highly theatrical and entertaining. The audience was euphoric. It was unforgettable. I will attend wherever possible.
Bloody brilliant night out watching Chemical Brothers @ O2...
Awesome light show with a great set list. I've always regretted never seeing this duo before and I'm so glad I finally did.
In today's world, I normally find the larger venues have far too many people sitting down watching the event like they're at home watching TV and the atmosphere is lacking. Not with Tom & Ed, 99.9% of the pretty much packed auditorium were up & havin' it large! Kudos to The Chems...
For DJ's who've been banging it out since before the mid 90's, they've still got it...
Highly recommended.
adriangrant65
Chemical Brothers volvían a España y con ellos la posibilidad de disfrutar de los DJ sets de Erol Alkan y 2 many djs. Ambos fallaron en su labor de entretener y calentar al publico que deseaba ver a el dúo de Manchester asumir el control de los decibelios.
Tom Rowlands y Ed Simons acompañados de un espectáculo visual infalible, nos mostraron todo su potencial y buena parte de su gran repertorio. si tienes la ocasión de verles no lo dudes, GO!
enrique-santana-3
Ich bin Fan der beiden seit der ersten Single. Habe sie vor 15 Jahren in London erlebt. Gestern in der Festhalle in Frankfurt wiedergesehen. Die beiden haben nichts von ihrer Energie eingebüßt. Einmalig. 2 Stunden Super Videoshow und tolle Gadgets. Weiter so. Sehr zu empfehlen. 100 % Party von der ersten Minute an. Das Konzert war das Geld mehr als wert. Danke.
rene.schlee
The show itself was great. Lights, sound, music were all fab. The venue (hydro, Glasgow) was a big disappointment though. We missed half the show due to the queues. The management there need a good shake. When you've got a busy night, hire more staff and let your paying customers get on with enjoying themselves instead of queueing for hours for entry and drinks!
kirsty-gilmour
super show, great atmosphere. loved the visuals, the music, the people. Another proof that music brings us together regardless of where we come from and who we are. I am not a huge fan of electro but the feeling you get when you see so many happy people is awesome, and they know how to prep the show!
anca-badilas
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