The Chemical Brothers are the UK-based Grammy Award winning electronic music duo of Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons (occasionally referred to as Chemical Tom and Chemical Ed). Initially they called themselves "The Dust Brothers", after the noted United States production duo of the same name, but their burgeoning popularity and the threat of legal action from the originals led them to change their name in 1995. Along with The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim and The Crystal Method, as well as other lesser-known acts they were pioneers of the big beat electronic dance genre, and are known for high-quality live sets.
Background: Ed Simons was born in Herne Hill, South London, England, on 9 June 1970 to a barrister mother and a father who was not around much when Simons was growing up. Simons' two main interests when he was young were airplanes and musicals. Simons attended two South London public schools, Alleyn's School and Dulwich College. During his school years, Ed developed a fondness for rare groove and Hip hop music, having frequented a club called The Mud Club from the age of 14. By the time he left school, his two main musical interests were two Manchester bands, New Order and The Smiths. After finishing school with 11 O levels and 3 A-levels, Ed continued on to study Medieval History at the University of Manchester.
Tom Rowlands, a childhood classmate of Simons', was born on 11 January 1971 in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey. When Rowlands was very young, his family relocated to Henley-on-Thames. He later attended Reading Blue Coat School in Berkshire, during which time he became obsessed with Scotland, developing a fondness for the bagpipes in particular. In his early teens, his interest in music broadened to other genres. Initially, some of his favourites included the Oh What a Lovely War soundtrack, 2-Tone, and the electro sounds of artists such as Heaven 17, Kraftwerk, New Order, and Cabaret Voltaire. He described the first Public Enemy album as the record that probably changed his life, and commented that Miuzi Weighs a Ton was one of the most amazing records he had ever heard. Rowlands also started collecting hip hop records by artists like Eric B and Schoolly D. Rowlands left school with similar accomplishments to Simons', achieving 9 O levels and 3 A levels. For University, he followed Simons to Manchester primarily to immerse himself in its music scene in general and the Haçienda in particular.
Live:
The Chemical Brothers are credited as being one of the few truly arena-sized electronic acts. Their live acts comprise large screens displaying psychedelic images, strobe lights and lasers that project over the crowd. There has been speculation over how much of their live gigs are pre-recorded, although they insist (on their official website FAQ) that they have a mere outline of track order and the rest is mixed live. This would seem to be confirmed by concert goers who have seen gigs on consecutive nights and have posted notable differences between the sets played.
The Brothers have also played at many major festivals, from Glastonbury to Reading and currently hold the record for most gigs performed in a year at the Brixton Academy.
In addition to performing their own music they also hold regular DJ nights where they mix other artist's tracks (in the style of Brothers Gonna Work It Out).
As with their recorded albums The Chemical Brothers are well known for their incorporation of guest vocalists into their live performances. Notable appearances in recent gigs have included Bernard Sumner of New Order, who sang on the original "Out of Control", and Tim Burgess.
The duo also played at the launch event for the Wii gaming device.
The Chemical Brothers took over the streets of downtown Los Angeles on September 29, 2007, headlining the 13th Annual Nocturnal Wonderland Festival.
