Read this: 25 years ago, Chumbawamba smuggled anarchist ideals onto the U.S. pop charts

Everyone remembers where they were when they learned that Chumbawamba was more than a ‘90s one-hit-wonder and actually a long-running anarcho-communist punk band with a loyal following in jolly ol’ England; it may even be happening to you right now! Mel Magazine is marking the 25th anniversary of 1997 and wrote about the alcohol-propelled Trojan horse that was “Tubthumping,” a song that brought the band’s subversive politics to the top of the Billboard Alternative charts and provided the pop culture zeitgeist with one of the most memorable choruses of the decade.

It’s a rock ‘n’ roll tale as old as time: a band that has been working at it for years decides their next album needs to be hit they’ve been searching for or they’re packing it in. And then, through the grace of A&R—or maybe just luck—they finally score the chartbuster of their career with a tune that steps outside of their comfort zone and might even alienate their long-time fans.

Chumbawamba had experimented in punk, ska, folk, and electronica, but “Tubthumping” was pure pop from the songwriting to the production with horns, hooks, and an anthemic chorus quite literally meant to be sung at the top of your lungs in a crowded bar. But underneath the surface, the band remained true to its roots with lyrics conveying a deeper message of the workers “surviving the daily grind” as explained by band member Alice Nutter to CNN 1997. “Tubthumping” would debut at #2 on the UK Singles Chart in August of 1997 and would overtake the states over the following months, hitting #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 that November.

“We decided to use the situation to our own ends. At that time, we thought, ‘What can we do with this,” explains lead vocalist Dunstan Bruce. “The song itself is evidence of the fact that if you can find ways to invade your way into culture—you can use that as a kind of smokescreen to say the other stuff that you want to say.”

Chumbawamba did just that, like a merry gang of anarchist pranksters, they weaponized their success to bring to light their political and social beliefs and take on major corporations through the power of pop music.

The band replaced the lyrics of “Tubthumping” to “Free Mumia Abu-Jamal” on a Late Show performance, encouraged people to steal their album from Virgin Megastores on Politically Incorrect, and (this writer’s personal favorite) allowed General Motors to play a song of theirs in a car commercial and then donated all their profits to anti-GM groups. “They were incredibly subversive, but they also were trolls,” explains Chumbawamba enthusiast and Eve 6 singer, Max Collins. Not all trolls are bad.

Chumbawamba called it quits in 2012, performing their final show at Leeds City Varieties on Halloween night and Bruce is currently in production on a documentary on the band due out later this year.

These days, countless copies of Tubthumper line used CD stores across the country while the real message of “Tubthumping” is still lost on nostalgic 40-somethings on their fifth or sixth whiskey drink, vodka drink, lager drink, or cider drink.

[via Mel Magazine]