You’re probably already song-bombed just from reading that headline, such is the ubiquity and pervasiveness of Chumbawamba’s 1997 hit “Tubthumping.” The single reached No. 1 in at least six different countries, has been endlessly remixed, was the theme song for a number of video games both at the time (EA Sports’ World Cup ’98 is seared in this writer’s memory) and years later (Nintendo’s Donkey Konga in 2004), and was the A.V. Undercover choice for They Might Be Giants in 2011.
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But Chumbawamba, despite its reputation as a one-hit wonder, didn’t rise to popularity out of nowhere. A group of anarchist punks from Leeds, Chumbawamba had been making music and doing squat gigs for 15 years before it signed to EMI in 1997. Now vocalist Dunstan Bruce wants to bring the band together for a feature-length documentary that promises “[to reveal] for the first time the hilarious and surprising story behind their meteoric rise to fame, their infamous John Prescott moment at the Brits in ’98, and a legacy reduced to a dancing gorilla sold by Walmart.” Called I Get Knocked Down, the film is a “collaborative effort,” and Bruce is looking for people who might have paraphernalia from the band’s pre-“Tubthumping” days, like flyers, home video footage, or photos.
The Kickstarter campaign aims to raise £40,000 (about $62,000), and hopes to have a finished documentary by spring of 2016. You can donate to the I Get Knocked Down campaign here, reaping rewards such as having Dunstan DJ a vinyl-only set at your own party (which is probably not very cost-effective if you don’t live in England).