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The Chemical Brothers are an English electronic music duo, comprised of Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons . Initially they called themselves "The Dust Brothers", after the noted US 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 a few other lesser-known acts they were pioneers of the big beat electronic dance genre, and are known for high-quality live sets.1 History
1.1 Background
Ed Simons was born in Herne Hill, South London, England in 1970, to a barrister mother and a father who was not around much when Ed was growing up. Ed's two main interests when he was young were airplanes and musicals. Simons went to school in Allays in South London, and left with 11 O levels and 3 A-levels. Ed developed a fondness of rare groove and hip hop, having frequented a club called The Mud Club when he was 14. By the time he left school, his two main musical interests were two Manchester bands, New OrderNew Order are an English indie rock band that formed in 1980 from Joy Division following the suicide of lead singer Ian Curtis. The members of New Order are Bernard Sumner (lead vocalist), Peter Hook (bassist), and Stephen Morris (percussion), all from Jo and The SmithsThis article is about the English pop band, for other uses of "Smith or "Smiths", see Smith The Smiths were a hugely influential British rock group and " indie music" pioneers. Personnel Core line-up (1982 1987) Morrissey vocals, piano Johnny Marr guitars. These interests were pivotal in Simons' decision to study Medieval HistoryThe Middle Ages formed the middle period in a schematic division of European history into three 'ages': Classical civilization, the Middle Ages, and Modern Civilization. It is commonly dated from the end of the Western Roman Empire ( 5th century) until th at Manchester University.
Another student in Simon's class was Tom Rowlands. Rowlands was born in 19711971 is a common year starting on Friday (click for link to calendar). Events January January 1 British divorce Reform Act comes into force January 2 66 die in stairway crush at Rangers v Celtic football match, Glasgow, Scotland. See Ibrox disaster. Janua, in Kingston-Upon-Thames. His father was a lighting cameraman. When Rowlands was very young, his family relocated to HenleyHenley-on-Thames is a town on the north side of the River Thames in South Oxfordshire, England, about 10 miles downstream and north-east from Reading, 10 miles upstream and west from Maidenhead. It is located on the corner between Oxfordshire, Berkshire a. He later went to school in Reading. Rowlands became obsessed with Scotland when he was a child, and loved the bagpipes in particular. Later, he became interested in other music. Initially, one of his favorites was the "Oh What A Lovely War" soundtrack, then 2-Tone , and in his early teens, the synth-pop of artists as Heaven 17, Kraftwerk and Cabaret Voltaire. Later on in his teens, Rowlands progressed to The Jesus and Mary Chain. He described the first Public Enemy album as the record which probably changed his life, and says he thought "Miuzi Weighs a Ton" was one of the most amazing records he had ever heard. Rowlands started collecting a lot of hip hop records, by people like Eric B and Schoolly D, but was also a large fan of My Bloody Valentine. Rowlands left school with 9 O levels and 3 A levels. Healso decided to go to Manchester for further study because of its music scene, and specifically the Hacienda.
