| ABCDEFG | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1 March 2010 | |||
| Recorded | Late 2009 | |||
| Genre | Folk | |||
| Length | 44:31 | |||
| Label | No Masters | |||
| Chumbawamba chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [1] |
| The Music Fix | (7/10) [2] |
ABCDEFG is the fourteenth and final studio album by British rock band Chumbawamba. It was officially released on 1 March 2010, but copies that were pre-ordered from the band's website arrived the week before. [3]
ABCDEFG continues the five-person line up of Lou Watts, Jude Abbott, Neil Ferguson, Boff Whalley and Phil 'Ron' Moody. The album's lyrical content focuses mainly on themes to do with music and singing.
"Wagner at the Opera" refers to a concentration camp survivor who disrupted a Wagner recital by swinging a football rattle. [4] [5] [6] "Torturing James Hetfield" is a response to James Hetfield's approval of the use of Metallica's music as a torture device against Iraqi prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. [7] [8] The song was described as depicting a "wonderful image" by Stefan Appleby in BBC Review . [9] Boff Whalley listed the song as one of his favourites in July 2011. [10] The song "Ratatatay" is about George Melly's experience of being confronted by thugs, who ran off after he recited The Ursonate , a sound poem by Kurt Schwitters. [11]
All tracks are written by Chumbawamba except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Introduction" | 1:01 | |
| 2. | "Voices, That's All" | 3:30 | |
| 3. | "Pickle" | 2:43 | |
| 4. | "Wagner at the Opera" | 2:13 | |
| 5. | "Underground" | 3:30 | |
| 6. | "Torturing James Hetfield" | 2:17 | |
| 7. | "The Devil's Interval" | 4:00 | |
| 8. | "Hammer, Stirrup & Anvil" | 3:04 | |
| 9. | "Puccini Said" | 2:02 | |
| 10. | "That Same So-So Tune" | 2:35 | |
| 11. | "Singing Out the Days" | 2:18 | |
| 12. | "You Don't Exist" | 2:36 | |
| 13. | "The Song Collector" | 3:26 | |
| 14. | "Missed" | 1:40 | |
| 15. | "Ratatatay" | 3:40 | |
| 16. | "New York Song" | 1:13 | |
| 17. | "Dance, Idiot, Dance" | No Masters Co-operative | 2:43 |
Chumbawamba was a British anarchist punk band formed in 1982 and disbanded in 2012. They are best known for their 1997 single "Tubthumping", which was nominated for Best British Single at the 1998 Brit Awards. Other singles include "Amnesia", "Enough Is Enough", "Timebomb", "Top of the World ", and "Add Me". The band drew on genres such as punk rock, pop, and folk. Their anarcho-communist political leanings led them to have an irreverent attitude toward authority, and to espouse a variety of political and social causes including animal rights and pacifism and later regarding class struggle, Marxism, feminism, and anti-fascism.
James Alan Hetfield is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, co-founder, and a primary songwriter of heavy metal band Metallica. He is mainly known for his intricate rhythm playing, but occasionally performs lead guitar duties and solos both live and in studio. Hetfield co-founded Metallica in October 1981 after answering an advertisement by drummer Lars Ulrich in the Los Angeles newspaper The Recycler. Metallica has won nine Grammy Awards and released 11 studio albums, three live albums, four extended plays, and 24 singles. Hetfield is often regarded as one of the greatest heavy metal rhythm guitar players of all time.
A Singsong and a Scrap is the 12th studio album by Chumbawamba released in 2005. It shows more folk influence than their previous album Un and features guest appearances from folk musicians such as Coope Boyes and Simpson, Andy Cutting and John Jones and Ian Telfer of Oysterband. The first single to be taken from the album is "Fade Away".
Un is the eleventh studio album by English rock band Chumbawamba, released on 8 June 2004 by Koch Records. The album was written and produced by solely by Chumbawamba. A musical departure from predecessor Readymades (2002), the album incorporates elements of folk, electronic, and world music. Thematically, the album acts as a social commentary on a variety of political and social issues, including individualism and anti-consumerism. Un was promoted with two singles: "The Wizard of Menlo Park" and "On eBay".
Never Mind the Ballots is the second studio album by anarchist punk band Chumbawamba. Most of the songs center on lying politicians and their search for more voter control. It was originally released on cassette and LP, then re-released in the 1990s as half of the Chumbawamba compilation CD First 2, which is a combination of their first two LP albums released on a single CD.
Pictures of Starving Children Sell Records is the debut studio album by British band Chumbawamba, released in 1986 on Agit-Prop Records. It was released as criticism to Band Aid and Live Aid.
Readymades is the tenth studio album by Chumbawamba. It also features vocal samples from contemporary and traditional folk artists, some of whom Chumbawamba would go on to work with in the future. The album's title refers to the use of everyday objects as art by Marcel Duchamp.
Louise "Lou" Watts is an English musician, best known for her work as a member of anarcho-punk band Chumbawamba.
Anarchy is the sixth studio album by anarcho-punk band Chumbawamba. Many of the tracks address specific social issues, such as homophobia, strikes or fascism.
Tubthumper is the eighth studio album and the major label debut by English rock band Chumbawamba, released on 1 September 1997 by EMI. The album was written and produced by Chumbawamba, with additional production from Neil Ferguson. A musical departure from the group's anarcho-punk roots, the album incorporates elements of pop rock, dance-pop, and alternative rock. Thematically, the album acts as a social commentary on a variety of political issues, particularly that of class conflict. Tubthumper was promoted with three singles: "Tubthumping", "Amnesia", and "Drip, Drip, Drip". "Top of the World ", a standalone single previously featured on the official music compilation album for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, was included on a European reissue of Tubthumper.
Slap! is the fourth studio album by anarchist punk band Chumbawamba. A radical redefinition of the band's sound and attitude, the songs now inspires dancing more than moshing, and the lyrics are celebratory as opposed to victimist. The cover art is the popular kitsch painting Chinese Girl (1952) by Vladimir Tretchikoff.
Get On with It is a live album by British anarchist punk band Chumbawamba released in 2006. It features recordings made at shows throughout England in 2006, covering songs from all throughout their musical career.
The Boy Bands Have Won is the thirteenth studio album by British music group Chumbawamba, released in 2008. Its full title contains 156 words, and holds the Guinness World Record for the longest album title, beating Soulwax's Most of the Remixes' 552-character-long title as of September 2021.
"Enter Sandman" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica. It is the opening track and lead single from their self-titled fifth album, released in 1991. The music was written by Kirk Hammett, James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich. Vocalist and guitarist Hetfield wrote the lyrics, which deal with the concept of a child's nightmares.
Belinda O'Hooley is a singer-songwriter and pianist from Yorkshire, England. Formerly a member of Rachel Unthank and the Winterset, she now records and performs as O'Hooley & Tidow with her wife Heidi Tidow.
O'Hooley & Tidow are an English folk music duo from Yorkshire. Singer-songwriter Heidi Tidow performs and records with her wife, singer-songwriter and pianist Belinda O'Hooley, who was formerly a member of Rachel Unthank and the Winterset. O'Hooley & Tidow were nominated for Best Duo at the 2013 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. Their 2016 album Shadows was given a five-star review in The Guardian, and four of their other albums, including their 2017 release WinterFolk Volume 1, have received four-star reviews in the British national press. From 2019 to 2022, their song "Gentleman Jack", from the album The Fragile, featured as the closing theme for the BBC/HBO television series Gentleman Jack. Their album Cloudheads was released on 21 April 2023.
Silent June is the first album by O'Hooley & Tidow. Recorded between August and November 2009 at their home in Golcar, Huddersfield, it was released on 22 February 2010 on the No Masters label, distributed by Proper Records.
The Fragile, the second album by the folk music duo O'Hooley & Tidow, was released on 9 February 2012 on the No Masters label. It received a four-starred review in The Guardian. The album's title is derived from the words of one of its songs, "Mein Deern", about the dying hours of Heidi Tidow's German grandmother. The album features guest performances by Andy Cutting, Jackie Oates, Jude Abbott, Cormac Byrne, Anna Esslemont, Sam Pegg, The Solo Players and London's Diversity Choir.
"Pass It Along" is a song by English rock band Chumbawamba, taken from their 2000 studio album WYSIWYG. The song mocks gated communities and a lack of public spaces, as well as Microsoft and its founder, Bill Gates. Its chorus is based on the Microsoft slogan "Where do you want to go today?" The song was originally released as a CD single in 2000 in Europe and the United States, and met with favorable critical reception. In 2001, the group released a remix of the song as a free digital download; the new version included samples from numerous pop songs and public figures.
Going, Going – Live at Leeds City Varieties is a live DVD by Chumbawamba. Filmed at Leeds City Varieties in December 2012 and released in 2013, it records the band's final gig before they split up, bringing to an end a 30–year career.
Metallica's lead singer James Hetfield expressed his satisfaction when told that the US army used one of the group's songs to break the will of Iraqi prisoners. Chumbawamba imagines retaliation...[ permanent dead link ]
[...] James Hetfield comes out and says he's proud their music has been used to torture Guantanamo prisoners "It represents something that they don't like—maybe freedom, aggression… I don't know… Freedom of speech." Although he thinks music and politics don't mix – obviously. So writing a song about torturing James Hetfield with Chumbawamba's music was irresistible.
[...] and the wonderful image of Metallica's frontman being tortured by listening to Chumbawamba at ear-splitting volume (Torturing James Hetfield) [...]
I have a few [personal favourite Chumbawamba songs], I think. [...] And 'Torturing James Hetfield' [...]
