A Singsong and a Scrap | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 11 October 2005 | |||
Recorded | 2005 | |||
Genre | Folk | |||
Length | 42:40 | |||
Label | No Masters | |||
Chumbawamba chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Allmusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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".
"Laughter in a Time of War", "By and By", and "Walking into Battle with the Lord" feature vocals by John Jones. Additionally, Coope Boyes and Simpson contribute vocals to "Walking into Battle with the Lord", "Bankrobber", and "The Land of Do What You're Told". "By and By" is a tribute to Swedish-American labour activist Joe Hill. "You Can (Mass Trespass)" takes inspiration from the Mass Trespass of Kinder Scout, which led to land access reform across the UK. "When Alexander Met Emma" is about anarchists Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman. "Bankrobber" is a cover of the Clash song of the same name, featured here in an a capella arrangement.
Chumbawamba recorded a cover of the traditional Italian song "Bella Ciao" in the wake of the controversial death of activist Carlo Giuliani in Genoa. The album features a hidden track, "The Untraditional", which is a song about forbidden love in the English folk tradition. Any mention of the track on the package was omitted to reinforce the "taboo" subject nature and "because it tries to make its point in a very quiet way".
All songs written, arranged and produced by Chumbawamba, except "Bankrobber" written by Joe Strummer and Mick Jones and "Bella Ciao" (traditional).
All instruments and voices
With
Chumbawamba were an English anarcho-punk band who 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 Brit Awards 1998. Other singles include "Amnesia", "Enough Is Enough", "Timebomb", "Top of the World ", and "Add Me". 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.
"Bella ciao" is an Italian song dedicated to the partisans of the Italian resistance, which fought against the occupying troops of Nazi Germany and the collaborationist Fascist forces during the liberation of Italy. It was based on a folk song of the late 19th century, sung by female workers of the paddy fields in Northern Italy (mondine) in protest against harsh working conditions. Versions of "Bella ciao" continue to be sung worldwide as a hymn of resistance.
The mass trespass of Kinder Scout was a trespass protest at Kinder Scout in the Peak District, Derbyshire, England, on 24 April 1932. The protest sought to highlight that walkers were denied access to areas of open countryside which had been fenced off by wealthy landowners who forbade public access. It was organised by communist leader and Jewish anti-fascist Benny Rothman, the secretary of the British Workers' Sports Federation and a member of the Young Communist League.
The BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards celebrate outstanding achievement during the previous year within the field of folk music, with the aim of raising the profile of folk and acoustic music. The awards have been given annually since 2000 by British radio station BBC Radio 2.
Modena City Ramblers is an Italian folk rock band founded in 1991. Their music is heavily influenced by Celtic themes, and can be compared to folk rock music. The band has sold over 500,000 albums. Known for their left-wing politics, their lyrics often speak out against the Mafia and fascism.
Oysterband is a British folk rock and folk punk band formed in Canterbury around 1976.
English Rebel Songs is the third studio album by English band Chumbawamba.
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.
Coope Boyes and Simpson was an English vocal folk trio, formed around 1990. Their sound was rich and often had unusual vocal harmonies.
10 is an album by English folk musician Kate Rusby, released in 2002. It is a collection of re-recorded and re-mastered songs with some new tracks and live cuts.
Courage & Patience & Grit is a DVD/CD set released by the band Great Big Sea on November 14, 2006. It contains video of the live performance from a concert at the Empire Theatre in Belleville, Ontario along with music videos for the songs "Captain Kidd", "When I Am King", "Lukey", and "Shines Right Through Me". The live performance was recorded during their The Hard and the Easy tour.
Blue Murder is an occasional English folk supergroup, consisting at various times of various members of Swan Arcade, Coope Boyes and Simpson, Waterson–Carthy and The Watersons.
"Bankrobber" is a song by English punk rock band the Clash. The song was not released on any of their studio albums, instead appearing on their compilation Black Market Clash. Upon its 1980 release as a single it peaked at number 12 on the UK Singles Chart, and at number 14 on both the Irish Singles Chart and the New Zealand Singles Chart.
Rise Above is an album by British folk music group Oysterband, released in 2002.
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.
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.
Swan Arcade were a British folk music vocal group formed in 1970. "A leading light of the British folk revival" they sang a wide variety of songs, including blues, pop and rock and roll, as well as traditional folk music, mostly performed a cappella. Swan Arcade also performed with The Watersons as the Boggle Hole Chorale, and The Watersons and Martin Carthy as Blue Murder. They finally disbanded in 1988, but one of their members, Jim Boyes, still performs as part of Coope Boyes and Simpson.
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.
The Whistles & the Bells is an American experimental alt-rock band based in Nashville, Tennessee, that serves as a moniker for singer-songwriter and producer Bryan Simpson. The band has released two full-length studio albums: The Whistles & the Bells in 2015, and Modern Plagues in 2017. Their music incorporates elements from rock, pop, folk, and electronic genres.