Tubthumping
"Tubthumping" is a song released by British rock band Chumbawamba from their eighth studio album, Tubthumper. It is the band's most successful single, peaking at number two on the UK Singles Chart. It topped the charts in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand and hit number six on the US Billboard Hot 100. At the 1998 Brit Awards, "Tubthumping" was nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Single. The song had sold 880,000 copies in the UK.
Background
The song was the group's lead single from Tubthumper, their major-label debut. It was released in August 1997. Vocalist Dunstan Bruce retrospectively observed that, before the group wrote it, they "were in a mess: we had become directionless and disparate". He credited "Tubthumping" with changing that, telling the Guardian that "It’s not our most political or best song, but it brought us back together. The song is about us – as a class and as a band. The beauty of it was we had no idea how big it would be."Writing and composition
A Leeds pub called the Fforde Grene served as the group's inspiration for writing the song; guitarist Boff Whaley told the Guardian that it was written about "the resilience of ordinary people"; musically, "Tubthumping" is a dance-rock song.Commercial performance
Upon its release, the song became an international hit. On the UK Singles Chart, it debuted at number 2 on the chart dated 23 August 1997; it spent three consecutive weeks at number 2, held off the top spot by Will Smith's "Men in Black." The song spent a total of 11 consecutive weeks in the top 10, and 20 consecutive weeks on the top 100. On the chart dated 24 January 1998, three weeks after its last week on the chart, the song re-entered the singles chart at number 88; the following week, it fell to number 96 before exiting the chart.In the United States, the song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 dated 13 September 1997, at number 79. The following week, it rose 16 places to number 63 on the chart, attaining the week's biggest gain in airplay. Two weeks later, on the chart dated 4 October 1997, the song was again the biggest airplay gainer of the week, entering the top 40 in its rise from 47 to 35. In its twelfth week on the chart, on the chart dated 29 November 1997, the song reached its peak of number 6, where it spent two weeks. In total, it spent 31 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100.
The single was also present on many year-end singles charts for 1997. In the United Kingdom, it was ranked as the year's seventh most-popular single, while it placed at number 3 on Australia's top 100 songs of the year. The single also placed within the top 20 of the year-end chart in Sweden and placed within the top 100 of 1997 in Belgium, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United States. In the United States, the song placed at number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100's year-end ranking for 1998.
Reception
"Tubthumping" was placed at number 12 in Rolling Stones list of the 20 Most Annoying Songs.Tubthumping (remix)
"Tubthumping " was released in 2003 as a promotional CD by Chumbawamba on their MUTT Records label. The remixed version of the song was done by The Flaming Lips and Dave Fridmann. It is a slower version of the song, with a more minor key feeling to the music.The other two songs on the CD were taken from the album Readymades and Then Some.
Track listings and formats
12-inch promoSide A
- "Tubthumping" – 5:10
- "Tubthumping" – 3:33
- "Tubthumping" – 4:57
- "Tubthumping" – 5:17
- "Tubthumping" – 3:33
- "Farewell to the Crown" – 2:57
- "Football Song" – 2:26
- "Tubthumping" – 5:23
- "Tubthumping" – 5:38
- "Tubthumping" – 3:34
- "Tubthumping" – 5:24
- "Tubthumping" – 5:38
- "Tubthumping" – 5:11
- "Tubthumping" – 4:59
- "Tubthumping" – 5:20
- "Tubthumping" – 5:20
- "Salt Fare, North Sea" – 4:28
- "Jacob's Ladder " – 2:52
Charts
Weekly charts
| Chart | Peak position |
Year-end charts
| Chart | Position |
| Australia | 46 |
| Canada Top Singles | 43 |
| Canada Adult Contemporary | 46 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 35 |