Four claret gold! Burnley's soccer-mad pop anarchists who fly first-class

THE PAST year has seen Burnley-born anarchist popsters Chumbawamba rise higher than they ever expected.

But their sudden, if belated, success has caused even their most loyal fans to ask whether the band have "sold out".

Singer Danbert Nobacon explained how the former squatters can work for a once-hated major record label and take luxury first class flights without betraying their political ideals. The peak of the band's notoriety so far was the now-infamous incident at this year's Brit Awards when Danbert, real name Nigel Hunter, threw a bucket of ice and water over Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott.

The band were invited to play at the ceremony after their smash hit Tubthumping went top ten in 20 different countries.

Danbert, 36, said his icy protest had met with enthusiasm.

"Most people who I've met just think it was funny," he said.

"It was a valid thing to do because ordinary people have been betrayed by Labour, who have shown they are no different to the Tories.

"The next day The Mirror set up one of their guys to soak me, and he turned out to be a lad from Nelson. "I guess they thought it was funny. It didn't really bother me, but it doesn't have the same effect as soaking the deputy prime minister, does it?"

Their latest football-themed single, Top Of The World (Ol, Ol, Ol), is on sale this week and should see their success continue.

Four of the eight-strong band are Burnley-born and bred and they all met in East Lancashire.

Keyboard player and singer Danbert met guitar player Boff while they were pupils at Burnley Grammar School.

Singer Alice Nutter, who changed her name to match that of a Pendle witch, went to Towneley High School

Lou Watts, who sings and plays keyboard, was a student at Nelson and Colne College.

The four met up at gigs around Nelson and Colne in the early 1980s and hooked up with other members Dunstan, Paul, and Harry when they moved to Leeds.

Trumpet player and vocalist Jude Abbott is the most recent addition to the band.

Danbert still stays in touch with former band member Midge Hartley, who now plays with Burnley band Sage.

On their first album, Chumbawamba criticised record company EMI, to whom they are now signed. Isn't this a U-turn for these staunchly political popsters?

Danbert replied: "On our first album we did have a go at EMI, because at the time they were part of Thorn EMI, which was selling electric riot batons to the South African regime.

"But EMI has since separated from Thorn. There is no way we would have signed to them if they were still linked with the arms trade. "The band itself has changed a lot in recent years. Five years ago we would never have signed to a major label.

"But we found One Little Indian, who are an independent label, wanted too much control over us, so we moved on."

The group have also been spotted flying first class.

"We do fly first class sometimes but that is usually something the record company sorts out when we are on a tight schedule. It's not something we choose to do ourselves. We're just doing what we have always done."

All four Burnley members of the band are keen Clarets fans, and Danbert and Boff made the journey back home for this year's eleventh-hour relegation clash against Plymouth at Turf Moor.

Danbert said: "I went to some of the relegation battles in the Seventies, but this year was an amazing experience. People were just going mad when they got through.

"I don't know what made Chris Waddle leave. When he first came I thought he would have been really good for the club, and I thought he might have given it another shot after the hard lessons he has learned this year. We'll just have to wait and see who they get in now to take over."

"Pure luck is part of our success. When we wrote Tubthumping, we didn't even know that it was going to be one of the singles." The band have never stopped short of controversy. On their Sshhh tour, Danbert appeared on stage dressed as Christ, and Alice sang dressed as a nun.

Danbert explained: "We had a song about this woman who said she had seen a vision of Christ in the clouds when she looked out of the window of an aeroplane. It was the idea of a religious vision that made us write the song."

Danbert's dress sense also got him in trouble with Italian police when he was stopped for wearing a skirt. So why does he do it?

"I just get a kick out of wearing women's clothes. It's not a statement and it is nothing to do with the band, I just enjoy doing it. I suppose I do it a little bit for people's reactions, but then most people who are in a band have a streak of exhibitionism."

What about the pro-IRA literature they displayed on stands at a Reading University gig?

Danbert said: "Back in the 80s, some of us were involved in the Troops Out movement, and we went to Belfast.

"It seemed insane that there were young squaddies roaming the streets with guns in a place that is right on our doorstep.

"But it was the lengths the security forces go to to spy on the Catholic community that inspired us."

The band have three UK festival dates lined up for this year.

Danbert said: "We are playing WOMAD, T in the Park and V98, but after the John Prescott thing our slot on the main stage at Glastonbury mysteriously disappeared.

The question on everyone's lips when Danbert soaked Mr Prescott was how he got his name.

Many assume Danbert's name is a political statement about his years as a vegan, but the explanation is a lot simpler than that.

He said: "I was a vegan for four years, but the name has nothing to do with that.

"It came from a joke actually. Knock Knock? Who's there? Egbert. Egbert who? Egbert no bacon.

"My friends used to call me Dan anyway, and the name Danbert Nobacon just stuck."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.