Control is a 2007 black-and-white biographical film about Joy Division singer Ian Curtis. Matt Greenhalgh wrote the screenplay based on the book Touching from a Distance, written by Curtis' widow Deborah who co-produced the film. Directed by Anton Corbijn, Control stars Sam Riley as Ian, Samantha Morton as Deborah, and Alexandra Maria Lara as Annik Honoré. It also stars James Anthony Pearson, Joe Anderson, and Harry Treadaway as Joy Division members Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, and Stephen Morris, respectively, as well as Toby Kebbell as band manager Rob Gretton and Craig Parkinson as Factory Records head Tony Wilson.

The film follows Ian Curtis' life from 1973 to 1980, focusing on his marriage to Deborah, the formation and rise of Joy Division, his struggle with epilepsy, and his extramarital affair with Annik, culminating in his May 1980 suicide. The film's title comes from the Joy Division song "She's Lost Control".

Control premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on 17 May 2007 where it won several awards including the Director's Fortnight, the CICAE Art & Essai prize for best film, the Regards Jeunes Prize for best first/second directed feature film, and the Europa Cinemas Label prize for best European film in the sidebar.^[2][3] It went on to win five British Independent Film Awards including Best Film, Best Director for Corbijn, Most Promising Newcomer for Riley, and Best Supporting Actor for Kebbell.^[4] It was named Best Film at the 2007 Evening Standard British Film Awards, and Greenhalgh was given the Carl Foreman award for outstanding achievement in his first feature film at the 61st British Academy Film Awards.^[5]

Plot[link]

Ian Curtis (Sam Riley) and Debbie Woodruff (Samantha Morton) marry in 1975 in their home town of Macclesfield at ages 19 and 18, respectively. Ian retreats from domestic life, preferring to write poetry in solitude. In July 1976 they attend a Sex Pistols concert with Bernard Sumner (James Anthony Pearson), Peter Hook (Joe Anderson), and Terry Mason (Andrew Sheridan), who are starting a band. Mesmerized by the concert, Ian volunteers to be their singer. They initially call themselves Warsaw, and Terry moves into a managerial role with the addition of drummer Stephen Morris (Harry Treadaway). The band debuts 19 May 1977 following John Cooper Clarke (himself) and soon rename themselves Joy Division. Ian and Debbie finance their first EP, An Ideal for Living (1978).

During his job as an employment agent, Ian witnesses a seizure suffered by Corinne Lewis (Nicola Harrison). Unsatisfied with the brief mention Joy Division receives from television host Tony Wilson (Craig Parkinson), Ian demands that that he put the band on his program. In April 1978 Joy Division plays a battle of bands, impressing Tony and Rob Gretton (Toby Kebbell), who becomes their new manager. They perform "Transmission" on Tony's program and sign to his Factory Records label; Tony signs the contract using his own blood.

In December 1978 Ian suffers a seizure on the way back from the band's first London gig; He is diagnosed with epilepsy and prescribed medications that leave him drowsy and moody. Learning that that Corinne Lewis has died of a seizure, he pens "She's Lost Control" about her. He begins to neglect Debbie, who gives birth to their daughter Natalie in April 1979. Ian quits his job to go on tour, leaving Debbie to work and care for the baby.

Ian admits to Belgian fanzine journalist Annik Honoré (Alexandra Maria Lara) that he is miserable at home and considers his marriage a mistake. The two begin having an affair during Joy Division's January 1980 European tour. On returning home, Ian tells Debbie he is unsure if he still loves her. During the recording of "Love Will Tear Us Apart", Rob informs the band that they will be departing 19 May for a two-week tour of the United States. Debbie finds evidence of Ian's relationship with Annik and confronts him. He promises that his infidelity is over, but continues his affair during the recording of Closer in Islington.

Ian suffers a seizure mid-performance and is comforted by Annik, who says that she is falling in love with him. He attempts suicide by overdosing on phenobarbital, leaving Debbie a note asking her to "give my love to Annik." Doctors save Ian's life and he continues to perform, but is exhausted by the strain and overwhelmed by the audience's expectations, feeling that he has lost control of his life. At a performance at the Derby Hall the stress proves too much and he is unable to go onstage; Alan Hempstall (Joseph Marshall) of Crispy Ambulance steps in, but is heckled by the crowd until Ian takes the stage, only to walk off again after one verse. The audience riots when Alan retakes the microphone, ruining the gig. Ian tells Tony that he believes everyone hates him and that it is his own fault. When Debbie learns that Ian and Annik are still together, she demands a divorce. Bernard attempts to use hypnotherapy on Ian, who then goes to stay with his parents. He writes to Annik admitting his fear that his epilepsy will eventually kill him, and confesses that he loves her.

On 17 May 1980, two nights before Joy Division is due to depart for America, Ian returns home and begs Debbie not to divorce him. When she refuses, he angrily orders her out of the house. Alone, Ian drinks whiskey while listening to Iggy Pop's The Idiot and writing Debbie a letter. As he places it on the mantlepiece he has another seizure. Regaining consciousness the following morning, he hangs himself from the clothes line in the kitchen. Debbie discovers his body and staggers into the street, crying for help. The news of Ian's death leaves the remaining Joy Division members stunned, while Tony consoles Annik. Ian's body is cremated.

Cast[link]

• Sam Riley as Ian Curtis, the main figure in the film and the vocalist of Joy Division. Riley was relatively unknown before the film, and the director initially considered Cillian Murphy for the role, but later changed his mind because he viewed Murphy as "a little shorter than Ian".^[6]
• Samantha Morton as Deborah Curtis, wife of Ian Curtis, whom she marries at a very young age but later in the film develops discord with her husband due to his affair with Annik. The film itself is based on Deborah's memoir on the experience with Ian Curtis and Joy Division. Though Morton dislikes biopics, she said Control was different in that she was personally a fan of Joy Division, and likes Deborah's book as well as Corbijn's photography.^[7]
• Alexandra Maria Lara as Annik Honoré, a journalist from Belgium and employee of the Belgian embassy. She has an affair with Ian Curtis after interviewing the band, exacerbating the tension between Ian and Deborah.
• Joe Anderson as Peter Hook, the bass player of Joy Division.
• Toby Kebbell as Rob Gretton, the manager of the band, succeeding Terry Mason. Kebbell provides humour and a lighter angle to the film.
• Craig Parkinson as Tony Wilson, the owner of the Factory Records company that distributes Joy Division's recordings.
• James Anthony Pearson as Bernard Sumner, the band's guitarist and keyboardist.
• Harry Treadaway as Stephen Morris, the drummer and percussionist of Joy Division.
• Andrew Sheridan as Terry Mason, the manager of the band before the arrival of Rob Gretton. (However, he still stays tour manager)
• Robert Shelly as Twinny, the roadie of the band.
• Matthew McNulty as Nick Jackson
• Ben Naylor as Martin Hannett, producer and co-founder of Factory Records with Tony Wilson.
• John Cooper Clarke as himself, a British performance poet who composes punk style works. In the film he performed his poem "Evidently Chickentown" in a re-creation of a 1970s concert.
• Lotti Closs as Gillian Gilbert, Stephen Morris' girlfriend.
• Nicola Harrison as Corinne Lewis, a girl with epilepsy Ian Curtis met working in a job centre who inspired the song "She's Lost Control".
• Herbert Grönemeyer portrays a Public GP in a cameo.

Production[link]

Corbijn had been a devout Joy Division fan since the band's early days in the late 1970s. After moving to England, he met the band and shot several pictures for NME, which boosted his career as a photographer. Some of his pictures taken are featured in the movie. He also directed the music video for the 1988 rerelease of "Atmosphere". He said that the film overlapped with his own life in some ways. "I had moved to England to be close to that music at the time, and I was very into Joy Division. I worked with them, took pictures of them that became synonymous with their music, and I was forever linked. Then eight years after [Ian Curtis'] death, I did the video for "Atmosphere." So in other people's eyes I was always connected with them."^[8]

Control marks Corbijn's debut as a movie director, and he paid half of the €4.5 million budget out of his own pocket.^[9] The film was shot on colour stock and printed to black and white to "reflect the atmosphere of Joy Division and the mood of the era".^[10] Todd Eckert and Orian Williams are the producers. Deborah Curtis, Ian Curtis' widow, is a co-producer, along with music mogul Tony Wilson, who died months before the film's release. It had been Wilson who had given Joy Division their TV break on the local magazine programme Granada Reports, and he also founded Factory Records, which released most of Joy Division's work.^[11]

After the script for the film was finished in May 2005, the film was shot at the former Carlton studios in Nottingham, and on location in Nottingham, Manchester and Macclesfield, England, as well as other European venues. Filming began on 3 July 2006 and lasted for seven weeks. Filming in and around Barton Street (where Curtis lived and died), Macclesfield took place on 11 and 12 July 2006. EM Media, the Regional Screen Agency for the East Midlands, invested £250,000 of European Regional Development Funds into the production of Control and supported the film throughout the shoot.^[12] Samantha Morton (Deborah Curtis) and Toby Kebbell (Rob Gretton) both studied at the Junior TV Workshop in Nottingham. Kebbell starred opposite Paddy Considine (who played Gretton in 24 Hour Party People) in Shane Meadows' Dead Man's Shoes.

Ian Curtis' daughter, Natalie, was in the crowd as an extra for the Derby Hall gig.^[13]

Release[link]

The Weinstein Company secured the rights to release the film in North America after its success at Cannes.^[14] The DVD was released in the U.K. on 11 February 2008, followed by the Australian DVD on 12 March 2008, and the North American DVD on 3 June 2008.

Box office[link]

The film grossed box office of $8,159,508, with 71% of its revenue from countries outside of the U.K.^[15] It ranks 32nd in terms of box office not adjusted for inflation among music biopics, below 24 Hour Party People and above What We Do Is Secret.^[16]

Reception[link]

Peter Bradshaw, the chief film reviewer for The Guardian, described Control as "the best film of the year: a tender, bleakly funny and superbly acted biopic of Curtis".^[17] Prominent American film critic Roger Ebert gave the film a three and a half stars rating, out of four, and wrote that "The extraordinary achievement of Control is that it works simultaneously as a musical biopic and the story of a life."^[18]

Film review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes rated Control as "certified fresh" in its T-metric section, based on a wide array of critics, in which 93 of 107 critics reviewed the film positively.^[19] Metacritic reports the film as having an average score of 78 out of 100, based on 27 reviews, claiming the film had "generally favourable reviews".^[20]

However, some reviewers have disagreed and commented on the film negatively. Ray Bennett from Reuters remarked Control to be a "disappointment" and said the film "features lots of music from that time and has decent performances, but it fails to make the case for its fallen star".^[21]

Reaction from band members[link]

Peter Hook and Stephen Morris, two of the founding members of Joy Division, generally praised the film. However, Morris has disputed its accuracy, saying "None of it's true really" but acknowledged the need to bend facts because "the truth is too boring". Hook criticised the preview audience's reaction, saying how at the end of the film "it really hurt and everybody started clapping. It would've been nice to have a dignified silence".^[22]

Hook also remarked that "Control is a hell of a lot more accurate than 24 Hour Party People. You can tell that Anton knew us, and he knew us well and he took the original script, which was very English and quite subtly he made it deeper and have a broader appeal so that it would not just make sense to an English audience but to an international audience."^[23]

After viewing the film at Cannes, Hook said he "knew it was a great film and that it would be very well received because, even though it's two hours long, only two people went to the toilet the whole time. In fact, one of them was Bernard. The other one was a 70-year-old woman."^[23]

Soundtrack[link]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[24]

The Killers cover the 1979 Joy Division song "Shadowplay" on the soundtrack.^[25] However, all live Joy Division performances in the film are performed by the actors. The actors contribute a cover of an original Joy Division song ("Transmission") to the soundtrack. Incidental tracks by 1970s artists like David Bowie, Kraftwerk and the Buzzcocks are the original recordings. New Order provided the original incidental music for the soundtrack. The Sex Pistols' track was omitted from the US version.^{[clarification needed]}

Track listing[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Control (2007 film)

• Controlthemovie.com - Official website
• The official website in Canada
• Control at the Internet Movie Database
• Control at AllRovi
• Control at Rotten Tomatoes
• IONCINEMA.com interview with Anton for Control
• A divided joy: seeing my father on film by Natalie Curtis, The Guardian, 30 September 2007
• Photos from the German premiere in Berlin on AEDT.de
• Best of British: 2007 Evening Standard film awards, Judges' assessments

Ian Kevin Curtis (15 July 1956 - 18 May 1980) was an English musician, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the post-punk band Joy Division. Joy Division released their debut album, Unknown Pleasures, in 1979 and recorded their follow-up, Closer, in 1980. Curtis, who suffered from epilepsy and depression, committed suicide on 18 May 1980, on the eve of Joy Division's first North American tour, resulting in the band's dissolution and the subsequent formation of New Order.

Curtis was known for his bass-baritone voice, dance style and songwriting filled with imagery of desolation, emptiness and alienation.

In 1995, Curtis's widow Deborah published Touching from a Distance: Ian Curtis and Joy Division, a biography of the singer. His life and death have been dramatised in the films 24 Hour Party People (2002) and Control (2007).

Life and career[link]

Early life and marriage[link]

Curtis was born at the Memorial Hospital in Stretford, Lancashire. He grew up in Hurdsfield, an area of Macclesfield,^[1] and from an early age he exhibited talent as a poet. Proof of his ability was his admission at the age of 11 to The King's School, Macclesfield with a scholarship. Despite this, he was not a dedicated student and did not further his education beyond O-level.^[2]

After leaving school he focused on the pursuit of art, literature and, most importantly, music. Curtis was employed in a variety of jobs, including civil servant in Manchester and later Macclesfield.

On 23 August 1975 Curtis married an old school friend, Deborah Woodruff. He was 19 and she 18. Their daughter Natalie was born on 16 April 1979. She is a photographer.^[3]

Joy Division[link]

In 1976 at a Sex Pistols gig, Curtis bumped into Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook.^[4] They were trying to form a band, and Curtis immediately proposed himself as vocalist and lyricist. The trio then unsuccessfully recruited a number of drummers before selecting Stephen Morris as their final member.

Initially the band was called Warsaw, but as their name conflicted with that of another group: Warsaw Pakt, the name was changed to Joy Division. The moniker was derived from a 1955 novel The House of Dolls which featured a Nazi concentration camp with a sexual slavery wing called the "Joy Division".

After starting Factory Records with Alan Erasmus, Tony Wilson signed the band to his label.

Whilst performing for Joy Division, Curtis became known for his quiet and awkward demeanour, as well as a unique dancing style reminiscent of the epileptic seizures he experienced, sometimes even on stage.^[5] There were several incidents where he collapsed and had to be helped off stage.^[6] In an interview for Northern Lights cassette magazine in November 1979 Ian Curtis made his only public comment on his dancing and performance. He explained the dance as a type of sign language with which to further express a song's emotional and lyrical content: "Instead of just singing about something you could show it as well, put it over in the way that it is, if you were totally involved in what you were doing".

Curtis's writing was filled with imagery of emotional isolation, death, alienation, and urban decay. He once commented in an interview that he wrote about "the different ways different people can cope with certain problems, how they might or might not adapt." He sang in a bass-baritone voice, in contrast to his speaking voice, which fell in the tenor range. Earlier in their career, Curtis would sing in a loud snarling voice similar to shouting; it is best displayed on the band's debut EP, An Ideal for Living (1978). Joy Division had its sparse recording style developed by producer Martin Hannett, with some of their most innovative work being created in Strawberry Studios in Stockport (owned by Manchester act 10cc) and Cargo Recording Studios Rochdale in 1979, a studio which was developed from John Peel investing money into the music business in Rochdale.

Although predominantly a vocalist, Curtis also played guitar on a handful of tracks (usually when Sumner was playing synthesiser; "Incubation" was a rare case where both played guitar). At first Curtis played Sumner's Shergold Masquerader, but in September 1979 he acquired his own guitar, a Vox Phantom Special VI (often described incorrectly as a Teardrop or ordinary Phantom model) which had many built-in effects used both live and in studio. After Curtis' death, Sumner inherited the guitar, and used it in several early New Order songs, such as "Everything's Gone Green". Curtis also played keyboard on some live versions of "She's Lost Control". He also played the melodica on "Decades" and "In A Lonely Place"; the latter was written and rehearsed for the cancelled American tour, and later salvaged as a New Order B-side.

Death[link]

Curtis' last live performance was on 2 May 1980, at High Hall of Birmingham University, a show that included Joy Division's first and only performance of "Ceremony", later recorded by New Order and released as their first single. The last song Curtis performed on stage was "Digital". The recording of this performance is on the Still album.^[7]

Detailed in Debbie Curtis' Touching from a Distance, Curtis was staying at his parents' house at this time and attempted to talk his wife into staying with him on 17 May 1980, to no avail. He told her to leave him alone in the house until he caught his train to Manchester the next morning.^[8] In the early hours of 18 May 1980, Curtis hanged himself in the kitchen of his house in Macclesfield. He had just viewed Werner Herzog's film Stroszek and listened to Iggy Pop's The Idiot. At the time of his death, his health was failing as a result of the epilepsy and attempting to balance his musical ambitions with his marriage, which was floundering in the aftermath of his close relationship with journalist Annik Honoré (who in 2010 would claim it was not an "affair" and merely a close and platonic relationship).^[9] His wife found Ian's body the next morning; he had used the kitchen's washing line to hang himself.

Curtis' memorial stone, which is inscribed with "Ian Curtis 18 – 5 – 80" and "Love Will Tear Us Apart", was stolen in July 2008 from the grounds of Macclesfield Cemetery.^[10] The missing memorial stone was later replaced by a new stone.^[11]

In a 1987 interview with Option, Stephen Morris commented on how he would describe Curtis to those who asked what he was like: "An ordinary bloke just like you or me, liked a bit of a laugh, a bit of a joke."^[12]

Legacy[link]

In 1990, Psychic TV released I.C. Water, a song dedicated to Curtis.

Deborah Curtis wrote Touching from a Distance, published in 1995, a biographical account of their marriage, detailing in part his infidelity with Annik Honoré. Authors Mick Middles and Lindsay Reade released the book Torn Apart: The Life of Ian Curtis in 2006. This biography takes a more intimate look at Curtis and includes photographs from personal family albums and excerpts from his letters to Honoré during their affair.

Paul Morley wrote Joy Division, Piece by Piece, writing about Joy Division 1977–2007; it was published in late 2007. The book documents all of his writings and reviews about Joy Division from their forming, up until Tony Wilson's death.

A wall on Wallace Street in Wellington, New Zealand, had the words "Ian Curtis Lives" written on it shortly after the singer's death. The message is repainted whenever it is painted over. A nearby wall on the same street on the 4 January 2005^[13] was originally emblazoned "Ian Curtis RIP", later modified to read "Ian Curtis R.I.P. Walk In Silence" along with the dates "1960–1981" (sic). Both are referred to as "The Ian Curtis Wall". McKinlay recalls after having watched 24 Hr Party People and drinking several pints with his brother, a well known New Zealand beer brewer, in the early hours of the morning he drove with a bucket of paint and a smaller roller to Wallace Street and repainted the wall after it had long since faded. On 10 September 2009, the wall was painted over by Wellington City Council's anti-graffiti team.^[14] The wall was chalked back up on 16 September 2009. Following this, council spokesman Richard MacLean said, "They [the anti-graffiti team] may turn a blind eye to it".^[15] The wall was repainted on 17 September 2009, this time with correct dates.

Film portrayals[link]

Curtis was portrayed by Sean Harris in the 2002 film 24 Hour Party People, which dramatised the rise and fall of Factory Records from the 1970s to the 1990s.

In 2007 a British Ian Curtis biographical film called Control was released, based on material from Deborah Curtis' book Touching from a Distance. It was directed by the Dutch rock photographer and music video director Anton Corbijn, who had previously photographed the band and directed the video for "Atmosphere". Deborah Curtis and Tony Wilson were executive producers. Sam Riley, the lead singer of the band 10,000 Things, portrays Curtis, while Samantha Morton plays his wife, Deborah. The film had its debut at the Cannes Film Festival on 17 May 2007 to great acclaim, taking three awards at the Directors' Fortnight. It portrays Curtis' secondary school romance with Deborah, their marriage, his problems balancing his domestic life with his rise to fame, his affair with Annik Honoré, his struggle with poorly medicated epilepsy and depression,^[16] and his suicide.

References[link]

Further reading[link]

External links[link]

Anton Corbijn
Corbijn at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival (2012)
Born	(1955-05-20) 20 May 1955 (age 57) Strijen, Netherlands
Residence	London, United Kingdom[1]
Occupation	Photographer, film director, music video director
Years active	1983–present
Website
www.corbijn.co.uk

Anton Corbijn (Dutch pronunciation: [kɔrˈbɛin]; born 20 May 1955) is a Dutch photographer, music video and film director. He is the creative director behind the visual output of Depeche Mode and U2,^[2][3] having handled the principal promotion and sleeve photography for both for almost 3 decades. Some of his works include music videos for Depeche Mode's "Enjoy the Silence" (1990) and Nirvana's "Heart-Shaped Box" (1993), as well as the Ian Curtis biopic Control (2007),^[4] George Clooney's The American (2010), and A Most Wanted Man (2012) based on John le Carré's 2008 novel of the same name.

Life and career[link]

Corbijn was born in Strijen, the Netherlands. He started his career of music photographer when he saw the Dutch musician Herman Brood playing at a cafe in Groningen (the Netherlands) around 1975. He took a lot of photos of the 'rising star' Herman Brood & His Wild Romance. Because of the pictures taken by Corbijn, Brood's fame rose quickly, and as a result Corbijn's own exposure increased.

Corbijn has photographed Joy Division, Depeche Mode, U2, Prāta Vētra, David Bowie, Peter Hammill, Miles Davis, Björk, Captain Beefheart, Kim Wilde, Robert De Niro, Stephen Hawking, Elvis Costello, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Morrissey, Clint Eastwood, Roxette and Herbert Grönemeyer, amongst others. He is famous for his work in black and white. In May 1989, he began taking pictures in color using filters: his first try was done for Siouxsie Sioux.^[5]

Corbijn has designed album covers for U2, Peter Hammill, Depeche Mode, The Creatures (the second band of Siouxsie Sioux), Nick Cave, Bryan Adams, Metallica, Therapy?, The Rolling Stones, R.E.M., The Bee Gees, Saybia and Moke.

Corbijn began his music video directing career when Palais Schaumburg asked him to direct a video. After seeing the resulting video for Hockey, the band Propaganda had Corbijn direct Dr. Mabuse. After that he directed videos for David Sylvian, Simple Minds, Echo & the Bunnymen, Golden Earring, Front 242, Depeche Mode, Roxette and U2.

His first video in color was made for U2 in 1984 for their single "Pride (In the Name of Love)".

In 1994 Corbijn directed a short film about Captain Beefheart/Don Van Vliet for the BBC called Some Yoyo Stuff.

In 2005 Palm Pictures released a DVD collection of Corbijn's music video output as part of the Director's Label series.

Corbijn made his feature film debut with Control, a film about the life of Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis. It premiered to rave reviews at the Cannes Film Festival on 17 May 2007.^[6][7] The film is based on Deborah Curtis' book Touching From A Distance about her late husband and the biography Torn Apart by Lindsay Reade (Tony Wilson's ex-wife) and Mick Middles. Although shown outside the Palme d'Or competition, Control was the big winner of the Director's Fortnight winning the CICAE Art & Essai prize for best film, the "Regards Jeunes" Prize award for best first or second directed feature film and the Europa Cinemas Label prize for best European film in the sidebar.^[8]

Author William Gibson refers to a fictitious portrait by Corbijn of the character Hollis Henry in his 2007 novel Spook Country.^[9] A Corbijn photograph has served as the author's portrait on many of Gibson's books, including Neuromancer.^[10]

In 2009, a documentary called Shadow Play - The making of Anton Corbijn was made. The year after, Corbijn returned as a director with the character based spy movie "The American", starring George Clooney.

In May 2011 Corbijn presented 'Mandela Landscape'. This artwork consisted of Corbijn's portrait of Nelson Mandela, stitched by Dutch textile artist Berend Strik. Both the original work and 80 signed art prints will be sold to fund the international edition of ZAM Magazine, an independent platform of African talent.

In June 2011 A Most Wanted Man was announced in Germany. The novel, which was loosely based on the true War on Terror story of Murat Kurnaz, was set in part in Hamburg, as parts of the movie will be.^[11]

On 26 October 2011 Corbijn directed a webcast by Coldplay from the Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas in Madrid, Spain.^[12]

On 19 December 2011, he was announced as being on the jury for the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival, scheduled to be held in February 2012.^[13] At this occasion, the Berlinale Special screenings at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele will screen Anton Corbijn - Inside Out, a 80 min-documentary directed by Klaartje Quirijns.

Filmography[link]

Music videos[link]

Films[link]

Books by Corbijn[link]

• Famouz (1989)
• Strangers (1990)
• Allegro (1991)
• Grönemeyer, Photographien von Anton Corbijn (1993)
• Star Trak (1996)
• 33 Still Lives (1999)
• Stripping Girls (2000, with Marlene Dumas)
• Werk (2000)
• A. Somebody, Strijen, Holland (2002)
• Everybody Hurts (2003)
• U2 & I (2005)
• In Control (2008)
• Inside The American (2010)
• Inwards and Onwards (2011)
• Waits (2012)

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Anton Corbijn

External links[link]

• Official website
• Anton Corbijn at the Internet Movie Database
• Director videography MVDbase.com
• Director's Label info PalmPictures.com
• Hasselblad: Masters: Anton Corbijn (January 2001)

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The Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers performing live. Ed Simons (left) and Tom Rowlands (right)
Background information
Also known as	The 237 Turbo Nutters, The Dust Brothers, Chemical Ed & Chemical Tom
Origin	Manchester,[1] United Kingdom
Genres	Big beat, electronica,[2] techno, trip hop, alternative dance, neo-psychedelia[3]
Years active	1991–present
Labels	Junior Boy's Own, Astralwerks, Freestyle Dust, Virgin, Ultra
Website	TheChemicalBrothers.com
Members
Tom Rowlands Ed Simons

The Chemical Brothers are a British electronic music duo composed of Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons. Originating in Manchester^[1] in 1991, along with The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, The Crystal Method, and fellow acts, they were pioneers at bringing the big beat genre to the forefront of pop culture.

History[link]

Background (1984–1991)[link]

Ed Simons was born in Herne Hill, South London on 9 June 1970 to a barrister mother and a father who was not around much when Simons was growing up. Simons' two main interests when he was young were aeroplanes and musicals. Simons attended two South London public schools, Alleyn's School and Dulwich College. During his school years, he developed a fondness for rare groove and Hip hop music, having frequented a club called The Mud Club from the age of 14. By the time he left school, his two main musical interests were two Manchester bands, New Order and The Smiths. After finishing school with 11 O levels and three A-levels, he continued on to study history, especially late medieval history, at the University of Manchester.^{[citation needed]}

Tom Rowlands, a childhood classmate of Simons', was born on 11 January 1971 in Kingston upon Thames, London. When Rowlands was very young, his family relocated to Henley-on-Thames. He later attended Reading Blue Coat School in Berkshire, during which time he became obsessed with Scotland, developing a fondness for the bagpipes in particular. In his early teens, his interest in music broadened to other genres. Initially, some of his favourites included the Oh What a Lovely War soundtrack, 2 Tone, the nascent gothic rock genre (Sisters of Mercy, Fields of the Nephilim) and the electro sounds of artists such as Kraftwerk, New Order, Cabaret Voltaire, and Heaven 17. He described the first Public Enemy album as the record that probably changed his life, and commented that "Miuzi Weighs a Ton" was one of the most amazing tracks he had ever heard.^{[citation needed]} Rowlands also started collecting hip hop records by artists like Eric B and Schoolly D. Rowlands left school with similar accomplishments to Simons', achieving nine O levels and three A levels. For university, he followed Simons to Manchester primarily to immerse himself in its music scene in general and the Haçienda in particular.^{[citation needed]}

Rowlands was also in a band called Ariel prior to meeting up with Simons. Ariel was formed in London by Rowlands and his friends Brendan Melck and Matt Berry. Their first single was "Sea of Beats", which was essentially a white label. Before Philip Brown set up Echo Logik Records, their first promo was "Bokadilo". Other songs, released on 12", included "Mustn't Grumble" and their most well-known, "Rollercoaster". After a year on Echo Logik they signed to the record label deConstruction. They insisted that they get a female singer and they recruited former Xpansions frontwoman Sally Ann Marsh, and after some disappointing songs like "Let It Slide" (Rowlands would later describe it as "a stinker") the band fell apart. One of the last things Ariel did was the song "T Baby" which was remixed by the pair.^{[citation needed]}

Rowlands and Simons then started to DJ at a club called "Naked Under Leather" in the back of a pub in 1992 under the alias of "The 237 Turbo Nutters" (named after the number of their house on Dickenson Road in Manchester and a reference to their Blackburn raving days). The pair would play hip hop, techno, and house.^[4]

The Dust Brothers (1992–1994)[link]

Rowlands and Simons called themselves The Dust Brothers, after the US production duo famous for their work with the Beastie Boys. After a while, they began to run out of suitable instrumental hip hop tracks to use, so they started to make their own. Using a Hitachi hi-fi system, a computer, a sampler, and a keyboard, they recorded "Song to the Siren", which sampled This Mortal Coil. "Song to the Siren" was released on their own record label, called "Diamond Records" (after Ed's nickname). In October 1992, they pressed 500 white label copies and took them to various dance record shops around London, but none would play it, saying that it was too slow (the track played at 111 BPM).^{[citation needed]} They sent a copy to London DJ Andrew Weatherall, who made it a permanent fixture in his DJ sets. Weatherall also signed the band to his Junior Boy's Own label.^{[citation needed]} In May 1993, Junior Boy's Own released "Song to the Siren".

Around June 1993, the Dust Brothers did their first remixes. The first was "Packet of Peace" for Justin Robertson's Lionrock outfit, followed by tracks for Leftfield, Republica, and The Sandals. Late in 1993, The Dust Brothers completed work on their Fourteenth Century Sky EP, released in January 1994. It contained the ground-breaking "Chemical Beats", which epitomized the duo's genre-defining big beat sound, later taken up by Fatboy Slim and many more. The EP also contained "One Too Many Mornings", which for the first time showed the less intense, more chilled-out side of The Dust Brothers. Both "One Too Many Mornings" and "Chemical Beats" would later appear on their debut album. Fourteenth Century Sky was followed later in 1993 by the My Mercury Mouth EP. "Chemical Beats" was also part of the soundtrack for the first edition of the Wipeout games series, having been featured in Wipeout for the PlayStation in 1995.^{[citation needed]}

In October 1994, The Dust Brothers became resident DJs at the small, but hugely influential Heavenly Sunday Social Club at the Albany pub in London's Great Portland Street.^{[citation needed]} The likes of Noel Gallagher, Paul Weller, James Dean Bradfield, and Tim Burgess were regular visitors. The Dust Brothers were subsequently asked to remix tracks by Manic Street Preachers and The Charlatans, plus Primal Scream's "Jailbird" and The Prodigy's "Voodoo People". These two remixes received television exposure, being playlisted by MTV Europe's "The Party Zone" in 1995. Early in 1994, The Dust Brothers were approached in the club one Sunday by Noel Gallagher, from Oasis, who at the time were becoming one of the most prominent guitar bands in Britain. Gallagher told the duo that he had a Balearic-inspired track which he had written and would like the Dust Brothers to remix. However, over time, Gallagher changed his mind, and in the end the Brothers did not remix it. The track was "Wonderwall".^{[citation needed]}

In March 1995, The Dust Brothers began their first international tour, which included the United States – where they played with Orbital and Underworld – then a series of European festivals. Also around this time, the original Dust Brothers threatened legal action over the use of their name, and so Rowlands and Simons had to decide on a new name quickly.^{[citation needed]} They decided to then call themselves "The Chemical Brothers" after "Chemical Beats" (Simons' grandmother had suggested they call themselves "The Grit Brothers").

In June 1995, they released their fourth single, the first under their new identity. "Leave Home" was released on Junior Boy's Own, as a preview of the imminent debut album and became the band's first chart hit, peaking at No. 17.

[edit] Exit Planet Dust (1995–1996)

In July 1995, The Chemical Brothers released their debut album Exit Planet Dust (the title inspired by their name change) on Freestyle Dust/Junior Boy's Own. It entered the UK charts at No. 9^{[citation needed]} and featured guest vocalist Beth Orton on the song "Alive Alone". It eventually went on to sell over a million copies worldwide, and was used on the soundtrack of the science fiction TV series pilot Virtuality.^{[citation needed]} Shortly after its release, The Chemical Brothers signed to Virgin Records, to which they took their own offshoot label, Freestyle Dust. For their next single, "Life Is Sweet", released in September 1995, they again used a guest vocalist, featuring their friend Tim Burgess, singer of The Charlatans. It reached No. 25 in the singles charts. The single was also Select magazine's "Single of the Month" for October.^{[citation needed]} The release included a Daft Punk remix of "Life Is Sweet".

In August 1995, The Chemical Brothers DJ'ed for Oasis at a Sheffield gig. The gig began to backfire when it became apparent that Liam Gallagher didn't seem to like any of the tracks they were spinning. The closest that they could come to pleasing him was the Happy Mondays' "Wrote for Luck".^{[citation needed]} Gallagher proceeded to kick The Chemical Brothers off the turntables and procured a friend from The Verve to continue to DJ. He subsequently favoured psychedelic material to the displeasure of the crowd.^{[citation needed]}

Around this period, The Stone Roses asked the Chemical Brothers to remix "Begging You", from their Second Coming album. After beginning work on a remix which they viewed as having potential, The Stone Roses changed their minds and the project was cancelled.^{[citation needed]}

In October 1995, the duo returned to the Heavenly Sunday Social for a second and final run of DJ dates. They then became residents at the Heavenly Social on Saturdays at Turnmills. In November, The Chemical Brothers played the Astoria Theatre in London. At this time the Brothers usually used a fusion of "Chemical Beats" and The Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows" as their encore. During the encore, however, Keith Flint from The Prodigy jumped up on stage to dance, wearing a T-shirt sporting the slogan "Occupation: mad bastard". A few from the crowd subsequently joined in. This resulted in a power cable being kicked loose, bringing the show to a temporary close.^{[citation needed]} The Chemical Brothers confessed to not being too bothered; "because he's Keith from The Prodigy, and he can do whatever the fucking hell he likes".^{[citation needed]} Just before Christmas, 1995, they played their biggest gig to date, with The Prodigy, at the Brixton Academy.^{[citation needed]}

In January 1996, Exit Planet Dust went gold. The Chemical Brothers released their first new material in six months on Virgin, the Loops of Fury EP. The four-track release was limited to 20,000 copies, but is now available for digital download. It entered the UK charts at No. 13. NME described the lead track as "splashing waves of synths across hard-hitting beats".^{[citation needed]} The EP also contained a Dave Clarke remix of "Chemical Beats", and two other new tracks, "Get Up on It Like This" and "(The Best Part Of) Breaking Up".

In February 1996, Select magazine published a list of the 100 best albums of the 1990s thus far. Exit Planet Dust was listed at Number 39.^{[citation needed]} In August 1996, The Chemical Brothers supported Oasis at Knebworth, where 125,000 people attended each of the two shows.^{[citation needed]}

During the 1995 Glastonbury Festival, Rowlands and Simons had another conversation with Noel Gallagher. Gallagher told them how much he liked Exit Planet Dust, and asked if he could sing on a future track, similar to the way Tim Burgess had worked on "Life Is Sweet". They didn't think much of the offer at the time, given how busy Gallagher would be with the release of Oasis' (What's the Story) Morning Glory?, plus the complexities of dealing with each others' record companies.^{[citation needed]} However, the duo later worked on a track which they thought would benefit from having a vocal on it. They sent Gallagher a tape of what they had done so far. He worked on it overnight, and left a message with them early the next morning that he was ready to record it. The track was called "Setting Sun" and was finally released in October 1996. It entered the UK charts at the top, giving the duo their first ever Number One single. "Setting Sun" was backed by a longer instrumental version, and also a new track "Buzz Tracks", which was not much more than a DJ tool. The three remaining members of The Beatles' lawyers later wrote to The Chemical Brothers, mistakenly claiming that they had sampled "Tomorrow Never Knows". Virgin Records hired a musicologist to prove that they did not sample the classic 1960s psychedelic song.^{[citation needed]}

Meanwhile, in 1996, Live at the Social Volume 1 was released by Heavenly Records, which became The Chemical Brothers' first mix CD (excluding Xmas Dust Up, a free album that came in a 1994 issue of NME). It was also the duo's first and only live album (excluding the EP Live 05).

[edit] Dig Your Own Hole (1997–1998)

In March 1997, the Brothers released the second track from their forthcoming album, to give the world a further taste of what to expect. "Block Rockin' Beats" went straight to No. 1 in the UK, possibly thanks, this time, to its Schoolly D vocal sample and re-working of the bassline from 23 Skidoo's single "Coup".^[5] The NME named it "Single of the Week" and said "It throbs like your head might if you had just done a length underwater in a swimming pool full of amyl."^{[citation needed]} It later won them a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.^[6]

In the US at this time, "Setting Sun" was sitting at Number 80 in the Billboard Top 100, after selling around 80,000 copies, an uncommon achievement for a European "dance" act. Sales from Exit Planet Dust were also around 150,000.^{[citation needed]}

On 7 April 1997 The Chemical Brothers released their second album, Dig Your Own Hole. It was recorded at the band's own south London studio, with the title taken from graffiti on the wall outside. The album was well received,^{[7][dead link]} with Mixmag rating it 10/10 and calling it "mad enough to be thrilling, slick enough for not even remotely trendy coffee tables".^{[citation needed]}

During the summer of 1997, the Brothers toured extensively, particularly in the United States. They also became residents at Tokyo's Liquid Rooms. In August, The Chemical Brothers achieved rapprochement with the US Dust Brothers, and asked them to remix the forthcoming single "Elektrobank".^{[citation needed]} They themselves also became highly sought-after for remixes for other artists. Metallica asked the Brothers several times to remix "Enter Sandman", but were repeatedly turned down.^{[citation needed]} In September, the next single from Dig Your Own Hole, "Elektrobank" was released. In November, the pair played at Dublin's Point Theatre, with support from Carl Cox. They also began a US tour in Detroit.

At the end of the year, Dig Your Own Hole's final track, the nine minute-long "The Private Psychedelic Reel", gave rise to a limited-edition mini-EP of the same name. The B-side consisted of a live version of "Setting Sun", recorded at the Lowlands Festival, Netherlands on 24 August 1997. Also in December, following four sold-out US shows, The Chemical Brothers toured the UK, finishing with a sold-out gig at London's Brixton Academy.^{[citation needed]}

In 1998, they concentrated more on DJ'ing, although some remixes did see the light of day, including "I Think I'm in Love" from Spiritualized. Both a vocal remix and an instrumental remix were included in the single release. Each clocked in at over seven-and-a-half minutes. Another remix completed by the Brothers was "Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp" by Mercury Rev. This was another extension in the association between the two bands, since Mercury Rev's Jonathon Donahue contributed to "The Private Psychedelic Reel" on Dig Your Own Hole.^{[citation needed]}

In September 1998, a second mix album, Brothers Gonna Work It Out, was released. It contains some of their own tracks and remixes, as well as songs from artists who have influenced their sound, such as Renegade Soundwave, Meat Beat Manifesto, Carlos "After Dark" Berrios, and Kenny 'Dope' Gonzales.

In May 1999, The Chemical Brothers played three UK dates in Manchester, Sheffield and Brighton, their first since December 1997. Also that month, they released their first new original material in two years, a track called "Hey Boy, Hey Girl". This was more house-influenced than hip hop. In interviews at the time, Rowlands and Simons indicated that the track was inspired by nights out at Sheffield club Gatecrasher.^{[citation needed]} The track was also one of their more commercially accessible tracks and went to number 3 in the UK charts.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Surrender (1999)

The third album, Surrender, was released in June 1999. It featured vocals from Noel Gallagher, Mercury Rev's Jonathan Donahue, and Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval. As "Hey Boy, Hey Girl" had suggested, the album was more house-oriented than the previous two. On one of the album's stand out tracks, "Out of Control", New Order's Bernard Sumner supported by Primal Scream's Bobby Gillespie provided vocals. It reached No. 1 in the UK album charts,^{[citation needed]} and was widely praised in the print media. The Michel Gondry-directed music video for "Let Forever Be", which utilized ground-breaking video and film effects in its depiction of a young woman's nightmares, also received a lot of attention.^{[citation needed]}

Later that summer, The Brothers headlined the Glastonbury dance tent on the Friday night, followed by a UK tour which ended in December and included Homelands Scotland on 4 September.^{[citation needed]} In November, "Out of Control", featuring Sumner and Gillespie on vocals, was released as a single. The release also contained the Sasha remix. The final single from Surrender, in February 2000, was the five track "Music: Response" EP, containing the title track and two remixes, plus Electronic Battle Weapon 4, named "Freak of the Week", and a track called "Enjoyed", which was essentially a remix of "Out of Control" by the Brothers themselves.

A CD copy of Surrender was placed in the third Blue Peter time capsule, buried in January 2000. That same month, they appeared on Primal Scream's album Xtrmntr at track 11 with a remix.

[edit] Come with Us (2000–2003)

In June 2000, Tom and Ed played the Pyramid stage at the Glastonbury Festival pulling in the largest audience ever seen in the Festival's history.^{[citation needed]} In August 2000 they played to a large crowd at the main stage at Creamfields festival, Ireland. In December 2000, The Chemical Brothers aired one of their new tracks, "It Began in Afrika" at their New York DJ gigs, supporting U2.^{[citation needed]}

In 2001, they were quite active with releases and live performances. Early in the year, they began working on a fourth album, provisionally titled Chemical Four. The first track which fans got a taste of was "It Began in Afrika", as previously played in their DJ set in New York. The track would make its live debut in California in April 2001, at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Another new track, "Galaxy Bounce", also got its public debut at Coachella.^{[citation needed]} As had become customary for their releases and experiments, "It Began in Afrika" was first pressed as a promo, as part of the "Electronic Battle Weapon" series. It received much airplay on dance music radio shows in the UK, and became more and more popular in clubs over the course of the summer. It also became one of the "anthems" in Ibiza as the summer progressed.^{[citation needed]} It was given a full commercial single release in September, reaching No. 8 in the UK singles chart, even though no promotional video was made for the track.^{[citation needed]}

Rowlands and Simons also remixed a track from Fatboy Slim's Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars, entitled "Song for Shelter". This remix was released as a single on 3 September 2001 (one week before "It Began in Afrika") as the CD2 single for "Song for Shelter / Ya Mama". It reached No. 30 in the UK Singles Charts (sales were combined with the CD1 single).^{[citation needed]}

The Chemical Brothers finished work on another album, Come with Us, in October 2001. It featured collaborations with Richard Ashcroft of The Verve ("The Test"), and long-time collaborator Beth Orton ("The State We're In"). The album was released in January 2002, preceded by a single, "Star Guitar", a melodic Balearic beat number, with a promotional video by Michel Gondry that featured passing scenery synchronized to the beat viewed through a train window. What would be the second track on the album, "It Began in Afrika", was released 10 September 2001 to be circulated around the clubbing scene where it was a popular hit.^{[citation needed]} "Star Guitar" was also released as a DVD single, the pair's first.

The album, Come with Us, was less well received than their previous albums, but nonetheless went straight to No. 1 in the UK album charts in the first week of its release, selling 100,000 copies.^{[citation needed]} In April, the title track from the album was released as a single with remixes by Fatboy Slim as part of a double-A sided release with "The Test".

During the summer of 2002, The Chemical Brothers traveled the festival circuit to promote the album. Later in 2002, they released two EPs, one specifically aimed at Japan and the other the US (entitled AmericanEP). Both contained remixes, live versions and B-sides. Additionally, the band produced New Order's final non-album single "Here to Stay", and remixed the song as well.

One of their other major songs from this album was "Galaxy Bounce", which was popular and featured as the main title music for the Xbox game Project Gotham Racing. It was also included on the soundtrack for the movie Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. "Star Guitar" was featured as a song on the PSP's Lumines II.^{[citation needed]}

Two other songs, "Come with Us (Introduction)" and "Star Guitar (Title Screen)", were featured on a PlayStation 2 racing game titled WRC II: Extreme. Both songs are instrumental.

The Song My Elastic Eye from the Come with Us album was played in the 2004 movie The Butterfly Effect^[8] starring Ashton Kutcher and Amy Smart.

Late 2002 and early 2003 saw Rowlands and Simons back in the studio working on new material, including "The Golden Path", a collaboration with Wayne Coyne, the lead singer of The Flaming Lips. This was released in September 2003, at the same time as a "best of" album, entitled Singles 93–03, marking ten years of The Chemical Brothers' releases. Singles 93–03 included most, but not all, of their singles. A second new track, in addition to "The Golden Path", was included on the album, called "Get Yourself High". Singles 93–03 was also released on DVD, with extra features including selected live performances and interviews with Rowlands, Simons, and many of their collaborators from throughout the period. "Get Yourself High", which featured Canadian rapper k-os on vocals, was released as a single in November 2003.

In late 2003 and 2004, The Chemical Brothers continued to work in the studio on new material and a remix of "Slow" by Kylie Minogue. After being released on rare white label vinyl, it was subsequently given a commercial release in March on CD (on her next single "Red Blooded Woman") and on exclusive 12" vinyl picture disc (containing two other Kylie remixes). In Summer 2004 they returned to the festival circuit, including appearances at the Glastonbury Festival, Tokyo, Scotland, and Ireland. They also visited South America for the second time (the first time being in 1999), arriving at Chile, Argentina, and Brazil. It was during these sets that they played new material, including "Acid Children", which proved to be one of the most popular new tracks.^{[citation needed]}

In September 2004, The Chemical Brothers released the seventh "Electronic Battle Weapon". "Electronic Battle Weapon 7" was being released as a one-sided promo-only 12", containing "Acid Children". A marked departure from the Chemical Brothers' previous musical endeavours, it featured a screeching 303 bassline and a distinctive vocal sample; a pitch-altered vocal sample proclaiming "You Are All My Children Now!", which is lifted from the horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge. It was coupled with the projection of a sinister clown mouthing these same words at their live gigs.^{[citation needed]}

The Electronic Battle Weapon series of promo releases have typically been newly recorded Chemical Brothers tracks, released on promo to allow DJs to test them in a club environment, and to gauge their popularity.

[edit] Push the Button (2004–2006)

In 2004, The Chemical Brothers began work on Push the Button, their fifth studio album, which features collaborations with Tim Burgess, Kele Okereke, and Anwar Superstar, amongst others. The album was released on 24 January 2005.

"Galvanize", which features rapper Q-Tip on vocals, was the first single to be taken from Push the Button, and premiered exclusively on iTunes. The single was released on 17 January 2005, and entered the UK chart at No. 3. The second single, "Believe" (featuring Kele Okereke from Bloc Party), failed to crack the top 10, but still made it into the top 20, peaking at No. 18.^{[citation needed]} "The Boxer", featuring Tim Burgess, became the duo's first single to fail to crack the top 40.

The album and single "Galvanize" won a Grammy at the Grammy Awards of 2006. One of the songs in this album, "The Big Jump", appears in the video game Burnout Revenge, as well as Project Gotham Racing 3. The track "Surface to Air" features a pulsing chord progression and bassline reminiscent of the intro to the Strokes song "The Modern Age".^{[original research?]}

An unofficial, remixed version of the album entitled Flip the Switch was released as a free download, along with the Believe EP, featuring six further remixes of "Believe".^{[9][dead link]}

In September 2006, The Chemical Brothers were revealed as the first musicians to be involved in Tate Tracks. Tate Modern invited various groups and songwriters to choose a work that inspired them from the gallery's collection of modern art and then write a track about it. The Chemical Brothers' submission, Rock Drill, was inspired by the Jacob Epstein sculpture Torso in Metal from The Rock Drill, and can be heard on headphones in front of the work in the gallery. From October 2006, it also became available to hear online at the Tate Tracks website.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] We Are the Night (2007–2009)

The Brothers announced in June 2006 on their official web forum that the duo had been working on fresh material, specifically an album, codenamed "Chemical 6".^{[10][dead link]} Simons also wrote that the band would be playing select venues in the Summer 2007 season, specifying Rome, and also Fabric in London.^{[citation needed]} Simons is also quoted as saying that the duo are "hoping to put a battle weapon out for the summer"^{[11][dead link]}, possibly referring to the Electronic Battle Weapon series, the somewhat experimental tracks the band occasionally release on white label.

Electronic Battle Weapons 8 & 9 were debuted on Pete Tong's BBC Radio 1 show on 8 December 2006. The double sided vinyl was finally released just before The Chemical Brother's much anticipated New Year's Eve gig at the famous Turnmills in London. The vinyl had a limited edition release worldwide and has been received well by fans, DJs, and critics alike.^{[citation needed]} Electronic Battle Weapon 8, at about six and a half minutes, is very distinct from the "big acid" style that the earlier Battle Weapons adhered to. It is characterised by 'thundering' drums with a rising synth line. A version of this track features on the We Are the Night album and is entitled "Saturate". "Electronic Battle Weapon 9" is a typical Chemicals dancefloor track with their trademark vocoder vocals coupled with sirens and a basic 'tribal' melody.^{[citation needed]}

At the same Turnmills gig, the Brothers also played a previously unreleased song at midnight to welcome 2007, which went down well with the crowd.^{[citation needed]} This track eventually emerged as "Burst Generator", found on the forthcoming album We Are the Night. Many were left wondering if the latest in the Electronic Battle Weapon series were simply one off experiments or signal a new direction they could take with the new album, perhaps swaying from their genre defining big beat albums of the past.^{[citation needed]} The song was also the band's 100th released song.

On 21 March 2007, The Chemical Brothers officially announced their forthcoming album on MySpace. The new album, entitled We Are the Night, was released on 2 July 2007 in the United Kingdom and 17 July 2007 in the United States. The Chemical Brothers cited a delay in the production of artwork for this delay.^{[12][dead link]} EMI subsequently released an online Chemical Brothers computer game as an apology.^[13] The track listing was released to the fans on the official mailing list on 10 April. The new album is heavily collaborated, with the likes of Klaxons ("All Rights Reversed"), Midlake ("The Pills Won't Help You Now"), Ali Love ("Do It Again"), and Willy Mason ("Battle Scars").^[14]

On 12 April 2007, Pete Tong again had the privilege of giving the world the very first preview of a Chemicals track. This time it was the first single "Do It Again" off their new album, aired on his BBC Radio 1 "In New Music We Trust" show.^{[citation needed]}. The official release of the single was 4 June (digital download) and 14 June (12", 7", and CD). The album went on general release in the UK on 2 July 2007.

In September 2007, The Chemical Brothers played a free live gig in Trafalgar Square as part of the Becks Fusions event. All who attended were provided with 3D glasses to view the on-screen visual effects.^{[citation needed]}

In 2008, The Chemical Brothers' music was featured in a movie adaption of Irvine Welsh's best-selling novel Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance.

The Chemical Brothers supplied a new track for the Heroes soundtrack, titled "Keep My Composure".^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Further and motion picture soundtracks (2010–present)

On 30 March 2010, the band announced on their website that their seventh studio album, titled Further, would be released on 22 June and would be "the band's first to be released with corresponding films made specifically to match each of the 8 audio tracks." The films were made with long-time visuals collaborators Adam Smith and Marcus Lyall. The album was described as their most "psychedelic and melodic to date".^{[by whom?]} Before the release of the album, the band played four shows in May at the London Roundhouse where they played the album and its accompanying films in their entirety. The films featured on a special edition DVD and on the iTunes LP edition.^{[15][dead link]}

Most reviews have been positive, with BBC Music declaring that "...synths are brutally manhandled and pushed to their limits across the eight tracks".^[16] The Irish Times reported that "This is a very impressive collection that is carried along with a stirring sense of velocity and momentum".^{[17][dead link]} However, praise was not unanimous for the album, with the American rock magazine Spin giving it a rating of three out of five stars.^[18]

At the New York Comic Con, on 10 October 2010, English film director Joe Wright announced that The Chemical Brothers would be scoring the soundtrack to his upcoming film, Hanna.^[19] Wright, who had worked with The Chemical Brothers in the past as a member of the visual company Vegetable Vision, stated that he was "very excited to finally... work with a more modern beat. There's a lot of bass, it's very loud."^[20] The soundtrack was released exclusively on iTunes on 15 March 2011 and on CD on 4 July 2011.

Two weeks after the announcement regarding Hanna, rumors began circulating that The Chemical Brothers had recorded part of the score for the movie Black Swan, after a post in Ed Simon's Twitter account. A second post on the Chemical Brothers' own Twitter account seemed to confirm this.^{[citation needed]} On 22 November 2010, a Black Swan music video was released along with the movie trailer. This featured a different version of the track "Don't Think" and announced that the movie would feature new music from The Chemical Brothers, along with a handful of other artists.^[21] The next day, the names of the eight tracks not composed by Clint Mansell – Black Swan's main composer – were released, listing The Chemical Brothers as contributing three new songs for the movie.^[22] On 29 November, an exclusive video was posted on RollingStone.com, containing more footage of the alternate version of "Don't Think".^[23] Mansell's work was released the next day. No announcement has been made yet on whether the original tracks not by Mansell would be given a release or not.

Live[link]

The Chemical Brothers are credited as being one of the few truly arena-sized electronic acts. Their live acts comprise large screens displaying psychedelic images, strobe lights, and lasers that project over the crowd.^{[citation needed]} There has been speculation over how much of their live gigs are pre-recorded, although they insist (on their official website FAQ) that they have a mere outline of track order and the rest is mixed live. This would seem to be confirmed by concertgoers who have seen gigs on consecutive nights and have posted notable differences between the sets played.

The Brothers have also played at many major festivals, including Glastonbury, Fuji Rock, Reading, the HFStival, and Leeds festival. They currently hold the record for most gigs performed in a year at the Brixton Academy. The brothers have infamously, despite their high status in the mainstream, never appeared on Top of the Pops, with the use of music videos to replace the performance, sometimes accompanied by a video apologising for their absence. In 1999, a live US tour video of "Hey Boy, Hey Girl" was shown, even though the song was not in the top 40 at the time, and also released other singles before then at the time.

In addition to performing their own music, they also hold regular DJ nights where they mix other artist's tracks (in the style of Brothers Gonna Work It Out).

As with their recorded albums, The Chemical Brothers are well known for their incorporation of guest vocalists into their live performances. Notable appearances in recent gigs have included Bernard Sumner of New Order, who sang on the original "Out of Control", Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips, and Tim Burgess.

The duo also played at the launch event for the Wii video game console.^{[citation needed]}

On the night of 1 September 2007, The Chemical Brothers played at the main stage of the Electric Picnic to a crowd of around 20,000.^{[citation needed]}

The Chemical Brothers appeared in Los Angeles on 29 September 2007, headlining the 13th Annual Nocturnal Wonderland Festival.^{[citation needed]}

The duo was one of the headliners for Roskilde Festival 2008 in Denmark. The festival is held from 3–6 July and is the biggest festival in Northern Europe.^{[citation needed]}

The Chemical Brothers played at London's Olympia Grand Hall on 30 August 2008. This was the first time any major band has played at Olympia's Grand Hall in over 10 years.^{[citation needed]}

On 18 April 2009, The Chemical Brothers performed a DJ Set at the Coachella Festival, at which they premiered two previously unnamed new tracks. The tracks were the bonus track "Don't Think" and "Escape Velocity", both of which were later included on the album Further.^{[citation needed]}

On 8 February 2010, they confirmed their presence at Sónar Festival in Barcelona in June 2010. They also announced they would be performing another two nights at the London Roundhouse in Camden, on 20 and 21 May. Due to phenomenal demand, as tickets sold out within two minutes, they added a further two nights; 22 and 23 May.^{[citation needed]}

On 3 September 2010, they performed at North Coast Music Festival in Chicago. The following day they performed at Electric Zoo festival in New York City.^{[citation needed]}

On 4–14 March 2011, they headlined the Future Music Festival in five cities across Australia.^{[citation needed]}

On 27 March 2011, they headlined Ultra Music Festival in Miami, FL and closed out the Main Stage for the weekend. They also were the closing performance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on Friday 15 April 2011.^{[citation needed]}

The Chemical Brothers headlined the UK dance festival Creamfields in Cheshire on 27 August 2011.^{[24][dead link]}

The band also played at the 'Other Stage' at Glastonbury Festival 2011 as that stage's lead headliners.

On February 1, 2012, The Chemical Brothers released a concert movie into theaters which was available for viewing only that day. It was entitled "Don't Think" after one of their songs they played in the concert. The concert was played at the Fuji Rock Festival 2011 in Japan.

On 17 March 2012, the Chemical Brothers headlined at the Future Music Festival Asia 2012 at Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia.

On September 17 and 18 2012, the Chemical Brothers will perform for the first time in Bogota and Medellin, Colombia.

Logo[link]

The typeface used to write the typical "The Chemical Brothers" logo is derived from Sho,^[25] designed by Karlgeorg Hoefer in 1992. The Chemical Brothers' original logo differs only in a few details from orthodox Sho, e.g. in the letters a and b. Mergenthaler Linotype Company holds the licence for this typeface.

Discography[link]

Studio albums

• Exit Planet Dust (1995)
• Dig Your Own Hole (1997)
• Surrender (1999)
• Come with Us (2002)
• Push the Button (2005)
• We Are the Night (2007)
• Further (2010)

Soundtrack albums

• Hanna (2011)

Live albums

• Don't Think (2012)

Main compilation albums

• Brothers Gonna Work It Out (1998)
• Singles 93-03 (2003)
• Brotherhood (2008)

See also[link]

• Big beat
• Electronic Battle Weapon

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• The Chemical Brothers discography at Discogs
• The Chemical Brothers at the Internet Movie Database
• Don't Think The Movie (Trailer)

Theo Parrish
Background information
Born	1972
Origin	Washington, DC
Genres	Detroit Techno, House
Labels	Sound Signature Peacefrog Records Ugly Edits
Associated acts	3 Chairs The Rotating Assembly The T.O.M. Project KDJ
Website	MySpace Facebook

Theo Parrish is a musician and selector based in Detroit, Michigan, often described as a 'techno/house' artist.^[1] He was born in Washington, DC. He grew up in Chicago, Illinois listening to jazz musicians like Miles Davis, Nina Simone, and George Gershwin^[2]. He graduated from the Chicago Academy of the Arts and went to study at the Kansas City Art Institute. While at KCAI, he concentrated on sound sculptures, creating sonic pieces by combining live instruments, human voices, and looped recordings. He received his BFA in 1994 and moved to Michigan to focus on musical projects.^[3]