The Chemical Brothers Artistfacts

1991-
Tim Rowlands
Ed Simons
The Chemical Brothers DJ Tim Rowlands says Public Enemy's first album changed his life. He described the hip-hop collective's song "Miuzi Weighs a Ton" as "the most amazing track I've ever heard." From there, Rowlands started collecting hip-hop records and started DJing with his childhood friend, Ed Simons.
In 1992, DJ's Tim Rowlands and Ed Simons began playing shows in the back of a Manchester club called Naked Under Leather. After awhile, the duo took on the moniker "The Dust Brothers" after the American production team famous for their work with the Beastie Boys. The duo got sick of sampling hip-hop instrumental tracks, so they began making their own beds using a hi-fi Hitachi system, a computer, a sampler, and a keyboard.

In 1995, The Dust Brothers were threatened with a lawsuit by the original Dust Brothers US production team, so they decided to change their name. They chose "The Chemical Brothers" after one of their more popular songs, "Chemical Beats." The Chemical Brothers DJ Ed Simon's grandmother thought the group should be called "The Grit Brothers," but the name didn't stick.
Oasis lead singer Liam Gallagher picked a fight with The Chemical Brothers in 1995. The electronic duo was DJing for Oasis at a gig in Sheffield, but Gallagher didn't agree with the material they were playing. The enigmatic singer kicked the duo off the turntables and enlisted a friend from UK band The Verve to take over. The new DJ subsequently began playing psychedelic music much to the displeasure of the crowd.
In 2011, The Chemical Brothers focused on creating music for two different film projects. The duo wrote most of the score for Joe Wright's 2011 movie Hanna, and also worked with composer Clint Mansell in creating three new tracks for Darren Aronofsky's 2011 film Black Swan.
In 2008, The Chemical Brothers became the first artist to win the Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronica Album more than once. The duo won the honor for their 2007 album We Are The Night but previously won in 2006 for their 2005 album Push the Button. Although the award was only conceived in 2005, The Chemical Brothers have either won or been nominated for every eligible album they've released since that year.
In March 2012, it was announced that The Chemical Brothers would be composing the score for Now You See Me, an illusionist/magician heist movie directed by Louis Leterrier (Clash of the Titans, The Incredible Hulk.) The all-star cast includes Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Morgan Freeman, Isla Fisher, Woody Harrelson, and Common.
Back when they were still known as The Dust Brothers, they were paid with booze instead of money when they took up residency at London's Albany pub for the Heavenly Sunday Social Club in October 1994.

"Everyone who might have bought us a drink was busy jumping up and down," Ed Simons told The Guardian. "We did get paid in beer or cider but were just happy to be asked. Rather than going out on a Friday night, we would DJ, take our friends and make a night of it."

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