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The Chemical Brothers are an English electronic music duo formed by Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands in Manchester in 1992. They were pioneers in bringing the big beat genre to the forefront of pop culture.

Originally known as The Dust Brothers, they took the name The Chemical Brothers in order to avoid confusion with a similarly named US production duo, Dust Brothers. Their first album Exit Planet Dust (the title referencing their recent name change) sold over one million copies and debuted at No. 9 on the UK Albums Chart. After signing to Virgin Records, the duo achieved critical acclaim with their second and third albums Dig Your Own Hole (1997) and Surrender (1999), which both topped the UK albums chart. Their subsequent albums, Come with Us (2003), Push the Button (2005) and We Are The Night (2007) all reached number one and further expanded their sound with neo-psychedelia, house, and pop influences.

Across their career, they have collaborated with numerous guest vocalists, including Noel Gallagher, Beth Orton, Bernard Sumner, Q-Tip, St. Vincent, Beck, and Aurora, the latter of which has further collaborated with Rowlands to form supergroup Tomora.

With 13 top-20 singles in the UK, including "Setting Sun" and "Block Rockin' Beats" which both reached number one, they have won six Grammy Awards, including Best Rock Instrumental Performance for "Block Rockin' Beats", Best Dance Recording for "Galvanize", and Best Dance/Electronic Album for No Geography (2018).

History

1984–1995: Formation and early incarnations

Ed Simons (born 9 June 1970) was born to a barrister mother and a father he described as "absent". After attending Dulwich College, where he gained 11 O levels and three A levels, he studied history at the University of Manchester.

Tom Rowlands (born 11 January 1971) was raised in Henley-on-Thames and attended Reading Blue Coat School. He met Simons at the University of Manchester in 1989; they shared an interest in raves and club-going. Rowlands chose Manchester primarily to immerse himself in its music scene, particularly the Fac 51 Hacienda.

Rowlands was in a band called Ariel prior to meeting Simons, with friends Brendan Melck and Mathew Berry; the band was signed to Echo Logik Records and then deConstruction. After the band disbanded, Rowlands and Simons, who were sharing a house, started to DJ in 1992, at a club called Naked Under Leather, located in the back of a pub called the Swinging Sporran (later renamed Retro Bar and currently operated by the University of Manchester). They were known by the alias "237 Turbo Nutters", 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. The two called themselves The Dust Brothers after the US production duo Dust Brothers, famous for their work with the Beastie Boys. After a while, Rowlands and Simons 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, an Atari ST, 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, which they called Diamond Records (after Ed's nickname). At this point the Dust Brothers were the first-ever backroom DJs in the Sumptuous Locarno Lounge at The Job Club in Gossips night club in Dean Street, Soho from April 1992 till April 1993.