I Get Knocked Down
A Chumbawamba documentary
Co-directed by Dunstan Bruce and Sophie Robinson
Streaming in the UK from January 15th

Funny, subversive, irreverent, relevant, disrespectful, modest, self depreciating, unruly, occasionally silly and very enjoyable, I Get Knocked Down is a Rock Doc unlike all others.

Narrated and co-directed by frontman Dunstan Bruce, it interlaces the story of the band (illustrated with some very revealing and intriguing archive footage) with the asking of a question pertinent to those of us of a certain age: how can we get older while remaining true to our rebellious punk routes and not becoming a cog in mohicanned, bondaged, uniformed nostalgia circus?

For those who don't know, and for those of us who may have forgotten, the film reminds us exactly how the band rose from a cruddy anarcho Leeds squat to having a worldwide number one smash hit single. In doing so they alienated many of their original purist fans who'd have rather they remained creating 3 chord out of tune screaming to an audience of two people and a stoned doggy on a string, rather than sell their DMed souls to one time arms manufacturer EMI and make an alliance with 'the man'. But in joining the despised 'mainstream', they succeeded in inspiring many more.

 

At one level, the film works as an attempt at confession and absolution, justifying the decision to sign to a major and use their new found influence to subvert the system from within, a task they set about with unbridled situationist glee. They famously poured water over the deputy Prime Minister John Prescott at the Brit Awards as retribution for him selling out the dockers. On Letterman, they changed Tubthumping's words to “Free Mumia Abu-Jamal”. And they exhorted fans who couldn't afford their album to steal it. Indeed, they gave most of their wealth to left wing and anarcho causes, famously donating the $70,000 they were paid by General Motors to CorpWatch and Indy Media to use to campaign against GM! They also turned down $1.5 million from Nike to use the song "Tubthumping" in a World Cup advertisement, a decision which apparently took them 30 seconds to make.

The film recalls all these powerful if satirical anti capitalist antics, planned and plotted from the belly of the beast, using its resources, but Dunstan still has the humility to self question their effectiveness, successes and even their motivation. Throughout the film there is 'Babyhead', a character dressed in a huge papier mache head, who naggingly articulates Dunstan's doubts and misgivings, continuously undermining and deriding what the band achieved. A montage of 1990s music critics slagging off the band is included, culminating with Caitlin Moran's caustic if incorrect comment “They’re not very good pop stars and they’re not very good political activists either.”

I Get Knocked Down reminds us that actually Chumbawamba were a good band with good politics, one who did make a difference, both musically and politically. And they continue to do so. As when they recently retweeted us as we protested outside a Katie Hopkins hate fest event in Swansea to the sound track of Tubthumping, having already refused to let the same local far right loving venue show their film. And one of the most inspiring features of the movie is to see Dunstan get up again onto the two headed beast of rock'n'roll with his new and exciting sounding agit-punk band Interrobang?

Of course Chumbawamba didn't change the world. But nor did The Clash, Public Enemy, Shelley, Crass, The Pistols, The Red Skins or The Manics. And nor will the brilliant Idles, Bob Vylan or Sleaford Mods.

But by challenging the status quo (political, economic, cultural), by getting organised, by being creative, by believing in ourselves, by not accepting the shit they seek to serve us or the society they want us to be servile in, we, like Chumbawamba, can start to make a difference.

We will always get back up again.

Because ultimately, they're never gonna keep us down.

Rosey R*E*P*E*A*T

Buy the DVD here

Film website here

Interrobang? here

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