ARTIST: Chumbawumba
TITLE: Never Mind the Ballots
YEAR RELEASED: 1987
CHART ACTION: #2 UK Indie
SINGLES: None
OTHER SONGS YOU MAY KNOW: Hahahahah, um…no.
LINEUP: Lou Watts, Harry Hamer, Mavis Dillon, Alice Nutter, Danbert Nobacon, Boff Whalley, Dustan Bruce, Simon Lanzon, Neil Ferguson
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT: Politics and elections!
SOME WORDS, PHRASES AND CLAUSES ABOUT THIS RECORD: A musical play or anarchist agit-prop opera or whatever you want to call it – Chumbawumba’s second album is all about electoral politics featuring two candidates, the public, and how the two supposedly opposite sided candidates seem to want the same thing in the end
Funny how that’s appropriate now as well.
Musically, this is a much better and more commercial (sounding, commercial sounding, people) record. The band really can play well, and the arrangements are complementary to the lyrics and messages.
The messages, themes, and motifs are radical commentary on the UK’s issues in the late 80’s, but the political messages rather much fit to any political system. Candidates will be about one thing, mainly. That’s power. No matter what they say, that’s what they want.
NOTES & MINUTIAE: They had promo T-shirts in English and French that said “THE VOTE CHANGES NOTHING! THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES!”
IS THERE A DELUXE VERSION: No. It wasn’t streaming on some platforms, but it’s on Apple now at least.
GRADE B+: You probably need to somewhat agree with their politics to really enjoy it, but it’s good.