I Get Knocked Down

Chumbawamba’s hit song Tubthumping was one of the 1990s great pop culture moments, capturing the optimistic spirit of the times. In I Get Knocked Down, singer Dunstan Bruce is visited by the “Babyhead” character from the band’s album cover, to reconcile with the past and see how things took such a different path to what the band had hoped. Although previously unknown to mainstream audiences, Leeds-based Chumbawamba had a fascinating history with roots in the anarchist punk and activist scenes, which the documentary captures through wonderfully entertaining archive footage.

‘I had been doing an illustrated talk which was full of the humour and irony and dilemmas we faced throughout the madness of Tubthumping. It was always very well received and I started to think, “this could be a film.” I was also weirdly inspired by the lack of political voices in the pop world throughout the last election; I thought that Chumbawamba would have relished the opportunity to use that platform to say something contentious or insightful or funny. That made me think maybe it’s time to not only tell the story but also to try to inspire a new generation of musicians and songwriters and activists.’

Co-Director Dunstan Bruce, from an interview with Narc Magazine.