 The Chemical Brothers
Along with The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, The Crystal Method and a few other lesser-known acts they were pioneers of the big beat electronic dance genre, and are known for high-quality live sets. They famously met at the University of Manchester.
Ed Simons was born in Herne Hill, South London, England in 1970, to a barrister mother and a father who was not around much when Ed was growing up. Ed's two main interests when he was young were airplanes and musicals. Simons went to school in Alleyn's in South London, and left with 11 O levels and 3 A-levels. Ed developed a fondness of rare groove and hip hop, having frequented a club called The Mud Club when he was 14. By the time he left school, his two main musical interests were two Manchester bands, New Order and The Smiths. Simons studied Medieval History at the University of Manchester.
Another student in Simon's class was Tom Rowlands. Rowlands was born on 11 January, 1971, in Kingston-Upon-Thames. His father was a lighting cameraman. When Rowlands was very young, his family relocated to Henley. He later went to school in Reading. Rowlands became obsessed with Scotland when he was a child, and loved the bagpipes in particular. Later, he became interested in other music. Initially, one of his favorites was the "Oh What A Lovely War" soundtrack, then 2-Tone, and in his early teens, the synth-pop of artists as Heaven 17, Kraftwerk and Cabaret Voltaire.
Later on in his teens, Rowlands progressed to The Jesus and Mary Chain. He described the first Public Enemy album as the record which probably changed his life, and says he thought "Miuzi Weighs a Ton" was one of the most amazing records he had ever heard. Rowlands started collecting a lot of hip hop records, by people like Eric B and Schoolly D, but was also a large fan of My Bloody Valentine. Rowlands left school with 9 O levels and 3 A levels. He also decided to go to Manchester for further study because of its music scene, and specifically the Hacienda.
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