The Chemical Brothers are an English Grammy Award winning electronic music duo of Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons (occasionally referred to as Chemical Tom and Chemical Ed). Initially they called themselves "The Dust Brothers", after the noted United States production duo of the same name, but the threat of legal action from the originals led them to change their name in 1995. Along with The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim and The Crystal Method, as well as other acts they were pioneers of the big beat electronic dance genre which achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s, and are known for high-quality live sets.

Background

Ed Simons was born in Herne Hill, South London, England, on 9 June 1970 to a barrister mother and a father who was not around much when Simons was growing up. Simons' two main interests when he was young were airplanes and musicals. Simons attended two South London public schools, Alleyn's School and Dulwich College. During his school years, Ed developed a fondness for rare groove and Hip hop music, having frequented a club called The Mud Club from the age of 14. By the time he left school, his two main musical interests were two Manchester bands, New Order and The Smiths. After finishing school with 11 O levels and 3 A-levels, Ed continued on to study History, especially Late Medieval History, at the University of Manchester.

Tom Rowlands, a childhood classmate of Simons', was born on 11 January 1971 in Kingston upon Thames, London. When Rowlands was very young, his family relocated to Henley-on-Thames. He later attended Reading Blue Coat School in Berkshire, during which time he became obsessed with Scotland, developing a fondness for the bagpipes in particular. In his early teens, his interest in music broadened to other genres. Initially, some of his favourites included the Oh What a Lovely War soundtrack, 2-Tone, and the electro sounds of artists such as Heaven 17, Kraftwerk, New Order, and Cabaret Voltaire. He described the first Public Enemy album as the record that probably changed his life, and commented that Miuzi Weighs a Ton was one of the most amazing records he had ever heard.Fact: date=October 2007 Rowlands also started collecting hip hop records by artists like Eric B and Schoolly D. Rowlands left school with similar accomplishments to Simons', achieving 9 O levels and 3 A levels. For University, he followed Simons to Manchester primarily to immerse himself in its music scene in general and the Haçienda in particular.Fact: date=October 2007

Ariel

Rowlands was also in a band called Ariel prior to meeting up with Simons. Ariel was formed in London by Rowlands and his friends Brendan and Matt before they all moved up to Manchester. Their first single was "Sea of Beats". Other songs, mostly released on 12" included "Mustn't Grumble" and their most well-known, "Rollercoaster". Their record label, deConstruction, insisted that they get a female singer and they recruited former Xpansions frontwoman Sally Ann Marsh, and after some disappointing songs like "Let It Slide" (Rowlands would later describe it as "a stinker") the band fell apart. One of the last things Ariel did was the song "T Baby" which was remixed by the pair.