Current line up: Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons

Southerners, Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands met whilst studying History at Manchester Metropolitan University in 1989. Primarily it was for the music that they came to Manchester and they enjoyed the student lifestyle at such venues as The Hacienda, Most Excellent and Spice.

The two New Order fans got together and DJ'd under the name of 'The Dust Brothers' in 1992, kick-starting an amazing career that has seen them become one of the most influential acts of the '90's. The Dust Brothers' groundbreaking first track, "Song To The Siren", mixed breakbeats, sirens and Madchester indie vocals. However it was their 1994 "14th Century Sky" and "My Mercury Mouth" EPs that earned Tom and Ed the reputation of best remixers in the business. Work came their way from the likes of The Manic Street Preachers, Primal Scream, The Prodigy and Saint Etienne whilst their remixes of The Charlatans' "Chemical Risk" and "Patrol" highlighted their ability to tackle any style of music.

After a name change to 'The Chemical Brothers' in 1995, their debut album, "Exit Planet Dust". sold over a million copies World-wide, spawning the UK Top 20 singles, "Leave Home" and "Life Is Sweet" (which included guest vocals from The Charlatans' Tim Burgess.

In 1996 they released the "Loops Of Fury" EP which contributed a track to the Sony Playstation game "Wipeout 2097/WipeOut XL" (a remix for The Manic Street Preachers also appeared on Playstation's "Gran Turismo" game).

In 1996, Tom contributed to The Charlatans' smash hit single, "One to Another", however it was the Chemical Brothers' tour supporting Oasis that led to their next big project...

The Chemical Brothers scored their first UK Number 1 single in 1996 with "Setting Sun" which featured guest vocals from Oasis star, Noel Gallagher. The track was later included on their second album, the two million seller "Dig Your Own Hole" (1997), which also produced a further Number 1 hit single, "Block Rockin' Beats".

"Block Rockin' Beats" was reminiscent of Black Grape's superb Euro '96 single, "England's Irie", with Kermit's "Cut the trigger, I felt like this" rap being replaced by Tom and Ed's "Back with another one of those block rockin' beats". "Dig Your Own Hole" also spawned the hit singles, "Elektrobank" and "The Private Psychedelic Reel" (featuring Mercury Rev).

In 1998, Ed and Tom released a compilation album of Dust/Chemical Brothers remixes entitled, "Brothers Gonna Work It Out" before returning to the studio to complete their best project to date.

"Surrender", the Chemical Brothers' latest chart-topping album, again continues their close Manchester links: it features guest vocals from Oasis's Noel Gallagher (on the Number 7 hit single "Let Forever Be") whilst the track "Out Of Control" allowed Tom and Ed to work with their idol, Bernard Sumner from New Order, Electronic and Joy Division fame. The same track also features Primal Scream's Bobby Gillespie. (It reached Number 10 in the UK singles charts, November 1999). The first single release from the album, "Hey Boy, Hey Girl", reached Number 2 in the UK however went on to top the charts all over the World.

The differing influences displayed on "Surrender" are testament to the musical education Tom and Ed obviously received in Manchester – a city which, like The Chemical Brothers, continues to push music to new-found pleasures, recognising no boundaries and capturing the imagination of millions world-wide!