Tubthumper is the eighth studio album and the major label debut by English rock band Chumbawamba, released on 1 September 1997 by EMI.

Tubthumper received generally positive reviews from music critics, who noted it as a sonically distinctive record, in addition to praising its subtle social commentary.

Following the international commercial success of lead single "Tubthumping", the album peaked at number three in the United States and within the top ten in several other countries.

[3] As a result, Chumbawamba parted ways with the label, then signing with EMI in England and Universal Music Group in the United States.

[3][9] However, critic Elisabeth Vincentelli opined that the group had "toned down some of the radical rhetoric", and that the album's lyrics, where they were previously had a "brusque directness", Tubthumper contained "oblique pathos".

[10] Tubthumper incorporates a number of musical styles, including synth-pop, hip hop, jungle, and madrigals.

[9] Greg Kot, writing for the Chicago Tribune, praised the album and commented that the group "sounds way too smart to be so easily dismissed".

[35] The band defended their decision on their official FAQ page, issuing a statement that read, in part: "We signed to EMI/Universal not because we'd been co-opted into the 'If you can't beat capitalism ... join it' school of thought, but because experience had taught us that in a capitalist environment almost every record company operates on capitalist principles.

Our previous record label One Little Indian didn't have the evil symbolic significance of EMI BUT they were completely motivated by profit.

The release included contributions from The Chineapple Punks, Riot/Clone, Anxiety Society, Love, Chips & Peace, Oi Polloi, Bus Station Loonies, and Wat Tyler.

In early 1998, group vocalist Alice Nutter made an appearance on the American television show Politically Incorrect, to promote the album.

During the interview, she appeared to encourage fans who were unable to afford Tubthumper to steal it from big chain music stores like HMV and Virgin.

[37] She told MTV in a January 1998 interview that "They wanted to talk about people stealing our record, which is irrelevant in the scheme of things.