Dunstan Bruce

I Get Knocked Down is the untold story of Leeds-based anarcho-pop band Chumbawamba. Founding band-member Dunstan Bruce is 59, and he is struggling with the fact that the world seems to be going to hell in a handcart. Twenty years after his fall from grace, Bruce is angry and frustrated, but how does a retired middle-aged radical get back up again? In this punk version of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, Dunstan is visited by the antagonistic ghost of his anarchist past, his alter ego, ‘Babyhead’, who forces him to question his own life, sending him on a search for his long-lost anarchist mojo. Following Bruce’s personal voyage of rediscovery, redemption, and reawakening, I Get Knocked Down acts as a call to arms to those who think activism is best undertaken by someone else.

I Get Knocked Down is the untold story of Leeds-based anarcho-pop band Chumbawamba. Founding band-member Dunstan Bruce is 59, and he is struggling with the fact that the world seems to be going to hell in a handcart. Twenty years after his fall from grace, Bruce is angry and frustrated, but how does a retired middle-aged radical get back up again? In this punk version of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, Dunstan is visited by the antagonistic ghost of his anarchist past – his alter ego, ‘Babyhead’ – who forces him to question his own life, sending him on a search for his long-lost anarchist mojo. Following Bruce’s personal voyage of rediscovery, redemption, and reawakening, I Get Knocked Down acts as a call to arms to those who think activism is best undertaken by someone else.

Borne out of the anarcho-squatting free-festival scene of the eighties the Levellers have survived over 25 years of music press vitriol, drink and drug addictions as well as many barren years in the wilderness. But the band had seven consecutive gold albums throughout the 90s, sold out their own festival for the last ten years and run their own creative centre, the Metway. Via the eccentric artist, archivist, whiskey loving bassist Jeremy Cunningham we are taken on a journey; how the band rose to fame and how they survived. A potted history of 25 years of subsidised dysfunctionalism. An uplifting tale of battling demons, that reminds us that behind every band there is always a story of struggle for expression, acceptance and survival.

Borne out of the anarcho-squatting free-festival scene of the eighties the Levellers have survived over 25 years of music press vitriol, drink and drug addictions as well as many barren years in the wilderness. But the band had seven consecutive gold albums throughout the 90s, sold out their own festival for the last ten years and run their own creative centre, the Metway. Via the eccentric artist, archivist, whiskey loving bassist Jeremy Cunningham we are taken on a journey; how the band rose to fame and how they survived. A potted history of 25 years of subsidised dysfunctionalism. An uplifting tale of battling demons, that reminds us that behind every band there is always a story of struggle for expression, acceptance and survival.

In 2009, Sham 69 became the first punk rock band to tour China. Just as the ‘70s British icons were attempting to mount a comeback, Chinese punk singer, tour manager and promoter Ray Yao lured them for two weeks of chaos in an enthusiastic but ever-changing country. With locals No Name as their supports, and former Chumbawamba lead singer turned director Dunstan Bruce capturing their every move, the trip provided more than just an unlikely introduction to the modern music scene. Met by excited new fans screaming “this band is gorgeous!”, they tapped into the enduring, uniting nature of punk anthems

Daisy Asquith investigates the mysterious world of children's entertainers.