Alice Nutter is sat at a table in Leeds Irish Centre, a little tired from setting up but buzzing with ideas. Her eyes sparkle as she probes questions. Alice was a journalist for a long time for Leeds Other Paper, an alternative weekly. Pretty soon she transforms herself into a whirling, leaping sprite on stage but for now I ask her about the last twenty years and how it feels to be a 'star' since Tubthumper. (Go on; try it - say Chumbawumba to someone. When they say 'who?' say 'I get knocked down' and they'll sing you the rest). Alice says she wouldn't call two minutes of madness stardom. Mind, Tubthumper has been supporting them to keep on doing what they want to do. Twenty years ago they were a collective, they are still a collective. They have nearly the same members. The only big difference is they are making a living now (but then they've been supporting themselves since 1992). I wonder about what comes first for such a politically aware band - ideas, lyrics, music? They have hopped around musically and I find the bits of the new CD a bit vague on record (however Chumbas songs usually turn into bouncy monsters on stage). Alice tells me that the band take influences from what's going on musically around them (Of course, when David Bowie does it it's called bandwagon jumping!) She mentions English Rebel Music, the a cappella folk album they made, an album I keep filed next to The Shaggs' History Of The World in the 'can't listen but can't sell category'. The new CD is folk influenced too so I mention the time I saw Roy Bailey (Sheffield folk singer) tour a history of English protest with Tony Benn. 'Was it boring?' asks Alice, 'his diaries were'. See, the Chumbas are not your average band, they have interests and a purpose, they look at and comment on the way we live, inspiring us to stick with the struggle against those who would enslave us. Lyric ideas often come first but, contrary to common belief, music is very important to the band.

Chumbawumba are on the verge of releasing a new record. This time they are doing it themselves, having been given the boot by EMI when the corporate beast realised they weren't going to record Tubthumper over and over again for the purpose of profit. After the pains of releasing Agitprop, Alice says, they didn't want to go back to self-publishing. They've concentrated their energies on the music and simply employed people to do the rest, like plugging the record. Alice reckons the new record is coming out to a different world than their early ones. Back in the day punk created an explosion and music has become very dull since. I question her miserabilism and mention recent underground scenes. Perhaps it's a generational thing. Perking up, she offers the thesis that what is really exciting is anything that your parents don't like when you are a teenager. I fully agree and she talks about Northern Soul, to me a manufactured music, but one that built an energy around it with a way of living and being.

Chumbawumba are still full of teenage energy and stirring up controversy. There was the soaking of John Prescott over the Liverpool Dockers, being pulled from Virgin Megastores for refusing to condemn shoplifting, having the Anarchy! album bagged up by shops for having a photo of a child being born on the cover. Latest is their accepting dosh form Pontiac for using Pass It Along on an ad, then passing the money along to anti-corporate capitalism organisations Corporate Watch and Indymedia. They had to turn down General Electric because they couldn't justify working with the people who made the engines that drive the planes that were bombing Afghanistan. Alongside these contemporary themes, Chumbawumba are delving into the past again, sampling folk singers to drag old songs into daylight to illumine issues from today of the same struggles. It's around this time that I realise my microphone hasn't been working and I have to make notes from my failing memory. Not to worry says Alice, check our website. It's packed with huge pages of commentary, discussion and essays - I recommend it.

Chumbawumba go on to turn out another evening of vitalising inspiration and entertainment. Check our gig review.