Lou Watts

Lou Watts
Background information
Birth name	Louise Mary Watts
Born	(1962-06-04) 4 June 1962 Burnley, Lancashire, England
Genres	Folk pop Anarcho-punk
Occupations	Singer songwriter musician
Instruments	Vocals keyboards guitar
Years active	1982–present
Formerly of	Chumbawamba

Louise Mary Watts (born 4 June 1962) is an English musician, best known for her work as a member of anarcho-punk (and, later, folk) band Chumbawamba.

Early life

Born in Burnley, Lancashire, Watts was introduced to the band by friend and member, writer Alice Nutter.

Career

She was a member of Chumbawamba from their formation in 1982 until they disbanded in 2012. She joined Boff Whalley, Danbert Nobacon and Midge and Tomi in 1982 to form the original line-up, and the band made their live debut in January of that year.

The band gained popularity for their anarchist views and for their opposition to homophobia and fascism and support of feminism and gay rights.

Watts provided lead vocals for the band's hit song "Tubthumping", which gained them international recognition, and topped charts in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Italy and New Zealand as well as "Tubthumping"'s follow-up song Amnesia, which reached number 10 on the UK Singles Chart. They were also nominated for a Brit Award for "Best British Single" at the 1998 Brit Awards, at which they also performed.

Along with Abbott, Whalley, Ferguson and Moody, Watts continued to work with the group and provide vocals, even after the majority of the original band members had departed and featured a shift in music style. She featured as a lead vocalist up until the band's last performances in 2012, becoming one of the band's longest serving members.

Watts performing with Neil Ferguson, Boff Whalley, Jude Abbott and Phil Moody at TFF Rudolstadt (2012)