No more clowning around for The Chemical Brothers

Following complaints from fans, the Chemical Brothers have been forced to tone down the freakish clown images used in their live shows in 2008.

“There’s a lot of coulrophobia [fear of clowns] about” said Ed Simons, one half of the British dance duo, to Stuff.co.nz. “People were running, especially at the more druggy festivals.”

Gone are the old disturbing clowns with their bad teeth and smeared make-up, who sang along to songs like "Get Yourself High" and "Do it Again". The new clowns will be “more friendly”, said Simons. And they’ll debut to the excited audience of The Chem’s new world tour, which kick-starts in Australia and New Zealand in March 2011.

The pair say Australia and New Zealand is the perfect place to launch the tour. “The crowds have been great to us… Our tour last time was fantastic… .” The 2008 tour that Simons refers to brought sold-out shows, throbbing electronica and trippy visual accessories: strobes, lasers, giant video backdrops, and of course, the clowns.

These bells and whistles will be back, with Simons saying their new tour would have a more ‘integrated’ feel to it, as the new album was made alongside the visuals. “We still rely on volume and bright lights and the crowd. The memorable thing is to experience our music at really high volume and with people losing it, that sense of transcendence, being taken to another place, and the hedonism of it.”

Their seventh album Further has seen a departure from their previous work, which incorporated guest vocalists. Simons said this made Further a freeing album to create, with more emphasis on synth work, and new influences like the blossoming dubstep scene. But, as always, the pair were trying to create unique music. “We want to make music that’s authentic to us.”

"That bass drum is still thudding away, and it doesn't show any sign of stopping." - Ed Simons, Chemical Brothers