The Chemical Brothers are an English electronic music duo formed by Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons in Manchester in 1989. They were pioneers (along with The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, The Crystal Method, and other acts) in bringing the big beat genre to the forefront of pop culture. They released their debut album Exit Planet Dust (1995) and it eventually went on to sell over a million copies worldwide. After attracting Virgin Records, the duo achieved more widespread success with their second album Dig Your Own Hole (1997), which topped the UK charts. In the UK, they have had six No. 1 albums and 13 Top 20 singles, including two No. 1 hits.

Their name came about in 1995 after they dropped their original name of "The Dust Brothers" due to the existence of a different band with the same name. "The Chemical Brothers" refers to the duo's 1993 groundbreaking "Chemical Beats", which epitomised their genre-defining sound. In the United States, they have won six Grammy Awards including Best Rock Instrumental Performance, Best Dance Recording and Best Dance/Electronic Album of the year as recently as 2020.

Ed Simons was born in Herne Hill on 9 June 1970, the son of a barrister mother and a father he has described as "absent". His two main interests when he was young were aeroplanes and musicals. Simons attended two South London public schools, Alleyn's School and Dulwich College. During his school years, he developed a fondness for rare groove and hip hop music, having frequented a club called the Mud Club from the age of 14. By the time he left school, his two main musical interests were the Manchester bands New Order and the Smiths. After finishing school with 11 O levels and three A levels, he continued on to study history, especially late medieval history, at the University of Manchester.

Tom Rowlands was born in Kingston upon Thames on 11 January 1971. When he was very young, his family relocated to Henley-on-Thames. He later attended Reading Blue Coat School in Berkshire. In his early teens, his interest in music broadened to other genres. Initially, some of his favourites included the Oh, What a Lovely War! soundtrack, 2 Tone, the nascent gothic rock genre (The Sisters of Mercy, Fields of the Nephilim) and the electro sounds of artists such as Kraftwerk, New Order, Cabaret Voltaire, and Heaven 17. He described the first Public Enemy album Yo! Bum Rush the Show as "the record that probably changed his life", and commented that "Miuzi Weighs a Ton" was "one of the most amazing tracks he had ever heard". Rowlands also started collecting hip hop records by artists like Eric B and Schoolly D. Rowlands left school with similar accomplishments to Simons, achieving nine O levels and three A levels. He went on to study history at the University of Manchester, where he met Simons in 1989. Rowlands chose Manchester primarily to immerse himself in its music scene in general and the Fac 51 Hacienda in particular.