The Chemical Brothers
Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons began on record as the Dust Brothers, with a privately released twelve-inch and a telephone number on the label.
View B-side label
ListenSong to the Siren · 1992
The Dust Brothers (aka The Chemical Brothers), “Song to the Siren.” Listen on YouTube ↗
1992 · Diamond Records
Song to the Siren
The Chemical Brothers, with their original name, made their own record to carry into shops. “Song to the Siren” was their 1992 debut as the Dust Brothers: a bedroom production issued through their own Diamond label.
| Accession | OMMA-0149 |
|---|---|
| Artist | The Dust Brothers · Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons |
| Release | 1992 · United Kingdom |
| Label | Diamond Records · DBS 333 |
| Format | 12-inch vinyl single · label marked 45 rpm |
| Issue | Original Diamond green-label configuration · self-released |
| Runouts | Not documented |
| Recorded grade | VG+ (owner-assessed) · generic sleeve ungraded |
Release history and significance
Rowlands and Simons made the record at home and released it themselves. Simons recalled designing the green label with a school friend on a BBC Micro and putting his mother’s telephone number on it. She fielded calls while he took copies around London’s record shops. Andrew Weatherall, Justin Robertson and Darren Emerson became early supporters. [1]
Distribution required invention as well as enthusiasm. Simons described phoning shops as a prospective customer asking for the “Siren” record Weatherall was playing, then arriving later with copies to sell. A homemade single was finding an audience through DJs, word of mouth and the counter of the local record shop. [1]
The original Diamond release preceded its Junior Boy’s Own issue. DBS 333 therefore captures the duo at the point when they were financing and distributing their own debut, before their later career as the Chemical Brothers. [1]
Market context
In his 2023 account, Simons gives the original quantity as 900 copies. Older dealer and collector accounts often give 500. [1]
Physical Description
Black twelve-inch vinyl with green-and-white striped label reading “Song to the Siren,” “45 rpm” and “This Side Only.” A green square on a white label marks the B-side, with the Dust Brothers wordmark, the words, “programmed by T. Rowlands / thanks to Michmot and Olly” and Rowlands’ mother’s former contact phone number.
Condition
Excellent- to a very strong VG+ condition with strong, clear and crisp playback that evidences a few crackles on the ending runout when play is finished. The A-side label is crisp, clean and unmarked. The B-side label shows some wear and spindle marks as well as possible a manufacturing anomaly on the B-side label that visually seems to be *under* the printed green square. The B-side, which does not have any grooves, nevertheless shows a few hairlines and smudges on the blank vinyl. The A-side is cleaner, with minimal hairlines.
Provenance
Purchased through eBay from marimasso7 / green cabin records on 17 September 2026.
Sources
- The Quietus, Song to the Siren: An Extract from New Chemical Brothers Book. 19 September 2023. Firsthand accounts from Paused in Cosmic Reflection, including Simons’s label design, distribution and 900-copy recollection.
- Supplied eBay listing, order record, seller photograph and owner’s SOAT entry. Copy-level configuration, condition assessment, acquisition and provenance.
Photograph and physical description updated 3 October 2026.