The Charlatans (British band)
Encyclopedia
The Charlatans are an English alternative rock
band
. The band's line-up currently comprises Tim Burgess (vocals), Mark Collins
(guitar), Martin Blunt (bass), Tony Rogers (keyboards) and Jon Brookes (drums and percussion).
Former members of the band include guitarist Jon Day (Jonathan Baker) (1989–1991), vocalist Baz Ketley (1989) and keyboardist Rob Collins
(1989–1996), who died in a car accident during recording of their fifth album.
In the UK, all of the band's eleven studio albums have charted in the Top 40 in the UK Albums Chart
, three of them being number ones. They have also achieved seventeen Top 30 singles, and four Top 10 hits in the UK Singles Chart
.
by bassist
Martin Blunt, who recruited fellow West Midlanders
; Rob Collins
(keyboards
), Jon Brookes (drums
), plus guitarist Baz Ketley, who left the band to be replaced by Tim Burgess and Jon Day (Jonathan Baker) (guitar
).
Although the name The Charlatans was used when original members of the band were located in the West Midlands, many sources state that they formed in Northwich
, Cheshire
. This is because the band relocated to the home town of new lead singer Tim Burgess (who lived in Northwich) before the 1990 release of The Charlatans' debut single
"Indian Rope", on the band's own Dead Dead Good Records label
. This means that, based on the definition of the hometown used by Guinness World Records
, the band formed in Northwich and consequently, Northwich is recorded as their home town in such publications as British Hit Singles & Albums.
hit and the group soon found a major label, Beggars Banquet
off-shoot Situation Two
, in time for the release of "The Only One I Know" which reached the Top 10 in the UK Singles Chart
. A further single, "Then", and debut album
Some Friendly
, were released later that year. Around this time The Charlatans were forced to add UK to their name for an American tour due to competing claims by a 1960s rock band also known as The Charlatans
.
Baker left the band after 1991's "Over Rising" single to be replaced by Mark Collins
(no relation to Rob), and the band brought in producer
Flood for their second album Between 10th and 11th
(named after the address of the New York
Marque, site of the group's first US
concert
). Released in early 1992, the album failed to reach the Top 20 in the UK Albums Chart
. However, the Top 20 success of the lead single "Weirdo" and a double weekend of gigs ('Daytripper') in Blackpool
and Brighton
with Ride
kept them in the public eye.
Later that year, the band suffered a major setback when Rob Collins was charged with armed robbery after his friend had robbed an off licence while he was waiting in the car outside. Collins claimed to have no foreknowledge of the robbery until he heard a gunshot inside the shop and his friend exited, although he later admitted that he should not have picked his friend up after he realised what he had done. At court, he pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of "assisting an offender after an offence" and served four months in prison.
(1994) reached number 8 in the UK Albums Chart
.
In 1995 the band's self-titled
fourth album saw them become major UK stars again, topping the UK albums chart and spawning the Top 20 single "Just When You're Thinkin' Things Over".
Keyboard player Rob Collins was killed in a car crash during the recording of fifth album Tellin' Stories
on 22 July 1996. The Charlatans decided to continue, and the Primal Scream
and former Felt
keyboardist Martin Duffy
was drafted in, particularly for The Charlatans support slot with Oasis
at their Knebworth
concerts in mid-1996, until a permanent replacement for Collins could be found.
Tellin' Stories
was released in 1997 featuring contributions from both Rob Collins and Duffy and in the singles "One to Another", "North Country Boy" and "How High" the group had their biggest UK hits to date.
the band's contract with Beggars Banquet
was up, and they signed to Universal Records
. Relations with 'Beggars' remained strong however, and the band helped put together the B-side
s collection Songs From The Other Side
and DVD
Just Lookin' 1990 - 1997
, showcasing all their promotional videos, and a selection of live recordings from that era.
Us And Us Only
saw the start of a new era for The Charlatans. Their first release for Universal saw new keyboard player Tony Rogers make his Charlatan's album debut (he had previously toured in support of Tellin' Stories
and contributed to b-sides "Keep It to Yourself" and "Clean Up Kid" from the "How High" single) and the band took on a slightly country
sound, heavily influenced by Burgess's love of Bob Dylan
. The soul
influenced Wonderland
followed in 2001, before Up At The Lake
was released in 2004.
. Titled Simpatico, the reggae
and dub
tinged album featured tracks like the fan favourite "NYC (There's No Need to Stop)", first single "Blackened Blue Eyes
", and was produced by Jim Lowe
. The single charted at number 28. The album reached the top 10 in its first week of release, but dropped out of the charts shortly after.
Their follow-up to Simpatico was the career-spanning singles compilation entitled Forever: The Singles
which was released on CD
and DVD
on 13 November 2006. It was preceded by the re-recorded (remixed by Youth
) song "You're So Pretty We're So Pretty" which appeared originally on their 2001 album Wonderland
. The band seem in a good place now, happy with their level of success and keen to record their next album in 2007, as they told STV in this interview in November 2006. In an interview for their Simpatico album, the band mentioned lack of shower facilities and bad bus drivers as the worst aspects of touring. "[Bus drivers] get so bloody moody. They don't want you on the bus, yet you're paying them a fortune to drive you. They'd rather drive around the whole of the country with nobody in the back".
The band played a number of high-profile supporting gigs in mid-2007, including for The Who
and The Rolling Stones
, at venues including Wembley Stadium
and Twickenham Stadium
in London, as well as the Bingley Music Live
event, Nass festival 2007, and at Delamere Forest in Cheshire. A recording of Live At Delamere Forest
was released as a download only via the official website in five parts for a limited time only.
, the band contributed the song "Blank Heart, Blank Mind" to the magazine's free Love Music, Hate Racism compilation CD. Later the same month, the new single "You Cross My Path" was released as a free download exclusively through the XFM
website. On the 3 March 2008, The Charlatans teamed up with Xfm again to become the first UK band to release an album completely free to download via a radio station. This was preceded a week earlier by the second single from the album, "Oh! Vanity". The album, titled You Cross My Path
, is The Charlatans' tenth studio album and received a physical CD/LP release on 19 May 2008 on the Cooking Vinyl
label, coinciding with a full UK tour.
In January 2010, Brookes has stated via the official Charlatans website blog that the Charlatans are back in the studio to work on their eleventh album planned for release in August 2010. 2010 also coincides with twentieth anniversary of the band's debut album, Some Friendly which they played live at Primavera Sound Festival
2010. The album is due for re-issue with bonus material, and an extensive UK tour for both the re-issue and new album launch is due to take place to support these releases.
Their eleventh studio album, Who We Touch
, was released on 6 September 2010. The first single release was "Love Is Ending". The album charted at #21 in the UK Albums Chart.
On 15 September 2010, Brookes collapsed during a performance in Philadelphia. A few days later he was diagnosed with a brain tumor
. Since then, he has apparently made a full recovery and the band is playing live again.
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
. The band's line-up currently comprises Tim Burgess (vocals), Mark Collins
Mark Collins (musician)
Mark Collins is an English guitarist best known as a member of the British indie/rock band The Charlatans.-Career:...
(guitar), Martin Blunt (bass), Tony Rogers (keyboards) and Jon Brookes (drums and percussion).
Former members of the band include guitarist Jon Day (Jonathan Baker) (1989–1991), vocalist Baz Ketley (1989) and keyboardist Rob Collins
Rob Collins (musician)
Rob Collins was an English musician best known as the original keyboardist of The Charlatans.-The Charlatans:...
(1989–1996), who died in a car accident during recording of their fifth album.
In the UK, all of the band's eleven studio albums have charted in the Top 40 in the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
, three of them being number ones. They have also achieved seventeen Top 30 singles, and four Top 10 hits in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
.
Formation (1988-1989)
The band originally formed in the West MidlandsWest Midlands (region)
The West Midlands is an official region of England, covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It contains the second most populous British city, Birmingham, and the larger West Midlands conurbation, which includes the city of Wolverhampton and large towns of Dudley,...
by bassist
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
Martin Blunt, who recruited fellow West Midlanders
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
; Rob Collins
Rob Collins (musician)
Rob Collins was an English musician best known as the original keyboardist of The Charlatans.-The Charlatans:...
(keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
), Jon Brookes (drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
), plus guitarist Baz Ketley, who left the band to be replaced by Tim Burgess and Jon Day (Jonathan Baker) (guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
).
Although the name The Charlatans was used when original members of the band were located in the West Midlands, many sources state that they formed in Northwich
Northwich
Northwich is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies in the heart of the Cheshire Plain, at the confluence of the rivers Weaver and Dane...
, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
. This is because the band relocated to the home town of new lead singer Tim Burgess (who lived in Northwich) before the 1990 release of The Charlatans' debut single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
"Indian Rope", on the band's own Dead Dead Good Records label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
. This means that, based on the definition of the hometown used by Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
, the band formed in Northwich and consequently, Northwich is recorded as their home town in such publications as British Hit Singles & Albums.
Early years (1990-1993)
The debut single, "Indian Rope" proved an indieIndie (music)
In music, independent music, often shortened to indie music or "indie" is a term used to describe independence from major commercial record labels or their subsidiaries, and an autonomous, Do-It-Yourself approach to recording and publishing....
hit and the group soon found a major label, Beggars Banquet
Beggars Banquet Records
Beggars Banquet is an English independent record label that began as a chain of record shops owned by Martin Mills and Nick Austin, and is part of the Beggars Group of labels...
off-shoot Situation Two
Situation Two
Situation Two, aka Situation 2, was a record label created in 1981 by Peter Kent as an offshoot of the larger Beggars Banquet label. At the time, Beggars Banquet records were distributed by WEA Records; so, to appeal to the indie audience and to get releases into the indie charts, the Situation Two...
, in time for the release of "The Only One I Know" which reached the Top 10 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. A further single, "Then", and debut album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
Some Friendly
Some Friendly
Some Friendly is the debut album by the English band The Charlatans , released in 1990 ....
, were released later that year. Around this time The Charlatans were forced to add UK to their name for an American tour due to competing claims by a 1960s rock band also known as The Charlatans
The Charlatans (U.S. band)
The Charlatans were an influential psychedelic rock band that played a role in the development of the San Francisco music scene during the 1960s and are often cited by critics as being the first group to play in the style that became known as the San Francisco Sound...
.
Baker left the band after 1991's "Over Rising" single to be replaced by Mark Collins
Mark Collins (musician)
Mark Collins is an English guitarist best known as a member of the British indie/rock band The Charlatans.-Career:...
(no relation to Rob), and the band brought in producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Flood for their second album Between 10th and 11th
Between 10th And 11th
Between 10th and 11th is the second album by the British band The Charlatans , released on March 23, 1992. The single, "Weirdo", was the band's biggest U.S. hit, charting at number one on the Modern Rock Tracks chart.-Track listing:All tracks by Blunt, Brookes, Burgess, M. Collins, R...
(named after the address of the New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
Marque, site of the group's first US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
). Released in early 1992, the album failed to reach the Top 20 in the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
. However, the Top 20 success of the lead single "Weirdo" and a double weekend of gigs ('Daytripper') in Blackpool
Blackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
and Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
with Ride
Ride (band)
Ride were a British alternative rock band that formed in 1988 in Oxford, England, consisting of Andy Bell, Mark Gardener, Laurence "Loz" Colbert, and Steve Queralt. The band were initially part of the "shoegazing" scene. Following the break-up of the band in 1996, members moved on to various other...
kept them in the public eye.
Later that year, the band suffered a major setback when Rob Collins was charged with armed robbery after his friend had robbed an off licence while he was waiting in the car outside. Collins claimed to have no foreknowledge of the robbery until he heard a gunshot inside the shop and his friend exited, although he later admitted that he should not have picked his friend up after he realised what he had done. At court, he pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of "assisting an offender after an offence" and served four months in prison.
Mid-nineties resurgence (1994-1997)
The follow-up album, Up To Our HipsUp to Our Hips
Up to Our Hips is the third album by the British band The Charlatans , released on March 21, 1994. "Can't Get Out of Bed" was used as the soundbed of Benylin's 2009 television commercial campaign....
(1994) reached number 8 in the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
.
In 1995 the band's self-titled
The Charlatans (album)
The Charlatans is the fourth album by the British band The Charlatans , released on 28 August 1995. It went to the top of the UK Albums Chart the same year...
fourth album saw them become major UK stars again, topping the UK albums chart and spawning the Top 20 single "Just When You're Thinkin' Things Over".
Keyboard player Rob Collins was killed in a car crash during the recording of fifth album Tellin' Stories
Tellin' Stories
Tellin' Stories is an album by the British band The Charlatans , released on April 21, 1997. It includes the final contributions of founder-member and keyboard player Rob Collins who died in a car accident midway through recording...
on 22 July 1996. The Charlatans decided to continue, and the Primal Scream
Primal Scream
Primal Scream are a Scottish alternative rock band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie and Jim Beattie and now based in London. The current lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes , Martin Duffy , and Darrin Mooney...
and former Felt
Felt (band)
Felt were a 1980s British alternative rock band led by Lawrence, whose surname was never listed in any credits or press; the band's name was inspired by Tom Verlaine's emphasis of the word "felt" in the Television song "Venus"...
keyboardist Martin Duffy
Martin Duffy (musician)
Martin Duffy is an English keyboardist who originally played in Felt and currently plays with Primal Scream.-Career:Duffy was born in Birmingham and grew up in Rednal in the south of the city, attending St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School in King's Norton, and growing up listening to Two Tone, punk,...
was drafted in, particularly for The Charlatans support slot with Oasis
Oasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
at their Knebworth
Concerts at Knebworth House
The grounds of Knebworth House near the village of Knebworth in Hertfordshire, England has become a major venue for open air rock and pop concerts since 1974 when The Allman Brothers Band attracted 60,000 at the first large concert held at the venue....
concerts in mid-1996, until a permanent replacement for Collins could be found.
Tellin' Stories
Tellin' Stories
Tellin' Stories is an album by the British band The Charlatans , released on April 21, 1997. It includes the final contributions of founder-member and keyboard player Rob Collins who died in a car accident midway through recording...
was released in 1997 featuring contributions from both Rob Collins and Duffy and in the singles "One to Another", "North Country Boy" and "How High" the group had their biggest UK hits to date.
New record label/new keyboard player (1998-2004)
After releasing the career-spanning compilation Melting PotMelting Pot (The Charlatans album)
Melting Pot is a greatest hits collection by the British band The Charlatans . Featuring tracks from their time on Beggars Banquet Records between 1990 and 1997 the album was released on February 23, 1998...
the band's contract with Beggars Banquet
Beggars Banquet Records
Beggars Banquet is an English independent record label that began as a chain of record shops owned by Martin Mills and Nick Austin, and is part of the Beggars Group of labels...
was up, and they signed to Universal Records
Universal Records
Universal Records was a record label owned by Universal Music Group, and it is now owned by Manny Patino and Michael Jackson, and operated as part of the Universal Motown Republic Group.-History:...
. Relations with 'Beggars' remained strong however, and the band helped put together the B-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
s collection Songs From The Other Side
Songs from the Other Side
Songs from the Other Side is a compilation album featuring selected B-sides released by the British band The Charlatans during their time on the Beggars Banquet label from 1990–1997. The album was released on May 20, 2002.-Track listing:# "Imperial 109"# "Everything Changed"# "Happen to Die" #...
and DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
Just Lookin' 1990 - 1997
Just Lookin' 1990 - 1997
Just Lookin' 1990–1997 is a DVD by British band The Charlatans. All The Charlatans promotional videos for singles issued during their time on the Beggars Banquet record label until 1998 are included as well as thirteen live performances from four shows spanning the era...
, showcasing all their promotional videos, and a selection of live recordings from that era.
Us And Us Only
Us and Us Only
Us and Us Only is an album by the British band The Charlatans , released on October 18, 1999 .-Track listing:All songs by Blunt/Brookes/Burgess/M...
saw the start of a new era for The Charlatans. Their first release for Universal saw new keyboard player Tony Rogers make his Charlatan's album debut (he had previously toured in support of Tellin' Stories
Tellin' Stories
Tellin' Stories is an album by the British band The Charlatans , released on April 21, 1997. It includes the final contributions of founder-member and keyboard player Rob Collins who died in a car accident midway through recording...
and contributed to b-sides "Keep It to Yourself" and "Clean Up Kid" from the "How High" single) and the band took on a slightly country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
sound, heavily influenced by Burgess's love of Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
. The soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
influenced Wonderland
Wonderland (The Charlatans album)
Wonderland is an album by the British band The Charlatans , released on September 10, 2001.-Track listing:All songs by Blunt/Brookes/Burgess/M...
followed in 2001, before Up At The Lake
Up at the Lake
Up at the Lake is an album by the British band The Charlatans , released on May 17, 2004. It is the band's only album to have never received a U.S...
was released in 2004.
The Sanctuary years (2005-2007)
The band released their ninth full-length album on 10 April 2006, their first for new label Sanctuary RecordsSanctuary Records
Sanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and a subsidiary of Universal Music Group. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest independent music management company in the world...
. Titled Simpatico, the reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
and dub
Dub music
Dub is a genre of music which grew out of reggae music in the 1960s, and is commonly considered a subgenre, though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae...
tinged album featured tracks like the fan favourite "NYC (There's No Need to Stop)", first single "Blackened Blue Eyes
Blackened Blue Eyes
"Blackened Blue Eyes" is the first single from the album Simpatico by British band The Charlatans , released on April 3, 2006.The song is played over the closing credits of the Doug Liman film, Jumper...
", and was produced by Jim Lowe
Jim Lowe
Jim Lowe is an American singer-songwriter, best known for his 1956 number-one hit record, "The Green Door". He also served as a disc jockey and radio host and personality, and has been considered an expert on the popular music of the 1940s and 1950s.-Biography:Born in Springfield, Missouri, Lowe...
. The single charted at number 28. The album reached the top 10 in its first week of release, but dropped out of the charts shortly after.
Their follow-up to Simpatico was the career-spanning singles compilation entitled Forever: The Singles
Forever: The Singles
Forever: The Singles is a greatest hits album featuring selected singles released by the British band The Charlatans spanning their entire career from 1990 to 2006. The album was released on November 13, 2006...
which was released on CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
and DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
on 13 November 2006. It was preceded by the re-recorded (remixed by Youth
Martin Glover
Martin Glover, also known as Youth, is a record producer and a founding member and bassist of the UK band Killing Joke. He is a member of The Fireman along with Paul McCartney. Glover was born in Africa.-Early career:...
) song "You're So Pretty We're So Pretty" which appeared originally on their 2001 album Wonderland
Wonderland (The Charlatans album)
Wonderland is an album by the British band The Charlatans , released on September 10, 2001.-Track listing:All songs by Blunt/Brookes/Burgess/M...
. The band seem in a good place now, happy with their level of success and keen to record their next album in 2007, as they told STV in this interview in November 2006. In an interview for their Simpatico album, the band mentioned lack of shower facilities and bad bus drivers as the worst aspects of touring. "[Bus drivers] get so bloody moody. They don't want you on the bus, yet you're paying them a fortune to drive you. They'd rather drive around the whole of the country with nobody in the back".
The band played a number of high-profile supporting gigs in mid-2007, including for The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
and The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
, at venues including Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
and Twickenham Stadium
Twickenham Stadium
Twickenham Stadium is a stadium located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is the largest rugby union stadium in the United Kingdom and has recently been enlarged to seat 82,000...
in London, as well as the Bingley Music Live
Bingley Music Live
Bingley Music Live is an annual music festival held in Myrtle Park, Bingley, West Yorkshire, England. The festival features a range of musical genres including rock, alternative rock, indie rock and pop music...
event, Nass festival 2007, and at Delamere Forest in Cheshire. A recording of Live At Delamere Forest
Live at Delamere Forest
Live at Delamere Forest is a live album by the British band The Charlatans , it is a limited edition released over five parts as a download only album, via the bands official website...
was released as a download only via the official website in five parts for a limited time only.
On an independent label (2008-present)
In an October 2007 issue of the NMENME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
, the band contributed the song "Blank Heart, Blank Mind" to the magazine's free Love Music, Hate Racism compilation CD. Later the same month, the new single "You Cross My Path" was released as a free download exclusively through the XFM
Xfm
Xfm is a brand of two commercial radio stations focused on alternative music, primarily indie pop, and owned by Global Radio.-History:Xfm was created in London in 1992 by Sammy Jacob, who later co-founded NME Radio in 2008. Xfm subsequently expanded to a network of four stations; there are...
website. On the 3 March 2008, The Charlatans teamed up with Xfm again to become the first UK band to release an album completely free to download via a radio station. This was preceded a week earlier by the second single from the album, "Oh! Vanity". The album, titled You Cross My Path
You Cross My Path (album)
You Cross My Path is the tenth album by British band The Charlatans, released on March 3, 2008 as a free download from the XFM website. The album was then released, in the form of CD and 12" vinyl on May 12, 2008...
, is The Charlatans' tenth studio album and received a physical CD/LP release on 19 May 2008 on the Cooking Vinyl
Cooking Vinyl
Cooking Vinyl is a UK-based independent record company, founded in 1986. Its original orientation was toward contemporary folk music—notably Billy Bragg, and Michelle Shocked's Texas Campfire Tapes, recorded on a Sony Walkman, one of its first releases...
label, coinciding with a full UK tour.
In January 2010, Brookes has stated via the official Charlatans website blog that the Charlatans are back in the studio to work on their eleventh album planned for release in August 2010. 2010 also coincides with twentieth anniversary of the band's debut album, Some Friendly which they played live at Primavera Sound Festival
Primavera Sound Festival
San Miguel Primavera Sound, commonly known as Primavera Sound or simply Primavera, is an annual music festival which takes place in Barcelona, Spain in late May and, in some years, early June...
2010. The album is due for re-issue with bonus material, and an extensive UK tour for both the re-issue and new album launch is due to take place to support these releases.
Their eleventh studio album, Who We Touch
Who We Touch
Who We Touch is the eleventh album by British rock band The Charlatans, released on 6 September 2010. It was released in a standard and 2 disc version which contains a second CD including early demos and alternative mixes of tracks off the standard album plus some recordings that didn't make it on...
, was released on 6 September 2010. The first single release was "Love Is Ending". The album charted at #21 in the UK Albums Chart.
On 15 September 2010, Brookes collapsed during a performance in Philadelphia. A few days later he was diagnosed with a brain tumor
Brain tumor
A brain tumor is an intracranial solid neoplasm, a tumor within the brain or the central spinal canal.Brain tumors include all tumors inside the cranium or in the central spinal canal...
. Since then, he has apparently made a full recovery and the band is playing live again.
Discography
- Some FriendlySome FriendlySome Friendly is the debut album by the English band The Charlatans , released in 1990 ....
(1990) - Between 10th and 11thBetween 10th And 11thBetween 10th and 11th is the second album by the British band The Charlatans , released on March 23, 1992. The single, "Weirdo", was the band's biggest U.S. hit, charting at number one on the Modern Rock Tracks chart.-Track listing:All tracks by Blunt, Brookes, Burgess, M. Collins, R...
(1992) - Up to Our HipsUp to Our HipsUp to Our Hips is the third album by the British band The Charlatans , released on March 21, 1994. "Can't Get Out of Bed" was used as the soundbed of Benylin's 2009 television commercial campaign....
(1994) - The CharlatansThe Charlatans (album)The Charlatans is the fourth album by the British band The Charlatans , released on 28 August 1995. It went to the top of the UK Albums Chart the same year...
(1995) - Tellin' StoriesTellin' StoriesTellin' Stories is an album by the British band The Charlatans , released on April 21, 1997. It includes the final contributions of founder-member and keyboard player Rob Collins who died in a car accident midway through recording...
(1997) - Us and Us OnlyUs and Us OnlyUs and Us Only is an album by the British band The Charlatans , released on October 18, 1999 .-Track listing:All songs by Blunt/Brookes/Burgess/M...
(1999) - WonderlandWonderland (The Charlatans album)Wonderland is an album by the British band The Charlatans , released on September 10, 2001.-Track listing:All songs by Blunt/Brookes/Burgess/M...
(2001) - Up at the LakeUp at the LakeUp at the Lake is an album by the British band The Charlatans , released on May 17, 2004. It is the band's only album to have never received a U.S...
(2004) - Simpatico (2006)
- You Cross My PathYou Cross My Path (album)You Cross My Path is the tenth album by British band The Charlatans, released on March 3, 2008 as a free download from the XFM website. The album was then released, in the form of CD and 12" vinyl on May 12, 2008...
(2008) - Who We TouchWho We TouchWho We Touch is the eleventh album by British rock band The Charlatans, released on 6 September 2010. It was released in a standard and 2 disc version which contains a second CD including early demos and alternative mixes of tracks off the standard album plus some recordings that didn't make it on...
(2010)