Scoring a UK number one with 1990s debut album Some Friendly, The Charlatans pre-empted the Britpop boom to emerge as one the decade's biggest guitar bands.
Forever lodged in the mainstream imagination with smash hits One to Another and North Country Boy — both from 1997's Tellin' Stories — today, the band stand as proud survivors of nearly three decades, 12 albums and the deaths of two band members.
Ahead of a performance at Dubai’s indie-centric Party in the Park festival, frontman Tim Burgess opens up about the band epic highs and crushing lows.
It’s great to having you coming back to Dubai — what do you remember best from last time, at Chi in 2009?
I remember the weather being a lot better than at home. Guessing that’ll be the same again. It’s fairly grim in the UK just now. I remember the audience being really up for it too — I suppose there’s not as many gigs in Dubai as at home, so it seemed like it was more of a celebration.
Last year saw the release of your 12th studio album, Modern Nature, which was five years in the making. Any plans for another one? How many more albums do you reckon the band has in them?
There will definitely be a new album. We are just about getting around to looking at how we're going to go about it. We loved recording Modern Nature and we're really excited about heading to the studio again at some point. We've never really looked too much into the future — maybe that's why we've been making albums together for so long. I think we're definitely over half way in terms of numbers of albums. It's safe to say that.
Your biggest breakthrough came around with 1997's Tellin' Stories — why did that particular record touch so many people? How much of its success was about the songs, and how much of it was about the time it was released? The music industry, and pop culture in general, isn't like that anymore.
Maybe our debut album going to number one was a type of breakthrough, but I get what you're saying. By 1997 the musical landscape had changed, Britpop had come and "indie" had moved from being an outsider thing to becoming part of the mainstream. It was definitely about the songs, Tellin' Stories, North Country Boy and One To Another still have a huge reaction when we play them live or when I'm DJing, but it's undeniable that TV, magazines and the rest of the world were aligned maybe magnifying everything for a while.
It seems like British guitar music reached its peak in audience exposure, and therefore assimilation into mainstream culture, with Oasis’ 1996 Knebworth shows, which you famously played at.
Knebworth was a different thing to us than to most other people — [keyboardist] Rob [Collins] had died a couple of weeks before and we were still in shock. Martin Duffy from Primal Scream said if we wanted to play, he would learn all our songs and join us on keyboards. To the rest of the world, Knebworth was like the peak of lad culture. We were inside looking out and kind of detached.
What have we lost since those heady days?
Ever since that time the internet has changed everything, music was shared more easily and it even lost its value for a while, people became used to songs being free. Before then it was crazy to think a band could give an album away for free, but we did that ourselves just over ten years later.
We have to remember though that music is no less exciting for kids who are 16 or 17, than it was for us. I remember grumpy old people saying the music I liked at 14 was rubbish and that they’d loved music when it was way better. I never want to become one of those grumps.
In terms of what we’ve lost, we’ve probably gained just as much too — it’s a balance and it’s good to keep moving forward.
They probably weren’t the coolest band you warmed up for, though, right? The Stones, The Who, or someone else entirely?
We played before David Bowie at his last ever UK show. To me that takes a lot of beating. It was an honour to be asked to open a few times for The Rolling Stones as they were a band we all loved. Has to be Bowie though.
You’ve borrowed members from other big acts from the era, Primal Scream and The Verve, which seems remarkable. Is there a sense of camaraderie among the bands from back then who made it, and survived? And is there no sense of competition?
Some bands just click and the members become friends — over the summer, you end up playing a few festivals so it’s always good to see the likes of Primal Scream or people we’ve known for a while. Ronnie Wood and Johnny Marr have also been honorary Charlatans at gigs, as have Stephen and Gillian from New Order — there’s definitely no competition as there’s room for everyone.
The band has been through some incredible ups and downs. When would you saying you were closest to throwing in the towel?
After we played at The Royal Albert Hall [in 2013] in memory of [drummer] Jon [Brookes]. [Guitarist] Mark [Collins] thought it was the last time we’d play. He only told us that when we were recording the next album but it was a possibility. For me, maybe until Duffy called about Knebworth.
Cough, cough — we can’t help noticing you’re turning 50 next year. Does this play on your mind at all? Is it a time to take stock, or move forward?
Thanks for letting me know. I knew it was a significant number coming up but I was sure it was 40. Age is what you make it really. Fifty year olds when I was a kid looked about 80 and smoked fags in the bookies. Mick Jagger famously said he couldn’t imagine being in a band after he turned 21. I’m happy about being in a band when I’m 50. I’m still looking forward to recording our next album and playing a big gig in Edinburgh at midnight on New Year’s Eve. Although I might just have my slippers on when we do.
Who are you looking forward to either watching, or hanging out with, more on the Party in the Park bill — Travis or Kaiser Chiefs?
I think a bit of everything really. Get out for a look around — see if they get a singalong going. If we’re asked we may join then for a cuppa. Maybe this will spark an invitation.
Anything else to tell our readers?
The Charlatans love you more than Travis or Kaiser Chiefs do.
• Party in the Park takes place at Dubai Media City Amphitheatre on Friday, November 11, from 2pm. Tickets, from Dh350, at platinumlist.ae
rgarratt@thenational.ae
