"I'm a big fan of Cops," declares Tim Burgess, frontman of the Charlatans UK, who are identified as much for their run-ins with the law as their four No. 1 U.K. records.
Burgess is referring to the long-running Fox television program, of course; it's one of the many reasons he is thrilled about his recent move to Los Angeles from London. "American TV is much better," he says from his new home, where he watched the Hollywood sign light up for the millennium celebration. "Dateline and 20/20, I like."
It's fitting the thirty-two-year-old singer is partial to television news-magazines, though his life story reads more like a Behind the Music. In his twelve years with the Charlatans, Burgess has seen his bassist, Martin Blunt, suffer through a nervous breakdown; his Hammond organ-playing buddy, Rob Collins, face a prison sentence for an armed robbery; a crack dealer bust through his bedroom door; and his former manager embezzle a quarter of a million pounds from the band. And in 1996, just weeks before the band was to finish its fifth album, Tellin' Stories, Collins crashed his red BMW on a road in Rockfield, near Gwent, Wales, and was killed instantly. The autopsy revealed that Collins had 178 milligrams of alcohol in his blood, over double the legal limit.
But, like most true Hollywood stories, there seems to be a happy ending. The Charlatans have recovered from the tragedy of Collins' death, and were as thunderous as ever in 1999. Their sixth album, the recently released Us and Us Only, has been hailed by critics, the album is a college radio favorite, and the video for the record's first single, "Forever," is slowly becoming a 120 Minutes mainstay.
When the Charlatans UK formed during the heyday of the "Madchester" scene in the late Eighties, they were considered perennial underdogs to the Stone Roses, Happy Mondays and Inspiral Carpets. But as they continued developing their bluesy, Dylan-inspired rock, England took notice of the messy-haired quintet. Holding onto their indie roots, the band signed with Beggars Banquet and released their first and biggest single to date, "Only One I Know." Soon, Burgess was hanging with the notorious Heavenly Social Club, where he met and enlisted the Chemical Brothers to add beats to the band's next album.
Now, four albums and nearly a decade later, the Charlatans are hoping to follow in the footsteps of their record-spinning siblings and breakthrough to Burgess's new world. "I've always wanted to do well in America," Burgess says. "I want my friends over here to see that I'm doing all right."
Us and Us Only finds Burgess's songwriting pen dallying in the world of love. The album opens with "Forever," a seven-minute opus where he croons, "Love is all there is," under an infectious bass groove and newcomer Tony Roger's driving organ expeditions. "Relationships figured heavily on the last couple records because it does effect me -- the ups and downs of it," Burgess explains. "It was pretty difficult having a relationship with someone who is 5,000 miles away."
Unintentionally, another relationship emerged on the record -- the Charlatans' everlasting connection with Collins. "He was really part of our lives, and even though we don't mention him everyday now, he was definitely part of the group's set-up. I don't think we can avoid it," Burgess says. "The song, 'My Beautiful Friend,' we purposely tried not to write it about him. But, it just flowed through. Some ideas can't be stopped. Weird one, really."
Although the Charlatans have worked with top-notch producers like Flood (U2) and Steve Hillage (System 7), the group, which also includes guitarist Mark Collins (no relation) and drummer Jon Brookes, chose to self-produce the ten songs on Us and Us Only. "When someone's called in to do a job with a group, I think they can be either elated or dissatisfied with it. And we've found in the past that we are dissatisfied with it," Burgess says. "If we have the idea for the song, then we can make it sound how we want it to sound. To get that, you have to sort of go up your own ass a little bit. Make an effort."
As the Charlatans wait and see just how successful Us and Us Only will be in the States, Burgess has another important project to work on -- being a husband. "Because I've been in the group for ten years, it's pretty much all I know," he laughs. "So when it gets down to just day-to-day life, I'm not an expert at it -- going to the store or something like that. I try hard, but I'm a bit of a mess. You pretty much have everything done for you when you're in a group. I've just been trying to do things, organize things."
As for his New Year's resolutions, Burgess says he's been trying to stop smoking. "I got myself down to three a day, but I know once I get back with the guys, I'll probably go back to a pack or two."
To quote Burgess's favorite TV show's theme, "Whatcha gonna do?"
COREY MOSS
(January 18, 2000)