Tim Burgess
Encyclopedia
Timothy Allan Burgess (born 30 May 1967, Salford, England
) is the lead singer of the British rock/indie act The Charlatans. Despite being born in Salford he grew up mostly in Northwich
, Cheshire
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
) is the lead singer of the British rock/indie act The Charlatans. Despite being born in Salford he grew up mostly 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...
.
Career
- He joined The CharlatansThe Charlatans (British band)The Charlatans are an English alternative rock band. The band's line-up currently comprises Tim Burgess , Mark Collins , Martin Blunt , Tony Rogers and Jon Brookes .Former members of the band include guitarist Jon Day , vocalist Baz Ketley...
who were largely influenced by Acid HouseAcid houseAcid house is a sub-genre of house music that emphasizes a repetitive, hypnotic and trance-like style, often with samples or spoken lines rather than sung lyrics. Acid house's core electronic squelch sounds were developed around the mid-1980s, particularly by DJs from Chicago who experimented with...
, '60s West Coast Psychedelia and the Syd BarrettSyd BarrettSyd Barrett , born Roger Keith Barrett, was an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and painter, best remembered as a founding member of the band Pink Floyd. He was the lead vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter during the band's psychedelic years, providing major musical and stylistic...
Pink FloydPink FloydPink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
era. In 1989 they released their first self financed 12" single Indian Rope and later in 1990 he and the band were signed by Beggars Banquet RecordsBeggars Banquet RecordsBeggars 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...
. Prior to this he was the lead singer in The Electric Crayons (named after the Bam Caruso's record label Psychedelic Compilation Album - The Electric Crayon Set). - Burgess also featured on Saint Etienne'sSaint Etienne (band)Saint Etienne are an English Pop group comprising Sarah Cracknell, Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs. They are named after the French football team AS Saint-Étienne.-History:Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs were childhood friends and former music journalists...
1993 Christmas single I Was Born on Christmas Day after agreeing to sing on the track because he apparently loved Christmas so much. - Burgess's debut solo album, I Believe, was released in the UK on 8 September 2003 and included the track Oh My Corazon. In 2004 he collaborated with The Chemical BrothersThe Chemical BrothersThe Chemical Brothers are a British electronic music duo comprising Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons. Originating in Manchester in 1991, along with The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, The Crystal Method, and fellow acts, they were pioneers at bringing the big beat genre to the forefront of pop culture.- Background...
, singing on the track The Boxer from their album Push the Button. Burgess had previously appeared with The Chemical BrothersThe Chemical BrothersThe Chemical Brothers are a British electronic music duo comprising Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons. Originating in Manchester in 1991, along with The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, The Crystal Method, and fellow acts, they were pioneers at bringing the big beat genre to the forefront of pop culture.- Background...
on the 1995 classic Life Is Sweet taken from their debut album Exit Planet DustExit Planet DustExit Planet Dust is the debut album by British electronica duo The Chemical Brothers, released in the UK on 26 June 26 1995 and the US on 15 August 1995. The title is a reference to their departure from their earlier name "The Dust Brothers"....
and a cover version of Sly Stone’sSly StoneSly Stone is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, most famous for his role as frontman for Sly & the Family Stone, a band which played a critical role in the development of soul, funk and psychedelia in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1993, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of...
Time for Living from the Help album of the same year. - As Burgess was living in Los AngelesLos Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, far away from the other band members who still lived in EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, fans feared that The Charlatans may split following the release of I Believe, but the band reformed to record 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...
in 2004. - 2006 saw Burgess return with the Charlatans, releasing another album Simpatico. A change in style, it had a more reggaeReggaeReggae 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 skaSkaSka |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
-like sound to it. Burgess also sang guest vocals on Mexican band Zoé's album Memo Rex Commander y el Corazón Atómico de la Vía Láctea. - Burgess is also a member of a group called The ChavsThe ChavsThe Chavs are a Rock supergroup formed in 2004, by former Libertines and Dirty Pretty Things guitarist Carl Barât. Alongside Barât in the band are Tim Burgess of The Charlatans, Primal Scream keyboardist Martin Duffy and drummer Andy Burrows from We Are Scientists...
, along with ex-LibertineThe LibertinesThe Libertines were an English rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât and Pete Doherty . The band, centred on the song-writing partnership of Barat and Doherty, also included John Hassall and Gary Powell for most of its recording career...
Carl BarâtCarl BarâtCarl Ashley Raphael Barât is an English musician, actor and author. He was the frontman and lead guitarist of Dirty Pretty Things, and recently debuted a solo album, but is best known for being the co-frontman with Peter Doherty of the garage rock band The Libertines.-Early life:Carl Barât was...
, Primal ScreamPrimal ScreamPrimal 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...
keyboard player Martin DuffyMartin 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,...
, ex RazorlightRazorlightRazorlight are a UK based indie rock band formed in 2002. They are primarily known in the UK, having topped the charts with the 2006 single "America" and its parent self-titled album, their second...
drummer Andy BurrowsAndy BurrowsAndrew William Burrows is a British musician. He first began his musical career as a percussionist in the Hampshire County Youth Band. He was the drummer the Razorlight from 2004 to 2009, and as guest drummer We Are Scientists from 2009 onwards.-Razorlight:He joined the band in May 2004...
and newest member Jamie Reynolds from KlaxonsKlaxonsKlaxons are a British indie rock band, based in London. Following the release of numerous 7-inch singles on different independent record labels, as well as the success of previous singles "Magick" and "Golden Skans", the band released their debut album, Myths of the Near Future on 29 January 2007....
. The band traditionally plays once every blue moon. The first gig was the Tap'n'Tin club in ChathamChatham, MedwayChatham is one of the Medway towns located within the Medway unitary authority, in North Kent, in South East England.Although the dockyard has long been closed and is now being redeveloped into a business and residential community as well as a museum featuring the famous submarine, HMS Ocelot,...
, KentKentKent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, the second at the strummerville stage at Glastonbury and the third on Alan Mcgee's TV show, Death Disco TV. Though Burgess has stated that the band does have plans to record their debut album in August '09.http://www.nme.com/news/dirty-pretty-things/37486 - In October 2007 The Charlatans controversially announced they were to give away their 10th album You Cross My Path for free, sending the record industry into extreme confusion, most critics and fans believed it was also their best album to date.
- Burgess is an obsessive record collector and DJs all over the world. He recently re-mixed the song The Tears for his friend Noel Feilding's girlfriend's band Robots in DisguiseRobots in DisguiseRobots in Disguise are an English electropunk band. The group is composed of Dee Plume , Sue Denim , and a rolling live line-up of backing musicians...
. - Upcoming projects include collaborations with ex-New Order member Peter HookPeter HookPeter Hook is an English bass player, musician and author.He was a co-founder of the post-punk band Joy Division along with Bernard Sumner in the mid-1970s. Following the death of lead singer Ian Curtis, the band reformed as New Order, and Hook played bass with them throughout their career until...
's FreebassFreebassFreebass were an English band consisting of, originally, three bassists Andy Rourke , Peter Hook and Gary "Mani" Mounfield and singer Gary Briggs...
, a guest spot on Joaquin PhoenixJoaquin PhoenixJoaquin Rafael Phoenix , formerly credited as Leaf Phoenix, is an American film actor. He was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and his family returned to the continental United States four years later...
's rap album and Italian ghetto-tech duo The Crookers appear in 2009 as well as credit of Producer for new London band Hatcham SocialHatcham SocialHatcham Social are an English indie pop band who first met and formed in New Cross, London, and who have released a string of singles on indie labels since 2006, a debut album in 2009 and are currently active in a Pledge Campaign for the release of their second LP...
, working with them on their double A single Til The Dawn/Penelope (Under My Hat) and debut album - You Dig The Tunnel And I'll Hide The Soil released in march 2009. - Tim Burgess has curated a stage at the Isle of Wight Festival 2009. The line up includes SCUM and The Horrors. This was heard live on Q Radio Drive with Danielle (Danielle Perry).
- Burgess is also currently writing and recording an album with friends and relatives which he feels the natural successor to I Believe.