The Charlatans were formed in 1989 by singer Tim Burgess (b. 1968), guitarist Jon Baker (b.1969), keyboardist Rob Collins (b. 1967; d. 1996), and bassist Martin Blunt (b. 1965). At that time, The Stone Roses and The Happy Mondays had kinda triggered off the whole 'Madchester' scene, and pretty soon The Charlatans were put under that category too. Nevertheless, The Charlatans were based much more in the Mod territory, as they fused (and still do -thank God!) 60's melodies, a generally loose feel, and Hammond organ riffs (groovy!).
The band released their debut single Indian Rope (12-inch only) in 1990 on their own label Dead Dead Good, which sold 20,000 copies - despite very little airplay or press. The sale figures secured the band a record deal with Beggars Banquet/Situation 2, and they released the follow-up single The Only One I Know which quickly became the summer anthem that year. The Charlatans then put out their debut album Some Friendly which made it to the no. 1 spot in the charts.
Unfortunately, the following year, Baker decided to leave the band (he was replaced by Martin Collins) as they had just started working on their second album. Furthermore, Blunt suffered a nervous breakdown a few months later. Nevertheless, Between 10th and 11th was released but the sound of the album in general was very much reflected by the above incidents - a less jolly and groovy album one might say. Still, The Charlatans stayed in the public eye by putting out the two singles Weirdo and Tremelo Song.
Other problems arose within The Charlatans' camp, as Rob Collins and one of his mates were involved in an armed robbery. Rob's mate attempted to hold up a Northwich off-license with a replica pistol, and as they attempted to get away they were arrested. Rob was charged with aiding and abetting and had to go to jail for 8 months (he ended up serving only 4 months imprisoned, though). Meanwhile, the remaining four guys started to work on their third album Up To Our Hips which was released in early 1994. Despite being behind bars during most of the recording time, Rob did contribute to this album, as his parts were put down both before he went to jail and after he became a free man again. The band then spent most of the summer touring where after Burgess sang on Life Is Sweet by The Chemical Brothers (the track was released a year later on The Chemical's debut album Exit Planet Dust).
Having established a huge fan base, The Charlatans set off to tour in 1995. Also, they put out their fourth and self-titled album and made it right back to the no. 1 spot! The day after their big 'comeback', the band recorded their contribution to the Warchild album Help (which is great by the way) - the track's called Time For Livin and was made in collaboration with The Chemical Brothers. By the end of 1995, The Charlatans hit the road yet again and set off on a gigantic British tour (Brixton Academy on November 25 was AMAZING, like!!).
After a short - but well deserved - break the band started recording material for their fifth album. Unfortunately, The Charlatans yet again had a stroke of bad luck: In July 1996, Rob Collins was involved in a car crash near the studio. Sadly, he died on his way to the hospital. A month later, the band put out their biggest hit to date One To Another which entered the chart at number 3. Despite all this, The Charlatans' fifth album Tellin Stories (dedicated to Robert James Collins) emerged after the summer had ended - an album which totally rocks and, according to Blunt, sounds 'like a big bag of spanners!'.
February 1998 saw the release of Melting Pot, the band official best of album. It's a great introduction to The Charlatans for those not in the know. Preceding their long awaited Us and Us Only album was the single Forever which charted at number 12 in it's first week of sale. The band's most recent album, Us and Us Only, out in October 1999, entered the UK album charts at number 2. Before releasing their newest album, The Charlatans changed their record label and signed with Universal.
The NEW Official Charlatans Site
The OLD Official Charlatans Site