SNFCC Sessions: Tim Burgess (The Charlatans)

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center’s series of music encounters, SNFCC Sessions presents Tim Burgess, lead singer and frontman of The Charlatans, in an open discussion and DJ set at the SNFCC’s Lighthouse.

Manchester, the industrial heart of the British North: a city with a long music history, from the emergence of the Sex Pistols in 1976 that “changed the world” and inspired a constellation of bands in the city – the likes of Magazine, Joy Division (later New Order), The Smiths, Happy Mondays, The Stone Roses, Oasis – which have built the music profile of a city that always manages to find itself at the forefront of the music scene. Out of these music behemoths, a maverick emerged in 1988: The Charlatans, led by the charismatic Tim Burgess.

The band was inspired by the psychedelic music of the sixties and the acid house dance culture revolution in Great Britain at the time. Their first huge hit, in 1990, “The Only One I Know,” was a timeless song that epitomized the era, featured in dozens of films, TV shows and advertisements. Burgess soon became an icon of the "Madchester" buggy scene, with his trademark bowl haircut and his unmistakable onstage presence.

The Charlatans have remained in the spotlight, releasing 12 albums, despite the relentlessly shifting trends in the ever-competitive British pop music industry. Burgess, too, has never stood still. He moved to Los Angeles, released four solo albums exploring different styles and appeared as a guest singer in records by other artists, including Saint Etienne and another Manchester band, The Chemical Brothers. He went back to Great Britain, continued to release good music and revealed another facet of his talent: writing.

In 2013, he released his best-selling autobiography, Telling Stories, regarded as one of the best and most honest books of its kind, full of anecdotal offerings drawn from the artist's life. The book was so successful that it spawned two more: Tim Book Two,  Burgess’ account of his quest for vinyl record collecting, which took him to stores all around the world (from Istanbul to San Francisco), and last year’s One, Two, Another, an anthology of lyrics accompanied by illuminating comments about his creative process, inspirations and thought.

Tim Burgess definitely has more books in him. And even more music. He has the stories. The stories that he will tell us at the SNFCC, in a unique evening of talk and music.

The talk will be moderated by journalist/radio producer Panagiotis Menegos.

Sunday 16/02
19.30 open discussion with Panagiotis Menegos
21.00 DJ set

Free Admission