Tim Burgess (musician)

Tim Burgess

Burgess in 2014
Background information
Birth name Timothy Allan Burgess
Born 30 May 1967
Salford, Lancashire, England
Origin Northwich, Cheshire, England
Genres Alternative rock, indie rock, Madchester, Britpop
Occupation(s) Musician, singer-songwriter, record label owner
Instruments Vocals, harmonica, keyboards, piano, melodica
Years active 1989–present
Labels Dead Dead Good, Beggars Banquet, Universal, Sanctuary, Cooking Vinyl, PIAS, O Genesis
Associated acts The Charlatans, The Chavs, Hatcham Social
Website timburgessmusic.com

Timothy Allan Burgess (born 30 May 1967) is an English singer-songwriter and record label owner, best known as the lead singer of the alternative rock band The Charlatans.

Early life

Burgess was born in Salford, England[1] and grew up in Northwich, Cheshire.[2]

Career

The Charlatans

Burgess was initially the lead singer in The Electric Crayons (named after the psychedelic compilation album The Electric Crayon Set, released on the Bam-Caruso record label[3]), who released one single, titled "Hip Shake Junkie". Burgess then joined The Charlatans, who were largely influenced by acid house, 1960s-era West Coast psychedelia and the Syd Barrett era of Pink Floyd.

The Charlatans' debut single, "Indian Rope", was successful and the group subsequently signed to Situation Two, an imprint of major record label Beggars Banquet. In 1990 they released the single "The Only One I Know" on the imprint and placed in the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart.[4] Burgess contributed vocals to Saint Etienne's 1993 song "I Was Born on Christmas Day", from the "Xmas 93" CD single.[5]

Prior to the release of the 2004 album Up at the Lake,[6] Burgess lived in Los Angeles (LA), US, apart from the other England-based band members, and he explained the band's progress during this time period in a 2012 interview: "I'm back in London now, but Mark and Tony enjoyed trips out to Los Angeles and we used Los Angeles as a writing tool. I loved the idea of incorporating a city into your music. We used LA quite a lot."[7]

The Charlatans released another album, Simpatico, in 2006, on which a reggae sound is featured. The band's tenth album, You Cross My Path, was self-released and distributed free-of-charge on the internet in 2008.[8]

Solo

Burgess's debut solo album, I Believe, was released in Europe on 3 September 2003 and included the track "Oh My Corazon".[9]

In 2012, Burgess explained the origin of his second solo album Oh No I Love You:

The root of this album goes right back to a Kurt Wagner show in Manchester. I carried Kurt's guitar to the car for him. I took the chance to ask him if he would ever consider writing a song with me. He said, "Sure Tim, you write the music and I'll write the words." That one song turned into an album and almost ten years after we first talked about it, the album is ready.[10]

Oh No I Love You also features collaborations with Factory Floor, R. Stevie Moore and My Morning Jacket, among others. The album was produced by Mark Nevers and recorded at his home in Nashville, Tennessee, US.[10] The album was later nominated for the Artrocker 'Album of the Year' award in 2012.[11]

Collaborations

In 2005 Burgess collaborated with The Chemical Brothers, singing on the track "The Boxer" from their album Push the Button.[12] Burgess had previously appeared on the 1995 Chemical Brothers song "Life Is Sweet", taken from their debut album Exit Planet Dust.[13]

Burgess is a member of The Chavs, along with Carl Barât (ex-The Libertines) and Jamie Reynolds from The Klaxons. In mid-2008, Burgess stated that the band planned to record their debut album in August 2008;[14] however, as of April 2014, an album was not released. In a 2010 interview, Burgess explained: "I think The Chavs have definitely got this mythical thing going on. They have existed and will exist again."[15]

Burgess re-mixed the Robots in Disguise song "The Tears", released in 2008.[16] The following year, Burgess curated the Big Top stage at the Isle of Wight Festival with a line-up that included Killing Joke and The Horrors. Burgess later explained his reason for selecting The Horrors: "I really believed in them from the very first time I met them. It was at the time when their first album was released."[17]

Burgess contributed vocals to the song "You Don't Know This About Me", by Freebass, a group that features New Order ex-member Peter Hook and Gary "Mani" Mounfield of The Stone Roses. The song was released in 2010 as part of the band's debut EP Two Worlds Collide.[18]

During his time in LA, Burgess collaborated with Joaquin Phoenix on an album that Phoenix was recording at the time; however, in a 2012 interview, Burgess explained that he had not heard from Phoenix since his return to the UK:

I've not seen him for ages... I don't live in Los Angeles anymore. The time that we spent together was a really great moment. A really great couple of months for me really. He invited me into the recording studio to work on a record and we had a really great time. All relationships with people in bands or actors I've met along the way, you meet them, you're best friends for a minute and you just don't see them at all. If you just remember them as being really great friends and in a way they are. Even if you don't see someone, it's kind of better, 'cos you never get a chance to fall out![7]

On 15 November 2012, Burgess, as part of a "supergroup" with Mark Collins of The Charlatans and Martin Duffy of Primal Scream, and New Order's Hook, performed at the Manchester Cathedral. The performance was part of a concert organised to help the city's "deprived youth."[19]

Burgess collaborated with Asia Argento on the song "Hours / Ours", released on O Genesis, Burgess's own record label, in 2014.[20]

O Genesis

O Genesis is Burgess's own record label, founded in 2011. A compilation CD, featuring the label's artists, was released by the label on 10 March 2014. Burgess appears as a solo artist on the compilation album, alongside artists such as Minny Pops, Hatcham Social and Jack Underwood.[20]

Personal life

Burgess's autobiography, Telling Stories, was published in 2012 by Viking Press.[21] Following the release of the book, Burgess responded to a question about whether he would have changed anything about his career:

No, because I would have had to re-write it again! Everything that happened happened because we made a decision at a point in time and at certain ages. I had a relationship with drugs for quite a long time. I'm glad it's over but at the same time I don't regret it. I must have enjoyed it because I did it for so long. It's the same with the relationship with other people. They lasted as long as they did because they were mostly quite good.[7]

In The Daily Telegraph in 2012, Burgess explained why he practices Transcendental Meditation:

At the minimum it de-stresses you. You get thoughts—it's not psychedelic—but things pop into your brain. John Lennon used to stop and write his ideas down; I choose not to. I'm enjoying myself so much I don't want to stop."[22]

In February 2013, Burgess replaced BBC Radio 6 Music host Lauren Laverne, while she and other National Union of Journalists (NUJ) members engaged in strike action against the BBC.[23]

In March 2014, during a BBC Radio 6 interview with Roddy Frame, it was revealed that Burgess is a fan of the music of both Frame and Edwyn Collins, and invited the pair to play at a Manchester café that he owns. Frame stated during the interview that Burgess is "so positive" and both will occasionally drink tea together.[24]

Solo discography

References

  1. ↑ http://search.findmypast.co.uk/results/world-records/england-and-wales-births-1837-2006?firstname=timothy%20allan&lastname=burgess
  2. ↑ http://www.northwichguardian.co.uk/news/951273.north_country_boy_tims_back_in_town/
  3. ↑ "Various – The Electric Crayon Set". Various – The Electric Crayon Set on Discogs. Discogs. 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  4. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 100. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  5. ↑ "St Etienne* – Xmas 93". St Etienne on Discogs. Discogs. 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  6. ↑ "Charlatans, The – Up at the Lake". The Charlatans on Discogs. Discogs. 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Mayer Nissim (27 April 2012). "Tim Burgess interview: 'I must have enjoyed my time on drugs'". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  8. ↑ Ian Cohen (15 May 2008). "The Charlatans UK You Cross My Path". Pitchfork. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  9. ↑ "Tim Burgess – I Believe". Tim Burgess on Discogs. Discogs. 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Laurie Tuffrey (18 September 2012). "LISTEN: Factory Floor Remix Tim Burgess". The Quietus. The Quietus. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  11. ↑ "ARTROCKER AWARDS 2012 – Nominations Revealed + VOTE NOW !". Artrocker. Artrocker Magazine. 8 November 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  12. ↑ "Chemical Brothers, The – The Boxer". The Chemical Brothers on Discogs. Discogs. 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  13. ↑ "Chemical Brothers, The – Life Is Sweet". The Chemical Brothers on Discogs. Discogs. 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  14. ↑ "Klaxons, Charlatans and DPT supergroup to record album". NME. IPC Media Entertainment Network. 19 June 2008. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  15. ↑ Mayer Nissim (16 June 2010). "Burgess works with Klaxons, Horrors stars". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  16. ↑ "Products". President Records. President Records. 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  17. ↑ "Charlatans' Tim Burgess reveals Isle of Wight festival secrets". NME. IPC Media Entertainment Network. 28 May 2009. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  18. ↑ "Audio: Freebass’ ‘You Don’t Know This About Me’ (Arthur Baker Mix), with Tim Burgess". Slicing Up Eyeballs. Slicing Up Eyeballs. 21 August 2010. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  19. ↑ Kevin Benson (19 November 2012). "Gig Review: Music For Cities @ Manchester Cathedral – November 15". Mancunian Matters. Mancunian Matters. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 "TIM BURGESS READIES O GENESIS LABEL COMPILATION FEATURING R. STEVIE MOORE, KURT WAGNER, NIK COLK VOID AND MORE". Fact Magazine. The Vinyl Factory. 13 January 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  21. ↑ Fiona Sturges (1 May 2012). "Telling Stories, By Tim Burgess". The Independent. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  22. ↑ "The lead singer of the British band Charlatans talks to Metro, The Daily Telegraph" and "The Independent about making it, detox and Transcendental Meditation". The Daily Telegraph. 9 May 2012. Retrieved 2012-09-24.
  23. ↑ Josh Halliday; Tara Conlan (18 February 2013). "BBC strike: presenters join walkout". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  24. ↑ "Radcliffe and Maconie: Roddy Frame chats to Stuart Maconie". BBC Radio 6 Music. BBC. 31 March 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2014.

External links