the charlatans...
"Do you remember the first time?" - article by our English Correspondent in Issue One, Phil Collins...
Seeing your favourite band is somewhat of a frightning experience. You don't know what to expect. You have all of these preconceptions and it ends up being nothing like you thought. You see The Charlatans are the best band in the world. The grooves are so big that even if you tried your hardest, you could not stop your foot from tapping. Lying there on your bedroom floor with 'Just When You're Thinkin' Things Over' on at full volume, is just what I mean. Do it, and you'll soon relise that you are grinning from ear to ear. it is like hearing them makes you just hink of everything great in the world. You just don't give a shit about anything around you. You and your record player are the only two things on the planet. The only people who wish to share your time with, are those five guys from up north. Even now that Rob Collins is dead, you don't feel maudlin anymore. He lives through his music. So, standing there in the queue, ten minutes before they let you in is so scary.
As the crowd begin to go mad, you know that they must have spotted a member of The Charlatans. Sure enough, Tim walks on stage, ensued closely by the rest of the band. At the moment when he speaks into the microphone, you know that this eill be one of the finest nights of your life. I stretch my arm out and wave at my biggest idol. He waves and turns to sing. I felt like I was somewhere else. It is so hard to explain that second when you have eye contact with a person that you have only ever seen 2D. It freaked me right out. Seeing the actual music making, is something very special because you feel as if you are part of what they are doing. You are ovserving the emotions and connections between not only the band members themselves, but between the band members and what they are singing and playing about. It is fantastic.
When The Charlatans launched into 'Just When You're Thinkin Things Over', I knew that any minute now, I was going to erupt with alacrity. All of my insides were tight, I could hardly breathe and I could not stop smiling. I started shouting the lyrics, and Tim walked over to my side of the stage. My friend grabbed at his shoe and snapped his shoelace in half. If that wasn't a sacred treasure, then I don't know what is. I felt so amazingly happy and warm. It was as if Tim Burgess was the holder of this huge beacon of light. Only he knows the answers to happiness and eternal life and youth. All I know, is that from that day on, when anyone mentions The Charlatans, I think of what it was like to witness them for the first time. It was the most amazing experience. Tim Burgess may not be a very cerabral person, but his heart is so big that it doesn't matter. I love The Charlatans, and I hope that one day, everyone will understand why, and then they can declare Tim Burgess as St. Timothy Burgess, and be preaching Charlatans laws. Yes, the world would be a wonderful place.