The Charlatans, The Dandy Warhols, and Mercury Rev

The band was started by bassist Martin Blunt, who roped in fellow Midlanders, Rob Collins and Jon Brookes, as well as front man Tim Burgess, who was from Northwich. As the band recorded demos and became known on the underground scene, they were often attributed to being a part of the late 80s “Madchester” scene, mainly due to Burgess’ Mancunian roots, but in actual fact, they were recording their music in Birmingham.

However the band moved to Chester in 1990 as they released their debut single “Indian Rope”. After gaining a buzz on the indie circuit, the band were snapped up by major label Situation Two, who released their first top ten single, “The One I Only Know”. Their debut album “Some Friendly” quickly followed, debuting at number one in the UK Charts, as they established themselves as a major force in the early Britpop days.

Their second album “Between 10th and 11th” was released in 1992, and saw The Charlatans taste international success, as their single “Weirdo” charted at Number 1 in the US alternative charts. The band continued their chart topping ways in 1995, when their eponymous debuted at number one in the UK album charts.

During the writing and recording of their next album, 1997’s “Tellin’ Stories”, founding member Rob Collins was killed in a car crash, making it the last release to feature his work. It was the band's most commercially successful album, featuring three top ten singles.

Since 2000, the band have released a further handful of albums, on Universal Records, Sancturary Records and Cooking Vinyl. All of the Charlatans albums have successfully charted in the UK Top 40. The band has also played a variety of high profile gigs such as opening for the Rolling Stones and The Who.

In 2013, the band announced that drummer Jon Brookes had lost his battle with brain cancer. The band played a tribute show for Brookes, and other bands such as Beady Eye and Manic Street Preachers joined them. Money made from the night went towards The Brain Tumour Charity, who have set up a fund in Brookes' name.

The Dandy Warhols’ continued existence must be a heartening one to see for any band, since they show that one hit can essentially set a band for life commercially and creatively. With “Bohemian Like You”, the Warhols found a devoted fanbase that can keep them thriving without ever needing to compromise their artistic vision. Which, I think you’ll agree, is not bad considering that the Warhols are formed for no loftier reason than because the band members “needed music to drink to”.

The band was formed by lead singer and rhythm guitarist Courtney Taylor-Taylor and lead guitarist Peter Holmström. After hiring Eric Hedford as their drummer, the band experimented with a number of different bassists, including Taylor-Taylor’s girlfriend, and none of them worked out. The band were at a loss for what to do until Taylor-Taylor saw Zia McCabe working in a Coffee Shop. He immediately asked if she was musical, and when she replied that she had a background in dance and performing arts, Taylor-Taylor took that to be good enough and put her on keyboards.

McCabe took to the instrument like a duck to water and the band immediately began gigging around the bars and clubs of Portland. At their very first gig they were spotted by Tim/Kerr Records, who offered to finance the recording of a full length album. The band eagerly accepted this and by 1995, their debut album “Dandy’s Rule OK” was released, which was enough of a hit under and overground that they were able to catch the attention of Capitol Records, who signed them to release their second attempt at a follow up, 1997’s “…The Dandy Warhols Come Down”.

Their first attempt at their sophomore record was canned by Capitol for “not having any hits”, clearly the band took that to heart as “…Come Down” had three songs that entered the UK Top 40 and saw them poised to become the world’s newest rock superstars before The Strokes had even thought of ripping off Tom Petty’s “American Girl”. Nothing could stop them, not even the departure of Hedford in 1998 over a dispute about royalties, as Taylor-Taylor’s recruited his cousin Brent DeBoer to fill in for him, a role which he still has to this day.

2000 was the year that their momentum capitalised. Their album “Thirteen Tales Of Urban Bohemia” was released and suddenly they became the hottest new band on the planet. “Bohemian Like You” went to number 5 in the UK on the back of a Vodaphone ad campaign. They played a set at Glastonbury Festival which the actual David frickin’ Bowie watched and became an avid fan afterwards. The band were later personally asked by The Dame to support him on his 2003 world tour and their follow up album “Tales From The Monkey House” was produced by Duran Duran’s Nick Rhodes.

Ever since then, the band have become cult icons in their own right. Known and loved for their spectacular live shows and idiosyncratic, sometimes hilarious lyricism (“I Never Thought You’d Be A Junkie / Because Heroin Is So Passé, indeed). The casual observer might write them off as a bunch of one-hit wonders but they are so much more than that, and they come highly recommended because of it.

Originally comprised of vocalist David Baker, vocalist/guitarist Jonathan Donahue, guitarist/clarinetist Sean Mackowiak, flutist Suzanne Thorpe, bassist Dave Fridmann, and drummer Jimy Chambers, the group's lineup experienced personal conflicts from the get-go. Initially formed as a vehicle for creating the soundtracks to their experimental student films, the band’s members infrequently communicated with each until signing with Rough Trade Records. Whilst working as a concert promoter Donahue put a Mercury Rev show on with support from Oklahoma’s Flaming Lips and along with Fridmann became long-term collaborators with the group.

In 1991 Mercury Rev issued their debut full-length album “Yerself Is Steam” to widespread critical acclaim. Led by the epic experimental tracks “Chasing a Bee”, “Coney Island Cyclone”, and “Frittering”, the album lacked promotion and distribution due to U.S. Rough Trade filling for bankruptcy shortly after the release. Despite this the record earned the band a significant cult following and was supported by a tumultuous UK tour that ended with Donahue attempting to gouge out Mackowiak’s eye with a spoon. The group’s second critically acclaimed album “BOCES” arrived in 1993 following which Mercury Rev were kicked off the year’s Lollapalooza tour for making too much noise, and lead vocalist Baker was kicked out the band.

Taking leave of Baker’s darker and more experimental excursions, Mercury Rev’s third full-length, 1995’s “See You on the Other Side”, proved their most emotionally compelling to date. The same year the band issued the album “Paralyzed Mind of the Archangel”, before making their debut on the UK Albums Chart with the full-length “Deserter’s Songs” in 1998. Mercury Rev’s subsequent album “All Is Dream” arrived in 2011, rose to No. 11 on the UK Albums Chart, and landed on a number of the year’s best-of lists. The albums “The Secret Migration” and “Snowflake Midnight” appeared in 2005 and 2008, respectively, followed by “The Light in You” in September 2015.