Event Date: 18th October 2008
Event Venue: London Astoria

I made sure that I arrived slightly early at the Astoria to make sure I had the best chance of getting a good spot inside.

First of all I will admit I am not usually interested in support bands as my experience of them hasn't been all that great. However, The Ruling Class (who supported The Charlatans throughout the UK leg of their tour) were absolutely amazing and well worth the ticket price alone. Their fresh indie sound really set them apart from the generic indie pop that seems so common at the moment. It was also very obvious why they were chosen as supports as The Charlatans has quite clearly been a major influence on their sound.

When The Charlatans graced the stage the crowd raised the roof of the Astoria. They opened with a single, 'You Cross My Path', off their new album which is also the name of the album itself.

Tim Burgess' energetic performance really added another dimension to The Charlatans' music. Even when he is singing he makes sure he gets the crowd involved, recognising people from previous gigs (including myself). It's great to see this kind of performer is still around as it makes you want to see them again and again. He even came into the crowd on numerous occasions giving out hugs and handshakes and quite clearly having the time of his life due to the constant smile he wore throughout the performance.

The Charlatans didn't just play new songs but a delightful mixture of older songs from their rather impressive back catalogue such as 'Weirdo', 'One to Another' and perhaps their most famous 'The Only One I Know'.

At the end of the gig Tim started selecting people from the crowd to come on stage and join him... he tried to pull me up as well however the security man wouldn't have it.

After the show had finished me and my group waited for Tim, Mark and the rest of the band at the stage door and managed to get talking to Tim who is one of the most genuine and down to earth people I have met. "Thanks for coming... really appreciate it"

Overall I believe that 10/10 doesn't even come close to describing the atmosphere in the Astoria that night. The Charlatans, after almost 20 years of being together, seem unstoppable and I cannot wait to see them yet again!! They are truly a band in a million!!

Event Date: June 14, 2009
Event Venue: Isle of Wight Festival

The Charlatans were headlining the Big Top and the crowd seemed to double, if not triple in size in the space of time before their set. They opened the set with the single which their latest album is named after; ‘You Cross My Path’. This song evoked a lot of energy both in the crowd and in the Charlatans themselves. This was perfect for me as a photographer as I got to be so close and capture the joy that Tim clearly still gets from being on stage. Unfortunately, there were two rules of being a Festival photographer; no flash and you can only be in the pit for the first 3 songs. And these songs flew by and before I knew it I was being ushered out of the pit. Having said this, I still managed to work my way into the centre of the crowd and rave to the rest of the set which if described in one word would have to be simply AWESOME! As always their set was brilliant and they brought the entire festival to an amazing finish.

seen them over 30 times.rob collins on sproston green at barrowlands.f***in legend.recent paisley gig brilliant.tim on top form