The Charlatans‘ Tim Burgess is launching a weekday album listening party featuring contributions from the brains behind some of Britpop and British indie’s most celebrated records.

Burgess, who is set to release his new solo album ‘I Love The New Sky’ in May, will host playbacks of some of Britpop’s biggest albums, alongside the brains behind them.

There will be a listening party held on Twitter at 10pm GMT each day of the coming week. It’s not clear if the project will extend beyond the week. Burgess kicks things off tomorrow (March 23) with a listening party for The Charlatans’ debut album ‘Some Friendly’ (1990).

10pm.

Weekdays.

Album listening parties.

Mon: Some Friendly – tweets by me

Tues: Franz Ferdinand – tweets by @Franz_Ferdinand

Weds: Parklife – with @DaveRowntree

Thursday: Going Blank Again – @Andybebop & @doctorloz

Fri: Definitely Maybe – with @BoneheadsPage & Liam. pic.twitter.com/GqNqedFeqv — Tim Burgess (@Tim_Burgess) March 22, 2020


Members of Franz Ferdinand join in on Tuesday evening (March 24) for a run through their 2004 debut self-titled album, which was released in 2004. Blur drummer David Rowntree will tune in for ‘Parklife’ (1994) on Wednesday (March 25).

Rounding off the week will be Andy Bell and Loz Colbert for Ride‘s ‘Going Blank Again’ (1994) for Thursday’s session (March 26), and ex-Oasis members Bonehead and Liam Gallagher will join in for ‘Definitely Maybe’ (1994) on Friday (March 27).

Meanwhile, Burgess’ forthcoming record (released May 22) hears him write completely on his own for the first time. “In the past, I’ve written collaboratively. (2012’s) ‘Oh No I Love You’ was written with Lambchop’s Kurt Wagner in Nashville, and then ‘Same Language, Different Worlds’ was a collaboration with Peter Gordon who had worked extensively with Arthur Russell,” he told The Line of Best Fit earlier this month.

Burgess’ album listening party is the latest in a long list of initiatives by musicians to keep people entertained amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Tom Misch has covered Nirvana’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ as part of his quarantine sessions for fans. Artists including Christine And The Queens, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, U2’s Bono and Yungblud have live-streamed performances from their homes or studios to help keep people connected and entertained.


Gallagher has also contributed to the global fightback. Over the last few days, the singer has posted lighthearted, reworked versions of Oasis classics that instruct people to wash their hands.

See NME’s list and deep-dive into the rise of virtual gigs during the coronavirus crisis here.