North Country Boys’ Story Tellin’ Tour

The Charlatans – Tellin’ Stories Tour – Hammersmith Apollo, Friday 08/06/12

With all the reunions and comeback tours that are happening at the moment it is important to remember that The Charlatans never actually went anywhere. Yes their albums haven’t seen the top of the charts for some years but they’ve been steadily churning them out every couple of years.

Tellin’ Stories was easily their most successful album with three of the singles going top ten (One To Another, North Country Boy, How High). It is only fitting then that the band decided to tour this album and it should come as no surprise that the three dates (Glasgow, Manchester, London) were met with tremendous demand from fans.

The Hammersmith Apollo was filled with an ageing crowd, the Burgess wannabe haircuts had long gone; I don’t expect many would want to copy his current number – a bleach blonde bob. The rest of the band have decided to grow old gracefully, the thinning indie mops now kept neat and tidy.  Rest assured that, although their look may have changed,  they still sound as tight as they did in 1997; but would you expect anything less from a band that has been constantly touring for over 20 years. The line up may have changed a couple of times, but the band has stayed in this incarnation since Tellin’ Stories was released.

The setlist was as you would expect, yet every song was met with rapturous applause as if the crowd were caught by surprise. A couple of B-sides thrown in for good measure and an encore of hits from almost all of their remaining albums; started by the rousing Forever and finishing, as it only could, with The Only One I Know and Sproston Green.

Not a tremendous return more another tremendous tour. Embarking on a hectic festival season hopefully they’ll carry the momentum and the sound of The Charlatans of old into the studio when recording a new album.

Set List

1. No Shoes
2. North Country Boy
3. Tellin’ Stories
4. Clean Up Kid
5. One To Another
6. Don’t Need A Gun
7. You’re A Big Girl Now
8. How Can You Leave Us
9. Area 51
10. How High
11. Only Teethin’
12. Get On It
13. Rob’s Theme
14. Forever
15. Weirdo
16. Impossible
17. Oh! Vanity
18. Just When You’re Thinkin’ Things Over
19. Here Comes A Soul Saver
20. Blackened Blue Eyes
21. The Only One I Know
22. Sproston Green

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