Tim Burgess (vocals)
The life, soul and encapsulation of the Charlatans in many people eyes, Tim Burgess has always been the perfect front man, he has it all, the looks, the attitude, drive, determination and a spirit beyond compare. Born in Salford, Manchester, growing up in Northwhich, Cheshire, Tim was born to be a star, can you imagine him doing anything else? He sang with The Electric Crayons before joining the Charlatans and the tracks, Hip Shake Junkie and Happy To Be Hated are must haves for fans.
Tim's vocals fitted the charlatans sound perfectly, his look, just so perfect for the Madchester music scene explosion - ensured that the media loved him. Tim isn't just cheekbones and lips though, he can sing, properly, and a major reason the group has had longevity, is his absolute and total love for music - he knows everything about every band ever and is a complete music sponge, soaking it all up and finding inspiration that is deployed to devastating effect by the Charlatans. His reputation is growing too, with a recent and dramatic vocal shift to falsetto, which has added a new and exciting dimension.
2008 sees him alcohol and drug free and looking great and in fine form.
Mark Collins (guitar)
Recruited after the departure of Jon Baker (see below). Mark Collins, influenced by George Harrison and Neil Young and a former member of The Waltones and Candlestick Park, joined the band just as the bands least successful sales period approached. Without any significant input to Between 10th and 11th Mark really flourished during the recording of Up To Our Hips and he gave the band a renewed energy in the song writing department, which would soon see him and Burgess emerge as an immense creative team within the band. Mark has that cocky, self-assured happy demeanour of someone who knows he's got it all. A fanatical guitar collector, Mark lives for his art.
Martin Blunt (bass guitar)
Founder member, who had achieved moderate success with Makin' Time and the Gift Horses, Blunt is seen as a solid, calming influence on the band, a legendary worrier, he has always striven for perfection. Blunts early mod days ensured that he had a keen eye for fashion and he was instrumental in making sure that the band always had the right look. He was very much the driving force behind getting the band together and after two dress rehearsals with the afore mentioned groups he was ideally placed to use lessons learnt the hard way to good effect with the Charlatans.
Jon Brookes (drums)
Also a former member of the Gift Horses, Jon, the youngest member of the group, grew up in West Bromich, another Black Country boy! His parents ran a pub, the Fox and Hounds, which is where he learnt his trade, using the pubs drum kit to hone his playing. John also worked in a sawmill where presumably he made his drumsticks! Jon is probably the most affable, approachable member of the group and has even appeared on the front cover of a drumming magazine where, in common with the Charlatans ethos stated his desire to become a drumming legend.
Tony Rogers (Hammond organ, Keyboards)
The band, left as a 4 piece following the tragic death of Rob Collins, remained a 4 piece, out of respect for Rob, but they had an impossible and undeniable task, to find a replacement for him. Step up Tony Rogers. Tony had been gaining a reputation as a hot Hammond player in the East Midlands and he was contacted by a mutual friend of the band, to see if he'd be interested in joining the group - he didn't need to be asked twice! Tony, was certain of one thing, if he played, he didn't want to be a session musician, he wanted to write songs and be a creative force - if he hadn't felt that way, the chances are, he wouldn't have fitted in anyway. Right from the first very live gig he played, it was obvious that he was a revelation, already having knowledge of his way around mixing desks and studios he brought new ideas and enthusiasm, the Charlatans, through the cruellest of circumstance, had struck gold again.
Rob Collins (Hammond organ, keyboards)
(died July 22nd 1996 in a car accident aged 33)
Rob was a natural with the piano at school, which led to him playing with various bands before joining the Charlatans. He is credited as effectively forming and defining the bands sound, having wheeled his old Hammond organ into the rehearsal room he declared that he wanted a 1968 Jon Lord/Deep Purple sound - dominated by his instrument. Rob was the maverick genius of the band, always pushing the limits. He wanted to live the rock and roll lifestyle and its fair to say he easily achieved that, before his untimely death in 1996.
Jon Baker (guitar 1990)
Original guitarist, again from the East Midlands, Jon had been playing in garage bands for years, a former member of Violet Slides and Liquid Egg Box, Martin Blunt got to know him and he was tried out, totally successfully when Martin was putting the group together. There are rumours of why he left, some talk of his admission that he had nothing worthwhile left to contribute to the future of the band, and some of his inability to lay down complex guitar lines, whatever, he was there and he played great guitar live.
Baz Ketley (vocals)
Baz joined the Gift Horses as replacement for Graham Day (who incidentally and bizzarely gets his name on 'The Only One I Know' credits!) long before the bands breakthrough. He played guitar, wrote most of the early songs and did the singing! Another Midlander he ended up in Wolverhampton too, Martin had heard of him through the Blue Toys, Baz's former group and recruited him to join the Gift Horses. Baz was part of the original Charlatans line up, wrote most of the songs and fronted the band including their early Stone Roses support slots but was going through a rough patch in his personal life, just when things were starting to go their way. For reasons outside the group, he left the band in summer 1989.