The Charlatans, despite having played under that name for a while, really came into being when their original singer left, and Martin Blunt (bass), Jon Brookes (drums), Rob Collins (keyboards) and Jon Baker (guitars) first rehearsed with Tim Burgess (vocals). After a failed attempt to get a record deal they set up their own label, Dead Dead Good, and released the single "Indian Rope" in January 1990. Its Hammond organ pop-buzz sold out in a week and took them straight to the top of the indie charts.

Things moved fast as The Charlatans were co-opted with the Stone Roses, Happy Mondays and Inspiral Carpets into the 'Madchester' scene, when any band with loose clothes and a floppy haircut was snapped up by a public gone baggy-crazy. However, they have far out-lasted lesser bands, thanks to their catchy melodies and the Jaggeresque looks of Tim Burgess, an achingly cool frontman.

Signing to Beggars Banquet in the spring of 1990, they released their most successful chart single, "The Only One I Know". It strutted its funky bassline and wah-wah guitar straight into the UK Top 10 and was soon followed by the equally baggy but moodier "Then". This singles success was in turn eclipsed by the tune-filled debut album Some Friendly (1990), which immediately topped the album charts, and went gold in its first week of release.

It was then that the bad luck which was to follow them first reared its head. On their first American tour, they were forced to revise their name to the The Charlatans UK, as an existing US band already owned the original name. In 1991, after the release of a third Top 20 hit, "Over Rising", the band's long-term future was in doubt as Blunt was suffering from severe depression, while guitarist Baker announced his departure the day after playing at London's Royal Albert Hall.

However, with replacement guitarist Mark Collins, they resumed touring and began work on a second album. By the time that Between 10th And 11th emerged, in the spring of 1992, the heady days of 'Madchester' had long gone, and the album was largely ignored by press and public. It was darker and less immediate than its predecessor, but it spawned a couple of great singles - the spooky distortion of "Weirdo" and the dancey guitar-psychedelia of "Tremelo Song".

After touring Japan in late 1992, disaster struck again, as keyboardist Rob Collins went out for a drink with an old friend and somehow got mixed up in an armed robbery. Eight months' imprisonment ensued. A week after his release in January 1994, he was back with the band on a Top Of The Pops TV appearance performing the hit single "Can't Get Out Of Bed" - Collins had recorded his keyboard part while awaiting trial. It was a gloriously catchy track, Tim's lazy vocal perfectly summing up its title.

Despite the problems of Rob's incarceration, Up To Our Hips (1994) was a seamless return to the soulful slouch of old, and included two more fine singles: the extravagantly titled "I Never Want An Easy Life If Me And He Were Ever To Get There" and "Jesus Hairdo".

Although Tim had also featured on tracks by SAINT ETIENNE and THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS, by 1995 The Charlatans were still very much together, and working on a fourth album. The first products of these sessions were "Crashin' In", and "Just Lookin'"; the singles coincided with their biggest UK tour for three years, and summer found them back in the charts with a Stonesy new single, "Just When You're Thinkin' Things Over", complete with a video casting the band as 60s-style gangsters.

It was followed by The Charlatans (1995), which found them harking back to 60s pop; a surprise #1 in Britain, it was hailed as their best work to date. As always, the recording was not without its difficulties, mainly a few injuries for band members, then shortly afterwards, Rob's earlier brush with the law got them into more trouble with the sponsors of their planned American tour.

Rob Collins' tragic death in a car accident during the recording of 1997's Tellin' Stories (Beggars Banquet) obviously cast a pall but, like the bad guy in a horror film, the rest of the band staggered once more to its feet and, against all the odds, produced an excellent, studied album. Martin Duffy was roped in from Primal Scream to complete the album and takes the Charlatans' trademark Hammond-organ sound to a new level. Five albums and a stream of great singles isn't bad for a band with a curse.

Some Friendly (1990; Situation Two/Beggars Banquet). A debut packed with great pop songs full of shuffling beats and drenches of organ.

Up To Our Hips (1994; Situation Two/Beggars Banquet). Here The Charlatans really come of age with a brace of hip-shaking, riff-heavy and effortlessly cool tunes.

The Charlatans (1995; Beggars Banquet). The title smacks of self-belief, as well it might: the tracks contrast three-minute pop songs with extended jams, taking in snatches of disco, modish anthems, dirty riffs and stoned grooves along the way.