Telling Stories by Tim Burgess of The Charlatans is one of the decade's most revealing rock books. The Charlatans. Madchester. Britpop. Taking on the world. Here are the highs, the lows, the joys, the agonies, and the stories of what it's like to be in a rock band, as told by front man and survivor, Tim Burgess. For readers who enjoyed Life by Keith Richards and Bit of a Blur by Alex James, Telling Stories is one of the finest music books of recent times. It's a story of achievement and survival, from London to LA. "Clear, honest. An unusually frank and well-written rock memoir."  —the Times     "Like the best bits of every cautionary rock star tale . . . there is armed robbery and smuggling. There's serious fraud. There are near and actual death experiences, divorce, industrial cocaine consumption and magnificent cameos from Madonna, Alan McGee, Ronnie Wood, Joe Strummer, LA drug dealer Harry The Dog, and Joaquin Phoenix. A minor classic."  — Q "A vivid read."  —Independent on Sunday "The Charlatans' frontman recalls the heyday of Britpop and Madchester with endearing exuberance. He's unflinchingly honest about the bad times but also peppers his story with anecdotal nuggets about the pitfalls of rock 'n' roll excess ."  —Metro "For a man whose behaviour borders on the suicidal, Timothy Burgess, the people's friend, is what you call a life enthusiast. He is also mad. It's a much-abused word, mad . . . but he really is proper coo-ee clouds pan-dimensional mad mad."  — Sky "Burgess keeps a level head, a sharp eye and a nice turn of phrase."  — Independent Tim Burgess left school at 16 to work at ICI, his real love was music and soon afterwards he was invited to join new band The Charlatans. They went on to have three UK no. 1 albums and 17 Top 30 singles.