Some Friendly - The Charlatans

In some ways I feel like I have grown up with The Charlatans providing the backing track. For example, I vividly remember 'Some Friendly' being released at the very start of my second year at Teesside Poly (as it was then!). It was vitally important that on the first day of that year that I go into town to buy the album - at the first available opportunity as you weren't a true fan if you didn't. It was also equally important to me that everyone on the course knew that I had bought it. So during the course of that day, I kept taking it out of my bag, removing the sleeve and studiously reading it, probably adding some knowing nods every now and again. I think they got the message... whatever the message was!
I have managed to see them live several times, from Middlesbrough Town Hall in 1990 to the Manchester Evening News Arena in 2001. That show was particularly memorable as Johnny Marr joined the band for a song or two.
'Some Friendly' is never going to be a classic album - it has too many below par tracks for that. What it is, however, is the debut album from a classic british band. A band that have endured music fashion changes, arrest for armed robbery, car crashes and illness. They are one of the few bands that managed to escape the 'baggy' era with their credibility intact. Even the Stone Roses didn't manage that, imploding several years later.
Eleven or so albums into their career they are still producing dazzling music and I hope they continue to add the soundtrack for me for years to come.