Interview | Chatting with Tim Burgess before he chats to Mancunians on their doorstep

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In case you hadn’t heard, local music legend Tim Burgess is coming back to the AO Arena right here in Manchester this February for another intimate evening following the success of his last visit.

Set to include not only an interview but live stripped-back performances as well as Q&A, it’s your chance to see one of our region’s most famous musical sons up close and personal.

Returning for a candid and eye-opening sitdown with local DJ and radio host and Northern music champion, Chris Hawkins, it’s sure to be a special night.

Before posting up in The Mezz (which you can still grab tickets for), we had the honour of interviewing Salford’s very own Tim Burgess ourselves. Here’s what he had to say ahead of the event…

So you’ve returned to the AO again for another intimate gig. What do you love most about these smaller, conversational evenings compared to traditional gigs?

“Live events just have a connection with an audience that no remote link, AI or recording could ever match. From arriving and running through a soundcheck, meeting the arena team and catching up with Chris Hawkins, it all builds up to when the audience comes in.

“Chris and I don’t plan what he’s going to ask, so it’s all on the spot – nothing’s recorded, so you never know what might get said.

“Chris is a fantastic interviewer, and I get to meet everyone over the merch table at the end; I don’t get that at a Charlatans show – they are brilliant, and the tour we did in December was a brilliant experience for all of us.

“Maybe I prefer my bandmates being there when it comes to playing the songs, but it’s a chance for an audience to hear them in a way that they probably haven’t heard them before.

For anyone who hasn’t been to a Q&A-Sides show before, how would you describe the experience?

It’s a brilliantly informal night out – the chance to hear some of the stories behind the songs and 35 years’ worth of recording and touring adventures – plus a few songs with me and a guitar, and maybe a harmonica involved too.

“I’ve chatted to lots of people after the shows, and they always say it was a fantastic insight and that they loved the songs – then I realise they’re talking to me and they’d probably just say that anyway.”

Are there any particular songs that really shine in this stripped-back setting?

“You get to hear them as many of them were written. Particularly, the songs that Mark [Collins] and I came up with – it would usually just be me singing and him with an acoustic guitar, so it’s back to how they originally sounded. 

“I’ve got quite a back catalogue of songs I’ve learned, so I’ll maybe keep them a bit secret. Suffice to say, there will be a few Charlatans’ classics, absolutely.”

When you look back on your career so far, are there any moments that feel especially meaningful to share in a setting like this?

“Our audience has grown up with us – lots were teenagers when we started, and I was in my early twenties. We’ve shared moments of grief, triumph, elation and tragedy – it’s just that ours were done in the cauldron of touring and recording with sometimes the eyes of the world on us.

“At times, it’s not been easy, but life will have been tough for our fans too. Chris is brilliant at making it seem like it’s just the two of us, and nothing is off limits – then you might say something funny and two hundred people laugh, and you snap back to realising it’s not the two of us talking in a pub.”

You’ve met and worked with so many iconic artists – are there any stories that always get a great reaction when you tell them live?

“I suppose there are some fairly iconic times – lots of people in the audience would have been at Knebworth when we played there with Oasis. Our situation was made all the more poignant as Rob Collins had died shortly before the show, and we weren’t even sure if we would play.

“It was a real existential moment for us – then there are funny stories of doing Top Of The Pops with a dressing room opposite The Smurfs. A lot has happened in those three and a half decades… 

Being a Salford lad yourself, what do you think it is that makes a Manchester crowd so special?

I’m biased, but up until the band started, all my greatest moments happened in and around Manchester, and I was part of that crowd, whether watching [Man] United, seeing a band or losing yourself on the dancefloor of a club.

There’s a sense of feeling at home – there’s a BIG, beautiful world out there, and maybe we won’t tell the Midlands contingent in The Charlatans, but Manchester is always a homecoming for us.

Once again, if you fancy grabbing a last-minute ticket for ‘Tim Burgess – Live and In Conversation’ on Sunday, 8 February, there are still a few available.

The show starts from 7pm, and you can secure your seat right HERE.

Sounds From The Other City releases 2026 lineup with 100+ acts playing on 17 stages across Salford
Tim’s childhood town has got plenty of its own exciting stuff on this year, too.

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Featured Images — AO Arena (supplied)

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