ATN "Music News of the World" editor Jaan Uhelszki met with Tim Burgess of

Charlatans UK recently. The full interview appears in the November 1.11

issue. Here Burgess talks about song writing.

Addicted To Noise: When you write songs, where does your inspiration come

from?

Tim Burgess: I used to get them from ad-libbing. And I reckon I'm into

spontaneity. If Mark is getting some sounds on his guitar--what he usually

does is gets copies of drum beats from something on his drum machine. We

listen to records, and if we hear, say, brilliant drums, we put it down.

Then when we have a few ideas on bass, we put that down, then we put guitar

down. And we try and get a tune. The music comes first always. And when we

get a tune and then I start liking it more. Then a word will come out. Then

another word and a phrase will come out. Then I'll think how good they are.

ATN: Kind of like a rap?

Burgess: Yeah. Then I'll get five or six lines that I like, and then it'll

take months to then to finish it. (Laughs) Then I keep listening to them and

the music of the day. And then the thoughts of the day. It never ends up the

same as it starts. It begins as just nonsense and you take away a couple

things you don't like. It might be a phrase that you like the idea, but you

don't like the way it's worded or you think it's a bit corny. So you just

sort of like write something else. Then there might be three or four lines

that bug me for months, sometimes, And the last minute, they just seem to

fit.

If I'm stuck I just listen to loads of music. It's in my mind all the time so

I'm listening for things that I need. Always. But when I get an idea I can't

keep it in my head. There's been times when I've gotten an idea and I've had

to ring up me answer phone up and sing it in the telephone box. To make sure

I'd got it.

ATN: Can you write music or do you have to immediately record it?

Burgess: No, I can't do nothing. I can play a bit of bass. Notes and stuff,

and a couple of chords on guitar, but I can't really play anything. I just

got it all in here (points to his head) and I've just got to translate it,

and pull it out. None of us can read music, or ever had lessons in anything.

I think we are getting better with age. I really thought that we were dead

good at playing music when we first started and I think we just went buggers.