Guitar icon and Indie favourites join Chase concerts line-up
Indie favourites The Charlatans join The Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr for a concert in the Staffordshire countryside next year.
The acts have been announced for the Forest Live gigs on Cannock Chase on June 28. The Voice judge Anne-Marie has already been confirmed and will kick off the four nights of concerts on June 27.
Marr, 60, formed The Smiths in 1982 and the band attained commercial success and critical acclaim before their break-up in 1987. Marr went on to become a member of many iconic bands including The Pretenders, The The and Electronic and has collaborated with other huge acts including Pet Shop Boys, Bryan Ferry and Talking Heads. Fans can expect to hear songs by The Smiths as well as tracks from Marr’s solo albums. He has just released Spirit Power: The Best of Johnny Marr, a collection of songs curated from the first 10 years of his solo output, together with new tracks, Somewhere and The Answer. The new collection, which debuted in the UK Top 10, came hot on the heels of Marr’s last studio album, Fever Dreams Pts 1-4 and 2023 photography book Marr’s Guitars.
The Charlatans, fronted by Tm Burgess, were founded in the West Midlands in 1988 and can claim 13 Top 40 studio albums – three of them chart-toppers – and are known for hit singles including The Only One I Know, Just When You're Thinkin' Things Over and North Country Boy. Two founder members have sadly lost their lives. Rowley Regis-born keyboardist Rob Collins was killed in a car crash in 1996, while drummer Jon Brookes, from Burntwood, died of a brain tumour 10 years ago. The band has recently released a career-spanning vinyl box collection A Head Full Of Ideas and have received rave reviews for their current UK tour.
Tickets are on sale for the Birches Valley concert tomorrow (Friday) at www.forestlive.com – proceeds are ploughed back into maintaining and growing the forests for future generations.
The annual concerts are organised by Forestry England. Previous acts on Cannock Chase include Texas, George Ezra, Kaiser Chiefs, Paul Weller, Status Quo, Keane, Paloma Faith, Rag'N' Bone Man, Tom Jones and Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds. Madness, Paul Weller and Tom Grennan were last year's headline acts. The final concert, Jack Savoretti, was cancelled due to thunderstorms after support act Natalie Imbruglia had begun her set.
