Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Telling Stories cover art

Telling Stories

By: Tim Burgess
Narrated by: Craig Parkinson
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

Good Pop, Bad Pop cover art
A Likely Lad cover art
Verse, Chorus, Monster! cover art
Oasis cover art
Tenement Kid cover art
How to Be a Rock Star cover art
Creation Stories cover art
Born to Run cover art
Afternoons with the Blinds Drawn cover art
Buzzin' cover art
Fingers Crossed cover art
Animal House cover art
Clean Living Under Difficult Circumstances cover art
Bill Bailey's Remarkable Guide to Happiness cover art
Blue: All Rise cover art
Bedsit Disco Queen cover art

Summary

The unabridged digital audiobook edition of Telling Stories, Tim Burgess’s lacerating, frank, and vivid memoir. Read by the actor Craig Parkinson, star of the hit film Control.

The Charlatans have had three UK Number One albums and 17 Top Thirty singles. But they’ve also had to face the imprisonment and death of keyboard player Rob Collins and an accountant who ran off with all their money. Not to mention the rock & roll excesses of singer Tim Burgess. In his startlingly revealing memoir, not ghosted but written by Burgess himself, he describes how they dealt with their crises, and what’s gone right with the band as much as what’s gone wrong. Brought up in a Cheshire village, he went on to front a band that has travelled the world and was at the forefront of the Madchester and Britpop movements.

Telling Stories is a tale of achievement and survival, via a fair bit of heartache, but told with humour. At the centre of it is Tim Burgess’s own story: how someone with a passion for music got to fulfil his dreams. He doesn’t flinch from the dark stuff - the lure of the rock & roll lifestyle, its sweet enticements - and he confesses in vivid detail how he had to pull himself back from the brink. But along the way he had a lot of good times and met some great people while making great music. It’s all here in Telling Stories.

©2012 Tim Burgess (P)2012 Penguin Audio

More from the same

Narrator

What listeners say about Telling Stories

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    29
  • 4 Stars
    20
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    4
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    22
  • 4 Stars
    19
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    4
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    32
  • 4 Stars
    17
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    3

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Tim is not from Liverpool

Interesting story. Craig Parkinson is great but the woman who was telling the story about interviewing him impersonated him with a really bad scouse accent. I had to skip that bit because she was making me cringe. If you can't do an accent just don't try to do it.
I love Tim and he's had a really interesting life but she just spoiled it for me.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Some really great stories…

I really liked this. Tim’s outlook is infectious. Though the segment about the interview with the Sky news reporter was courageous to include and gave a different viewpoint to Tim’s behaviour! The recording IS confusing - some sections are repeated which is frustrating but can easily be forwarded through. The style in which Tim has written the book adds to the confusion as he jumps around all-over-the place as well. But then I suspect that is a reflection on him as a person! But that said, he is very endearing. Made me Google what he’s been up to since writing the book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Some repeat issues...

Did Tim edit this after someone blew some coke up his bum? All over the place.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story, terribly edited

Sections are repeated, others are missed out. Whole thing sounds like it's been edited with a pair of blunt scissors and sellotape.

Story is really funny, even if you're not a Charlatans fan, so buy the book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Telling stories

Tim’s book is like a trapped bee in a jar buzzing around in every direction! Strangely hypnotising and it will keep you interested from start to finish. A more open reflection on someone’s life you will struggle to find - Tim comes across like a flawed genius that genuinely has a wonderful tale to tell..

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Love is the key.

Different style of ‘magazine’, ‘snip bit stories’ as Tim explained. I have always been a Tim / Charlatans fan, and to understand what it has been really like to be in the ‘band life’ was incredible. The honest stories shared by Tim were sometimes funny but some are very tragic and brought tears to my eyes.

My audio did seem to jump on a few occasions.
Shame Tim didn’t narrate it.

Glad Tim is a much better place now with his new beautiful wife and son.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

great story well read

only issue is the editing it jumps around and is about an hour shorter than advised due to duplicate audio!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book, poor editing

Chapters repeat themselves randomly and they end abruptly, going into the next one without a pause. Shame really, because we all love Tim, don’t we?

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

annoying

narration was ok, but kept jumping about, ok story, but annoyingly edited. interesting life story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Something up with the editing.

the content is good but it jumps around and whole sections appear to be repeating

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!