THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

844-Charlatans-The Only One I Know.

1990-Number 9 single.

Best Bit-At 2.54. At the height of the ‘Madchester’ music scene in 1990, the ‘University of Manchester’ was the most sought after destination for University applicants in the UK, it appears that they didn’t want to come just to learn, they wanted to listen as well.

The Charlatans are considered one of the leading exponents of the ‘Madchester’ music scene, although they were originally formed in the West Midlands, England, in 1988. The group were formed by Martin Blunt, (bass) Rob Collins, (1963-1996) (keyboards) Jon Brookes, (1968-2014) (drums) Jon Day, (guitar) and Baz Ketley, (vocals, and guitar) Ketley left the group in 1989, and he was replaced by Tim Burgess (lead vocals.) In total there have been eight different members come and go, and at the time of writing they remain active.

The discography of the Charlatans includes 13 studio Albums released between 1990-2017, and 48 singles issued between 1990-2018, there are also six official compilation Albums, and three live Albums available. In the UK, three of there Albums have reached the Number 1 spot, while 22 of there singles have made the top 40, with ‘One to Another,’ charting the highest when reaching Number 3 in 1996. The Charlatans have never charted on the American Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, but they have had seven singles either reach the Billboard ‘Alternative Rock,’ ‘Dance Club,’ chart, or ‘Mainstream Rock’ chart, with ‘Weirdo,’ from 1992, making Number 1 on the ‘Alternative Rock’ chart.

The categories of musical genres that the Charlatans are bracketed in, include ‘Alternative Rock,’ ‘Indie Rock,’ ‘Britpop,’ and ‘Madchester.’ ‘Madchester was a musical and cultural scene that developed in the English city of Manchester in the late 1980’s, and was closely associated with the ‘Indie Dance’ scene. The term ‘Madchester’ was coined by Tony Wilson, (1950-2007) who was a journalist, television presenter, and the co-founder of the Manchester based record label ‘Factory Records.’ The music that was coined ‘Madchester,’ saw artists merging ‘Indie Music,’ with elements of ‘Acid House,’ ‘Psychedelia,’ and 1960’s’Pop.”Madchester’ was widely seen as being heavily influenced by drugs, in particular ‘MDMA.’ At the centre of the scene was the ‘Hacienda’ nightclub in Manchester, which was owned by members of the English Rock group ‘New Order’ (see also best songs 885 and 619.) The ‘Hacienda’ opened in May 1982, but was plagued by crime and financial troubles, and finally closed it’s doors in June 1997.

‘The Only One I Know’ was the first of three singles released from the Charlatan’s debut studio Album ‘Some Friendly,’ from October 1990. The song was co-written by all five members of the Charlatans at that time, with the production credited to Chris Nagle. ‘The Only One I Know’ is heavily influenced by two other songs, the ‘organ riff’ is lifted from the 1967 song ‘Hush,’ written by Joe South, (1940-2012) and performed by the English Rock band ‘Deep Purple,’ (see also best songs 550 and 89) while ‘The Only One I Know’s’ lyrics include the lines,’Everyone has been burned before, everybody knows pain.’ These lyrics are taken from the 1967 song ‘Everybody’s Been Burned,’ by the American Rock group ‘The Byrds’ (see also best songs 621.) The lyrics to ‘Everybody’s Been Burned’ tell us that although you will probably get hurt by trying to love someone, it is still better than hiding away, and not trying to love at all. ‘The Only One I Know’ is a tale of loving someone far more, than they probably love you. Tim Burgess has said that the song is about teenage feelings,’I like somebody, why do they not like me? I was 21 or 22, but still had those powerful emotions.’

‘The only one I know, has come to take me away. The only one I know, is mine when she stitches me. The only one I see, has found an aching in me. The only one I see, has turned her tongue into me.’