UNITED KINGDOM: Brit rockers, The Charlatans announced as headliners alongside Eric Clapton at Hard Rock Calling Festival - formally Hyde Park Festival

Record ID: 872809

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM: Brit rockers, The Charlatans announced as headliners alongside Eric Clapton at Hard Rock Calling Festival - formally Hyde Park Festival
  • Date: 1st May 2008
  • Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND UNITED KINGDOM APRIL 24, 2008 (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF LONDON HARD ROCK CAFE ENTRANCE AND RED CARPET (2 SHOTS)
  • Embargoed: 16th May 2008 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: United Kingdom, United Kingdom
  • City:
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVAA4EW3YQPV6TUEIP5QS6D2DVXV
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  • Story Text: London's Hard Rock Cafe has reopened the doors to it's vault on Thursday (April 25), containing some of the most valuable Rock memorabilia in the world. To mark the occasion, Indie rockers 'The Charlatans', played a one-night-only exclusive gig.
    It was also announced on that the band will be headlining one of two stages at the Hard Rock Calling music festival in London's Hyde Park in June.
    The other stage at the festival will be headlined by Eric Clapton.
    The band also made their own contribution to the Hard Rock Cafe's legendary memorabilia collection.

    "We have now, because we've just donated a melodica and situated it right next to Bo Diddly's square guitar," lead singer Tim Burgess told Reuters.
    In March 'The Charlatans' followed Radiohead's lead as being one of the first bands to release an album, their tenth, free over the internet. They became the first UK band to have offered a free album download via a radio station.
    The band say that with free downloading of music on the increase, they adopted a "If you can't beat them, join them" philosophy.

    "We all knew that CD sales were on the decline. So we thought why not-- y'know people download music from the internet illegally anyway so why not let everyone else be in denial apart from us and we'll just sort of give it away for free," Burgess said.
    Since the release the album, 'You Cross My Path', has had more than 90,000 downloads. While that means more exposure, it also means close to 100 thousand people who - already having a free version of the album - are probably less inclined to buy the physical CD when it comes out next month.
    The band say the potential negative impact on CD sales was not as much of a consideration as getting their music out to the fans.

    "We may have been told that it could have backfired, but we actually went into it quite wholeheartedly, I think. Artistically we just wanted to make the best record we could possibly make," Burgess said.
    'You Cross My Path' will be physically released on May 19.
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