The Charlatans are set to release an expanded vinyl reissue of their debut album, ‘Some Friendly’, next month.
The album was first released back in 1990, following frontman Tim Burgess and co. founding the group in 1988 and joining forces with Chris Nagle two years later. It featured the hit ‘The Only One I Know’ – which marked their first Top 10 track and remains their biggest song – as well as other singles ‘Then’ and ‘Sproston Green’.
Today (Wednesday February 4), the band have announced that the breakthrough record is getting an expanded vinyl reissue, set to arrive on March 27.
Alongside the original tracklist, the new release will feature a selection of bonus tracks curated especially by Burgess. These include both a ‘7” Mix’ and an ‘Alternate Take’ of ‘Then’, a new edit of ‘Happen To Die’, and another variation of that song credited as the ‘Full Length’ version.
Bonus tracks include ‘Taurus Moaner’, ‘Over Rising’, ‘Way Up There’ and ‘Opportunity Three’, and some of the tracks from the original album now come with new liner notes from Burgess, penned specifically for this release.
The Charlatans’ ‘Some Friendly’ reissue artwork. CREDIT: Press
For ‘The Only One I Know, the singer described it as “a song about teenage feelings”.
“I was 21 or 22, but had those powerful emotions. I was a big Byrds fan so the line ‘Everyone’s been burned before, everyone knows the pain’ is a nod to their song ‘Everybody’s Been Burned’,” he added. “I was ecstatic when the Byrds’ Roger McGuinn said he loved us. It’s an unusual song construction. I’m still not sure which bit is the chorus. The title and main hook is in the verse, but the intro – before the main song crashes in – gives people just enough time to get on the dancefloor.”
Other liner notes include ‘Flower’ being inspired by Pixies and “one of the first songs we wrote when the five of us came to be The Charlatans”, ‘Believe You Me’ being written about “being a gemini”, and ‘109 Pt.2’ featuring a sample that Robert De Niro gave them permission to use.
The new version has been remastered by Frank Arkwright at Abbey Road, and will be pressed on both double white vinyl and on CD. ‘The Only One I Know’ will also be available in Dolby Atmos via Apple, Amazon and Genie.
Visit here to pre-order, and check out the tracklist below.
The tracklist for the ‘Some Friendly’ 2026 vinyl reissue is:
A1. ‘You’re Not Very Well’
A2. ‘White Shirt’
A3. ‘The Only One I Know’
A4. ‘Opportunity’
A5. ‘Then’
A6. ‘109 Pt.2’
B1. ‘Polar Bear’
B2. ‘Believe You Me’
B3. ‘Flower’
B4. ‘Sonic’
B5. ‘Sproston Green’
C1. ‘Then [7” Mix]’
C2. ‘Taurus Moaner’
C3. ‘Then [Alternate Take]’
C4. ‘Taurus Moaner [Instrumental]’
C5. ‘Over Rising’
D1. ‘Happen to Die [Edit]’
D2. ‘Way Up There’
D3. ‘Opportunity Three’
D4. ‘Happen to Die [Full Length]’
The Charlatans shared their 14th and latest album, ‘We Are Love’, last October, and it marked their first record since 2017’s ‘Different Days’.
They later announced 10 new tour dates for spring this year. Dates kick off in Norwich on April 24, and continue with stops in Brighton, Bournemouth, Cardiff, Nottingham, Birmingham, Sheffield, Newcastle, Aberdeen and Edinburgh. Support comes from The Cords, and you can find any remaining tickets here.
When sharing the title track from the new album last summer, Burgess told NME that he wanted it to feel “like an open top car ride in the credits of your favourite movie, driving along the coast to somewhere amazing”.
“I think it’s wildly exciting as a track,” he added. “I could imagine it being a euphoric, transcendent moment. I think great tracks have that transcendence to them, so that’s what I was looking for.”
Since then, the frontman brought his Merch Market to London’s Troxy last month, after launching it in Manchester last year.
The annual event allows bands to sell merchandise for free and keep 100 per cent of the income. Artists getting involved in 2026 included Sprints, Gurriers, Blur‘s Dave Rowntree, Dry Cleaning, Honeyglaze, Doves, Public Service Broadcasting‘s J Willgoose and more.
The post The Charlatans’ debut album ‘Some Friendly’ set for expanded vinyl reissue appeared first on NME.
