News

Tim Burgess, lead singer of The Charlatans, has teamed up with Flare Audio to launch a new custom earphone, The Listening Party1, named after his popular Twitter experience in which Burgess invites fans to listen to an artist’s album while band members and close associates tweet about its personal and cultural significance.

The TLP1 will additionally help raise money for UK grassroots music venues struggling through the pandemic with £5 from each set sold via Flare’s website going to the Music Venue Trust of which Burgess has just been announced as patron.

Flare co-founder and COO, Naomi Roberts, says: “We love what Tim has been doing with the Listening Party and after some interesting talks we knew we could do something really great together. We wanted the Listening Party earphone to be unique to Tim while still having the Flare tech and finish. The earphones themselves give incredible audio clarity and detail that provides high-end sound quality without the price tag, and our unique distortion-reducing tech helps you to listen better for longer.

“Flare started life as a loudspeaker manufacturer and PA hire company, and spent a lot of time in independent music venues. We feel now is our time to give something back and are pleased to be supporting MVT.”

Tim Burgess adds: “A while back I was sent some amazing earphones by the lovely people at Flare – they were big fans of the listening parties and we got talking. The talk turned into a plan and the plan became an amazing set of listening party earphones that Flare will now be making, and together we’ll be raising money for Music Venue Trust… It’s going to be a hugely important year for live music and the future of independent venues.”

Beverley Whitrick, Strategic Director for Music Venue Trust, adds: “Tim has been acting as a champion for grassroots music venues across the UK for a long time now and has actively supported our #SaveOurVenues campaign. Formalising his status as a patron of MVT is a way for us to thank him for his considerable efforts and talk publicly about the projects Tim is working on to support venues. The first of which is the development of these great earphones with Flare Audio, with whom we have a longstanding relationship.”

The special edition TLP1 earphones have a range of unique features including distortion-reducing/clarity-enhancing technology and they are anodised in bespoke purple aluminium and branded with a mini enamel ‘Tim’ on the cable. 50 random orders in the first week will come with a signed card from Burgess and a further 100 orders will receive bonus swag, ranging from Flare Audio’s Calmer (£20) to Listening Party badges or Flare accessories.

The Listening Party1 is available to buy now for £40 and you can find out more about it here.