Lancing business lends its support to UK's grassroots music venues

Tim Burgess, lead singer of The Charlatans, has teamed up with family-run business Flare Audio in Lancing to launch a brand-new custom earphone.
Tim BurgessTim Burgess
Tim Burgess

The project will help raise money for UK grassroots music venues.

The announcement coincides with Tim’s appointment as patron of Music Venue Trust (MVT), which has helped raised millions for UK grassroots music venues struggling during the pandemic.

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Tim and Flare have announced that £5 from every set of the earphones sold via Flare’s website will be donated to the Music Venue Trust.

Tim’s Listening Parties have emerged during the lockdowns.

Hosted on Twitter, Tim invites fans to listen to a fellow artist’s album, as band members and close associates – plus Tim and the listeners – tweet about its personal and cultural significance.

Flare Audio and Tim have worked on the design and manufacture of a unique special edition earphone, 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 Tim and a further 100 orders will receive” bonus swag”, from Flare Audio’s Calmer® (RRP £19.99) to Listening Party badges or Flare accessories.

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Tim Burgess said: “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.”

Flare co-founder and COO Naomi Roberts said: “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, named TLP1, 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.”

Beverley Whitrick, strategic director for Music Venue Trust, said: “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.”

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The TLP1 earphones have a range of unique features including distortion-reducing/clarity-enhancing technology, providing high-end sound for £39.99.

Available to order from www.flareaudio.com from 10am on Friday March 26, priced £39.99 (including £5 donation to MVT). First orders receive exclusive extras. Shipping from April 5 2021.

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