It's not everyday you get your cappuccino served to you by a music legend, but that was the case for some people in Liverpool today.
That's because for one day only at the Papercup Coffee Shop near Queen Square, Tim Burgess, lead singer of The Charlatans was serving up drinks and treats for the people of the city.
Papercup is a coffee shop run by Michelle Langan and the charity she leads, where every coffee sold goes towards helping rough sleepers and people experiencing homelessness around Liverpool. The shop was opened earlier this year and aims to also give homeless people a space to come and learn new skills.
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Tim, who fronts the Northwich-based band, known for hits like The Only One I Know and Sproston Green, first heard about the work of Papercup and its coffee shop on twitter and wanted to get involved. Back in September he donated £500 to pay for people's drinks at the venue.
But today he went one better, rolled up his sleeves and got to work behind the counter, learning the ropes from barista Dan Johnson.
Speaking to the ECHO during his shift, Tim said: "I like what these guys are doing, I started following them on twitter after the pandemic and I really like their philosophy in helping the homeless. It's something that really struck a chord with me.
Asked about how his training in coffee-making was going, he added: "It's a bit of a struggle making those lattes, Dan is brilliant and fast. It's harder than you think. I like a good coffee so I'm determined to get it right."
He said he will be doing more to support Papercup in the future too, adding: "It's an ongoing thing, who knows what I might end up doing here next.
Tim also spoke about his famous twitter listening parties, which saw thousands of people tuning in to social media during lockdown to see him and other famous musicians talking about the stories behind their records while listening to the albums in question.
He said: "When I think of the pandemic and lookdown it felt like there was darkness all around and with the listening parties, thousands of people around the world were listening to a record, with someone who was involved in that record tweeting along and it just felt like everyone was part of a community - which is obviously what everyone was missing."
Speaking about Tim's efforts, Papercup owner Michelle Langan said: "What an amazing day, Tim is such a lovely person and we are so blown away that he came to Liverpool to support the work that we are doing. We hope that people who came in today enjoyed it and that those customers will come back in again."
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