Getting Away With It… Live

How awkward it must have been for James playing last December’s arena tour knowing frontman Tim Booth – and with him – any hopes of any kind of resurgence – was finally fleeing the coup. Their last show – in their adopted hometown Manchester – was highly charged without being mawkish. Booth is in prattish form, whining about his monitors and demanding audience affirmation, but his vocals are magical. Behind him, the band – plus guest alumni Larry Gott and Andy Diagram – play knowing life is going to be very different when they wake up in the morning. They end with seven minutes of “a song from the darkest hour”, Sit Down. The singalong, even at this distance, is spine-tingling. “I’d love to invite you all home for milk and cookies,” says Booth. “Thank you. Goodbye.” Shame.

Like them or loath them and on this offering 16,000 are in the former category, the DVD and CD of James final hometown concert from Dec 7th 2001 are stunning productions. You are thrown into the melee through 5.1 Dolby sound that is almost flawless and captures perfectly the raw energy of a band that thrive on their fans support and collectively seem to rise to ever greater heights as the set continues. At times they play like a band possessed as on ‘God Only Knows’. Critics are remarkable for their fickleness and few bands survive the initial hype by these vultures of the press and some even fall by the wayside as the praise turns vitriolic as they strive to maintain their image rather than using what meagre talents they have to honestly review the music they are supposed to be concerned with and informing us about. James has survived such criticism and have consistently turned out unique and well-crafted albums that are original and distinctive and challenging and clearly demonstrate their musical skill and empathy. Perhaps it is this that so annoys those who singularly lack any real talent. Having been poorly served by their companies for several years, their final set is a scorching testimony of how good they are and how good they were and what we will now be missing. Both are more than a fitting finale to 20 years of honest and inspirational music. That their older numbers stand so well against their more recent songs is a testimony to their art and craft.It is difficult not to get swept away by their sheer exuberance and the obvious pleasure they get from playing together and at the end you feel on top of the world and as happy and as exhausted as any one of the 16,000 fans that were actually there. This is a marvellous record and a tribute to James and one that will form a treasured part of many collections. The critics will soon be long gone and forgotten, James however will still be shaking Manchester Arena for many years to come.

• Born Of Frustration :1992
• Come Home :1989
• Getting Away With It (All Messed Up) :2001
• God Only Knows :1990
• Hymn From A Village :1985
• I Know What I’m Here For :1999
• Johnny Yen :1986
• Laid :1993
• Out To Get You :1990
• Protect Me :1992
• Ring The Bells :1992
• Say Something :1993
• She’s A Star :1997
• Sit Down :1989
• Someone’s Got It In For Me :1999
• Sometimes (Lester Piggott) :1993
• Sound :1991
• Space :2001
• Tomorrow :1994
• Top Of The World :1990
• Vervaceous :1999
• Waltzing Along :1997

Not found on Spotify.

• Born Of Frustration
• Come Home (Flood Mix)
• Come Home (Original)
• Getting Away With It (All Messed Up)
• I Know What I’m Here For
• Laid (Version 2) (Clean)
• Laid (Version 3) (Explicit)
• Ring The Bells
• Say Something (US Version)
• Say Something (Version 1)
• She’s A Star
• She’s A Star (Orchestral Version)
• Sit Down
• Sit Down ’98 Apollo 440 Mix
• Sit Down (Original)
• Sometimes
• Tomorrow
• Waltzing Along

• Isle Of Wight Festival – 13th June 2015
• BBC Maida Vale Studios – 10th October 2014
• T In The Park – 12th July 2014
• Portland Kink Lounge – 8th October 2010
• Later With Jools – 29th April 2008
• 2002 – 2006: Gone Baby Gone
• James Keep Getting Away With It – Belfast Newsletter
• Tim Booth – Teletext Interview
• Very Nice And Not So Dim Tim – What DVD
• Kulas Turns Onto Pop – Toronto Star
• Blitz Interview with Saul (Portuguese)
• Benicassim Festival – 3rd August 2001
• Top Of The Pops (Getting Away With It (All Messed Up)) – July 2001
• CD UK (Getting Away With It (All Messed Up)) – July 2001
• VH1 Ray Cokes Show – July 2001
• Later With Jools – 18th May 2001
• Later With Jools – 23rd October 1999
• TFI Friday (I Know What I’m Here For) – June 1999
• Chelmsford V Festival – 23rd August 1998
• Later With Jools – 24th April 1998
• MTV Up For It – March 1998
• TFI Friday (Tomorrow) – April 1997
• Top Of The Pops (She’s A Star) – February 1997
• TFI Friday (She’s A Star) – February 1997
• The Bob Mills Show – February 1997
• MTV 120 Minutes – 16th January 1994
• Laid (Conan O’Brien Show) – January 1994
• Jay Leno Show (Sometimes) – October 1993
• London Astoria – 28th September 1993
• Top Of The Pops (Sometimes) – September 1993
• The Beat (Sometimes) – August 1993
• Top Of The Pops (Sit Down) – 25th December 1991
• Warrington Parr Hall (evening) – 20th December 1991
• Warrington Parr Hall (afternoon) – 20th December 1991
• The Word (Sound) – November 1991
• Top Of The Pops (Sound) – November 1991
• What’s New Music (Sound) – August 1991
• London Tufnell Park Dome – 12th June 1991
• Top Of The Pops (Sit Down) – April 1991
• Going Live (Sit Down) – April 1991
• Terry Wogan Show (Sit Down) – March 1991
• Top Of The Pops (Sit Down) – March 1991
• James: Sit Down Press Release and Band Biography
• Glastonbury Festival – 23rd June 1990
• Manchester Apollo – 4th December 1989
• Halifax Piece Hall – 20th August 1989
• London ICA – 19th March 1985

• Manchester Arena – 7th December 2001