Oneofthethree.co.uk – Newsreel – 2007

According to his blog, Lee Muddy Baker of My Federation will be producing the new James album which is scheduled to be recorded in Wales in September and October this year.   Lee was heavily involved in writing, playing on and producing Tim Booth’s solo album Bone released in 2004 and produced Who Are You and Chameleon from the Fresh As A Daisy compilation released earlier this year.

My Federation will be supporting James at the Edinburgh Corn Exchange gig this coming Friday and are being lined up to support James on tour next year.

Update 15.7.07

Last night James played the Barcelona leg of the Summercase Festival.  Their set included Born Of Frustration, Tomorrow, Sit Down, Out To Get You, English Beefcake, Say Something, Getting Away With It (All Messed Up), Ring The Bells, Upside Downside, Laid, Sometimes, Gold Mother and She’s A Star.   Not So Strong had to be dropped after the band had started the intro as Tim didn’t have his customary lyrics sheet.

Update 13.7.07

James have just come off stage in Madrid after a set strewn with technical problems.   They played Born Of Frustration, Tomorrow, Sit Down, Chain Mail, Out To Get You, Play Dead, Say Something, Getting Away With It (All Messed Up), Ring The Bells, Upside Downside, Laid, Sometimes and She’s A Star.

Update 11.7.07

James set at Oxegen Festival in Ireland on Sunday was Born Of Frustration, Tomorrow, Sit Down, Chainmail, Out To Get You, Not So Strong, Ring The Bells, Upside Downside, Laid, Honest Joe, Sometimes, Gold Mother.

Update 9.7.07

The reviews of the Oran Mor and T In The Park gigs have now been posted.

The BBC have a video of the performance of Sometimes on their T In The Park site.

A new James website, Egoiste, was launched over the weekend.  Aimed at creating an on-line community, it features “forum, chat, member-submitted articles, private messaging, individual user profiles, image gallery, event calendar, comments, community blog and more.”

Update 7.7.07

James performed a triumphant set at a quagmire T In The Park. The set was Born Of Frustration, Tomorrow, Sit Down, She’s A Star, Out To Get You, Getting Away With It (All Messed Up), Upside Downside, Laid, Ring The Bells, Sometimes, Gold Mother.   Gold Mother saw the band invite crowd members and people from their entourage onto stage.  Reviews of both shows will follow tomorrow.

James played a stunning T In The Park warm-up last night at Glasgow’s Oran Mor.  The set was Born Of Frustration, Tomorrow, Sit Down, She’s A Star, Out To Get You, Johnny Yen, Upside Downside, Sometimes, Gold Mother, Sound, Laid, Ring The Bells with an encore of Traffic, Not So Strong and Getting Away With It (All Messed Up)

Update 3.7.07

James are playing a warm-up gig for Saturday’s T In The Park performance at Glasgow’s Oran Mor on Friday 6 July.  Tickets are £15 plus booking fee.  To purchase tickets, log in to the official website forum and follow the link in the Top Secret forum.

Update 29.6.07

James are in Turkey for tomorrow night’s Radar Festival at Solar Beach.   They will be on stage at 11.35pm for approximately 1 1/2 hours.   Also playing on the same night are The Magic Numbers (8.45).

Update 27.6.07

Further clarification on the Andy situation.  He will be appearing at some, but not all shows this summer.  At the moment, it’s not planned for him to play at any of the festivals outside the UK, but it’s a moving situation as things develop.

Update 26.6.07

James played a rather mad festival warm-up at Hoxton Bar And Grill last night featuring two new songs – Traffic and Not So Strong – in a set featuring a guest appearance by Andy Diagram and the reintroduction of Sound and Born Of Frustration into the set.  Full set was Say Something, Seven, Play Dead, Traffic, Chameleon, Born Of Frustration, Chain Mail, Out To Get You, Not So Strong, Upside, Sometimes, Getting Away With It (All Messed Up), Ring The Bells, Sound, She’s A Star, Gold Mother and Laid.

Reviews and photos can be found here.

Tim also revealed that the band will go into the studio in September to record the new album for an early 2008 release.   Andy Diagram will be playing the festivals through the summer, but there are no plans for him to remain in James past then as things stand.

Update 21.6.07

James are playing an intimate warm-up gig for the festival season at London’s Hoxton Bar and Grill next Monday, 25th June.  Tickets are sold out.

Update 7.6.07

James are playing Edinburgh Corn Exchange as part of T on the Fringe on Friday August 10, the day before their appearance at the Belladrum Festival.  Ticket details to follow.

Update 28.5.07

Fresh As A Daisy – The Singles has dropped to number 63 in its fourth week on the UK album chart.

Update 26.5.07

James have been confirmed as headliners at the Positivus Festival in Salacriva, Latvia on Saturday 28th July.  Tickets can be purchased by following this link.

Update 21.5.07

Fresh As A Daisy – The Singles has dropped to number 44 in its third week on the UK album chart.  The download only single Who Are You unsurprisingly failed to make the Top 75.

Update 20.5.07

According to Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manha, James are playing the Sudoeste Festival in Zambujeira on Sunday August 5.

Update 16.5.07

Who Are You is now available as a digital download one track single.   To purchase from 7 Digital for 77p, follow this link.

Update 13.5.07

Fresh As A Daisy – The Singles had dropped to number 25 on the second week in the charts from number 12.

James will be interviewed and perform an acoustic session on XFM Manchester from 7pm tomorrow night, Monday 14.

Pictures are now available from the Key 103 show at Manchester Hilton Hotel.

Update 12.5.07

James performed an intimate acoustic set as a four-piece (minus Dave and Saul) to 20 competition winners and guests of Key 103 at Manchester Hilton Hotel’s Cloud 23 Bar yesterday evening.  The set included Just Like Fred Astaire, Chain Mail, Who Are You, Really Hard, Upside Downside, She’s a Star, Out To Get You, Laid, Top Of The World and Sit Down.  The show was recorded and should be broadcast and available on Key 103’s website some point next week.

Update 9.5.07

James will be playing a special set for 20 competition winners on Friday in the Cloud 23 bar at Manchester’s Hilton Hotel.   Details can be found in the following excerpt from Key 103’s website.  It’s unclear as to whether the performance will be broadcast.

“In 1991, when Key 103 lived in Piccadilly Plaza at the heart of Manchester, James played a gig live from our roof top. They played five songs including ‘Ring the Bells’.

5,000 people turned up and the Manchester traffic was brought to a standstill, as all the people waiting for the 85 to Chorlton got sore necks as they performed atop the City skyline.

Now, 16 years on, the boys are back. Last month Tim Booth and the rest of James filled the MEN Arena and Toolan exclusively revealed that Key 103 is about to trump the roof gig of ’91!

This Friday at 5pm the band will be live, high above the City Centre once more, as they perform in the clouds. Cloud 23 at the Hilton, to be exact, with Manchester’s No 1 Hit Music Station – Key 103.

The performance will feature their new single ‘Who Are You?’ and they’ll play all of your favourite James classics from the new ‘Fresh As A Daisy’ singles collection too.

We want true James fans to witness this amazing gig, so all day tomorrow we’re giving you the chance every hour to bag a pair of tickets to this close and intimate gig.

Tomorrow is ‘James Day’ on Key 103. There will be only 20 people in the audience and the only way to get on the guest list is to listen to Key 103 all day tomorrow. Please be advised, this event is strictly for winners only – don’t think queuing outside will get you in.

James live and intimate at Cloud 23 at the Hilton exclusively with Key 103.”

Update 6.5.07

Fresh As A Daisy – The Singles has entered the UK album charts at number 12, the fourth highest new entry.

Channel M’s City Life program has a feature on James aired at 5.30pm tonight.   Channel M can be found on Sky channel 203 in this area.

Issue 14 of the Change of Scenery fanzine is now available by post for £2 plus postage.  For more details contact the fanzine at changeofsceneryfanzine@yahoo.co.uk.   The fanzine also has a myspace site at www.myspace.com/changeofsceneryfanzine.

The fanzine features a guide to James studio albums, reviews of the warm-up shows for the recent tour, a discography including chart positions and pictures taken at the Hoxton Bar And Grill show.

Update 4.5.07

James performed a two-track session for BBC Radio 6’s The Hub today.   Minus drummer Dave, on sick leave, they played She’s A Star and Laid.  Photos can be viewed here.

James have also confirmed the rumoured headline date at the Radar Festival in Istanbul on Saturday 30 June.  Also appearing on James’ night are The Magic Numbers.  Tickets are on sale from Biletix for YTL 65 (approximately 36 euro).

Tickets for the headline slot at Athens Fly Beeyond Festival on Wednesday 18 July will be onsale on Monday 7 May from ticketnet. Prices are 63 euro for a day ticket, 94.50 euro for two day ticket and 115.50 euro for a three day ticket.

James and HMV have combined to advertise the Fresh As A Daisy singles collection as part of a series of adverts where bands quote one of their musical inspirations.  The series also includes Noel Gallagher and Amy Winehouse.   James quote Iggy Pop’s “I Wanna Be Your Dog” in the poster to the left which was photographed earlier this week in Manchester.

Update 1.5.07

To celebrate the release of Fresh As A Daisy – The Singles, James played two shows in Manchester last night.

At a 5pm show in Market Street HMV, they played a short set featuring Out To Get You, Really Hard, Chain Mail, Just Like Fred Astaire, She’s A Star and Laid.  For a review click here.

This was followed by a rather unique and unusual set, devoid of most of their major hit singles, to 400 competition winners and guests at Manchester’s Club Academy, where Tim first met Jim way back in 1981.   The set featured Seven, Heavens, Chain Mail, Riders, Don’t Wait That Long, Really Hard, Top Of The World, Stripmining, If Things Were Perfect, Fine, 5-0, Chameleon, Upside Downside, Getting Away With It (All Messed Up), Out To Get You and Laid.  For a review click here.

First day reports from Manchester HMV suggest that the store alone sold over 1,000 copies of the cd and dvd versions of Fresh As A Daisy, making it their best first day sales of the year so far.

Who Are You’s single release on 14 May will be download only.  More details to follow.

Update 30.4.07

James – Fresh As A Daisy – The Singles is released today in the UK on cd, 2cd and DVD format.

Update 29.4.07

James closed their first UK tour since the reunion of the band in front of 16,000 people at Manchester MEN Arena last night.  Coming on stage accompanied by flag wavers, drummers and band, they played a set that touched on all areas of their career from Hymn From A Village to new song Upside Downside.   The full set read as follows : Come Home, Waltzing Along, Ring The Bells, Hymn From A Village, Destiny Calling, Who Are You, Chameleon, Play Dead, Chain Mail, Out To Get You, Riders, Upside Downside, Getting Away With It (All Messed Up), Sometimes, Johnny Yen, Tomorrow, Sit Down, Say Something, Gold Mother, Laid, She’s A Star, How Was It For You?  For a full review, click here.

Update 28.4.07

James played the second of two sold out nights at London’s Brixton Academy with a different setlist to the previous night.  The set ran as follows : Come Home, Destiny Calling, Ring the Bells, Seven, Who Are You, Chameleon, Honest Joe, Lullaby, Riders, Out To Get You, Don’t Wait That Long, Upside Downside, Getting Away With It (All Messed Up), Sometimes, Tomorrow, Sit Down, Gold Mother, Waltzing Along, Laid, She’s A Star

Update 27.4.07

Last night, James played the first of two sold out nights at London’s Brixton Academy.  The setlist was Come Home, Waltzing Along, Ring The Bells, Hymn From A Village, Who Are You?, Chameleon, Play Dead, Chain Mail, Five-O, Upside / Downside, Out To Get You, Getting Away With It (All Messed Up), Say Something, Johnny Yen, Tomorrow, Sit Down, Gold Mother, Laid, Sometimes, She’s A Star.  For a full review, click here.

Monday’s secret Amazon / XFM gig is rumoured to be taking place at Manchester Club Academy.  The gig is competition winners only and there will be no tickets available between now and the show or on the door.

Update 25.4.07

Continuing in the vein of successful but unexpected setlists, James performed to a sellout crowd at Birmingham Carling Academy last night.  The set featured Come Home, Destiny Calling, Ring The Bells, Seven, Who Are You, Chameleon, Honest Joe, Really Hard, Out To Get You, She’s A Star, Five-O, Upside Downside, Getting Away With It (All Messed Up), Say Something, Tomorrow, Sit Down, Hymn From A Village, Gold Mother, Laid and Sometimes.  A full review can be found here.

Update 24.4.07

James played yet another varied set, drawing from most periods of their career, with stunning effect at Newcastle’s Carling Academy last night.  The setlist read Come Home, Waltzing Along, Ring The Bells, Play Dead, If Things Were Perfect, Who Are You, Chain Mail, Out To Get You, Don’t Wait That Long, Upside Downside, Johnny Yen, English Beefcake, Getting Away With It (All Messed Up), Destiny Calling, Tomorrow, Sit Down, Gold Mother, Laid, Sometimes, She’s A Star, Say Something.  A review of the gig can be found here.

The rather controversial review of the Friday night show in Glasgow has been updated with a section putting the show in context following the last two shows and talking to the band last night (who hadn’t read the review).  There’s also another review been posted of the show.

STAT ALERT : To date, James have played 133 songs in their seven comeback shows to date :

78 of the songs (59%) have been released as singles (including Who Are You)

26 of the songs (20%) were originally released during the 1980s (including Sit Down and Come Home)

79 of the songs (59%) were originally released during the 1990s

28 of the songs (21%) were released since 2000 or are yet unreleased.

Sometimes, Getting Away With It (All Messed Up) and Who Are You are the only songs to have been played at all seven shows. Seven, She’s A Star, Play Dead, Say Something, Ring The Bells, Laid and Gold Mother have all been played six times.

More interesting stats to follow as the tour progresses.

James are playing on Gideon Coe’s The Hub show between 10am and 1pm next week.  There seems to be some confusion as to which date as emails say Friday May 4, but the website says Tuesday May 1.  For those that miss it, Radio 6 do have an online listen-back facility.

Update 23.4.07

XFM Manchester are giving away 10 pairs a ticket per day this week for the Amazon secret gig in Manchester next Monday, April 30.

Update 22.4.07

James played a barnstorming varied set on the second night of two at Glasgow Academy.   In contrast with the previous night, they played a career-spanning set mixing b-sides, album tracks, new songs and an array of singles to a rapturous reception from the crowd.  The setlist ran Come Home, Ring The Bells, Waltzing Along, Seven, Who Are You, Play Dead, Heavens, Riders, Chain Mail, Upside Downside, Out To Get You, Getting Away With It (All Messed Up), Chameleon, Honest Joe Tomorrow, Sit Down, Gold Mother, Laid, Sometimes, She’s A Star and Say Something.  For a full review of the night’s events, follow this link.

Update 21.4.07

James played the first night of two at the Glasgow Academy last night.  In a set shorn of the older, rare and new songs played at previous gigs and marred by the senseless violence of seven men attacking one in the audience to the oblivion of the band, they played Come Home, Destiny Calling, Waltzing Along, Seven, Fine, Who Are You?, Chameleon, Lullaby, Five-O, Johnny Yen, Say Something, Honest Joe, Getting Away With It (All Messed Up), Ring The Bells, Sit Down, Gold Mother, Laid, Sometimes, She’s A Star.  Follow this link for a full review and critique of the show.

New James merchandise is now available on the band’s official webstore.

Update 20.4.07

James have confirmed that they will headline the Belladrum Festival in Scotland on Saturday August 11. T ickets are available from the 24-hour box office on 0870 169 0100, or online via Ticketmaster or The Booth. You can also purchase tickets in person at Mania (Inverness), One Up (Aberdeen) or Tickets Scotland (Edinburgh & Glasgow). Full details on the festival, its location and history can be found on the festival’s official website.

James have also been confirmed to headline the Fly Beyond Festival in Athens Olympic Stadium on Wednesday 18 July.  No ticket details are available yet.

The Daily Mirror yesterday reported that a new site called Londonticketmarket has been set up that bears a very uncanny resemblance to tickettout.com that ripped off thousands of customers with promises of non-existent tickets and taking their money.   DO NOT BUY TICKETS FROM THESE PEOPLE.   If you are looking for spare tickets, try the messageboard here or at www.wearejames.com – don’t send money to websites with no credentials like these, you’ll lose your money and you won’t see the gig.

Update 19.4.07

James played the first UK date of their tour at Carlisle Sands Centre last night.   A full review of the show can be found here.

The setlist was Destiny Calling, Come Home, Seven, Who Are You, Play Dead, Chain Mail, Lullaby, Really Hard, Five-O, Upside Downside, Honest Joe, Chameleon, Getting Away With It (All Messed Up), Ring The Bells, How Was It For You, Sit Down, She’s A Star, Gold Mother, Laid, Sometimes.

James are appearing at the Summercase Festival in Spain, playing across 2 cities – Madrid on the 13th July and Barcelona on the 14th July. Tickets are now available from www.ticktackticket.com or via phone on 902150025. To buy tickets from the rest of Europe, call +34 934 450 660.

The Scottish Sun is reporting today that James will headline the Tartan Heart Festival at Belladrum outside Inverness over the weekend of 10-11 August.  No details as yet of which night.  The festival website is here.

Update 18.4.07

James played a triumphant gig last night at Dublin’s Olympia Theatre.    A full review can be found here. Further reviews would be appreciated if you attended the show.

The setlist was Seven, Destiny Calling, Who Are You, Five-O, Play Dead, Getting Away With It (All Messed Up), Say Something, Heavens, Chain Mail, Riders, Honest Joe, Upside Downside, Come Home, Ring The Bells, Sit Down, Gold Mother, Laid, Sometimes, She’s A Star.

Tim also announced on stage last night that James would be playing the Oxegen Festival.   This takes place on Sunday 8 July at Punchestown Racecourse just outside Dublin.

Update 13.4.07pm

HMV are running a competition to win a James tent for the summer festivals.

Larry confirmed last night that the HMV and Amazon gigs in Manchester on 30 April are separate events at different venues.

Update 13.4.07am

James performed a wonderful intimate show at London’s Nambucca last night with a set mixed from album tracks from throughout their career with a mix of the less popular singles and some interesting takes on them.   A new song Upside was debuted with Tim singing the lyrics from handwritten sheets.   How Was It For You was curtailed by a power failure which cut off all sound for a few minutes, which everyone took in good humour.

Setlist in full was : Seven, Play Dead, Who Are You, Fine, Say Something, Chain Mail, Really Hard, She’s A Star, Riders, Upside, Heavens, Chameleon, Don’t Wait That Long, How Was It For You, Getting Away With It (All Messed Up), Gold Mother, Tomorrow and Sometimes.

Tim was restricted in his movement and didn’t really dance during the show, but didn’t appear in major pain throughout.

For a review, please follow this link.

Jim has conducted an extensive interview with BBC Manchester talking about the reformation and the upcoming tour.

Update 11.4.07

Last night’s cancelled James show has been rescheduled for tomorrow night, April 12,  at Nambucca on Holloway Road, London.

Specific instructions from Ticketweb and Plum Music include :

“Due to short notice and to safeguard against touting, there are no physical tickets for this show. We have a list of everyone’s names, and entry is made via identification using the card with which you bought the tickets, or by the reference number. So the reference number or card you bought the tickets with for Hoxton will be accepted at Nambucca.

– If you can’t make the show, you are entitled to a refund, which can be claimed via ticketweb on  08700 600 100. Please try to organise this by 2pm tomorrow, as any tickets that are refunded may be made available via the James website for other fans.

– Unless there are a lot of returns, it is unlikely that any tickets will be available for sale on the door.

– Doors are at 7.30pm. The band will be on approximately an hour later. There is no support act.”

Last FM are advertising James as playing at the Radar Festival in Istanbul between 29 June and 2 July.  This has not been confirmed by the band or their management at this time.

In addition, the Greek newspaper Ta Nea has run a story saying James would be playing in Greece in 17 July.   No further details were mentioned, and as with the Turkish show, nothing is confirmed.

Update 10.4.07

The official James site now carries the following message relating to tonight’s cancelled show :

“We’re very sorry to announce that tonight’s intimate warm up gig at The Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen has had to be postponed. Tim has been nursing a ligament injury to his shoulder and has been advised to rest for the next few days so that he is ready for the tour next week.

A full announcement will be forthcoming in terms of a postponed date or refund process.

The tour is still certainly set to go ahead as planned!”

Update 9.4.07

Tomorrow’s gig at Hoxton Bar And Grill has been cancelled.   Tim has been advised to rest his shoulder for the next few days so that he is ready for the tour next week.  A full announcement should be forthcoming from the mailing list and ticketweb tomorrow.  The tour is still set to go ahead as planned.

Update 6.4.07

Tim spoke to Shaun Keaveny on BBC Radio 6’s breakfast show this morning. A transcription can be found in the Article Archive.

Last night on Clint Boon’s XFM Manchester show, Jim Glennie revealed that Who Are You will be released as a single on May 14.  No format details are yet available.

Update 5.4.07

A very busy day for James news.

First of all, James announced another warm-up show at London’s Hoxton Bar And Grill next Tuesday 10 April.  Tickets sold out in about half an hour on ticketweb.

The release formats for the upcoming James – Fresh As A Daisy compilation were confirmed.   There will be a 1 cd, a 2 cd and a dvd format.  CD tracklistings are as already announced.   The mailing list also appeared to confirm Who Are You would be released as a single although no date and formatting was announced.  More will no doubt follow on this.

The DVD format will also be released on April 30.   It will feature 24 promo videos –

Laid, She’s A Star, Come Home, I Know What I’m Here For, Born Of Frustration, Waltzing Along, Just Like Fred Astaire, Say Something, Seven, Lose Control, Tomorrow, What For, Runaground, We’re Going To Miss You, Ring The Bells, Getting Away With It (All Messed Up), So Many Ways, Sound, How Was It For You?, Destiny Calling, Sometimes, Sit Down, Say Something (Original Version) and Sit Down 98.

Extras include a series of television appearances :

The Old Grey Whistle Test 1985 – If Things Were Perfect

Top Of The Pops – Sit Down (25/12/91), Sound (28/11/91), Sometimes (9/9/93) and Say Something (31/03/94)

Later With Jools Holland – Runaground, She’s A Star, Sit Down (24/04/98), Just Like Fred Astaire, Someone’s Got It In For Me, I Know What I’m Here For (16/10/99)

There will also be a full interactive UK discography.

The HMV gig and signing in Manchester Market Street has been confirmed for 30 April, starting at 5pm.  A limited number of entry wristbands will be given away on the morning of the show when the store opens.  It’s still unclear whether this and the Amazon show are the same thing.

A range of classic James shirts have been reprinted and available at the band’s new online merchandise store.

New designs will be available for the forthcoming tour incorporating the new daisy logo.

Tim Booth will be appearing on Shaun Keaveny’s breakfast show on BBC Radio 6 tomorrow between 7 and 10am.   Jim appeared on Clint Boon’s show on XFM Manchester tonight and revealed the band had approached Andy Diagram about performing with the band at their festival appearances later this summer.   Apparently he hasn’t responded yet.

Update 4.4.07

Seetickets and Ticketweb appear to have upstairs standing tickets for Brixton available for both nights.  I’d imagine supply will be very limited.  Seetickets also have side view seats available for Manchester.

Update 3.4.07

Amazon are advertising a top-secret gig in Manchester on Monday April 30 for which they are giving away 100 pairs of tickets to competition winners.

Update 2.4.07

HMV are advertising an in-store James gig and signing session in Manchester’s Market Street store on Monday 30 April to coincide with the release of Fresh As A Daisy.  According to their website, the gig will be wristband-only attendance with them being given away free on the morning to the first customers in the store.  This gig has not been confirmed officially by the band.

Who Are You received it’s first airplay this morning on Shaun Keaveny’s show on BBC Radio 6.   The show is archived for about a week by following this link.   The song is about 2 hours and 17 minutes in.

Update 1.4.07

Itunes in the UK now have eight James videos for download at £1.89 each – Just Like Fred Astaire, Getting Away With It (All Messed Up), Destiny Calling (Director’s Cut), I Know What I’m Here For, Say Something (New York version), We’re Going To Miss You, Runaground and Born Of Frustration.

Tim Booth appears in this month’s Q Magazine in a section entitled “Last Requests” which talks about how people would like to die and how their funeral would be run.   Songs for his funeral would include Birdland by Patti Smith, Rain by Margaret Mary O’Hara, #9 Dream by John Lennon and Across The Universe by The Beatles.

Update 31.3.07

James have a three page article in this month’s Uncut magazine, talking about the past and reasons for the reunion. Tim describes the reunion as “Everything seemed to line up to this being the right thing to do, after so many years of it not being the right thing to do.”   They reveal plans are laid that stretch into 2008 for the band including a brand new album of James songs.

Update 30.3.07

HMV are offering a free James sunhat for online orders of the two-disc version of Fresh As A Daisy – The Singles whilst stocks last.

Update 24.3.07

Play.com are advertising a 3cd set entitled Lost Innocence for release on August 20.  No further details are available, but Lost Innocence was the original title of the Stutter album, but was changed just before release.

Update 17.3.07

James played their first show since December 2001 last night in the intimate Hoxton Bar And Grill before around 250 fans.

The rather unusual setlist spanned James whole career and steered clear of many of the bigger hits.  They played Seven, Destiny Calling, Who Are You?, Play Dead, Fine, Stripmining, Really Hard, Five-O, Getting Away With It (All Messed Up), Chameleon, Say Something, Sometimes, If Things Were Perfect, Protect Me, Ring The Bells, Laid.

Full reviews and pictures will appear here.

Play are now advertising the two disc James Fresh As A Daisy album with the following tracklisting :

disc one

What’s The World , Folklore, Fire So Close, If Things Were Perfect, Hymn From A Village, Chain Mail, So Many Ways, What For, Ya Ho, Johnny Yen ‘Should’ve Been’, Sit Down, Come Home, How Was It For You?, Lose Control, Sound, Born Of Frustration

disc two

Ring The Bells, Seven, Sometimes, Laid, Jam J, Say Something, She’s A Star, Tomorrow, Waltzing Along, Destiny Calling, Runaground, I Know What Im Here For, Just Like Fred Astaire, We’re Going To Miss You, Getting Away With It (All Messed Up), Who Are You?, Chameleon

Update 16.3.07 pm

Tim has posted a message on the official James board regarding the upcoming Fresh As A Daisy release.

“Dear Lovers of James,

There is a single cd of our Mercury singles about to be released. Don’t buy it. This is the supermarket version (they won’t stock the double) for new and casual listeners. The band’s cut, to be released simultaneously, is a double cd of all our singles in chronological order. It’s only about £1.50 more, and contains rare and deleted material. We fought hard for this one, which we believe is good value. Both cd’s contain two new tracks.”

HMV have posted a corrected setlist too.  The second new song is entitled Chameleon.   The full list is Ring The Bells, Sometimes, How Was It For You, Come Home, Destiny Calling, Laid, Born Of Frustration, Chameleon, I Know What I’m Here For, Seven, Just Like Fred Astaire, Waltzing Along, Say Something, Who Are You?, Lose Control, Sound, Getting Away With It (All Messed Up), Tomorrow, She’s A Star, Sit Down.    They are still advertising it with a DVD which would seem to contradict the messages from the band and the standalone DVD advertised elsewhere.

James official mailing list has confirmed the rumoured rehearsal secret gig at London Hoxton Bar And Grill tonight.  Tickets had briefly gone on sale on Wednesday without the band’s permission, but were taken off sale and the remainder put on following a mailing list announcement.  The gig is now sold out.  The band are scheduled to appear on stage at 8.30pm.  Tim will be performing in a sling because of a shoulder problem.

Update 16.3.07 am

Play and HMV are listing a DVD version of “James Fresh As A Daisy” for release on April 30.  No mention so far of tracklisting.

James have added an extra date at Carlisle Sands Centre on Wednesday April 18 as part of their UK tour.  Presale link is here.

The official mailing list has also mentioned a secret fan only gig to be announced very soon.  More details as they come in.

Update 15.3.07

“James Fresh As A Daisy – The Singles” will be released digitally on April 16 and a physical version on April 30.  The physical version will have two formats, a single disc edition and a double disc career encompassing second disc.

According to HMV, the tracklisting for the single disc is : 

Ring The Bells, Sometimes, Come Home, Destiny Calling, Laid, Born Of Frustration, I Know What I’m Here For, Seven, Just Like Fred Astaire, Waltzing Along, Say Something, Who Are You?, Lose Control, Sound, Getting Away With It (All Messed Up), Tomorrow, She’s A Star, Sit Down

The second disc tracklisting has not yet been finalised.  However, it should include tracks from the Factory and Sire periods if licensing permission is received.  More details as I get them.

Update 7.3.07

James will be releasing a new Best Of collection in April 2007 entitled “James : Fresh As A Daisy – The Singles”.  Formats are as yet unclear with HMV advertising a bonus DVD and Play.com two versions, a single disc and a two cd version.

The album will contain at least one new song, entitled “Who Are You?” described to me by someone who has heard it as “distinctly James, but unlike anything they’ve done before”.

More news will be posted as and when I get it.

Update 27.2.07

HMV are advertising a Best Of with DVD for the rather bargain price of £8.99 with the release date of 16 April on Mercury.  There is no tracklisting or official confirmation of this although we can reveal a Best Of reissue was planned even without the James reformation.

Play are advertising James New Album TBA for release on 30 April.

James have been announced as playing at this year’s V Festival at Chelmsford and Stafford over the weekend of 18-19 August.  James are third on the bill on the V Stage in Stafford on the Saturday and Chelmsford on the Sunday.

Tickets are already on sale exclusively to Virgin Mobile customers. You can buy up to four by calling 0870 166 043 or visiting www.seetickets.com/vmobile When you get in touch, you’ll be asked to confirm your Virgin Mobile phone number.

If you don’t have a Virgin Mobile, tickets go on sale on Thursday 1 March at 9am on 0870 120 2224 or  www.seetickets.com/vfestival

Prices, excluding booking fee and “special” delivery are

Weekend ticket (with camping) – £130

Weekend ticket (without camping) – £110

Day ticket (Saturday or Sunday) – £63.50

Update 22.2.07

James have been announced as fourth band on the Saturday main stage at this year’s T In The Park festival.  They are due, according to reports on XFM and NME, to play on Saturday 7 July.   Tickets for the festival go on sale on Saturday (24) at 9am, priced £62.50 plus fees for a day ticket, £120 plus fees for a Saturday / Sunday ticket and £140 plus fees for a weekend ticket which includes bands on the Friday night. Above James on the bill are Arcade Fire, Razorlight and The Killers.

Update 10.2.07

Tim Booth has made an exclusive statement to www.oneofthethree.co.uk on behalf of the band regarding the sold-out tour, the reasons for the reformation and what the future might hold.

Update 31.1.07

Tim Booth has confirmed to www.timbooth.co.uk that he is half way through recording the follow-up to his debut solo album Bone (buy from HMV) which he aims to complete during the course of the year between James commitments.   He has been working with KK and Lee Muddy Baker as well as Phillip Shepherd, who worked on the Manchester Passion that Tim appeared in at Easter 2006.  A new website will be launched to coincide with the release of that album.

Lee and Robin from Tim’s band The Individuals are now playing with My Federation.   They are appearing at shows at Brighton Komedia on 1 February, London Borderline on 21 February and Brighton Hope on 23 February.

LTM Records have released The Diagram Brothers album from 1981 entitled “Some Marvels Of Modern Science” which also includes an additional 10 tracks from the singles the band released in the early eighties.

The Diagram Brothers feature no other than ex-James member Andy Diagram.

The album can be ordered on Amazon by following this link.

Update 27.1.07

Due to the extraordinary demand for tickets, James are likely to add a second night in Manchester on Sunday April 29 according to their manager Peter Rudge on a post on the official messageboard.   Update 31/1 – no confirmation has yet been made though.

Update 26.1.07

James UK tour sold out on the first day of sale.  The rumoured extra dates at Glasgow Academy on the 20th April and London Brixton Academy on 26th April went on sale and sold out.  The 27th Brixton night sold out in 10 minutes.

In true James style, the new opening night for the tour will be in Dublin at The Olympia on Tuesday 17th April.  Tickets go on sale with ticketmaster next Friday at 9am.  

Update 25.1.07

Scottish radio station Q96 has announced that James will play a second date at Glasgow Academy on Friday 20 April, which will be the first night of the tour.   There’s no official confirmation as yet.  The first night is not sold out as we speak, just the Ticketmaster pre-sale allocation.

We also have on good authority from a venue employee that a second night at Brixton is pencilled in for Thursday 26 April.  Again, this has not been officially confirmed and will probably depend on demand for tickets.

Just a reminder, tickets for the tour go on sale tomorrow morning.  Ticketmaster are doing a presale however for the Glasgow show.

The official site www.wearejames.com has now established a mailing list, and has added a message from Jim detailing the background to the reformation and his hopes for the future.

Update 23.1.07

James have announced five live dates for 2007.  Venues are :

Saturday April 21 – Glasgow Academy

Monday April 23 – Newcastle Academy

Tuesday April 24 – Birmingham Academy

Friday April 27 – London Brixton Academy

Saturday April 28 – Manchester Arena

Tickets go on sale at 9am on Friday from all usual ticket outlets.

Various sites have confirmed the reformation including NME, XFM and Playlouder, plus this was also in The Sun today.

Tim spoke to XFM and said the following regarding the reunion and its background : “I don’t really know. If you had asked me in the summer would James get back together I would have said absolutely not, not a chance. It was kind of a load of synchronistic events that took place over about a month. And finally I ended up in Manchester and Larry [Gott] the guitarist who left in about ’93, had been ringing me up saying let’s meet.  He’d been one of the initial founders with me and Jimmy [Glennie] and somehow I found myself in a room with with instruments and microphones and we just started jamming.  We jammed for a few days and found that it was really fantastic, so we said ‘Alright let’s see how this goes’. We didn’t tell anyone, we didn’t even tell our manager.  But it went so well musically that we felt we had to see how far it could go. And then the rest of it sprung from there really”.

The official James site has announced the dates with the proclamation “James are back.  Still fresh as a daisy. Ready to be the bride not the bridesmaid.  With a back catalogue to die for and a bunch of new songs.”

Update 21.1.07

It appears that the James line-up for the reunion will be the Laid line-up of the band : Tim, Jim, Larry, Saul, Mark and Dave.

Update 20.1.07

Update 16.1.07

Oneofthethree has it on very good authority that there will be a James reformation later in the Spring and through the remainder of the year.  Rumours from Manchester suggest that some members have been working on new material as well as negotiating a new version of the Greatest Hits album. 

Expect an announcement regarding some very special live shows in the next week or two. More as and when it is available.  Please also check the messageboard or myspace as updates may be posted there if I don’t have access to update the site because of work commitments.

There will also be some updates and stuff to this site over the next few weeks.   Please join the messageboard and post any contributions such as news articles and the like and we’ll get them uploaded to the main site as soon as we can.  Thanks.