They ought to be heading towards the end of their careers. After 33 years and a six-year break-up, it ought to be all over bar the shouting for Madchester indie icons James. But rather than heading into the autumn of their years, James are enjoying an Indian Summer.
Their most recent album, 2014’s La Petit Mort, was their best since 1993’s Laid. It was written following the death of singer Tim Booth’s mother in 2012 as well as the death of his best friend. A beautiful set of moving and quixotic songs, it re-connected James with the British public.
This spring, they’ll hit the road and a stadium tour to promote their new album Girl At The End Of The World, which is out on BMG Recordings on March 18. Their tour reaches Birmingham’s Barclaycard Arena on May 20.
Booth is proud of the record: “Bands talk about that difficult second album but it’s the 14th one that’s the real killer.
“As always with James it’s a collaborative process allowing ample room for improvisation, intuition, skill and dumb luck. From the outside our process looks like chaos but chaos is our friend and we have a history that gives us confidence that something magical will eventually appear. Most of my best lyrics are unconscious typos so don¹t ask me what it’s about; your projection is as good as mine. This was perhaps the most difficult and stressful album we have ever made. I hope you find it as rewarding as we do.”
James have sold more than 12 million albums worldwide since signing to Factory Records in 1982 and produced a string of massive hit singles, including Sit Down, Come Home, She’s A Star and Born Of Frustration.
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