French two-track cassette single featuring Be My Prayer
Born Of Frustration / Be My Prayer
| Release Name: | Born Of Frustration (Import, France) |
| Artist Name: | |
| Release Date: | 20th January 1992 |
| Format: | Studio Single |
| Catalogue: | 866 404-4 |
French two-track cassette single featuring Be My Prayer
Very rare Japanese market 3″ CD single of Born Of Frustration backed with the G-Mex live version of Sit Down.
Born Of Frustration / Sit Down
| Release Name: | Born Of Frustration (Import, Japan) |
| Artist Name: | |
| Release Date: | 20th January 1992 |
| Format: | Studio Single |
| Catalogue: | PHDR-104 |
Very rare Japanese market 3″ CD single of Born Of Frustration backed with the G-Mex live version of Sit Down.
US four-track single featuring a mix of b-sides from earlier UK singles
Born Of Frustration / All My Sons / Sunday Morning / Sit Down
| Release Name: | Born Of Frustration (Import, US) |
| Artist Name: | |
| Release Date: | 20th January 1992 |
| Format: | Studio Single |
| Catalogue: | 314 866495-2 |
US four-track single featuring a mix of b-sides from earlier UK singles
Be My Prayer is a b-side to the James single Born Of Frustration released in January 1992.
It also featured as a b-side on the 1998 single Runaground.
| Song: | Be My Prayer |
| Released: | 20th January 1992 |
| Main Associated Album (or Single): | Born Of Frustration |
| First Heard Live: | Never performed live |
Born of Frustration was the second single off the Seven album. It reached 13 in the UK Singles Chart.
7”: Born Of Frustration / Be My Prayer
12” & CD: Born Of Frustration / Be My Prayer / Sound (Diceman Mix)
| Release Name: | Born Of Frustration |
| Artist Name: | |
| Release Date: | 20th January 1992 |
| Format: | Studio Single |
| Catalogue: | 7” – JIM10; Cassette – JIM10 CAS; 12” – JIM 1012; CD – JIM10 CD |
Born of Frustration was the second single off the Seven album released a couple of weeks before the album itself. Weighing in at over five minutes and containing Tim yodelling and a “la, la, la, la” refrain that brought comparisons with Simple Minds “Don’t You Forget About Me”, it was the one song that the critics felt justified all the stadium-rock accusations thrown at the band at the time. It was for sure a bigger more ambitious wide-screen sound that James had never previously achieved and that in many quarters was seen as a crime against indie music.
The single was backed by Be My Prayer, a jaunty two and a half minute outtake from the Seven sessions and a remix of Sound by the band’s keyboard player Mark Hunter, named The Diceman after the series of books he was reading at the time.
The video to the single was filmed in the Los Angeles desert. Larry was replaced by tour manager Richard after being mugged within hours of arriving in America. It was as epic as the single itself, culminating in an image of Tim on top of a mountain, arms aloft and lit up from behind like a religious icon.
The cover artwork was James most ambitious for years. John Carroll, responsible for the sleeves of James II, Chain Mail and So Many Ways produced a watercolour which was every bit as complex and involving as the record itself.
The single entered the charts at a disappointing number 13 in a relatively quiet period for singles, although the imminent album release would partly explain that. Another Top of the Pops appearance ensued, but as was becoming the norm, the single went down rather than up the charts in the second week.
It’s true. They do sound like Simple Minds, with all the histrionic emotion and overblown sentiments that statement applies. The opening “wuh-uh-uh-oh” hardly helps shake the feeling this song is aimed at the consensus. How they’ve slumped into this artistic decline without noticeably changing tack will remain one of life’s minor mysteries. I liked “Sit Down”, after all.
It’s probably a simple matter of emphasis: Tim Booth has mixed his p’s and q’s and songs for the disaffected will never sound the same again. Tired, boring and needless: he’s too in love with the sound of his own vibrato to turn back now. Oh Tim, sit down, sit down, do sit down. Please?
James follow up their second Top Ten hit ‘Sound’ with a new single.
‘Born of Frustration’ is released by Fontana on January 20th. It is backed by ‘Be My Prayer’, which won’t be on the forthcoming album, with the CD and 12″ containing an extra track, the Mark “Diceman” Hunter mix of ‘Sound’.
The group’s new album ‘Seven’ is set for release in February and will be followed by dates in America and Europe.
James hope to headline their own major outdoor date in the UK during the summer.
One-track radio promo CD
Born Of Frustration (edit)
| Release Name: | Born Of Frustration CD promo |
| Artist Name: | |
| Release Date: | 1st January 1992 |
| Format: | Promo Single |
| Catalogue: | JCDJ10 |
One-track radio promo CD
Four track cd sampler from the Seven album
Born Of Frustration / Ring The Bells / Heavens / Don’t Wait That Long
| Release Name: | Four From Seven |
| Artist Name: | |
| Release Date: | 1st January 1992 |
| Format: | Promo EP |
| Catalogue: | 4 FRM 7 |
Four track cd sampler from the Seven album
One-track 7″ single issued to club DJs / jukeboxes in December 1991
Born Of Frustration (edit)
| Release Name: | Born Of Frustration 7" jukebox single |
| Artist Name: | |
| Release Date: | 1st December 1991 |
| Format: | Promo Single |
| Catalogue: | JIMDJ10 |
One-track 7″ single issued to club DJs / jukeboxes in December 1991
The video was filmed at a sold-out gig at Manchester’s G-Mex centre in December 1990 in front of 10,000 people for the Come Home Live video released at the same time.
Two-track Australian single featuring All My Sons as b-side as per UK 7″
Sound / All My Sons
| Release Name: | Sound (Import, Australia) |
| Artist Name: | |
| Release Date: | 18th November 1991 |
| Format: | Studio Single |
| Catalogue: | 866197-2 |
Two-track Australian single featuring All My Sons as b-side as per UK 7″
Sound is the follow-up single to Sit Down that reached 9 in the UK Singles Chart.
7″ JIM9 – Sound (7″ version) / All My Sons
CAS JIMC9 – Sound (7″ version) / All My Sons
12″ JIM912 – Sound (7″ version) / All My Sons / Come Home (Youth Pressure Dub) / Sound (full length)
CD JIM9 CD – Sound (7″ version) / All My Sons / Come Home (Youth Pressure Dub) / Sound (full length)
| Release Name: | Sound |
| Artist Name: | |
| Release Date: | 18th November 1991 |
| Format: | Studio Single |
| Catalogue: | 7" JIM9; 12" JIM912; CD JIM9 CD; CAS JIMC9 |
Following the massive success of Sit Down was never going to be an easy task. In typical James fashion, they chose not to release one of the more obvious singles off Seven but went for a six-minute understated epic called Sound. Fans converted by the singalong Sit Down were to be surprised by the new single.
The single was backed by the radio version of the single, All My Sons and a remix of the James standard Come Home by Seven producer Youth. All My Sons clocked in at under two minutes and was a rant at the Gulf War written in late 1990 and first aired live in December 1990.
Press reaction to the single was generally negative. Accused of stadium rock by critics after the recently finished tour, the layered sound of the single provided ammunition to those accusations in their eyes. The inevitable U2 comparisons ensued.
The single was promoted by a series of Radio 1 interviews and the now obligatory appearance on The Word and children’s television including a rather amusing performance on Going Live, where the band en-masse took the piss out of presenter Phillip Schofield.
Artwork was again kept simple with a band photograph with James name superimposed over the top.
Sound entered the charts at number 9. Another Top of the Pops appearance resulted from this success, but the single dropped out of the Top Ten the following week failing to match Sit Down’s second week climb and longevity.
Doubtless this will infuriate James pop fan contingent expecting another ‘Come Home’. Instead James do the decent thing and spread their wings with a grace and elegance which – despite what people say – saves them from stadiumitis. There are stadium-guitar traits here, but thankfully, they don’t come wrapped up in the bombastic shroud widely reported of their recent live shows. Sound (even the title works on various levels) is a layered number with a nice urgent bassline and flickering guitars. Tim Booth, meantime, sounds less fraught than his ‘Gold Mother’ era, though still uncomfortable with the world in general. I like him.
James: Sound Press Release November 1991
James end a triumphant year with a brand new single ‘Sound’. Released by Fontana on November 18th this is a taster for their new album, which is set for release in the Spring of 92.
‘Sound’, a new Booth/Gott/Glennie song. was produced by Youth and mixed by Tim Palmer. The 7″ is backed by another new song, ‘All My Sons’. while the four track 12″ and CD contain extended versions of ‘Sound’ plus Youth’s Pressure Dub Mix of ‘Come Home”.
James chequered eight year history finally came to fruition in 1991. They enjoyed a number two hit with ‘Sit Down’ in April, their live ‘Come Home’ video topped the video charts, their ‘Gold Mother’ LP has sold quarter of a million in the UK, while the band played their biggest show to date when they topped the Saturday night at the Reading Festival, going on to play a 36 date sell-out UK tour.
In Europe a series of summer festival appearances saw the band enjoying a long deserved continental success, while American alternative radio has embraced ‘Sit Down’.
A four-disc boxset comprising of tracks from across the whole existence of Factory Records.
Folklore / Hymn From a Village
| Release Name: | Palatine - The Factory Story 1979 - 1990 |
| Artist Name: | |
| Release Date: | 1st November 1991 |
| Format: | Compilation (non James) Album |
| Catalogue: | FACD400 |
A four-disc boxset comprising of tracks from across the whole existence of Factory Records.
