British pop rockers James have officially split. The band parted from their UK Mercury label Fontana Records in September this year. This was followed by vocalist Tim Booth’s announcement at the end of October that after nearly two decades James’ December tour dates would be his last with the band. That tour ended last night (12/10) at London’s Wembley Arena. The band were best known in America for their 1993 Gold record Laid, a collaboration with Brian Eno. “We’ll never say never [re-form], but we’re going to wait until the dust has settled,” says drummer David Baynton-Power.
Tag Archives: Pleased To Meet You
Jim’s Statement On The Future Of James
Dear James People,
I’m sure you’ve all heard the news that Timothy is leaving, and I know this will have had all of us reaching for our Kleenex and wondering what is going to happen next. There’s no need for me to state the importance of Tim’s contribution to James over the past twenty years, and I don’t want to downplay the effect of his leaving, but in our true bloody-minded style, James will continue. The history of this band has been a battlefield of near disasters overcome by a passion and self belief bordering on arrogance, and an unstoppable determination that’s pulled us through the very worst of times…and here we go again!
It’s difficult for me to give exact details as there is a lot we’ve not decided yet, but rest assured, you haven’t seen the last of James, and I think we’ve got one or two surprises in store for you.
This just leaves me to thank Tim, and wish him all the very best for the future.
Enjoy the rest of the tour and see you in the new year,
Jim
NME News Article
JAMES have filmed their final hometown show with TIM BOOTH and plan to release it as a DVD in 2002.
James have just completed their final tour with vocalist Booth, who walked out on the group to concentrate on other musical projects.
On the Manchester date on the tour (December 7), the group were joined onstage by former members Larry Gott and Andy Diagram. A film of the show is likely to be released in 2002, according to a posting on the band’s official website, www.jamestheband.com.
In related news, James bassist Jim Glennie has issued a statement confirming that the remaining members of James plan to continue with the band.
He wrote: “I’m sure you’ve all heard the news that Tim is leaving, and I know this will have had all of us reaching for our Kleenex and wondering what is going to happen next.
“There’s no need for me to state the importance of Tim’s contribution to James over the past twenty years, and I don’t want to downplay the effect of his leaving, but in our true bloody-minded style, James will continue. The history of this band has been a battlefield of near-disasters overcome by a passion and self-belief bordering on arrogance, and an unstoppable determination that’s pulled us through the very worst of times… and here we go again!
“It’s difficult for me to give exact details as there is a lot we’ve not decided yet, but rest assured, you haven’t seen the last of James, and I think we’ve got one or two surprises in store for you.
“This just leaves me to thank Tim, and wish him all the very best for the future. Enjoy the rest of the tour and see you in the new year.”
Ananova News Article On DVD / Jim’s Statement
James are to release a DVD of the Manchester gig from their latest tour.
The tour was the band’s last with vocalist Tim Booth.
The DVD is expected to be released in February.
Booth has left the group to concentrate on other musical projects, NME.COM reports.
James were joined onstage at the Manchester gig by former band members Larry Gott and Andy Diagram.
James bassist Jim Glennie says the remaining members of the group plan to continue with the band.
He said: “I’m sure you’ve all heard the news that Tim is leaving, and I know this will have had all of us reaching for our Kleenex and wondering what is going to happen next.
“There’s no need for me to state the importance of Tim’s contribution to James over the past twenty years, and I don’t want to downplay the effect of his leaving, but in our true bloody-minded style, James will continue.
“The history of this band has been a battlefield of near-disasters overcome by a passion and self-belief bordering on arrogance, and an unstoppable determination that’s pulled us through the very worst of times…and here we go again!
“It’s difficult for me to give exact details as there is a lot we’ve not decided yet, but rest assured, you haven’t seen the last of James, and I think we’ve got one or two surprises in store for you.
“This just leaves me to thank Tim, and wish him all the very best for the future. Enjoy the rest of the tour and see you in the new year.”
Seven Remaster – Sleeve Notes by Stuart Maconie
And then they were seven. and pop stars to boot. James the group were ten years old by the time they came to record Seven in the sumptuous surroundings of The Manor in Shipton-on-Cherwell, Oxfordshire; ten years of high hopes and heartache, wonderful music and offstage chaos. Having burst onto the fertile early 80s indie scene and entranced many with their refreshing, unorthndox, gripping elision of pastoral levity and post-punk energy, they’d lost their founder and guiding light Paul Gilberston to a drug-related breakdown and, having produced two fabulous singles with Factory Records, had thrown their lot in, disastrously, with Seymour Stein’s Sire Records. This move had effectively put their career on hold and seen two erratically entertaining albums – Stutter and Strip-mine – released to widespread indifference. Surviving on bank loans and the proceeds from offering themselves as human guinea pigs in drug trials, they’d extricated themselves from Sire’s deathly embrace and financed a live album, One Man Clapping, which had at least reminded the world they still existed. Then they acrimoniously parted from drummer Gavan Whelan and again the future looked uncertain.
But the turn of the 90s brought solace and support from unexpected quarters. Their live shows were rapidly attaining a religious fervour; cult gatherings where growing legions of devotees in their characteristic daisy-logo’d tee-shirts came to see and hear electrifying performances from a band now incrementally expanded from the long-standing nucleus of Larry Gott, Jim Glennie and Tim Booth to include four “new boys”. Dave Baynton-Power had served his apprenticeships in various indie outfits in North Wales, Cheshire and Merseyside and been reluctantly persuaded to take his chances with James afrer a clairvoyant friend of Tim Booth’s had predicted the arrival of a Dave from Wales. Guitarist/violinist Saul Davies, a sparky bohemian, was throwing pots in rural Hampshire before Larry Gott spotted him at a blues amateur night. Mark Hunter was recruited via mutual mend Mick Armistead who’d contributed keyboards to One Man Clapping. Lastly, former Diagram Brothers, Dislocation Dance and Pale Fountains trumpeter Andy Diagram was absorbed into the band. This loose collective recorded the watershed Gold Mother album that, with the happy coincidence of the Madchester craze, re-ignited their career and saw them relocate to Fontana Records.
Fontana installed them in the Manor for the recording of what was destined to be their major league breakthrough, the album you’re holding now. The cover features a foetus hanging suspended in its mothers amnionic fluid. but the birth of the record was far from easy. After years of breadline subsistence, the band found The Manor distractingly well equipped and appointed. And then as well as the Manor’s gorgeous grounds, pool tables, tennis courts and local country pubs, came another distraction. With James’ star very much in the ascendant a re-issued version of 1991 ‘s Sit Down became a huge hit. Jim Glennie recalls taking a break at the Manor to listen to Radio One’s chart run-down “I know it was in there somewhere and the excitement rose as thc rundown went on and it wasn’t mentioned, because it had to be higher At 17, another now entry and that wasn’t us so it was higher than that. It went in at 7. Funnily enough I thought, I thought, well, I could kick it in the head now. I’ve achieved something”. But, as Larry Gott recalls, the tremendous success of Sit Down complicated the Seven sessions. “We were trying to get a new album done and then there’s all this mayhem surrounding Sit Down. It doesn’t happen to bands very often that a song from the past comes back to life like that. It became a real distraction We had to put the recording on hold; we did Top Of The Pops, we had the press coming down to the Manor all the time. Every day started with 3 or 4 phone interviews. We spent our lives talking about this thing we’d done ages ago.”
To kick-start the new record, Fontana suggested a new tack. Producer Youth, once of cult band Killing Joke, was installed and the sessions reconvened in London. As Mark Hunter remarks “Youth got us back in a room and playing like a band together”. The room was Olympic Studios in London, which Youth, famed for his eccentricity, filled with candles, oil wheels, strobes and incense in order to create a “vibe”. Creatively back on course, the band completed the album at Christmas time When Seven appeared in Spring 1992, purist critics were suspicious of its expansive gestures and big sound. But they were ignoring, perhaps deliberately, the fact that James music had always sought to reach out from beyond the confines of the indie ghetto. Those critics who sneered “stadium rock” and “Simple Minds” chose to ignore Seven’s diversity and mistake its self-belieffor self-importance. There are moments of high drama such as Sound, Ring The Bells and Born Of Frustration. But elsewhere, there’s the taut abrasiveness of Bring A Gun, the plaintive Mother, the infectious Live A Love Of Life and the ethereally graceful Next Lover, proof of the group’s peerless control at minimal volumes and slow tempo.
Seven is a big record by a big band, the high watermark of the band’s arena-filling phase, along with their performance to 30,000 people at Alton Towers, Cheshire. And then just when the media had them tagged them as a huge corporate rock band, their next move, acoustic work with Neil Young and Brian Eno, was to wrong foot everyone again. But Seven is where James were at in the flowering spring of 1992; confident, mature and punching at their full weight.
Quirky Pop That Won Legions Of Fans – Manchester Evening News
December 2001, © Manchester Evening News
LOCAL HEROES MADE IT BIG
James were formed in 1982 when Tim Booth was brought into the band as a dancer after he was spotted strutting his stuff on the dance floor in Manchester University’s students union.
Unaware that he could sing, original members Jim Glennie, Paul Gilbertson and Gavan Whelan asked the then drama student if he’d reproduce his rubber man antics to accompany their act.
It wasn’t long before he took over the microphone and the rest, as they say, is history.
So far James 19 years have taken them from the folky eccentricity of Hymn From A Village to the forthright jungle pop of What For and through the baggy-feel of Come Home and on to stadium anthems like Born of Frustration and the heartfelt acoustic pop of Sometimes.
By the early nineties, their quirky brand of guitar pop had won them legions of fans worldwide.
Their real breakthrough came in 1989 with the release of Gold Mother, which spawned the hits Come Home, How Was It For You? and Sit Down.
Sit Down was only held off the UK number one slot by Chesney Hawkes’ The One And Only.
James released Seven, which became a million seller, peaking at number 2 in the UK album charts.
The band were getting stronger with every release and they recruited Brian Eno for their next album Laid in 1993. Laid broke the band in the States, selling 600,000 copies.
However, just as the band appeared to have world domination in their grasp it all started to come apart at the seams.
Guitarist Larry Gott and manager Martine departed followed by a massive back-tax demand.
And it wasn’t until 1998 that the band returned the album Whiplash, containing the hits She’s A Star and Tomorrow.
A year later their Best Of compilation bumped the Titanic soundtrack off the top of the album charts.
Millionaires was released last year and Pleased To Meet You in June this year, both to mixed reviews.
Then in October, Tim Booth announced this was to be his final tour with the band.
Jim and the rest of James have vowed to carry on and Tim Booth says he might be back to play Glastonbury if he’s asked.
Home James – Manchester Evening News
December 2001, by Robert Meakin, © Manchester Evening News
Frontman bows out recalling his days as a “nerdy wimp”
As singer Tim Booth prepares for a final appearance with his bandmates in Manchester, the James frontman has been recalling his rather less glamorous debut in the group’s home city.
Booth, due to quit the Manchester band after almost 20 years at the end of their current UK tour, performs an emotional swansong in front of thousands at the Manchester Evening News Arena tonight, before pursuing solo material, writing and acting projects.
And the setting is certainly a far cry from the more humble Princess Street venue where he first cut his teeth with the group in 1982 as their new vocalist.
He tells me : “My first gig with James in Manchester was at the Cyprus Tavern to a load of hardcore James fans who didn’t know what to make of this nerdy wimp who’d become their new singer. It was very intimidating!”
The star admits tonight will prove to be a poignant occasion, adding: “It’s highly emotional. It’s really hard not to start crying actually. But at the same time it feels really good, it should be a celebration. Manchester has been our base.”
Nostalgia has been rife in recent days, with the group filming around their home city for a forthcoming DVD release, which will include footage from tonight’s show.
Booth will also be embarking on a rather different tour from next year when he travels around the UK, fronting “creativity workshops” with a system of dance and meditation designed to encourage a flow of ideas.
Rock’s Underdogs Reach The End Of The Line – The Guardian
Tim Booth’s recent decision to walk away from fronting James after 19 years should be viewed as a rare example of a rock star behaving with true dignity. Despite their 1998 Best of album selling 1m copies, the band’s last two studio albums – 1999’s Millionaires (arguably the best of their career) and this year’s Pleased To Meet You – fared inexplicably badly. When Mercury Records dropped them after a 10 year relationship, the writing was on the wall, but the number of “classic” groups that are lingering on or reuniting still throws Booth’s decision to quit into stark perspective.
Fans of many different ages are crammed into this warm-up for the final arena shows. James boast one of rock’s most loyal fan bases, and could still have made a very comfortable living as a touring band. As we line up to hear the songs for one last time, the gig has a surreal atmosphere: part funeral, part wake.
But James were never straightforward and the set list reflects their strange trajectory from oddball New Order support act to 1990s stadium giants. Curiously though, there are no songs from their early Factory Records period. Come Home blasts us back to 1990s Madchester; Say Something and Sometimes to the Eno-produced days of chart ubiquity. These songs tug at the heartstrings, and make James success seem all the more remarkable – this is a band that took mental illness on to Top of the Pops.
There was always something of the underdog about James though. They battled industy shenanigans, line-up upheavals, physical problems and personal turmoil, their determination reflected in the hopeful song Tomorrow. The crowd sing along, eyes closed. For years, James provided a precious rock to cling to for the multitudes who felt similarly distressed and alienated by the world.
Booth used to resent the way the press depicted him as a vegan and meditating Buddhist, but now, in vest and skull cap, he looks very much the part, which must afford him some wry amusement. He is subdued for the first half, but grows exuberant as the power of the songs carries him away. James close with the colossus Sit Down and then the seven-piece band walk to the front of the stage and wave goodbye, History will remember them kindly, a uniquely spirited rock band that never knew disgrace.
Porto Coliseum – 24th November 2001
Setlist
Say Something / Waltzing Along / Laid / Vervaceous / English Beefcake / Sometimes / Señorita / Junkie / God Only Knows / Born of Frustration / Getting Away With It / Space / Out To Get You / Ring The BellsEncore: Protect Me (acoustic) / Come Home / Sit Down / Sound
Support
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Review by Daisy
It’s too hard to write about my last James concert. It was an unique experience, but for extremely sad reasons. For me it was the last James concert, as well as for many other people who were standing in that venue. There were 5000 people, and it sold out a long time ago, which probably means something. Also, the sellers requested 10000 tickets, which probably means that at least other 5000 people must have been really disappointed that they couldn’t see James performing “as it is” for what will probably be their last concert in Portugal.
I shouldn’t really say anything about the supporting act, but I’m going to. They have a popular song, which is played on the radio a lot, but I hate it, and always switch station when they play it. Honestly, they’re not bad, but they were not the ones the people wanted to see, and you could sense that. Some people tried to enjoy them, but what we were anxiously waiting for was for these special seven musicians. And when they came, the crowd went wild. The beginning of the concert was different from previous concerts I had been in. There was no smokey entrance, with Tim and the guys coming up from nowhere, no. They came in the stage when the lights were on, and there was even some background music playing. They were looking at the crowd that was cheering them, each of them looking amazed and also slightly sad. I was crying even before they started singing, it was too much for me to know that this would be the last time I would be able to see my favourite band ever.
Then Tim asked someone to cut off the music, so they could start performing. The first song we heard was Say Something. The people were singing along almost each and every single song, maybe except for the beginning of Space and God Only Knows – but they sang the chorus.
I wasn’t expecting them not to play Johnny Yen or Top Of The World, but also I wasn’t expecting them to play God Only Knows and Protect Me, as well as so many songs from Pleased To Meet You. The so discussed backing vocals of Señorita sounded absolutely brilliant live, I don’t think there was a single flaw in that song, it sounded perfect. In God Only Knows Tim was improvising lyrics, as well as in Born of Frustration. Actually, in BoF he was singing “power is not to be afraid of” instead of “fear is not to be afraid of”. It made me think whether James are afraid of the power they have. Having a full house, with people singing their songs, waving their arms in slower songs and clapping hands (which I consider a way of expressing how much people like a song – kind of like singing along when you don’t know the lyrics or when there are no lyrics), and also wearing “their” t-shirts is somehow a power that they have. When they played Protect Me (right after a short break, during which the crowd was yelling for more) Tim stated they hadn’t played that song in 10 years (after he had said “you knew we were coming back”). I was feeling blessed for being so lucky to hear one of my favourite James tracks – and in acoustic version, as I love it!
I had to feel again blessed for hearing Sit Down (“we have to play this one for you”, Tim stated) one last time, with everybody singing it and dancing along. It didn’t end the way I expected it to, and Tim was looking at the crowd, maybe defying us, going one step further than we were expecting him to. That man never ceases to amaze me.
Sound was absolutely fantastic. The band was improvising (I especially liked Saul and Jim playing together), the crowd was going wild with Tim’s dancing and we couldn’t figure out when was that going to end (I think the song went on for at least 10 minutes!).
The band was different that night. It wasn’t the same James I had seen last year in Porto, and then in Lisbon. The first person that I noticed was acting totally different was Michael Kulas. That usually happy person, who I used to quote for being so happy and energetic was looking a bit down, keeping a low profile (he wasn’t even cheering the crowd as he usually does). Me and my sister were yelling his name again which caused him to feel a bit embarrassed (he sure acted like it, at least!), but he threw his towel at us in the end which was really cool. (My sister also claims that he waved her back)
Tim was dancing in all the songs, and he was very cheered for that. People really love to see him dancing. He seemed to be happy, but also amazed. There were times when he just would stop and look through the entire audience, looking amazed that so many people were there to see him and were enjoying the show. Actually I also caught Michael and Adrian looking around in that same amazement during the show.
There’s something about Adrian that I have to say. He was never one of my favourite James members, but yesterday he impressed me in a very positive way. For the first time he looked really like he was “James”, if you get my point. I loved to see him up there, playing, enjoying himself, and also looking a bit sad for all that is about to end. One of his highlights was one time when Tim was kind of singing “to him”, and Adrian was playing along. I feel sorry that my sister and me didn’t yell Adrian’s name too.
I was impressed by the choice of songs (even though I missed Just Like Fred Astaire). If you look at the set list and think about the lyrics you might even feel that there was a meaning in it ;-). For instance “this is not the end – a new beginning” it’s what I’m hoping for. The way Tim singed “you’re only in my head you don’t exist” “you’re all an illusion” “don’t treat me like a god, treat me like a dog” was impressive. I’d like to tell him some of his own words: “power is not to be afraid of”.
There were two flaws from the band though. One was when Tim thought they were going to play Destiny Calling and they were going to play Ring The Bells instead – Dave and the others were pointing at him saying he was the one who was wrong and someone from the crowd yelled “you can do it” ;-), so they started over. This was even funny, from my point of view. The other time it was a technical problem, when Tim was starting to sing “Sit Down” and he had to start over because he couldn’t hear anything. Then the people were getting a bit nervous, maybe because they feared he wouldn’t start again! 🙂
All good things must come to and end (and also the bad ones, which is the good news). I remember one of the lines Tim said during the show (about halfway), it was “the party is still coming” or something like that. I don’t know about the party though. This show was a celebration of James, and everybody enjoyed it. For me, it was the most emotional concert I had ever been to, and also the only concert I have ever cried in! I couldn’t help it, it’s hard to say goodbye to something you love so much, and it’s even harder to look at those fabulous seven musicians and knowing that this will be the last time I’m going to see them, at least together. Everybody was enjoying the music, people sang along most of the time, there were lots of people clapping hands or waving their arms, dancing or jumping around, excited and amazed. I hope that James felt what we feel for them – we love them, we love their music, we think they’re absolutely brilliant, and also that we’re going to miss them. There was a point when Tim stated that this was the last time that James as they are at the moment were playing Portugal, and there was a disappointment clamour in the room. I got the impression that many of the people didn’t know that already. When the concert ended, the general feeling was something I had never experienced before. It looked like a funeral. Everybody was really sad… I felt completely miserable.
Anyway Thank you – Obrigado James!
Lisbon Coliseum – 23rd November 2001
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review by Beatriz Ogeia
I can only try at putting into words the emotions running last night [November 23] at the last “James as we know it” gig in Lisbon. The emotion on Tim’s face as the entire room continuously sang ‘Sit Down’, to the point where he told the others to stop playing and simply stood there and listening and grinned…. the way he jumped from the stage to receive the closer admiration from the front line fans, singing as close to us as humanely possible… the way he received the bows 3 guys next to me (and I joined) did to him, like subjects to their king, lol… the happy look on every single member of the band… to the point where everybody joined in the dedication Tim did of ‘Sit Down’ to his niece’s 18th birthday the following day (she, along with her mum, Tim’s sister – she really looks like him! – were standing on the side).
I all started a big shakily, as there was a big gap between the end of the support band act (the very good Suede-alike portuguese band Plastica) and James coming on stage. Everybody was getting impatient and calling for them. From my privileged point on the front row I could see lots of comings-and-goings on the bottom of the stage, and I believe it was due to some technical problems with the sound fixings. On a totally wild guess I think they were still discussing some finer points on the setlist, like how to end… maybe not so wild, because only after roughly 40 minutes were the setlists put on stage and in it there are 2 songs corrected by hand to the printed sheet; in the end they didn’t even play those last songs’ order (yes, I got Mark Hunter’s setlist 🙂 and the names of the songs I’ll use here are as written there )
It started off with ‘Say something’, ‘Waltzing along’ and ‘Laid’, and all through the concert Tim’s dance moves were such a part of the songs that they almost gave them a whole new touch and feeling. The crowd was going wild, and when the first notes of ‘Sometimes’ started there was almost no need for Tim to sing… This was the song when the photographers were allowed in, along with ‘Señorita’ and the ‘violin-song’ 😉 ‘Beefcake’. Tim was completely flirtting with the cameras, it was really funny to watch. That last part of ‘English Beefcake’ lasted (almost) as long as we, the crowd, let them, and even Tim mixed up where there should be ‘still’ or not 😉 This introduced the slower set of songs, with ‘Vervacious’, ‘Ghost’ (the first time they played this song live in 6 years!) and the beggining of ‘Space’, picking up pace again on an upward spiral through ‘Come Home’ and ‘Frustration’. On the introduction to this one Tim commented that this venue (the Lisbon Coliseu) was the first one they played in a proper gig here in Portugal back in 1993, and the floor nearly collapsed when they played this song: “let’s see if it happens again”, he said with a huge grin. Needless to said we happily obliged in trying 🙂 During this song Tim came down from the stage, and sang really close to the front row, letting himself be touched, and nearly jumping over the fence right next to me! We thought we couldn’t rise any higher until ‘Getting away with it’ started, and his moves in trying to immitate John Travolta’s dance, unsure if to stay with Staying Alive or Pulp Fiction really made me laugh! Next came ‘Star’, and that, according to the setlist, should have been the last one before the encore. Tim did say that, but we simply couldn’t let them leave yet, and they were enjoying themselves so much they couldn’t stop either, so they proceeded immediately to ‘Ring the Bells’. The crowd provided all the back-singing, prolonging the song, again, and the smiles on their faces as they finally did the break were extremely contagious.
After a very short time they returned, announcing that the next song was not Ring the Bells, despite having the same chords. Oops, they told us not to tell anyone, ehehe Most of the people didn’t understand/hear this, so when the music began they started singing Sound again, until Tim launched his vocals for ‘Tomorrow’. By this time the setlist was definitely not being followed… Then came ‘Sit down’, and as I said before, Tim dedicated it to his niece’s 18th birthday (she jumped/danced a bit on hearing this 😉 ). I couldn’t stand the emotion by this time, everybody singing, jumping, at one with the guys on stage… Tim just standing there and listening to us, happy, and I’m sure a little sad for it all to end… They made to leave after this one, but still they played ‘Out to get you’. A sort of goodbye, from Tim…
Now for the life of me I’m not sure if this was the last one: a blankness descends, the setlist has stopped, the emotions are too raw… I think it was… maybe they played ‘Sound’… we wanted more, but… it was the end…
All through this gig you could feel a sense of timelessness in the mixture of old and new songs, a continuity and oneness with the audience that ‘new’ bands simply don’t have. It’s hard to see all this come to an end, and despite everything, the future will necessarily be different. You could also see this ‘goodbye’ to Tim in the choice of lights: the spotlight was on him the whole time. Goodbye…
I left feeling exhilarated
Madrid La Riviera – 22nd November 2001
Setlist
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Tim Runs Out – Birmingham Evening Mail
November 2001, by Diane Parkes, © Birmingham Evening Mail
TIM RUNS OUT!
James’ singer Tim Booth is hanging up his microphone and leaving the best-selling band after 20 years. He tells Diane Parkes why
James have long been the stalwarts of the Indie scene. While bands have come, gone or completely changed their image you could depend on James for a solid album, a handful of singles and a pre-Christmas tour.
Their autumn album Please To Meet You has been critically acclaimed and they have a string of much-loved hits including Sit Down, Come Home, Laid and She’s A Star. But this stability has been thrown into disarray by the announcement that singer Tim Booth is to quit the band after this December’s tour, which includes a date at the NEC on Thursday.
So why?
“I just though 20 years was an obscene length of time to spend with a band,” he says. “I felt like it was time to move on before the band droops. We did a gig in Athens recently and it was the best one we had done and we have the latest album and I wanted to go out with a bang rather than a whimper at some point.”
“It wasn’t anything I had been planning for a long time, it was a highly instinctive choice. It just came to me over the summer that I should leave. It came as a shock to me and I came over all queer. I spent a week of insecurity trying to decide what to do and then I felt it was right.”
But how did the rest of the band respond?
“They were pretty surprised. I don’t think any of them had suspected it at this time. Three or four years ago we were having a harder time and then they would not have been so surprised. It was really hard telling them. But they were all really good about it and have been supportive. We are ending on very good terms and will keep in touch.”
So have we heard the last of Tim Booth? Not at all, he says.
“I have been working on a screenplay and am on the second draft. I have had this outline for four years but couldn’t get started with it. But I had a blast for about five weeks and wrote it. Actually I dictated it as I am an oral person rather than a writer.”
“It was effortless but I haven’t given it out to other people yet and they may say it is rubbish. I am sending it to a few people I trust to have a look at. It is a film and not based in the music industry but it is based on some of the experiences in my life. It features an assassin though and it has yet to happen to me.”
And Tim’s music will also be central in his post-James existence.
“I am organising some creativity workshops around the country,” says Tim. “There aren’t any planned for Birmingham yet but there will be. And I have started to make some music. It is all things I wanted to do, but without being part of a corporation.”
What can we expect of the Birmingham concert?
“Well it will be a party. We will have a big celebration, as all James gigs are. We will have some special guests so it should be fun. There have been times when we got fed up of playing certain songs and I am on record of saying so. We rested Sit Down for a year to give us the chance to play other things but at this concert we will be playing all the songs that people want. We will be bringing a few of the older songs out of the cupboard.”
And what of James without Tim Booth?
“I don’t think it is impossible for them to continue if they find a young, great singer. But they are all such great musicians they could go on to do other things. In some ways it would be harder to try to continue with James than to try new things, But it is totally up to them.”
“I don’t have any immediate plans to work with them again. But if we were invited to play Glastonbury then we would certainly consider it because that has always been great fun.”