No Reviews.
James’ last album before their hiatus in 2001 and their final album of their deal with Mercury saw them reunite with Brian Eno after road-testing the songs on an extensive tour in Autumn 2000. The album hit number eleven in the UK charts on its release 25 years ago.
Space / Falling Down / English Beefcake / Junkie / Pleased To Meet You / The Shining / Senorita / Gaudi / What Is It Good For / Give It Away / Fine / Getting Away with It (All Messed Up) / Alaskan Pipeline
Coffee And Toast (download)
| Release Name: | Pleased To Meet You |
| Artist Name: | James |
| Release Date: | 2nd July 2001 |
| Format: | Studio Album |
| Catalogue: | CD 586 146-2 |
By May 2000, twenty to twenty-five sketches of tracks for the album had been put together by the time the band played the MTV show at Shepherds Bush Empire and festivals in Portugal and China. Three of the songs were unveiled at these shows, Senorita, Everyone’s A Junkie and Swell.
More studio time booked after the May festivals in Portugal produced the kernels of what would become tracks off the album including the potential single Coffee and Toast revealed at the V-Festival 2000 performances in Chelmsford and Stafford.
Pre-production sessions took place at the House in the Woods Studio in Surrey for three weeks before the October 2000 tour. The band went back into the studio to record the album “live” to capture the spirit and energy of the new songs. It was hoped to have the album completed by Christmas.
Mixing sessions took place in London in the early months of 2001 with some finishing touches being added in early March following a well-deserved break.
The album was released for the first time on vinyl in 2017. Read about the 2017 reissue on EvenTheStars.
In der Geschichte der Pop-Musik gibt es immer wieder Acts, die eine ganz besondere Stellung bekleiden. Und hierzu zählt ohne Zweifel die britische Formation James, die sich im Laufe der vergangenen zwei Dekaden eine großartige Reputation erspielt hat.
Angefangen hatte alles 1983. Gerade hatten James ihre ersten Aufnahmen eingespielt, als sie von keinem Geringeren als Morrissey als “die beste Band der Welt” bezeichnet wurden – und folgerichtig mit den Smiths auf Tour gingen. Schon bald darauf hatte James Kult-Status erreicht und 1986 erschien schließlich das Debüt-Album “Stutter”, gefolgt von dem ’88er Follow-up “Strip Mine”, mit dem James endgültig ihren gitarrengetriebenen Sound und Frontman Tim als provokanten Songschreiber und äußerst gefühlvollen Sänger etablierten.
Nach diversen Unstimmigkeiten mit ihrem Label kamen James 1989 aus ihrem Deal raus – und waren danach beinah “mittellos”. “Nach sieben Jahren standen wir nun da, lebten auf Arbeitslosen-Level, und wurden im Radio auch nicht mehr gespielt”, erinnert sich Tim. Viele Bands hätten hier wahrscheinlich aufgegeben – doch James sind aus einem anderen Holz geschnitzt. Sie versuchten sich als menschliche Versuchskaninchen für medizinische Tests in einem örtlichen Krankenhaus – und von dem Geld, was sie dafür bekamen, produzierten sie das Livealbum “One Man Clapping” auf ihrem eigenen Label. Ihr damaliger Distributor jedoch befand das Material als “Musik für Minoritäten”, ohne kommerzielle Chancen – und schickte sie wieder fort.
Es folgten personelle Umbildungen innerhalb der Formation – Saul Davies, Mark Hunter (Keyboards) und David Baynton-Power (Drums) kamen hinzu – James nahmen ein weiteres Album auf und schließlich kam “Gold Mother” auf den Markt. Ein Album, das endlich den Durchbruch markieren sollte, auf den sie schon so lange gewartet hatten: 350.000 Exemplare konnten sie allein im UK verkaufen, und der Song “Sit Down” entwickelte sich zu einer der bemerkenswertesten Hymnen der ’90er – und James wurden – zusammen mit Bands wie den Stone Roses und den Happy Mondays – plötzlich als die “Retter” der Britischen Rock Szene gehandelt…
1992 folgte das überragende Album “Seven” und übernahm die #2-Position in den Charts. Ein Jahr später kam es dann zu der äußerst innovativen Zusammenarbeit mit dem legendären Brian Eno, der dann auch das nächste Album “Laid” produzierte – inklusive der fast experimentellen Auskopplung “Wah Wah”.
Mit “Laid” schafften James dann auch in den USA eine fetten Erfolg, wo das Album 600.000 Exemplare verkaufen konnte. Und das zu einer Zeit, in der andere britische Bands extreme Schwierigkeiten hatten, sich in dem “Grunge-fixierten” Markt durchzusetzen…
Dann, auf dem vorläufigen Höhepunkt ihrer Laufbahn, kam es aber doch fast dazu, dass die Band auseinanderbrach. Denn eines Tages im Jahr 1995 beschloss Gitarrist Larry Gott – zusammen mit Tim und Bassist Jim Glennie längstes Bandmitglied – die Band zu verlassen. Auch Manager Martine wollte gehen und die Band hatte fette Steuerschulden auszugleichen. Von diesen Geschehnissen reichlich geschockt, nahmen sich James erstmal eine Auszeit – die sich dann allerdings auf drei Jahre ausdehnte und eigentlich schon wie das Ende aussah. Booth nahm zusammen mit Angelo Badalamenti ein Soloalbum auf, und eigentlich glaubte niemand mehr daran, jemals wieder etwas von James zu hören…
Doch es sollte sich erneut bewahrheiten, dass Pech und unglückliche Umstände die Band immer wieder zu neuen Bestleistungen treibt. So auch diesmal: Mit Adrian Oxaal wurde ein neuer Gitarrist gefunden und schließlich gaben James mit dem sehr melodischen Album “Whiplash” (1997) wieder ein Lebenszeichen von sich. Ein Lebenszeichen, das mit Gold ausgezeichnet wurde! Und der Band ihren größten Singlehit mit “She’s A Star” bescherte. Das dann 1998 veröffentlichte Album “Best Of James” war dann nur noch ein weiterer Beweis dafür, dass James definitiv zurück waren: “Best Of James” wurde das erste #1-Album der Band und wurde mit Doppel-Platin ausgezeichnet.
In erneuter und bewährter Zusammenarbeit mit Brian Eno (Roxy Music, Talking Heads, U2) als Producer entstand dann das Album “Millionaires”, ein weiteres künstlerisch-kreatives Highlight mit fantastischen Songs voller Licht und Schatten.
Jetzt endlich kommt das brandneue James-Album “Pleased To Meet You” – nach “Laid” und “Millionaires” das dritte Album, das unter den Fittichen von Brian Eno entstand. Und Songs wie beispielsweise das funkige “Space”, das fast hymnenhafte “English Beefcake”, die großartige erste UK-Single “Getting Away With It (All Messed Up)” oder aber das kühl-schöne “Alaskan Pipeline” zeigen allerfeinste Songwriting-Kultur mit Liebe zum Detail. Belegen, dass “Pleased To Meet You” ohne Zweifel das sowohl persönlichste als auch das beste James-Werk ist, das bisher erschienen ist. Der Sound ist zeitgemäß, trägt aber unmissverständlich die Handschrift der Band – aussagekräftig, aufregend, melodiös, mit leidenschaftlichen Vocals, kompakten Songs, treibenden Rhythmen, voller Melancholie, Freude, Ernsthaftigkeit und Optimismus. Und das alles filigran abgerundet durch die einzigartige, von Brian Eno erschaffene Atmosphäre.
Mit “Pleased To Meet You” belegen James einmal mehr das, was sie so besonders macht: Sie schreiben schlicht großartige Songs.
Rock band James have spent a fortune on new photographic techniques for the cover of their new album Pleased To Meet You.
All the members of the band were photographed and then a digital process was used to blend together all their features to give the image that they used as the album cover.
The lads in the office recognised the face immediately – it’s our crime reporter Simon Walton.
How Simon became the bloke on the album cover is not clear but we certainly know James could have saved a fortune by simply using this picture of young Walton. The effect would have been the same.
If anyone has bought the new James album and would like Simon to autograph the cover they should give him a ring.
The self-styled band ‘unofficial theme song’ that has become a stalwart of live shows.
There were 2 versions of the single release:
| Release Name: | Getting Away With It (All Messed Up) |
| Artist Name: | James |
| Release Date: | 25th June 2001 |
| Format: | Studio Single |
| Catalogue: | 5886782 (CD JIMCD25), 5886792 (CD JIMDD25) |
The following are reviews published at the time.
Producer Brian Eno’s bizarre compulsion to work with James must cast open doubts upon his status as pop genius; you can’t imagine Picasso clapping his hands with delight at the works of Rod Harris. Still, as James have managed to return with one of their rare songs that doesn’t make you want to slip strychnine into Britain’s tofu reservoir, we shall say no more. This mentions John Travolta and Richard Burton, and we guess that’s progress of a kind.
Well they’ve been away for a while, but the evergreen Mancunians return with their first new material since the album Millionaires . The first single from their forthcoming album, Getting Away With It, finds the band heading into slightly rockier, rawer territory than you’ve probably previously seen them. However, they still retain that James edge and appeal that we all know and love so well and in the process create a really stunning return. Always a pleasure to hear any new material from this band, if this is an indication of what’s in store with the album then we can hardly wait.
It seems James have been forgotten yet again. Two decades ago James were famously hailed as ‘the next big thing’ by the British media. It took them 7 years to reach that expectation when they got the whole country singing along to ‘Sit Down’. A short spell as the top indie band in the country they were out of favour for 3 years until they worked with Brian Eno and released the classic album ‘Laid’. It wasn’t until the release of their ‘Best Of’ compilation in 1998 when they were back on top of the charts and the country could be heard asking “I didn’t know James had this many brilliant songs”. Sell out arena tours followed and they went into the studio to record what became ‘Millionaires’. When the reviews came out on that record the album was being hailed as James’ best album to date, only no one ended up buying the record. And it doesn’t look like many will buy the forthcoming album ‘Pleased To Meet You’, because even a massive James fan like myself has seen James’ comeback go almost unnoticed.
‘Getting Away With It (All Messed Up)’ is a song I can’t quite make my mind up about. Undeniably it’s a typical James song. That in itself is a good thing – they’re sticking to what they do best at. The first time I heard this song I found myself singing along to the chorus as if I’d played it 10 times on repeat. That could mean two things, either its such a catchy chorus or that its just far too predictable. Unfortunately I’m forced to admit that it lies in between the both of them. Its not a song which will stand itself up against the likes of ‘Sit Down’, ‘Born Of Frustration’, ‘Sometimes’ or ‘Say Something’ but you will find yourself singing and/or whistling along to this tune.
On the strength of this the album doesn’t look too promising, the loyal fans will buy it as usual and we can be left in the hope that James will make their way back to the top next time around. Meanwhile I’ll buy it and sing along to it on my own.
Though James peaked around the point in the early nineties when it seemed mathematically impossible that every man woman and stray dog in Britain didn’t own 6 James t-shirts, their facility for creating superior pop songs has not deserted them. This elegant mid-tempo singalong contains a terrifically demented guitar solo and would be best appreciated with a long empty road aheadIt has been a stalwart of James’ live shows over the years and according to Tim their ‘unofficial theme’ song.
This interview was originally published on the James official site Jamestheband.com that was lost when the band split in 2001
Int: So Tim, it is the 19th of June and in a few days time the first single from the new James album will be released. How are you feeling at this moment and is the world ready for you?
Tim: I don’t think the world has ever been ready for James. We have perpetually felt out of time and out of step with everybody. For example when we did the Jools Holland show recently and Dom Jolly was singing our praises. He was talking to Saul afterwards and he said his favorite video of ours was “Here’s A Mirror With Your Name On”.
Int: Right.
Tim: Have you seen that video?
Int: I haven’t seen that video.
Tim: I mean it is probably one of the worst videos KNOWN TO MAN. Well, Saul said to Dom Jolly, you’re joking, that is just the most atrocious video. And Dom Jolly said, the thing is when you see that video you know that the band who made it are not being manipulated, that no one can make a video that bad and be manufactured by a record company. He loved it from that point of view, that it was so bizarrely weird. Nothing happens in that video. ONLY JAMES COULD MAKE A VIDEO LIKE THAT. I have to choose my favorite 3 James videos for VH1 next week. There arn’t 3!
Int: That is very relevant today obviously isn’t it? With manufactured pop in general with Hear’say, Boyzone, even back to The Spice Girls. They are all bands that are put together. Something so alien to James.
Tim: I addressed that in “Destiny Calling”. Every band has to compromise, with the media or record company. So at some level you do have to play the game. So Destiny calling wasn’t just me laughing at The Spice Girls or whatever, it was also acknowledging the part of us that feel like puppets sometimes. When we played the gig last night, I was singing, “Some fat cats playing roulette with lives, this game is fixed it’s all a lie.”
I mean, you can see, that in this period of music, the media and the radio stations, and the managers who are creating these bands, have a stranglehold that they have never had before. We have seen some really bad periods and some really good periods in music, but each time the bad periods come, they get a little tighter.
The industry gets tighter and tighter and the people working in it have to watch out for their jobs more and more, and the constant search for celebrity has become IT. The complete driving influence in culture right now. The thinking seems to be… If you sell bucketloads you are great—regardless of the quality.
For instance when you see The Spice Girls on the cover of Q. Q is one of the only last surviving music magazines. When you see The Spice Girls get the front cover you think IT’S OVER. It has got nothing to do with music.
It felt like in the past you could make a great album, like say the Velvets. You could make a great album, not sell and ten years later get rediscovered. Because GENIUS SHINES. But now it feels like even that kind of loophole, of the great album being rediscovered, is really tight, really hard to get round.
Int: So you think manufactured pop is almost strangling music?
Tim: I think this is the worst time. In terms of James, the single is about to be released and the single, barring Virgin and Xfm., has not really been played on the radio in this country. It’s interesting you know for the first seven years we didn’t get played on daytime radio—EVER. EVER. They only eventually played us because they had to. We built up a such a live following which has always been our support and our strength. They had to, I mean we were selling out G-MEX two nights running and causing a big stir. Now we are in this place where we are still selling out those huge gigs, we are still headlining Guildford. Even though we are a big band it’s like the media is not interested, it’s, you know, we are not a brand new, young, cute, sexy new band. Young things discovered on television. It’s really kind of strange for us to suddenly face this reality. It’s our midlife crisis!
Int: So, it’s like what you are saying is in a cycle sort of way, initially a lot of people had to take notice of you because people were out there listening to you and supporting you and those people are still there and if they still continue to support you then people will have to take notice.
Tim: Yeah, I think these things always swing around again. I think it is just a matter of us hanging around until the next period of real music turns up.
Int: So what do you think is the best way to address that situation?
Tim: There is not much we can do. I mean in a way this is the best I can do which is by telling our audience what’s going on. They can pick this up on the internet and then hopefully tell their friends what is happening. If they want to support us, and value what we are doing, buy the album and single in the first week of release. Get that album to no 1 and leave some people with egg on their faces. However, instead of fighting it, it might just be the time to listen to another piece of my own advice. “Tell us when our time’s up. Show us how to die well. Show us how to let it all go .” James are in a transition period because this is our last record with our record company, and we will either resign or sign with another company. Transition periods are always dangerous, important moments, you know, like in a relay race. You musn’t drop the baton.
Int: You still feel like you have got a hold of the baton.
Tim: (Laughter) Well I had it a minute ago! I think the next few weeks will tell us. All we can do is what we have done. Make great music which we believe in. God knows if there is going to be a James around in a years time. Seven to sixteen year olds at the moment are dictating popular culture. I don’t buy singles, and I doubt many James fans buy singles and well, that is a problem for us.
Int: Is that one of the reasons, behind this single, the fact that it is on two formats and you have actually put a lot of thought and take alot of pride in your B-sides?
Tim: James fans know this. Barring a couple of lost years, we have always tried to put a lot into our B-sides. We love B-sides. The B-sides “Greatest Hits record” (laughs), which I believe, is still coming out this year. I spent weeks compiling. We are so proud of that stuff. With B-sides the pressure is off. You get to experiment. You get to try out things and some of my favourite songs are there. Certainly “The Lake” is one of my favourite James songs. “Egoiste” is a great song. You know there’s loads of them. And so we always try and do that because, yes, if you want to have some kind of hit single, you have to do a couple of formats. There is no choice. That is the competitiveness of it. So at least you try and make it good value. Something worth collecting. My favorite song of all time is the Patti Smith B-side “Hey Joe”.
Int: Have you kept up your standards with the new B-sides?
Tim: Definately. We had recorded too many great songs for “Pleased to meet you”. Lengthy discussions took place determining which songs got left off. The song “Stand” will now only appear as a B-side yet many people believe it was the best of the new songs we played live last year. “So Swell” is probably one of my best vocals yet that only made it as a B-side.
Int: Last year was a massive creative time for the band. With the tour, airing new material and then you went into the studio with Brian Eno to record the new album and ended up recording a lot of new tracks. Can you tell us a little bit about how you put together this album?
Tim: In The last couple of years we have sorted out a lot of our problems. Communication problems. All the problems aired in the biography, we have resolved. We did it. There is hope for humanity! It was amazing, we had some very fierce meetings with each other and broke through.
Int: That was often the spark that kept the band going, wasn’t it, the tension within the band that created this wonderful music. So what has been the driving force behind this album?
Tim: I think the creative tension was healthy to a point and then it welled over into something more dangerous. The balance went sometime before Millionaires. On this record and in the last two years we just suddenly got our joy back again. And getting the songs together, taking them out live last year and challenging ourselves again. Like we used to do. Working with Brian was the best time we have ever had. I mean in terms of joy, and creativity. We were really flying making this record .
Int: Brian, himself, has been quoted as saying that was one of the best projects he ever worked on.
Tim: Yes, completely. For us too.
Int: For a man of that stature to say that is pretty impressive. Why would he say that?
Tim: Sexual favours! Well it was fast intense work. He’d just taken a year completing the U2 C.D. Ours took about 5 weeks of 18 hour days. They are mainly live takes. Some songs are the original demos pre-Brian. Others we worked on alot. We were all hugely impressed by our own ability!
Int: Lyrical themes?
Tim: I’ve only realised this since doing press. There is an underlying theme; of frustration at being tied to habits, addictions, impulses that we can’t control. Different characters expressing their particular loops. Like the guy in “Senorita”, led by his balls, to chase a dangerous woman. Or the guy in “English Beefcake” who is always the one to finish relationships and who is weary of causing such pain. “Junkie” is directly about the day to day addictions that we all have.
Int: You really study people don’t you?
Tim: I’m endlessly facinated by what makes people tick. I’m trained in one therapy and I teach movement and voice work. Taking people into altered states without using drugs. I’m passionate about the need for this. Later in the year I’m going to do some workshops in different cities. In February me and my partner are teaching together in the Canary Islands, combining the work with trips to watch dolphins. We did it last year. I think it’s called the dolphin connection experience.
So the answer to your question is yes. What made us and how can we change are the questions that really drive me on and you can find them somewhere in most of the lyrics I’ve ever written.
Int: How do the rest of the band react to your intrests? I read in the past it’s caused quite a lot of conflict.
Tim: Well they hate getting tarred with the same brush which is pretty understandable. I guess they think I’m pretty flakey. However I really think we have reached a point where (said in a fake American accent) we have come to accept our differences.
Int: I have never met seven so diverse characters that work together as a whole. I mean you really wouldn’t pair any of you up with each other.
Tim: I think so, I mean there is a weird dynamic imbalance in James that is highly unusual. It’s remarkable that we have lasted so long. It is a pretty good marriage of opposites.
Int: It is a pretty good marriage! You must have a very good counselor. What is his name?
Tim: ..Brian Eno.
(Laughter from both)
Int: Is there anything else you wanted to mention to me?
Tim: Brian Eno is our RELATE counselor.
Int: Does he sit you down and have you doing certain things?
Tim: Yes, darling, but that is not something we can talk about.
Int: Anything you want to say to website fans?
Tim: Maybe one reference. Having read on one of the websites showing me how I use references to water and the sea in my lyrics. I will promise, after this record, I will try to keep the sea out of my lyrics. Though, in mitigation, I do live in Brighton, and we are 87% water. I will endeavor to struggle to keep liquids out of my lyrics in future.
Int: What’s special for you about this record?
Tim: It feels like the first time since LAID we have got back to songs which are more exploratory, which take more risks, that aren’t just verse-chorus, verse-chorus. That go on journeys. Journey songs I call them.
Int: Yes, I mean there are tracks on the album, for example, when I first heard “Falling Down” you wouldn’t know it was a James record.
Tim: This wonderful genius engineer, KK, had a good hand in that one, which took it away from what we would normally sound like. He did the same for “Fine”. But I am thinking more of songs like “Space”, “English Beefcake”, songs with unusual structures.
Int: Are you an angry band?
Tim: No, not anymore. No, we’re an awkward band.
Int: I will vouch for that.
Tim: We’re awkward because we don’t fit in and we don’t want to fit in. We’re always judging how far we can play the game to the point where we might lose our soul. It’s like, always going, now look how much compromise can we make before you actually feel like you have really just lost everything. That assessment we do all the time so like, record companies and the media have always seemed to have a problem with that. Also, obviously our biggest drawback is lack of image or lack of consistent image. It always felt to us like we should be all about content, not image. You know, Neil Young was one of our gurus and he is hardly a snappy dresser. I’m repeating myself with some of these statements. Most of our old fans have heard all this before. But it still holds true.
Int: So you follow that line of sort of being out of step with the current. Like the Velvet Underground.
Tim: I think so.
Int: So in twenty years time the album will be a classic and selling by the bucket loads.
Tim: Um, well, if you can still find it in twenty years time. I mean, technology is moving so fast you don’t know what is going to happen. You know, we are in a very exciting period of change, where everything is exponentially accelerating and you can tell we are heading for something. Hopefully not a crash.
Int: To quote a famous song.
Tim: Yeah well, a mildly famous song.
Int: The live James experience is really something special and you can’t really put it into words what happens…
Tim: We will be back in December. We intend to do some really big dates and we look forward to seeing you at those concerts. We know what kind of celebration. We know what kind of party we create. We’re continuously blown away by the communication, between us and our audience. I mean I don’t think anyone else has that live relationship.
Int: I don’t think anyone gets near it. It just happens, I mean you can be third on a festival bill or headlining Wembley Arena and it’s incredible the atmosphere you generate.
Tim: Thank you.
Int: You are a band of survivors. I mean how many other British bands have been going for this length of time?
Tim: We feel honoured at the moment when bands like Travis and Coldplay and people like Don Jolly say such nice things about us in public.
Int: Like at the weekend, when Wheatus were strumming away “Laid” outside your dressing room at CD:UK.
Tim: I know, we feel respected by our peers right now. And we still have this amazing audience out there, who support us and who are there for us. As I have said we are hoping that they know this record is out. The feedback from the record company is that it’s not being played in Glasgow, it’s not being played in Manchester and it’s not being played in Liverpool. That is our concern here, we are finding it hard to reach the people who really love James. Hopefully this information will reach them through the internet and the web sites.
Int: It’s the way forward I suppose.
Tim: It is the way forward. I think eventually it would be great just to put music out on the website. That would be it, you know and not have to interface with any media at all. We have always had a weird relationship with the media. I have always been afraid of being famous . I have been lucky.I have kept relatively anonomyous. And with our audience, when people come up and talk they can really lift our spirit. Just by saying thanks. But when you see the projections put on people, famous people. When you see the celebrity mania in HELLO and OK and all those other magazines. It is just the weirdest thing. It just seems like another planet. It is a very strange thing to be worshipped. Especially when you meet the people who are the object of worship and you find that they are incredibly fucked up, insecure individuals who are usually deeply in need of a good hug.
Int: It’s kind of refreshing to hear someone talk about that obviously because that’s not what drives you, it’s not the cult of celebrity you want to be part of.
Tim: Celebrity has always terrified me. I mean the first lyrics i wrote are about selling your soul to the record company. That was the lyric for “What’s The World”. Losing your soul, let alone your religion.
Int: But you have never have lost your souls, have you?
Tim: I lost mine years ago. I left it on the number 6 bus in Chorlton.
A show recorded for XFM broadcast and effectively a preview show for the soon to be released Pleased To Meet You album.
The thought of James playing a small club in London to promote their new album sounds like something out of the wildest dreams of an avid James fan, those who long for the intimacy for which the band are famed and that many considered lost in some of the arenas they’ve been playing in the past few years. XFM’s Sound Sessions provided the opportunity for that and 250 or so lucky competition winners and various record industry folk crammed into the Sound club off Leicester Square to witness this.
What they got, or what this avid James fan got, was not quite what was expected. To use the words of the great Roy Keane, there was too much of the “prawn sandwich” brigade about last night’s gig. There were people who would have travelled hundreds of miles to see last night’s show, so why were there people in there insisting on trying to talk over Tim on the slower more melodic moments from the new album. Compare this to the sheer ecstasy and delirium of the slightly bigger Embassy Rooms where James played two years earlier to launch the Millionaires album, and the problem comes more into focus – great set, wrong crowd. The cheers that greeted the more familar tunes told it all.
Anyway to the set, the band opened with five new songs – four from the album and the b-side Stand. Alaskan Pipeline provided a soothing start with its lilting instrumental introduction and very sombre and plaintive lyrics and vocal delivery.
Space opened up a series of four songs where it was immediately evident that although Pleased To Meet You is a very restrained album, the band are going full out with guitar and drum attack when they play these songs live. Stand was a particular highlight, described by Tim as “the best song that didn’t make it on the album”. Tonight it stood out as the single it really should have been rather than being locked away on a b-side. Senorita was driven by an extremely passionate vocal performance by Tim, enunciating clearly every syllable on the Senorita title with a real passion.
Junkie, once the machines had started working, sounded a little more claustophobic than on previous hearings, a little strangled by the sound quality of the venue and system, which was not the best and emphasised loudness rather than subtlety in the music.
The crowd livened up for a mini-medley of hits in Waltzing Along, Sometimes and Just Like Fred Astaire, the first two played with a refreshing vigour and freshness, the subtleties of the latter again lost somewhat in the mix.
Back to the new album and Pleased To Meet You was an unexpected success. A song of three parts, the beautifully delivered simple opening section, the almost funeral organ middle section and then the loud improvised end section with Tim hollering into a microphone. One of the weakest tracks on the album, but possibly the best song here tonight.
The Shining came and went, most noticeable for Tim’s return to the “I could be the Nazi or I could be the Jew line”. The epic feel was lost on a lot of the audience though. Not having heard the new album is not an excuse to try and shout over the top of it, listen to it, go to the bar, go home or give your ticket to someone who wants to listen to it.
Falling Down was a complete and utter shambles, it didn’t appear to have much of a tune, Tim tried moving from one vocal delivery style to another and the song just fell apart. What looked like an obvious single needs some serious work on in the live arena if it can be considered for future release as such.
I Know What I’m Here For was the undoubted highlight of the older songs. An impassioned performance driven along by Mark’s keyboard line and powerful guitars. Saul suddenly came to life and urged the crowd and the rest of the band on. Destiny Calling was lapped up by the crowd as well, even though the delivery tonight was a little flat.
Fine and English Beefcake were both pulled off wonderfully. Saul picked up his violin for the first time this evening and he really should be made to use it more often. It adds so much light and shade to the James sound and was apparent in its absence from Alaskan Pipeline and Pleased To Meet You earlier and in particular What Is Good For? later in the set. Probably the two most complex tracks on the new album, both were ratched up a notch in their live performance and were real highlights of the set.
A wild Born of Frustration and Ring The Bells brought the main set to a close and brought a little more reaction from the crowd. For the first time I actually felt someone pushing against me into the barrier. Tim’s dancing was restricted by the incredibly small stage, but as ever, he used the space available to him to maximum effect.
Returning for the “encore ritual” What Is Good For? was started and stopped because it was too slow and it failed to recapture the simple power of the album version or the way the track was played on last Autumn’s tour. Saul’s guitar proved too much of a distraction and sat awkwardly where there should have been violin.
She’s A Star came and went and was received as rapturously as ever. The set concluded with the new single Getting Away With It (All Messed Up) which has to be described as a “grower”, a song that gets better and better with each listen and which gnaws its way slowly into your brain.
So the overall verdict? A good performance by the band, but not their best. This has to be mitigated by the fact that the sound system was awful, at one stage Mike’s backing vocals were drowning out Tim, and the fact that there were elements in the crowd that weren’t too interested in listening to the new album material.
James feed off the energy of the crowd at their concerts, each one is a celebration. Whilst there was a lot of audience interaction between songs with the chattering element shouting for their favourite Best Of track, there was surprising little during the songs. Tim stayed on the stage and Saul was relatively quiet.
To sum up – great set, good delivery, crap sound and disinterested audience.
James wow the crowd at Sound and leave that song backstage at exclusive London gig…
Music fans who know there’s a lot more to James than ‘Sit Down’ are falling over themselves to get tickets for this exclusive gig tonight. No wonder, as the band premieres a massive amount of new material. ‘You will learn to love these songs,’ quips singer Tim Booth.
As well as the new songs, another unmissable attraction is Tim Booth’s unique style of dancing. He moves at times as fast as someone having a fit, then slow like some kind of loony raver. Most memorable of all though is when he turns his back to the crowd and sways his whole body, moving and swivelling from the shoulders and the hips, resembling a snake that’s got the rhythm.
It isn’t just Booth’s dancing which is quirky. He performs one song with the aid of a megaphone, and peppers his delivery of ‘Born Of Frustration’ with bursts of its distinctive `whoo-hooing’. The song is so danceable that it inspires several wannabes in the crowd to start moving their heads and shoulders erratically in a well-meaning attempt to imitate him.
There’s nothing remotely manufactured about James or their route to success, a fact of which Tim Booth is obviously proud. Responding to a call of ‘Come On!’ when they stop to allow the guitarist to retune his instrument he says: ‘What’s your hurry… This isn’t on tape you know. This isn’t pop crap.’ A bold statement, it notably echoes the sentiments of ‘Destiny Calling’, a song containing several blatant digs at boy and girl bands.
The crowd is clearly in a party mood as displayed by the reception of set closer ‘Ring The Bells’, one of many arms aloft crowd-pleasing sing along numbers. ‘She’s A Star’, dedicated to Tim’s sister Penny on her birthday, is an incredibly popular choice for an encore and probably the best-known track of the show.
James then, purveyors of real music since 1984, and still defying our expectations. This evening by performing a whole ninety-minute set without playing ‘Sit Down’. Remarkable.
Verdict: 4/5
Throughout the history of pop, certain performers have attained the status of “enigma”, attracting respect and fascination in equal measure; Robert Johnson, Nick Drake, The Residents, Phil Spector, these are the sphinxes of pop, men and women shrouded in mystery and the unmistakable scent of greatness. Moreover, the ultimate accolade rock can bestow is that certain individuals can be known the world over by a single name; Elvis, Madonna, Prince, Lulu, Sonia, names that will live forever in the pantheon of music.
Such an individual is James. For two decades, this elusive, charismatic, engaging individual has been one of the great treasures of British music, sometimes taking centre stage, sometimes on the margins, now a bona fide star, now a cult passion but always innovating, always adapting, always wrong-footing those who think they’ve got him sussed. He has been, at different times, a folkie, a stadium rocker, a guitar hero, a torch singer, a pin-up, a recluse, a “lad”, a “hippie”, a “monk” and yet none of these labels quite fits. James new album Pleased To Meet You sees him reunited with producer Brian Eno for a record that may be his most personal to date. “I think this is the real me…whoever that is” he says, cryptically.
Little is known of James early life. Reports are confused and conflicting, only adding to the mystique surrounding this singular artist. Accounts vary wildly; some say that he attended public school in Shropshire, other accounts deviate almost comically from this, suggesting that James was a teenage tearaway on the streets of Moss Side and the terraces of Maine Road, Manchester City’s home ground. It’s also said that he spent time in Hull, Preston, North Wales and even Canada during his formative years. James smiles knowingly at any enquires about his origins merely conceding, “I’ve been around”
It was the punk and new wave explosion of the late 70s that proved a life-changing moment for the young James, alerting him to the potential of music as a force in his life.
He took his inspiration from Patti Smith’s “Horses”, Joy Division and The Fall, who took the youth under their wing, arranging many early gigs for him as a support act and via the Manchester Musicians Collective. James early gigs were inspirational seat-of-the-pants affairs, when he would take the stage with only the vaguest notion of what he was about to do, relying heavily on improvisation and his primitive but developing multi-instrumental skills.
James soon became the most talked about and unique voice in Manchester’s fertile music scene. He found himself courted by many labels, most ardently by Tony Wilson and the late Rob Gretton for Factory Records “I went along to see him at the State Ballroom in Liverpool supporting New Order and he was wonderful”
In November 1983, James released his debut single Jimone on Factory Records. Acclaim was instantaneous and music press covers soon followed as did a second single, the classic Hymn From A Village. The next year, he set out on a tour of Ireland with his friends and supporters The Smiths. Always very much his own man, James rejected the trappings of the rock life and became an adherent of meditation. This only furthered his reputation as a maverick.
Leaving Factory for US label Sire, a decision he now regrets, he recorded a debut album Stutter with the legendary Lenny Kaye, released in summer 1986. Travails with Sire, with whom his relationship had soured, meant that follow up Strip Mine was much delayed. This was a bad patch for James as he readily admits and he came close to retiring from the music business “There was a second when the future hung in the balance but I sort of came through it”. But times were bad for a while. Even Simply Red’s management couldn’t give him the necessary leg-up and for while he was reduced to offering himself as a human guinea pig in drug trials to pay the rent.
Then his fortunes took a sudden upsurge as did Manchester’s. James sporadic live appearances in the city had always been celebratory events but as the 80s gave way to the 90s, James’ began to enjoy his second bite at pop success. His gigs became word of mouth “events”, the hottest tickets in town and he became associated, to his amusement, with the city’s burgeoning “Madchester” scene, and found such unlikely supporters as Sean Ryder and the Happy Mondays
He had borrowed money from a friendly bank manager to finance a live album One Man Clapping in 1989 and followed this the next year with a new studio album for new label Fontana Gold Mother. It was to prove a turning point. Hits like Come Home and How Was It For You took James to another level of success where he could routinely fill the GMEX Arena. In March 1991, a single version of his live anthem Sit Down reached Number Two in the charts, held off only by Chesney Hawkes The One And Only. It was a momentous phase in the artist’s career culminating in a huge outdoor gig at Alton Towers and the album Seven. The reasons for the title remain unclear, though James has hinted that it may be a reference to his multi-faceted personality. On the continent and in the States, some critics and audiences had wrongly assumed that James was a band rather than a person, something that James himself has had to politely but firmly put right in thousands of interviews.
James turned his back on the epic stadium-rock sound of Seven for a warmly organic acoustic sound arrived at during the Autumn 1992 tour with Neil Young. This was showcased on the brilliant 1993 collaboration with Brian Eno, Laid which spawned college hits in the States and rave reviews on both sides of the Atlantic, and an experimental companion piece Wah Wah. Financial difficulties in the mid-90s almost forced retirement on James again but, ever the survivor, he bounced back. A Greatest Hits album in 1998 uncovered a huge wave of residual popular support and shot to Number One. The following year, he came back with the album Millionaires which many pundits thought was his best album to date.
They may reconsider in the wake of Pleased To Meet You. From the ethereal funk of Space to the anthemic swell of English Beefcake to the glacial beauty of Alaskan Pipeline, this is an artist at the height of his powers. The sound is distinctly contemporary but James trademarks are all in evidence; impassioned vocals, taut, muscular rhythms, melancholy and joy in equal measure and the unique atmospheric washes of Eno’s production. Eno himself found James to be an artist “reborn somehow. It’s like when people make their first album they’re full of enthusiasm and excitement and they know what they’re doing and it’s a pleasure. This was like making a first album. I think it’s the best record he’s made. The standard is so high on every song. There’s nothing where you think it could’ve been better. We’ve got too many good songs, more good songs than we can put on the record.. It’s very regressive in a way, saying, ‘Let’s go back to making a record that records an artist at his peak.'”
Unravelling James’ character is as difficult as teasing out his origins. He is the true chameleon of rock, making Bowie look more staid and more set in his ways than a Daily Mail editorial. At times, he can appear almost monastically serious, sipping thoughtfully on an Aqua Libra on the back of the tour bus. At other times, it’s hard to reconcile this with the party animal who once set off a rocket launcher from a hotel window on a US tour. He has a twenty year olds enthusiasm for his chosen field coupled with the maturity and wisdom of some twice that age. He is fickle in his allegiances, claiming to support Manchester City, Leeds Utd and Barcelona. But this flighty nature also works to his advantage; he was proficient, at the last count, on drums, bass, guitar, violin, cello, keyboards, accordion and vocals. He is also a really great dancer.
After many years of covering his tracks, sidestepping and double-talking, he seems ready to step frankly into the spotlight. He lights up a cigarette – though I was sure he didn’t smoke – and sighs “I think for a long time I’ve been leading a double life…at least. I think it’s time people finally met the real me.”
Kate Garratt spoke to James about the new single ‘Getting Away with It’, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer…
Tim Booth, lead singer of James and not in fact James as one might suppose, is a huge fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Actually, I’d go one further – he’s a connoisseur. When he reveals he’s a Buffy buff, he looks at me knowingly and says, ‘I’m talking Series 2 and 3, of course’. Of course. Personally I thought Series 4 a terrible let-down.
By why, you may well ask, was I discussing American soaps with the man known for his ‘reedily angelic’ voice (Paul Davies)?
James are poised for the release a new single, ‘Getting away with it’ on the 25th June. The song itself is razor sharp and aggressively delivered beneath Tim’s smoother tones of passionate resignation.
The subject of Vampire Slayers came up when I asked Tim about some of the lines in the song. He attributes the line, ‘Are you aching for the blade?’ to the fact that ‘I was watching too much Buffy’.
The guitars on the single are brilliant, gritty. Saul Davies, guitarist/violinist with James and the man responsible for the guitars agrees. ‘The guitars are gritty. The song originated in a demo session we did prior to recording the album, and that comes across’.
The process of demoing songs, trying them out live and rehearsing a lot was important to the band when they wrote the album, ‘Pleased to meet you’, which is set for release on the 2nd July. They decided to ‘bash out songs’ live to perfect them.
Tim states that the actual recording process that followed only took three or four weeks. The band believe they’ve got the process of making an album right. Bands’ first albums are often better, Saul reckons, ‘because the record is the end product of performance’. Such is ‘Pleased to meet you’. It promises all the energy of a first album.
The six performances James have got lined up for the summer should be impressive. It’s not as if they’re out of practise at playing live… Dates can be found here. Live dates in December pretty much stitch the year up.
James are feeling ‘very strong, very cavalry charge’ right now, says Tim. Their new music reflects this. The single and the album are strong, with a sonic movement that takes the listener on like the rush of horses hooves. If there are sentimental moments, they are quashed by ‘twisted punchlines’ (Tim). James, good album. No punchline.
James are marking the release of their new album by unveiling a mystery eighth member of the band.
Photographs of each band member were taken and morphed together to create a character called James.
They came up with the idea after getting fed up with people repeatedly asking which one of them was called James.
The band have created an entire history to the morphed James.
They say he is an elusive, charismatic, engaging individual.
Accounts about his background vary, with some saying he attended public school in Shropshire and others claiming he grew up in Moss Side.
James got into the music industry after getting involved in the punk scene and was inspired by Patti Smith, Joy Division and The Fall.
The band say he supports Manchester City, Leeds United and Barcelona.
James teamed up with producer Brian Eno to make their new album Pleased To Meet You. It is released on July 2.
FOR a decade now, fans of the band James have been happily singing along to their biggest hit – the live anthem Sit Down.
But it was in Liverpool that the fans first established the now long-standing tradition of taking over from the band and doing singing duties all by themselves.
Lead singer Tim Booth says: “It was during a gig at the Royal Court, and basically the guitar broke. We had a choice of stopping the song, or slowing it down, which is what we did.
“We were quiet, so the crowd took over – they all chanted along and did it for us, and we picked it up with them. It happens at every gig now, but that was the first time. It was an amazingly emotional moment for all of us!”
It was the start of a long-standing relationship with Liverpool, where James have a massive fanbase. It will continue this summer when they play the Summer Pops on Sunday, July 8.
Tim says: “We have had some amazing times in Liverpool. The Royal Court has long been one of our favourite venues … even though it was the first time we ever saw rats while we were doing a soundcheck…”
The Summer Pops gig follows up on previous dates at the Court and at L2, both of which quickly sold out.
The band have also done sell-out stadium tours at venues like the Manchester Arena and at Wembley.
But despite their popularity, they are still having problems getting played on the radio, with their upcoming single, Getting Away With It (All Messed Up) and album, Pleased To Meet You.
“It is very odd, and unpleasant,” says Tim, “even though we can sell out these massive venues, getting airplay is difficult. We simply don’t fit into a niche. We are not a young, hip band.
“There seems to be a real stranglehold on the radio at the moment with manipulated, manufactured bands.
“In fact, I think the record companies are trying to do away altogether with bands – we’re too expensive, we argue, and we want our creative freedom. I think we’re being phased out!”
James are pretty much the opposite of a manufactured band. Their origins are in the 80s Manchester scene, where they initially signed to Factory, then Sire, and eventually Fontana.
Loosely speaking, they were part of the whole Madchester era that also spawned the likes of The Happy Mondays and The Stone Roses – but, years on, they are still going, and still producing new material instead of cashing in on nostalgia.
Their biggest hit came with Sit Down, but they also enjoyed great success with songs like Come Home and She’s A Star.
Their Greatest Hits album in 1998 went straight to number one. Their popularity has endured throughout.
Tim says: “I think our fans have stayed so loyal because of our live show. Some bands just go on to stage and do it, go through the motions, but with us it is still a celebration – every show is different, a new experience, and the fans keep coming back to enjoy the experience with us.”
The new album was recorded with legendary producer Brian Eno in the space of a few weeks – but the songs were road-tested on fans on a low-key tour.
Tim says: “It was like making our first album. We got the songs, we toured and played them to the fans, then worked on them some more. By the time we were ready to record, it didn’t take long. We are incredibly proud of it.
“We think this is one of our best albums yet. We are on top of the world.”
Carl: Welcome to our on-line chat with Tim Booth from James. This conference is moderated, which means that you can’t join in with the chat. However you can ask Tim questions at any time during the event.
To ask a question look towards the top of the chat window, then click the ‘ASK QUESTION’ button, type in your question and click ASK; your question will then be entered into the queue.
Welcome, Tim, to CompuServe’s Music Forum.
We have got lots of questions from the members today.
I’ll kick off by asking: are you an Internet fan?
Tim Booth: Sounds like ‘are you a football fan?’. Yes, I am as long as it remains fairly free and I’m not referring to the dark side. I mean as long as the corporations don’t strangle it.
Carl: Do you know how the new single, ‘Getting Away With It’, has been doing this week?
Tim Booth: Not as badly as we thought it might, but I don’t want to count my chickens as the big bad fox might come and sweep them away.
Carl: You also have a new album out called ‘Pleased To Meet You’; can you tell us what we can expect?
Tim Booth: No, I haven’t heard it yet!
Fishknives Girl: Tim, is it true you started off in the band as the dancer? Can you please teach me how to dance?
Tim Booth: Yes I can in virtual time. I actually teach classes of ecstatic dance in Brighton and around the country. Last year we took a group to the Canary Islands with the Dolphin Connection Experience.
Jimmy: What is Alaskan Pipeline about, Tim?
Tim Booth: I think it’s about a boy’s relationship with his mother. It was one of those songs I wrote fairly unconsciously, which for me is always the best way. So I’m never totally sure what the songs are about, because for me it feels like I’m tuning in.
James O’Carroll: How important was Manchester as a city in the formation of James?
Tim Booth: I don’t know what we’d be like if you took away Manchester, but you can see in the string of bands that come from that city that there must be something in the water. We definitely got our bloody-minded arrogance from that place – believing in ourselves to ridiculous heights that you can see is in all of the other Manchester bands.
Derkaryian: Hello from another countryman displaced in the States. Will you be touring the States ’roundabout September 1, so we can put back a couple while watching the big game?
Tim Booth: Not sure… think we may be in the States in September – in Mexico and New York, but nothing is confirmed yet.
Sandstorm: Tim, can you play ‘Scratchcard’ at the Liverpool gig?
Tim Booth: No – ‘Scratchcard’ turned into something else and will probably end up as a B-side. You must have seen it at Christmas when we were road-testing the new songs. Some of them never left the pitstop! ‘Scratchcard’ was one of them.
Kazzy: It’s clear from those present that there is an international mix of people here in UK Music; have you ever recorded in a language other than English and how difficult do you think you would find learning the lyrics?
Tim Booth: Great idea. No, I’ve only muttered a few words in French and Spanish. Once, when we were improvising a song, I put on a fake German accent and pretended I was singing in German because I hadn’t got any lyrics. It worked well in Liverpool.
Guest 23: On tour last year, the current single was called ‘Saving Grace’; why did you change the name?
Tim Booth: Record company pressure – they figured that ‘you lot’ would never buy the single if we called it that. I love ‘Saving Grace’, but it does connect it too strongly to the film of the same name.
Guest 55: Hi Tim, just booked my tickets for the Brighton concert – can’t wait. Just wanted to ask: I was at Exeter concert last year and there were some real ****holes in the crowd – how do you cope when people are like that?
Tim Booth: We’re not playing Brighton, you’ve been ripped off! I tend to like arseholes – they make a concert more interesting. On the Lollapalooza tour, I would walk off stage into the audience to hecklers and sing to them. They would invariably offer me drugs or crack up in front of the cameras projecting the scene onto the screen.
Fishknives Girl: What are you talking about in “Fishknives”?
Tim Booth: Someone else asked me about this rare, obscure B-side already today. Is it you again?! I can hardly remember the lyrics. I think it was about finding out who you are and not just repeating the past that your ancestors relate to, but that sounds like pretentious selective memory.
Matt: Why is James having such trouble releasing material in the US when they are the greatest band around?
Tim Booth: Let’s say that after the ‘Laid’ album did very well in the States a new head of the American company took over, who hated James and that was it really. There’s a longer story but I might get sued!
Hippy Home: What made you opt for Manchester to study drama?
Tim Booth: I’d seen Iggy Pop and Patti Smith play at the Manchester Apollo and they burned a big crater in my soul and made me believe the place to be hip and happening. I chose drama simply because I didn’t know who I was, so learning how to control when you were acting and when you were being real, seemed like a good idea at the time.
Guest 60: Tim, when are James next performing in Wales or nearest please?
Tim Booth: I don’t know – I’d have to get a map and I’m lousy on our own tour dates. I just turn up on the day and sing.
Guest 51: Do you have any plans for any more acting or solo work? Is there anybody that you would particularly like to work with, outside of James?
Tim Booth: I’d love to work with Angelo again and I do have other plans, but plans are best kept secret. Acting, again, something is in the Alaskan Pipeline, but I’m counting chickens again.
Guest 23: I saw you live in the late/mid 80s at Liverpool Poly, supported by the Happy Mondays. Who is the best band you have been supported by, and whom you have supported?
Tim Booth: The band of Holy Joy, Radiohead and the Mondays were probably my favourite three. Neil Young was our favourite support slot across the States, playing in beautiful outdoor arenas overlooking canyons and deserts, accompanied by the sound of crickets and chicadas.
Guest 29: Tim, what music are you listening to at the moment and what type of music do your dance groups dance to?
Tim Booth: Right now I’m listening to the beat of the air conditioning and a projector. I love the new Grandaddy CD, Nick Cave, Travis, Coldplay. To dance to we use very different music, only rarely overlapping my own personal taste, because it’s chosen to help people go into trance states.
Ben: Hi Tim! I’m not James, but i’m ‘Pleased to Meet You’. 🙂 During recent interviews, we have seen you angry at many people in the industry; how confident are you that you will find another record deal after this?
Tim Booth: Heh heh. Pretty confident. I’m no longer so angry as I tend to expect the worst and I’m seldom disappointed.
Laurie: First off that’s the record company’s loss!!! Do you consider yourself a spiritual person?
Tim Booth: Spiritual person? That’s a loaded term. It usually infers some superiority, but I’m interested in spirit (which is another loaded term.) There’s very little language you can use to talk about this that hasn’t been bastardised by somebody’s church.
Guest 53: Hi, Tim. Just wondering, can you play any musical instruments (off-stage, I mean)?
Tim Booth: The kazoo.
Fishknives Girl: Is December a good month for you? Everytime I have seen you live, it’s that month! Oh and do you think you can play ‘Greenpeace’ live more often please?
Tim Booth: We seem to have got into this annual habit of touring in December and it’s working out great – an antidote to winter blues. Don’t think we know how to play Greenpeace anymore. We’ve moved on.
Guest 34: What is ‘Senorita’ about Tim? And do you ever think you will ever have a number 1 single? I think it’s a travesty that you haven’t had one!!
Tim Booth: I doubt whether we’ll ever have a number 1 – we don’t know how to write singles – it’s just a complete fluke. We write thirty songs and then ask somebody to tell us if any of them are singles as we haven’t got a clue. ‘Senorita’ is about a man who sees a woman, who he knows will be very dangerous for him. But he’s instantly shot in the wherewithals and is unable to resist. A common male malay!
Guest 7: Why are you only doing a few gigs this winter? When will you be playing the smaller venues again like Southampton and Poole?
Tim Booth: We like big gigs! They seem, ironically enough, more intimate to us. There are seven of us and we don’t fit on small stages. We play better when we can hear each other with great clarity and therefore on the bigger stages we play better.
Derkaryian: Any plans for Southern California, or shall I plan to travel?
Tim Booth: The Californian festival fell through. Pack a bag!
Guest 33: Tim, any advice for someone that is too shy to dance?
Tim Booth: Put a bag over your head then you won’t know anyone is looking. Just joking! Come to one of my classes, there’s a room full of shy dancers.
Guest 55: Any news on who will be supporting you in this year’s tour? I loved Shea Seger last year.
Tim Booth: Not confirmed yet.
Only :-P): Tim, this is your number one Belfast fan – who would you be pleased to meet?
Tim Booth: Nelson Mandela, Muhammed Ali, James Joyce, but he’s dead.
Guest 51: Do you read much? What type of literature do you enjoy? Who are your favourite authors?
Tim Booth: Doris Lessing is probably one of my favourites. I wrote ‘Sit Down’ as a thank you to her and Patti Smith. I also enjoy Robert Anton Wilson. Janet Fitch has written a fabulous book called White Oleander – too many to mention.
Guest 53: Do you remember the ‘So Many Ways’ video? You looked so happy and carefree, falling over repeatedly. Anyway, why was the new single released alongside the new Hear’Say single? Surely that’s a bit stupid.
Tim Booth: I don’t feel we’re in competition. We exist in completely separate realms and ne’er the twain shall meet.
Guest 50: Are you planning to release any live video material over the coming months? The ‘Come Home’ Video is fantastic… pure class.
Tim Booth: Thank you. That was one of the highlights of our musical life getting a great magical live concert on video. I would love to do another one.
Guest 23: Have you ever written songs for other people/bands? If so, how well did they do?
Tim Booth: As in a race, did they come first or second? I haven’t really. I’ve done a few incognito, which have to remain so for legal reasons, i.e. they may have come out on other record labels that I’m not allowed to write for! And they were very fine, thank you very much.
Carl: Unfortunately that is all we have time for tonight. Thanks, Tim, for coming in and thanks to all the Members and guests for joining us. Tim would you like to say anything to the room?
Tim Booth: We must meet like this more often. You’re much more attractive in virtual space than you are in reality. Much love, Tim
Guest 18: Wow!
Guest 35: That was so much fun!!
Guest 62: Booth & the fellas neeeeeeeeeeeed to come to the US, Boston needs James!