None.
Bonjour, the early version of What For, was premiered at this gig.
None
First performance of Stripmining.
None.
None.
It was getting slippery onstage too, by the time James got there to dish out samples of their forthcoming album – destined to be another of the year’s best along with those from The Smiths and Woodentops. Apart from Tim’s raving, moving vocals and leg jerks, Jimmy’s pushy, bendy bass and Gavin’s busy and complicated drumming, there was this evening’s outstanding Jamesian element – Larry’s guitar playing. Whenever James play these days a new layer opens up, and this time it was through his fretwork exploration – segments of West African, bits of British folk, and techniques improvised out of nowhere.
James melodies and lyrics inhabit a kind of cultural subconscious, but the power of a Johnny Yen or a So Many Ways is no less real for having said that. Because of it, in fact, James go further to satisfying any hunger for newness – they’re verging on the poetic.
Whoops is track three on the 1989 James live album One Man Clapping and is also a live b-side of the 1990 How Was It For You? single. It also features on the Come Home Live dvd.
It was debuted live and in a John Peel session of 1987 and never had a studio release despite being a regular in the James set-list through to 1990. Its frenetic drums meant it was a live favourite and three different live performances of the song were released in relatively quick succession.
| Song: | Whoops |
| Released: | 13th March 1989 |
| Main Associated Album (or Single): | One Man Clapping |
| First Heard Live: | Manchester PSV Club – 15th July 1986 |