Dave and Michael from James joined us backstage at Top Of The Pops to answer your questions, and discuss the mystique of the recording process. See what they had to say…
James live on beeb.com
madchester: “Would you like to return to the days of Madchester?”
Dave says – “No. It’s been and gone. I don’t want to return to those days. It was the first time we were famous and you don’t really enjoy it at first. You’re a bit too uptight. It was a shock suddenly becoming a pop star.”
Michael says – “I saw it from afar, coming from Canada. Canada has had a really close connection with the British music scene so we did get it, but it was from a distance. I’d heard of James from the whole ‘Sit Down’ thing. It was a really good time for music.”
Dave says – “What happens is that when you’re linked to a movement then when the movement goes down you go down with it. The Madchester holy trinity was the Roses, the Mondays and the Carpets and looked what happened to them. I’m glad we weren’t linked to it that closely.”
garbo: “Why did you release a Greatest Hits album? Surely that’s the sign of a band going down the drain…”
Dave says – “Mmmm. I think the sales of the album speak for themselves.”
Michael says – “There was a lot of record company influence in there.”
Dave says – “I think a lot of people knew the songs but didn’t realise that they were all by the same band.”
Michael says – “It was really to consolidate what the band had done. The new fans could find out about the band’s history and realise the musical accomplishments of the group. More people have a more rounded idea of what the band is about. The album going to number one gave us a pleasant jolt and really gave us confidence for the new album.”
Aldo: “What’s the most satisfying album you’ve ever released?”
Dave says – “Wah Wah.”
Michael says – “It would have to be the new one for me, cos that’s the first one I’ve been involved with fully.”
larac: “How was it working with Brian Eno?”
Dave says – “Good to have the old git back again.”
Michael says – “He’s a good person to understand a large band like James with different people playing different roles. He brings people’s strengths out. Understanding the ecology of the band. Definitely making this record you realise his strengths. He’s also very modest so he doesn’t force you to take on his ideas due to his ego. He has a good sense of humility, not always pushing his ideas.”
Dave says – “If you’re working on a track and there seems to be a problem with it then he tends to look for problems in places other people wouldn’t look at. His best one is that if it doesn’t sound too good then speed the track up.”
Becky Uline asks: “Will you be touring in the U.S. anytime soon? The show I had tickets for was cancelled in San Francisco, and I am dying to see you guys again.”
Dave says – “We were almost there.”
Michael says – “We were so close to playing. At the end of that summer we did Lollapalooza, so we did end up doing a big chunk of America.”
Dave says – “We stared into the abyss with Lollapalooza.”
Michael says – “The whole schedule makes a man do funny things. We had far too much times on our hands.”
Dave says – “It was the most rock ‘n’ roll tour we’ve done.”
Michael says – “It was a journey into the dark sides of everyone’s character. We tended to get onstage when we’d been through the rider. Various levels of debauchery and sin going on.”
Dave says – “There were 25 buses on that tour and our’s was number 13.”
Michael says – “We were labelled by bands like Devo and Korn as the hardest band on the tour.”
Dave says – “The tour finished after that tour. I hope we didn’t finish it off. We were also fighting from the complete lack of interest from the crowd and the media because we had no record to release.”
beloved asks: “Have you dabbled with the Internet? Do you like MP3s?”
Michael says – “Good question. We’ve got someone from the record company here so when you say MP3 they go white. I don’t know what impact it’s going to start making. It’s one thing to technically start getting one over on the record company, but what happens if it affects us. The technology is fabulous but if it means the collapse of artists and their possible incomes then I dunno. It’s an intoxicating idea for the up and coming and the independent. But there is the whole other corporate side which has to exist for the music industry to work.”
Dave says – “There’s 3 really good fan sites. The fans who do the Stutter site know more than we do. I got there to find out what I’m doing next.”
Michael says – “It’s on eclipse net. Stutter on eclipse net.”
turbo asks: “Why call your single Fred Astaire?”
Dave says – “We’re not allowed to use a picture of him as well.”
Michael says – “When the song was originally jammed he started singing that line immediately. He came out with the line “when I hold her in my arms, I feel like Fred Astaire” and we kept it in.”
mccallum asks: “Will you be watching The Phantom Menace?”
Michael says – “Good question.”
Dave says – “Possibly, I’m in no rush.”
Michael says – “I’m interested in seeing the film, but it seems to have been universally panned. But I think it’s made for the kids. When I was 10 I collected all the Star Wars figurines. I think there’s been a lot of disappointment from adults but what they don’t realise is that Lucas is aiming at the really young kids so he can hook them for the next two films.”
Dave says – “I really like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.”
sicknote asks: “Who are your tips for the top from the next generation of bands coming through?”
Dave says – “I only listen to minimalist techno.”
Michael says – “I liked the new Travis album, There’s a guy from Canada, Ron Sixsmith. Since the dulcet tones of Radiohead there’s been a rash of really good sensitive songwriters.”
6500 asks: “How are you at cooking?”
Michael says – “I’m a good cook. I enjoy making food and I do it well. I enjoy any type of meal from poultry, fish and vegetables. I like Canadian food, I like peamail bacon and eggs.”
Michael says – “The food’s improved greatly since I came here 10 years ago. Even in Tescos the stuff is a lot better.”
Dave says – “Cooking is the new DIY. I used to cook, but since having kids the novelty’s gone out of it. There’s only so much you can do with chicken dippers. No kid will eat vegetables. I don’t know where they get their vitamins from.”
berru asks: “What would you say is the core of your music?”
Michael says – “7 people sharing their deepest desires to find a space, where everybody can feel satisfied with their contribution. It’s also, livin’ in the friction of incongruity. Living in the friction of that is what the band thrives off. Everyone has such different influences, that when we get together the core of the music is this friction. It seems to make perfect sense. The James Gestalt. Everyone has their own individual stuff that we do outside James. If you take someone like Dave who does a lot of stuff with dance music, that brings a new perspective – pushing people in a new direction.”
Dave says – “I found the Greatest Hits album focused what we were about. I realised James isn’t about being weird or breaking new ground.”
Moose asks: “Do any of the band speak any foreign languages?”
Dave says – “We’re all fluent in 13 different dialects of Chinese – mandarin, tangerine, orange. Saul has a bit of Spanish. I’ve got a bit of Welsh.”
Michael says – “But not in front of the rest of us.”
Dave says – “We have a great time whenever we go to Portugal. They really treat us like royalty over there. They like us in Germany.”
sicknote asks: “Do you ever get fed up of the lifestyle of being in a band-the touring, recording sessions …”
Michael says – “It’s awful. I can’t think of anything worse. … No, it’s a great way to see the world, meet new people.”
Dave says – “I used to watch TOTP and wish to be a pop star when I was a kid.”
Michael says – “I’ve caught myself at points at the year having a pop star strop. My Mercedes was late picking me up from the airport and I had to pull back from having a strop. You need to ground yourself a lot.”
Dave says – “A lot of my friends are normal people, on the dole or whatever and recognising how lucky you are is really important.”
Boogit82 asks: “What do you enjoy more your own tours and gigs and that atmosphere or festivals and the huge crowds that they pull”
Dave says – “It’s fifty fifty. I like festivals cos you can get drunk and fall about. I’m one of the few people who stays for the whole festival and stays after I’ve done me stuff. I really love festivals.”
Michael says – “James are a really good festival band. When you get reactions like we got earlier on at T in the Park you realise what a huge connection you have with so many people. But then, when you play a gig for a smaller audience but one who’s come for you then the feeling of elation is great. When you really get it right at either end then it’s fantastic.”
Dave says – “We’ve tried starting our set with Sit Down and it really flopped. At festivals you have to be populist. A band at T in the Park played all their new stuff and I was like ‘standing in a field is hard work, give the crowd what they want’.”
Michael says – “There was talk at T in the Park about whether we should do Sit Down. We were originally going to drop Sit Down. Afterwards you can’t deny the impact it had.”
Dave says – “A lot of people say Sit Down is the only song we’ve got. But that’s rubbish because look at all the greatest album sales we had.”
Michael says – “There’s something rousing and anthemic in Sit Down. It really caught people when it first came out. It made such an impact that it made a wave over all the other hits we’ve had. It’s bigger than itself in many ways. It also has the ability, because it’s such a simple song, to progress. It always sounds fresh whenever we play it. The 98 version of Sit Down was due to Apollo 440.”
JohnnyYen asks: “Do you plan on playing Homeboy, Greenpeace or any other non-singles from Whiplash again?”
Michael says – “There’s some good songs on that record. Hopefully yes.”
Dave says – “If we play longer sets, we’ll do it. It’s just hard to fit them in to our set.”
Michael says – “Homeboy and Avalanche haven’t been played since the original tour.”
Dave says – “There’s loads of tracks on laid we’d like to play. The last few shows we’ve been playing 4 new songs from the new album.”
beeb says: “Here’s Dave and Michael with a final farewell…”
Michael says – “Thanks for sending in your questions. Thanks for your continued support and remember we do try our hardest.”
Dave says – “We’re sorry if we stink.”
Michael says – “I hope you like the record.”
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