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James Bond With Fans – NME

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September 2000, © NME
JAMES are abandoning stadiums to test-drive material for their forthcoming album, tentatively titled ‘WE WANT OUR MONEY BACK’, on a tour of medium-sized venues next month, nme.com can reveal.

The band are currently recording the album, due out in April, with their long-time producer Brian Eno and former Blur producer Stephen Street.

Regarding the tour, Guitarist Saul Davies told nme.com: “It’s a deliberate move on our part. Basically it’s come out of the fact that we started work on our next album and we decided we should do something we haven’t done since we did ‘Laid’, which is play the songs out on the road before we record them.

“I’m really looking forward to it cos’ they could potentially be quite special shows. I think a band like us that’s been going on so long, it’s really necessary to invent a way of performing on [a special] occasion. It’s very easy for us to play big venues and take the cash and go away. ”

He added: “Being on top of people where the communication with audience is intense I think will [make it] much easier to play these tunes and dig in and find out what they’re about really.”

James have written 25 new songs for their forthcoming album including ‘Coffee On Toast’, ‘Please To Meet You’, ‘Gaudi’, ‘Senorita’, and ‘Nicola Louder’.

James Hit The Road – Music 365

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JAMES have announced a UK tour in October/November.

Currently working on a new studio album, the group, who attracted much praise for their sets at the recent V2000 festival, are to play 12 dates to coincide with the release of their forthcoming biography Folklore: James – The Official Story.

The full dates for the tour are as follows:

Leeds University Union (October 21)

Liverpool Royal Court (22)

Edinburgh Corn Exchange (23)

Bristol Colston Hall (25)

Exeter University (26)

Poole Arts Centre (27)

Blackpool Empress Ballroom (November 2)

Grimsby Auditorium (3)

Norwich U.E.A. (4)

Sheffield City Hall (6)

Nottingham Rock City (7)

London Brixton Academy (8)

Having postponed the scheduled release of their forthcoming B-sides album until 2001, James will now be releasing two albums next year.

Fans are still being invited to vote for their favourite B-sides on the band’s official website before the final track listing for the that album is finalised, while the band themselves are sifting through the 30 “sketched out” songs they’ve demoed for their next studio album, which they’re hoping to begin with producer Stephen Street following the tour. The band previewed three new songs – ‘Coffee And Toast’, ‘Everyone’s A Junkie’ and ‘Senorita’ at V2000.

Finally, the band’s official biography is to be released on November 9. Fans who’re gagging to read about the Manchester band’s long and winding road to international stardom however, can obtain advance copies of Folklore&ldots; from the band’s website before it officially hits book shelves.

Is James’ ‘Sit Down’ the greatest student anthem of all time? Have the Manchester band really got the acclaim they deserve over the years? And what’s your favourite James’ B-side and why? Email us with your views.

Come Home – Ananova News

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You may have to Sit Down after the following announcement.

Indie stalwarts James have announced a 12-date national tour.

You can see the student faves play their vast collection of memorable hits in Leeds, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Bristol, Exeter, Poole, Blackpool, Exeter, Norwich, Sheffield, Nottingham and London throughout October and early November.

James formed in Manchester in 1982, and have successfully outlasted most of their peers to release a plethora of memorable anthems. Early material such as Come Home and How Was It For You? soundtracked many students’ lives in the late 80s and early 90s, and the hits have continued to flow with She’s a Star, Sometimes and Destiny Calling.

In a barren period for indie-pop, where chart rock music has become increasingly anodyne and few bands survive the expectations of the masses, reliable tunesmiths James prove a welcome respite.

1998’s compilation The Best of constituted a timely reminder of the outfit’s rock pedigree, while 1999’s offering Millionaires is probably their most adventurous and rewarding album to date.

The tour will also showcase songs from their next album tentatively titled We Want Our Money Back, which is currently being recorded by their long-time producer Brian Eno.

In a roller-coaster career spanning 18 years, there’s never been a better time to catch them.

James To Play For British Fans in October – Live Daily News

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LONDON–James has announced an 11-date U.K. tour to kick off in October. The pop group, who released its last album “Millionaires” in 1999, will start the outing in Leeds, England, on Oct. 21 and finish up in London on Nov. 8.

According to its official website, tickets will go on sale “exclusively to James fans” beginning at 9 a.m. on Thursday (8/31) and to the general public at 9 a.m. on Friday (9/1).

The next studio album, for which “30 new songs have been sketched out,” is tipped to be released in May, 2001. The group reports that it will work on the album with Brian Eno (U2, David Bowie) and Stephen Street (The Smiths, Blur).

Led by Tim Booth, James formed in 1982 in Manchester, England, which was also the breeding ground for other “Madchester” acts from the ’80s, including the Happy Mondays and the Stone Roses.

October

21 – Leeds, England – Leeds University

22 – Liverpool, England – Royal Court

23 – Edinburgh, Scotland – Corn Exchange

25 – Bristol, England – Colston Hall

27 – Poole, England – Arts Centre

November

2 – Blackpool, England – Empress Ballroom

3 – Grimbsy, England – Grimsby Auditorium

4 – Norwich, England – University of East Angland

6 – Sheffield, England – City Hall

7 – Nottingham, England – Rock City

8 – London, England – Brixton Academy

Radio 1 Music News – B Sides Album

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James have told Radio 1 that they’re bringing out an album of b-sides.

It’ll be released next February – and two months later, there will be a new album from the band with a tour planned for the end of the year.

They’ve just got back from China where they played an historic gig in Beijing. It was the first time the audience were allowed to stand up and dance!

Saul and Jim told Radio 1, the B sides album is one of the best things they’ve ever done: “We’re going to call it ‘The Best B-side in the World Ever: Volume 1’! We’ve got tonnes of stuff, the sound’s fantastic! We’ve got about forty songs.”

Making the album is bringing back memories for the band. They told us: “There are all the associated events that come with listening to those things, going through puberty – things dropping, things falling out – aghhhh!”

V2000 Acoustic Tent – dotmusic

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dotmusic has been treated to an exclusive unplugged James performance at the Virgin Radio tent at V2000.

A handful of delighted revellers were so surprised to see Tim Booth and his keyboard player take to the stage an hour before hitting the main stage that they forgot to applaud, until Tim told them otherwise.

Tim, wearing obilgatory hat and shades as well as headphones, treated us to a sublime rendition of ‘Laid’ as two fans in James t-shirts almost choked on their free lager.

Tim looked relaxed and ready for the main action and revealed to dotmusic that he’d mistakenly said ‘Thankyou Chelmsford’ at the end of last night’s set in Staffordshire.

“We Take More Risks Than Anybody At This Festival” – Melody Maker

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BETWEEN FOUR LETTER OUTBURSTS, JAMES TELL US ABOUT THEIR NEW NO SELL-OUT STYLE

“Remember this when you read the reviews slagging us off” Tim Booth yells at the end of James set, as hordes of happy fans walk slowly away from the stage. Remember, we think he means, that in this particular set on Staffordshire’s V Stage they played none of their best-known hits and none of the singles from last year’s “Millionaires” album and it was still a minor bombshell of a performance.

And, after this outburst, when we go backstage to try and find out what’s eating James, we find them in defiant mood. Tim is calm and friendly, but prepared to state his case. Bassist Jim Glennie wants to explain exactly why James get a raw deal. But guitarist/violinist Saul Davies, eyes bulging, swearing for Britain, is just about ready to explode.

“I just feel like James gets f**king hammered,” he snaps. “We take far more risks than Paul Weller would, or Cypress Hill would take or f**king anybody at this festival. We’ll play new songs that nobody’s even heard of that we don’t even know! Then people go ‘You’re bollocks because you didn’t play Sit Down'”

“There are all these c**ts who are playing around us on the bill – and we’re always the ones who get shit for being corporate f**kers,” he gasps. “We’re here with our f**king balls in our hands going ‘Come on then! Let’s f**king do it!’ We’re not corporate whores, we like to challenge our audience.”

From this you might assume that James new direction involves art-concept Sonic Youthery. At least one new single previewed at V2000 – a frothy pop tune called “Coffee And Toast” – suggests not.

“It’s what I call a scientific love song,” Tim laughs. “It’s about this guy who tries to impress a girl with all this scientific stuff about black holes, when he just wants to get her back home. He wants her to come back home and have coffee and toast, but you know what he’s really after! I find the scientific chat up line works every time, but only with a certain type of girl. There’s another new song called “Everyone’s A Junkie” which is much darker. You know, we’re James, we don’t have one direction. We fire a shotgun and maybe some of the pellets will hit.”

So far, the band have taken this scattergun approach to recording, having demoed 25 tracks, from which they’ll compile their new album in March (working title “We Want Our Money Back”). They’ll also be going back to their roots touring University venues in October. But don’t expect them to play “Sit Down.” Unless it includes a 30-minute jazz odyssey mid-section. Nice.

Big In China – Radio 1 News

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James played an unusual gig this weekend because they’re big in Beijing. China’s still a relatively isolated country with credible western bands playing there on rare occasions, but this weekend saw an attempt to change that.

Bands from all over the world arrived to play in the Chinese capital. Tim Booth took the opportunity on stage to criticise the country’s human rights record, saying: “This is a song about tortured artists which may have a different meaning over here.”

Backstage, he said: “This is the way to break down barriers, I think. More than making big bold stands. We could be a young rock’n’roll band and get ourselves arrested, but it wouldn’t really help anybody, would it?”

He explained: “Basically, what you come and do is start, hopefully, a process of communication to start and change things. This is why we do this, to reach people.”

Beijing Evening News Article On Heineken Beat Festival

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For every person present in Ritan Park for the Heineken Beat Music Festival, the 90 minutes from 21:30 to 23:00 on May 13th, will be very hard to forget. The explosive atmosphere created by the UK’s James gave people a real idea of the power of popular rock and roll music. At last Beijing had the chance to experience this kind of passionate and exciting live music performance.

The difference between the wild cheers and waving arms and dancing feet at Ritan and the enthusiasm of the thousands of people last year at the worker’s stadium for Zhang Huimei’s concert was fundamental. First of all, on stage was a famous band from one of the original homes of rock and roll and secondly, the music resounding in the arena was far more likely to set the blood pumping in your veins.

When James was announced, the trees just outside the wall surrounding the altar of the sun were full of people. On May 13th there was an audience of more than ten thousand of people in the park, both inside and outside the arena.

James To Play China – Music 365

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JAMES are off to China next month to become one of the few western rock bands ever to play in Beijing.

The band are set to perform at the fabulously named Altar Of The Sun in the Chinese capital over the weekend May 13-14, as part of the Heineken Beat 2000 festival.

Also on the bill is Afrobeat king Femi Kuti as well as local Chinese acts. Last year’s Heineken festival was the first such outdoor event ever held in China.

James’s Chinese fanbase is said to be “small but passionate.” Meanwhile the band also plays V2000 this summer and is due to start recording an early follow-up to last year’s Millionaires album

Oneofthethree.co.uk – Newsreel – 2000

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This page lists all news item that were originally published on the old oneofthethree site in 2000

Update 28.11.00

According to band management, the next six months of next year will see the busiest James release schedule ever – with the new album, the b-sides album and the “Remasters” of previous Mercury albums all in the first six months of the year.

However, posters seen in the MVC chain advertising a release of a James album on January 22 are incorrect as no release is scheduled for that date.

Update 23.11.00

The projected b-sides album will not now be released until after the new album which means release date is unlikely to be before Autumn 2001 at the very earliest.

Update 21.11.00

One Of The Three is being used as the backing music for a TV advert for a product called Tylenol in the US. Don’t ask me what it is because it sounds like a medicine for some kind of embarrassing condition,

Update 15.11.00

According to James management, the video cameras recording last week’s Brixton Academy show were working for the band and the footage used will be offered to any television programmes producing features on James.  It is unlikely at this stage to be used for a live video release.

Update 14.11.00

James played a triumphant set last Saturday at the 5Fm Birthday Party at the Centurion Supersport Park.  The set featured most of James best known tracks including Sit Down and Sound which had been ignored on the recent UK tour.  Pleased To Meet You was the only new song to make an appearance.

Update 9.11.00

James are playing on Saturday (November 11) at Supersport Park, Centurion near Pretoria and Johannesburg to celebrate 5 FM’s 25th Birthday Party.  The band will be on stage at 8pm local time and will play an hour set before headliners Smashing Pumpkins.

James are planning a tour of similar sized venues to the recent tour to coincide with the release of the album in April/May before playing festivals and possibly an arena tour in the summer and autumn.  Everything is still at an early stage though.

Update 5.11.00

James played another storming set at Norwich UEA last night, opening with five new songs and premiering a track called “English Beefcake”

Following the tour, the band are going to South Africa for four days to perform at a radio festival headlined by Smashing Pumpkins before going back into the studio.

Update 1.11.00

Friday’s Grimsby Auditorium show is cancelled due to damage to the roof caused by the storms.  No details yet on a rescheduled date.

Update 31.10.00 pm

The latest from the Grimsby Auditorium is that they expect the gig on Friday to go ahead, but cannot be 100% certain that it will – they advised to phone back Thursday afternoon.

Update 31.10.00 am

Due to the storm damage overnight, there are question marks over the Grimsby Auditorium (Friday 3) and Nottingham Rock City (Tuesday 7) venues.

Placebo’s gig at Rock City last night was cancelled due to damage to the roof.  Embrace’s gig on Wednesday should go ahead as planned so James should be safe unless the weather deteriorates.

Less certain is Friday’s gig in Grimsby, where the Auditorium suffered some damage – it is hoped that the gig will go ahead and more news will be forthcoming in the next day or so.

Update 30.10.00

James continued their adventurous tour and set throughout the week, introducing another new song at Poole Arts Centre on Friday night.

Sources at the aftershow party have posted on the official James site that the band are planning a US tour with other UK bands for the spring of 2001.  More as and when I get it.

Update 23.10.00

James have played two triumphant shows to date with 10 and 9 new songs respectively at Leeds University and Liverpool Royal Court this weekend. See our tour reviews page.

The band have been in the studio writing and recording their new album with Brian Eno and will do the recording proper at the end of the tour over a two-week period in Surrey.

During the break in the tour, James will attend the Q Awards where they were originally due to play, but were taken out of the schedule as the show was shortened. Tim is also due to present an award.  As a compensation, Q TV are recording a special show on the recording of the new album.

Update 20.10.00

James will be doing a book signing at the Liverpool Royal Court on Sunday 22nd October at 2.30. Advance copies of the book Folklore will be on sale at the venue.

Update 28.9.00

Support for the James tour in October / November tour is Shea Seager.  Exit 52, including two brothers of Jim, will also be appearing at Edinburgh, Blackpool and Brixton.  Nepotism rules (they are actually worth checking out!)

Update 12.9.00

The Norwich UEA has, according to the NME, sold out

Update 28.9.00

Support for the James tour in October / November tour is Shea Seager.  Exit 52, including two brothers of Jim, will also be appearing at Edinburgh, Blackpool and Brixton.  Nepotism rules (they are actually worth checking out!)

Update 12.9.00

The Norwich UEA has, according to the NME, sold out

Update 29.8.00

THE TOUR DATES (to be confirmed) ARE :

OCTOBER 21 – Leeds University

OCTOBER 22 – Liverpool Royal Court

OCTOBER 23 – Edinburgh Corn Exchange

OCTOBER 25 – Bristol Colston Hall

OCTOBER 26 – Exeter University

OCTOBER 27 – Poole Arts Centre

NOVEMBER 2 – Blackpool Empress Ballroom

NOVEMBER 3 – Grimsby Auditorium

NOVEMBER 4 – Norwich UEA

NOVEMBER 6 – Sheffield City Hall

NOVEMBER 7 – Nottingham Rock City

NOVEMBER 8 – London Brixton Academy

Update 24.8.00

James b-sides album provisionally titled “The Best B-Sides In The World Ever” has been put back to February 2001 to be followed by a new album with the working title “We Want Our Money Back”  in April or May for which the band have demoed about 30 tracks. Brian Eno will assist in the pre-production stages with Stephen Street taking main production duties.

Update 20.8.00 pm

James Chelmsford set featured the following tracks – Laid, Sometimes, She’s A Star, Coffee and Toast, Stutter, Out To Get You. Someone’s Got It In For Me, Senorita, Johnny Yen, Tomorrow, Sound and Ring The Bells.  For a more detailed review click here.

Tim and Michael had earlier played a keyboard-only version of Laid to an invited audience live to air in the Virgin Radio tent.

The Stafford set the previous night apparently included China Girl and two new tracks – Coffee And Toast and Everyone’s A Junkie.

Update 20.8.00 am

James have announced in the V2000 tour programme that they will be doing a “Theatre Tour” in “Autumn 2000” and that tickets will go on sale in the second week of September.  No more than that at the moment I’m afraid.

Update 18.8.00

James are broadcasting a live session and interview on Virgin Radio on Sunday afternoon from 4.35-5pm.  Virgin is on 1215AM nationwide and 105.8FM in London

Update 15.8.00

James are apparently taking part in the charity football at Stafford V2000 on Saturday, where they will be on stage at about 6.15 for an hour.

Virgin FM are doing a special broadcast from the festival. Apparently, they are transmitting from Chelmsford so James may be on Sunday.  The same applies to MTV.

Update 10.8.00

The James biography “Folklore” written by Stuart Maconie is now complete and is being edited. The release of the book on November 6 will coincide with the release of a b-sides compilation album, tracks for which can be voted for at the band’s official site www.jamestheband.com

Update 3.8.00

James’ merchandise company, Blue Grape, is now selling James merchandise on-line. Check my links page for the address or click here.

Update 2.8.00

The proposed V festival in New York has now been cancelled for this year, so no James shows for all you guys in the US, I’m afraid.

Update 20.7.00

James may be playing a US equivalent of V2000 in New York on September 8. No contracts have been signed as yet. Stay tuned for more details.

It does appear that Mercury are planning to remaster and repackage the Gold Mother, Seven, Laid and Whiplash albums in the near future.

In addition to this, latest rumours on the James official site and a post from Dave Baynton-Power on the message board suggest that a B-Sides compilation album is in the pipeline. Anticipated release date would be November to tie in with the Stuart Maconie authorised book “Folklore” which should now be complete. Will confirm as and when I find out more.

No news on any new material as yet.

First Report 12.7.00

James have recently been in the studio and have demoed about 30 songs for consideration for the new LP. Presumably, these will include the three tracks “Senorita”, “Swell” and “Everyone’s A Junkie” played at the recent Shepherds Bush Empire show. No news as yet on a rumoured EP before the end of the year.

Mercury are apparently considering repackaging Gold Mother, Laid and Whiplash with extra tracks from the b-sides of singles. These releases are not confirmed as yet and no tracklist details are available.

James only scheduled UK shows this year are at the twin V Festivals held in Stafford and Chelmsford over the weekend 19/20 August. A planned warm-up date in Stoke on the Friday night has been canned for some unknown reason, reportedly Tim being on holiday.

The “University” tour originally scheduled for October/November this year and due to include dates in Norwich, Exeter, Blackpool, Folkestone and other towns off the traditional arena circuit has been cancelled without ever having been announced.

In a Q+A reply on the official James site, Mark Hunter intimated that James may do a large city tour of the US with the release of the new album next year.

Dave Baynton Power’s side project with the drummers of Catatonia and Stereophonics has been put on hold due to Stuart from the Stereophonics pulling out. No release date has been set.

Jamestheband.com – Newsreel – 2000

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This page lists all news item that were originally published on the James official site Jamestheband.com in 2000 that were lost when the band split in 2001 and the site was later discontinued

 

Tour Merchandise Now Available

21-Nov-00: The band’s official merchandise company, Blue Grape, now has merchandise from the recent tour available via their web site. Click here to order t-shirts, mugs, or the band’s official biography, ‘Folklore’.

Additional Tickets for Brixton On Sale Now

08-Nov-00: An additional lot of 30 tickets for tonight’s gig at Brixton Academy have been released due to high demand. People still in need of tickets should try the venue box office or the credit card hotline on 0115 912 9000 as soon as possible as the additional tickets are sure to sell out quickly.

 

James to Play Radio Show in South Africa

08-Nov-00: James will be “Special Guests” at 5 FM ‘s 25th Birthday Concert in South Africa on Saturday 11 November. The band will play a one hour set to a sell out crowd of 25,000 beginning at 8:00pm, to be followed by the Smashing Pumpkins at 9:30pm. The concert will be held at Supersport Park, Centurion, situated between Pretoria and Johannesburg.

 

James at the Q Awards

02-Nov-00: James took time out from the current tour on Tuesday to drop by the recording of the Q Awards, where Tim presented the award for Best New Act. This year the award went to Badly Drawn Boy, who according to his acceptance speech, remembered playing pool with Tim at some studio about 10 years ago. The full awards programme will be broadcast at 11:00 PM on Channel 4 on November 4.

 

Grimsby Gig Cancelled

01-Nov-00: Due to damage to the venue caused by the recent storms, James’ gig at Grimsby Auditorium has been cancelled. The gig had originally been scheduled for Friday 3 November. No further information is available at this time.

 

Book Signing this Sunday!

20-Oct-00: James will be holding a book signing in Liverpool this Sunday, prior to their gig at the Royal Court. Advance copies of Folklore: The Official History will be available for purchase at the venue, where the band will be on hand to sign them beginning at 2:30pm. Folklore is the first official biography to be written about the band and will not be available in stores until 9 November. Advance copies are also available via the web by clicking here.

 

Buy James New Bio Weeks Before it Hits the Shops

05-Oct-00: Advance copies of James biography, Folklore: The Official History, are now on sale via the band’s merchandise company’s web site. The book is available exclusively via the web for fans to purchase in advance of the in-store release date of 9 November. To order your copy, for further details, or to read excerpts from the band’s first ever biography, click here.

 

More News on the Upcoming Tour

26-Sep-00: The band have confirmed the support for their upcoming UK tour. Opening at all dates will be American singer/songwriter Shea Seger. In London, Edinburgh and Blackpool Manchester band exit52 will take the stage before Seger. Many of you will remember exit52 as the opening act for James in Blackpool in July ’99 and because the band is made up of two of James’ bassist Jim Glennie’s brothers.

Tickets for the tour are selling quickly, with Liverpool, Leeds and Norwich nearly sold out, so if you haven’t gotten tickets yet, order them soon.

 

On-Sale Date for Tickets

31-Aug-00: There was a problem with the credit card ticket hotline, resulting in people being told tickets for the UK Theatre Tour would not go on sale until tomorrow (1 September) and not today, as originally stated. The problem has been resolved now, and tickets for the tour are now available for purchase. As a reminder, the ticket hotline number is 0115 912 9000.

 

Additional Tour Date

31-Aug-00: The 12th date of of the upcoming UK tour was originally left off the list of dates posted to the web site and sent out via email. The date is at Exeter University on 26 October. For the full list of tour dates, see here.

 

Autumn UK Theatre Tour Dates

30-Aug-00: The band have confirmed the dates for their upcoming UK Theatre Tour. To see a full listing, check the tour dates page. Tickets will go on sale exclusively to James fans beginning at 9am on Thursday 31 August, before the tour is announced to the general public at 9am on Friday 1 September via a breakfast announcement on Virgin Radio. Tickets will be available from the 24 hour credit card hotline at 0115 912 9000 or online at www.gigsandtours.com. Tickets are £17.50 for all dates except London, which is £18.50 (all dates subject to booking fee).

Buy James Merchandise Online

03-Aug-00, updated 22-Aug-00: James merchanding company Blue Grape is now selling James t-shirts via the web. Check out the James section at at http://www.bluegrape.gb.com/. Click on “Clothing” at the top of the page for a full list of available merchandise.

 

Vote for Your Favourite James B-sides

25-Jul-00: The band are in the process of putting together a B-sides album, tentatively scheduled for release on 6 November, to coincide with the release of the official biography. They’re in the process of choosing which songs will be included now, but before they make the final call, they’d like to see what fans would choose. So… visit the survey section of the web site and let the band know what you think!

 

Chat With Tim and Dave Live Tonight

19-Jul-00, updated 20-Jul-00: Tim and Dave stopped by to chat live with fans in the chat room tonight, Wednesday 19 July at 9pm BST (4pm EDT, 1pm PDT). A transcript of the chat is available here for those who missed it. Many thanks to all who joined us…

 

James in Beijing – The Reaction

05-Jun-00: The response to James’ set at the Heineken Beat Music Festival in Beijing, China continues to be tremendous, with the band getting lots of good press, including two half-hour documentaries, which were shown throughout China last week and the week before. More reaction to the gig will be posted here as it comes in, but for the time being, feel free to check out the following snippet from the Beijing Evening News, China’s most read newspaper. Or, for a taste of the event, you can view photos at JoyDay.com.

 

Official James Biography Update

17-Apr-00, updated 23-May-00: Work on James’ official Biography, Folklore: James – The Official Story, is progressing well. The book, currently being written/researched by broadcaster/journalist Stuart Maconie, has a tentative publication date of 9 November in the UK and will be priced at £14.99 for paperback. [ click to enlarge ]

 

MTV Five Night Stand Additional Broadcast Dates

22-May-00: For those of you who missed it the first time around, MTV UK & Ireland will be re-broadcasting James’ set from the Shephards Bush Empire on Monday 12 June at 11:30pm and again on Sunday 18 June at midnight.

 

Portugese Festivals – Additional Information

08-May-00: Additional information on James’ upcoming festival appearances in Portugal is now available in the tour dates section.

 

Win Tickets to see James at MTV’s Five Night Stand

30-Apr-00: We’re running a contest to win two tickets to see James’ upcoming appearance at the Shepperd’s Bush Empire in London on Monday 8 May. To sign up, visit the Tour section.

 

James to Play MTV’s Five Night Stand

21-Mar-00, updated 27-Mar-00: James will be taking part in MTV’s Five Night Stand at the Sheperds Bush Empire in London on 8 May. Tickets go on sale starting 9am on Thursday 23 March. The show will be broadcast on MTV Europe starting at 7pm on Thursday 18 May and again on Xfm at an as yet unspecified date. Further details are available in this press release. As always, you should check local listings for broadcast times and channels.

 

Confirmed Festival Appearances

20-Mar-00, updated 26-Mar-00: James have been confirmed for a handful of festivals in Portugal, in the days leading up to and following the band’s appearance in Beijing, China on 13 May at the Heineken Beat 2000 Summer Music Festival. More information on Heineken Beat is available here or (in Chinese only) at www.heinekenbeat.com. Also confirmed for the summer is the V2000 Festival in Chelmsford and Staffordshire, England. Further details on V2000 are available below. See the tour dates page for more information on the Portugeuse Festivals.

 

V2000 Details

22-Mar-00: James will be third on the bill for V2000, behind Richard Ashcroft and Paul Weller. They play Weston Park, Staffordshire on Saturday 19 August and Hylands Park, Chelmsford on Sunday 20 August. Other acts on the bill for the alternate day include Travis, Macy Gray and Ocean Colour Scene. Weekend tickets are £66, £76 with camping. Day tickets are £37.50/day. Tickets are available through the Hylands Park ticket hotline on 0207 287 0932 or the Weston Park ticket hotline on 0115 912 9115.

 

Unreleased Track to Feature in British TV Series

20-Mar-00: The previously unreleased track ‘Confusion’ will be featured in the British television series called Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased). The show is a comedy about two detectives — one who is killed and comes back as a ghost to help out his former partner — and stars British funnymen Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer. The song, which some may remember hearing at various live gigs over the past two years, is also featured on the soundtrack for the programme, which is released in the UK on 3 April.

 

Latest News on James Plans for 2000

05-Mar-00: Details are close to being confirmed for a couple of live appearances for the band this spring/summer, including a festival in Bejing, China in May and V2000 in Chelmsford and Staffordshire in mid-August. The band will not be playing Glastonbury this year, but attempts are still being made to set up a handful of club dates in Europe. A UK university tour is tentatively in the works for sometime around September or October. More details on all the above will be posted as they’re confirmed.

Though you may be seeing promo copies in UK shops, Crash is currently not scheduled for public release. The band’s next release is likely to be an EP of some sort, tentatively planned for release around the time of V2000. It’s likely the next release will not be a track off Millionaires, but rather “something different” — possibly a collaboration or cover of some sort.

 

The band have been writing material for their next album, and will spend time in the studio at various points during the spring and summer to start recording. If all goes well, a release could come as soon as January 2001.

 

The only bad news to report is that things are not looking good as far as the band finding a new US record label right away. It’s possible ‘Millionaires’ might not get released in the near future, so if you haven’t already, you might want to buy it on import. At the latest, the band plan to negotiate a new, global record deal once their current contract with Mercury Records is up after their next album. Ironically, MTV in the US has approached the band about the possibility of featuring the band in a spot examining why a band of James’ talent and success has been left without a US record deal. Details will be posted here if anything comes of it.

 

Tentative Plans for 2000

28-Jan-00: James plan on doing a handful of festivals in the UK this spring/summer, including Glastonbury and V2000. In addition, dates are tentatively being planned in Germany, France, Iceland, and possibly even China. The band hope to put out their next release sometime around May. What it’ll be is not yet known, but they do intend to “try something a bit different”. They also plan to start work on a new album over the summer. More details will be available as they’re confirmed…

 

James to Receive Portuguese Radio Award

27-Jan-00: Tim and Saul will be traveling to Portugal on Saturday 29th January to attend the Portugese Radio Nova Awards, where they will be picking a career award for Lifetime Achievement.

 

Official James Biography in the Works

10-Jan-00: James have commissioned broadcaster/journalist Stuart Maconie to write the official James biography. Initial interviews with Tim Booth and Jim Glennie will begin this month, with the book tentatively scheduled to hit the shelves around this time next year.