Category Archives: News
L’Etudiant Article (French)
James On A Rock And Roller Ride – Manchester Evening News
The Manchester hit band James will give 30,000 fans a rocking rollercoaster ride when they play at Alton Towers.
The concert – on July 4 – will be the band’s only major appearance in Britain this year.
Seven-piece James, fronted by Tim Booth, played a low-key warm-up gig at Manchester Poly on Saturday night.
They have a new single, Born of Frustration, in the Top 20.
And they expect to see their new LP Seven go straight to Number One when it is released next Monday.
Record company Phonogram say it has already gone gold – sold 100,000 copies in advance.
Promoter Simon Moran said: “The band chose Alton Towers site very carefully. They missed out on their hometown on their last tour and they wanted somewhere with easy access from Greater Manchester. They wanted to give their fans the thrill of a lifetime. So the combination of the concert and Alton Towers’ white knuckle rides was perfect.”
Tickets go on sale tomorrow at £17.50. A £25 ticket will cover the concert and theme park rides.
James To The Tower – NME
James who made a low-key appearance at Manchester Polytechnic last Saturday as a dress rehearsal for their forthcoming dates in America, have announced details of a date at Alton Towers in July.
As predicted exclusively in NME last week, Tim Booth and co headline the outdoor gig in the 500-acre theme park in Staffordshire on July 4. The band will be supported by two major acts, yet to be announced.
Tickets for the concert and admission to the park for the day (including free access to all the rides) are available for £25 from Alton Towers box office on 0538-702200.
Feels Like Seven – NME
James, currently flying high in the singles charts with “Born of Frustration”, have announced details of their fifth LP.
“Seven”, which follows the band’s platinum “Gold Mother” LP, features new mixes of hit singles “Sound” and “Born of Frustration” plus eight additional tracks.
Full track listing is as follows: “Born of Frustration”, “Ring The Bells”, “Sound”, “Bring A Gun”, “Mother”, “Don’t Wait That Long”, “Live A Love Of Life”, “Heavens”, “Protect Me” and “Seven”. Cassette and CD formats of the LP, which is released through Fontana on February 17, feature one additional track, “Next Lover”.
Meanwhile James are planning a giant open air one day festival which they will headline. The event is believed to be scheduled for July 4 at Alton Towers pleasure park in the Midlands.
Today Article
LA Gun Ordeal Shatters Star – Manchester Evening News
A first-time dream trip to the United States has turned into a nightmare for Manchester rock star Larry Gott of the hit band James.
The 29 year old lead guitarist was robbed at gunpoint by two men less than an hour after arriving at Los Angeles International Airport.
The armed robbery was followed, said Larry, by “an interview with two disinterested and at times threatening members of Los Angeles Police.”
The experience forced a shaken Larry to return to Britain leaving the band in Los Angeles .. only a few hours after he had arrived.
He is now back at his South Manchester home while the band return this weekend.
James, led by frontman Tim Booth, are currently in America to make a video for their new single Born of Frustration.
Their last single Sound made No 9 in the charts, following the top 3 success of their hit Sit Down.
Last March, before their first hit record, they sold out two nights at Manchester’s G-Mex exhibition centre.
The band’s spokesman Philip Hall says “They are rising stars in America right now. This is an important promotional tour.”
Bespectacled Larry explained: “My decision to return home was based on my first experience of American culture.”
“My experience at the hands of two disinterested and, at times, threatening members of LA police left me with an overwhelming sense of fear, paranoia and suspicion of everyone I came into contact with. I couldn’t imagine having anything to say to a journalist other than what had happened to me. They don’t need me to tell them their society breeds violence. They know that already.”
Larry was at least able to joke about his experience.
“I think the video will be better without me in a bullet-proof vest.”
A roadie stood in for him in the filming session.
Born Again James – NME News
JAMES are set to chase their Top 20 hit ‘Sound’with a new 45 this month.
‘Born Of Frustration’ is backed with another previously unreleased track,’Be My Prayer’. CD and 12″ formats will carry a Mark ‘Diceman’ Hunter remix of ‘Sound’.
Tim Booth and co are also gearing up for the release of a new LP,’ Seven’, which follows the reissue of their ‘Gold Mother’ album last year, and is accompanied by tours of America and Europe, likely to climax with their own major outdoor UK date this summer.
Gang Get Gott – NME News
James guitarist Larry Gott was victim of an armed mugging in Los Angeles last week, just three hours after arriving in the States from Manchester.
Gott was held up at gunpoint outside the band’s hotel on Sunset Boulevard by two men who made off with his money and jacket. After giving a statement to police, Gott, distressed by the incident, took the first plane back to England – missing the group’s three-day US video shoot.
Gott told NME: “The robbery coupled with my subsequent experience at the hands of the Los Angeles police left me with an overwhelming sense of fear, paranoia and suspicion of everyone I came into contact with.”
The band went ahead with taping the video for the new single ‘Born of Frustration’ with their tour manager standing in for Gott.
Sound And Glory – Melody Maker Review Of The Year
In commercial terms, 1991 was an unallayed triumph for James. The re-released Sit Down reached number two in April and the band’s long metamorphosis from eccentric semi-acoustic indie outsiders to major status, was confirmed when they headlined the Reading Festival in August. Yet, as the year progressed, the band’s critical stock fell as fast as their public popularity rose.
Sit Down weas shamelessly anthemic, with its singalong chorus and its rallying call to misfits everywhere. “Those who find themselves ridiculous / Sit down next to me” sang Tim Booth, as if hoping to gather a stadium-sized congregation of assorted inadequates. And, while that top spot at Reading carried undeniable kudos, most reviewers felt the band had struggled and failed to follow the more effective rabble-rousing from Carter USM that immediately preceded their performance.
In October, James set out on a 28-date UK tour, the biggest to date for a band whose popularity had long been built around live performances. Tickets for the shows were as scarce as reviews that didn’t mention Simple Minds. The success of the tour showed that most old fans stayed loyal; but the new material disappointed many who’d been charmed by the mixture of pop gloss and individual vision that characterised 1990’s Gold Mother LP. James appeared to have responded to their higher status by turning into a pomp-rock band; and these fears were confirmed by the ponderous excesses of Sound, the single released to a barrage of critical raspberries in November.
Once again, however, the record-buying public begged to differ, and Sound immediately soared into the Top 10. James’ year ended with the announcement of plans for a new album Seven to be released next Spring- and, it seemed, with the stadia and lighter-waving citizens of America beckoning.
Norwich Gig Cancellation News – NME
James were forced to pull out of a date at Norwich UEA last Wednesday after Tim Booth experienced voice problems.
However, Thousand Yard Stare, currently supporting on the tour, volunteered to headline in place of James, and the show went ahead.
Sound Release News – NME
James round off a triumphant 1991 in which they scored a number two hit with Sit Down and topped the bill at the Reading Festival with a new single.
The track Sound will be the first taster of their new album, due out in Spring 92. The track was produced by Youth and mixed by Tim Palmer, and is backed by another new song All My Sons. 12-inch and CD formats also carry Youth’s dub mix of Come Home plus an extended mix of Sound.
Sound is released on Fontana on November 18.
Dave Haslam, prominent Manchester journalist / DJ has been commissioned to write James’s authorised biography, which will be published by Omnibus next year.