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Just Like Fred Astaire performed live on TFI Friday on Channel 4
It’s better to fail than just be mundane, they say. But while certain pioneering souls – like Campag Velocet or Death In Vegas – are ready to reach for embarrassingly distant sonic heights and produce flawed masterpieces in the process, most Brit bands seem content to scuffle around the middle ground.
Take James – tonight playing a low-key secret set to a venue packed with true believers. In Tim Booth, at least, they have a frontman who can still make us believe we’re watching a pop hero, as he wades into the adoring audience during ‘Laid’, or gradually peels clothes off his sweat-soaked body. He’s shameful, silly and deluded, but ultimately endearing.
If only the music was equally frazzled. But James know what they’re here for. “Hi, we’re those strange vegetarian, Buddhist, Smiths, Simple Minds lookalikes,” Tim drawls, post-ironically.
But this safe hits set attests to the fact that they’ve come to terms with the label, that it’s almost a comfort – they don’t have to try too hard any more. Hence we get a smattering of new songs from current album ‘Millionaires’ which already sound like oldies, so basic is the James formula.
It’s all a vaguely soothing acknowledgement that James are still here, still the same and settling into middle-age. They’ll never be up there with their idols, but at least they’ve never humiliated themselves, right? Wouldn’t want that, eh? Wouldn’t want to be mad and special. That would take, you know, effort or something.
Seemingly constantly berated by the music press and music fans alike, James mark their return with a new album, ‘Millonaires’, with a secret gig at The Embassy Rooms. OK, let’s get the obligatory obvious pun and question out of the way with – do they know what they’re here for? Well, apart from, as Tim Booth describes it, “whoring ourselves all week to promote the new album”, of course, James are back to gather together their cult following, win over the dithering few and convert the cynics. So, no change there, then, really.
What is different is that, on tonight’s evidence at least, James appear to be relishing the challenge with a fresh optimism. The band see how eager we are to be knocked off our feet and swept away by new thrills aplenty, and – up to a point – duly deliver. ‘Crash’ links up with ‘Laid’, and ‘Just Like Fred Astaire’ sprinkles its stardust over ‘Tomorrow’, which in turn twinkles with a fresh gloss. ‘I Know What I’m Here For’ provokes much playful pogo-ing, bouncing alongside ‘She’s A Star’, and thus making the floor sag alarmingly in the middle.
True, the musical momentum also sags a little at times, especially when playing out the less immediate and inward looking tracks from ‘Millionaires’ such as ‘Surprise’ and ‘Vervaceous’. Both suffer from the humid stuffiness which is hanging over the Embassy Rooms, making our limbs weary and our heads ache. Yet, with a welcome second wind, James go some way to lifting this cloud of uncertainty with a mixture of well known hits, ‘Destiny Calling’ for example, and fan friendly assorted bits and pieces, chiefly, ‘Johnny Zen’ and ‘Jam J’, the latter reaping a rich seam of synthtastic special effects.
Despite this synthetic sheen, this small-scale gig gives us a chance to get close and personal with James. That said, whether ‘Millionaires’ will meet and greet so intimately remains to be seen. Perhaps what’s needed is a little more tender loving care.
Despite the ornate surroundings, the air inside the Embassy Rooms, off Tottenham Court Road, is heavy with the pungent, salty aroma of the well-oiled mosh pit. Whisper it quietly, brothers and sisters, but James are playing and the word from the underground is that the new album Millionaires – which this gig is showcasing on its launch date – is really rather special.
Early indications bade well for this oh-so-secret gig (tickets a mere £16.50, available via Ticketmaster and all good stockists). Crash for example waltzes nicely into Laid, the new single Just Like Fred Astaire dances off with Tomorrow bedazzling all and sundry with glam and glitter lit up by a thousand stars. Or possibly a few well-positioned fairy lights, if you want to be prosaic.
Not that James can ever be accused of being so inclined. They frustrate and astound fans and critics alike in equal measure. For every flag-waving arena number like Come Home there’s also stretches where you can safely nip off to the toilet, bump into Radio 1’s Chris Moyles and return without seemingly missing a beat.
Unfortunately, a small selection of Millionaries falls into this category Surprise and Vervacious escape into the ether with barely a lick resonating behind them. That said there are times when the long-fused ballad transcends these moments and explodes into something altogether more persuasive. Someone’s Got It In 4 Me begins with a polite but reserved greeting yet by its climax snaps and snarls, transforming Tim Booth from cute puppy lead singer into a whirling Tasmanian Devil, all elbows, spittle and attitude.
If Anybody Hurts You undercuts its fragile melodies with a bitter undercurrent that pours over the faults of critics, former lovers and failing friends alike. It’s a heady mix of the spine tingling and the spiteful, the toxic and the intoxicating. Which is how James have managed to throw off the stereotype of being Manc-y anthem rockers to become genuine musical contenders after 16 years of workmanlike progress punctuated by the odd knockout punch.
For some critics the effect is confusing merely because the new James refuse to Sit Down on past laurels. They may spend a lot of time shifting musical gears but there a few bands with as much conviction about the direction they are heading. Whether you want them to lead the way is up to you, but there were at least 500 people here tonight who were sweating buckets in the effort to keep up.
Released 26 years ago, Millionaires is the 8th studio album from James, and again produced by Brian Eno. Singles from the album included I Know What I’m Here For, We’re Going to Miss You, and Just Like Fred Astaire.
Crash / Just Like Fred Astaire / I Know What I’m Here For / Shooting My Mouth Off / We’re Going to Miss You / Strangers / Hello / Afro Lover / Surprise / Dumb Jam / Someone’s Got It In For Me / Vervaceous
I Know What I’m Here For (Live at the Guildford Festival) / Crash (Live at the Guilford Festival) / Destiny Calling (Live at T in the Park) / Someone’s Got It In For Me (Live at the Guildford Festival) / Just Like Fred Astaire (Live at the Lighthouse, Glasgow) / I Know What I’m Here For (Video only) / Just Like Fred Astaire (Video only)
Release Name: | Millionaires |
Artist Name: | James |
Release Date: | 11th October 1999 |
Format: | Studio Album |
Catalogue: | CAS – 546 386-4, CD 546 386-2, 2CD 546 789-2 |
The masterplan was to follow The Best Of with a new album before the end of 1998. Whilst touring with The Best Of, James already had the seeds of twenty songs started by Saul at his house in Scotland, taken to Mark’s in Leeds for further work and then presented to the rest of the band.
The first public airing of this new material was at Oxford Brookes University, host to James Glastonbury warm-up show in June where Surprise and I Know What I’m Here For were unveiled. By this time, the album was already behind schedule and the projected release had been put back until early 1999.
The arena tour in December 1998 saw seven tracks from the Millionaires sessions unveiled – Surprise, I Know What I’m Here For, Fred Astaire, Confusion, I Defeat, We’re Going To Miss You, Vervaceous and Shooting My Mouth Off. Indications were now that the album was almost finished with a final studio session pencilled in before Christmas with Steve Osborne to rerecord Fred Astaire and finish off a couple of other tracks. The bands were still hoping to release the album in April 1999 at this stage.
Unhappy with the mixes, Millionaires was not finally completed until May 1999, the band surviving a scare when some of the digital master tapes appeared to have been wiped but were fortunately recovered. Saul explained the delay as “there’s a let’s be the best band in the world feeling about it now.”
With the album complete, James then had to contend with the record company’s wish for the release not to coincide with the label’s other major artist Texas whose album was due in June. The annual lull in sales in the summer and the high expectations for the album saw October pencilled in finally as the release date, a whole year behind the original schedule.
I Know What I’m Here For was released as the first single in July in between triumphant performances at T In The Park and Guildford Festival, both of which were to provide live tracks for the bonus CD given away with initial copies of the album. Despite the Radio 1 A-listing for the single and the band’s most frequent rotation on MTV to date, the single peaked at a rather disappointing number 22.
The second single Just Like Fred Astaire followed on October 4, a week before the album. Hopes of a major hit single were dashed when the single entered the charts at a rather disappointing 14.
Millionaires followed the week after with the aforementioned bonus live CD of tracks from T In The Park, Guildford Festival and an industry-only acoustic show at the Glasgow Lighthouse club plus the CD-ROM videos of the two singles. The band played two low-key gigs at Norwich UEA and London Embassy Rooms and headlined BBC2’s Later With Jools show. Mercury arranged special playback nights at record shops and nightclubs with giveaways and competitions to promote the album.
Disappointingly, the album only sold 34,000 copies in the first week, well short of displacing Shania Twain from the top of the charts.
Press reaction to the album was again mixed, it was either loved or loathed. Q described the album as one of the best of the 90s and Melody Maker bemoaned the fact that the success of the Best Of meant that James would be around forever. The main criticism appeared to be that the album was overproduced in the quest for perfection, losing some of the band’s intimacy in the process.
The arena tour in December 1999 failed to revive the album’s fortunes, the third single, a rerecorded We’re Going To Miss You was released at the end of the tour and stumbled to number 48, James worst chart placing for a single since 1989. By the time the band played Shepherds Bush in May 2000, only four Millionaires tracks remained in the setlist and only one was played at the Chelmsford V2000 show.
The album was released for the first time on vinyl in 2017. Read about the 2017 reissue on EvenTheStars.
European version of the album excluding Shooting My Mouth Off.
Crash / Just Like Fred Astaire / I Know What I’m Here For / We’re Going To Miss You / Strangers / Hello / Afro Lover / Surprise / Dumb Jam / Someone’s Got It In For Me / Vervaceous
Release Name: | Millionaires (Import, Europe) |
Artist Name: | |
Release Date: | 11th October 1999 |
Format: | Studio Album |
Catalogue: | 546-524-2 |
European version of the album excluding Shooting My Mouth Off.
Singapore version of the album excluding Shooting My Mouth Off with alternative sleeve because of the issue with pigs in a Muslim country.
Crash / Just Like Fred Astaire / I Know What I’m Here For / We’re Going To Miss You / Strangers / Hello / Afro Lover / Surprise / Dumb Jam / Someone’s Got It In For Me / Vervaceous
Release Name: | Millionaires (Import, Singapore) |
Artist Name: | |
Release Date: | 11th October 1999 |
Format: | Studio Album |
Catalogue: | 546-524-2 |
Singapore version of the album excluding Shooting My Mouth Off with alternative sleeve because of the issue with pigs in a Muslim country.
Hello is track seven on the 1999 James album Millionaires.
It is an introspective piano-led track with Tim whispering a mostly improvised lyric over the top. Tim claims not to fully understand what he is singing about.
It was performed twice on the Millionaires tour, opening the set in Dublin and the encore in Cardiff before becoming a regular in the set on the 2011 tour with the Orchestra Of The Swan and staying in the set for part of the 2012 North American tour.
Song: | Hello |
Released: | 11th October 1999 |
Main Associated Album (or Single): | Millionaires |
First Heard Live: | Dublin Olympia – 30th November 1999 |
Afro Lover is track eight on the James album Millionaires and was released in 1999. It features production / mix duties by Jamie Catto of Faithless. It is the only song from the Millionaires album that was never performed live.
Song: | Afro Lover |
Released: | 11th October 1999 |
Main Associated Album (or Single): | Millionaires |
First Heard Live: | Never performed live |
None.
One-track VHS promo
Just Like Fred Astaire
Release Name: | Just Like Fred Astaire (VHS) |
Artist Name: | |
Release Date: | 4th October 1999 |
Format: | Promo VHS |
Catalogue: |
One-track VHS promo
Four-track German single featuring three of the four UK b-sides that featured on two CDs here on one CD
Just Like Fred Astaire / I Defeat / Long To See / Mary
Release Name: | Just Like Fred Astaire (Germany) |
Artist Name: | |
Release Date: | 4th October 1999 |
Format: | Studio Single |
Catalogue: | 562 467-2 |
Four-track German single featuring three of the four UK b-sides that featured on two CDs here on one CD