Tag Archives: song-play-dead

Whiplash was an album two years in the making. The basic seeds of many of the songs came from sound-check jams during the 1994 US tour and a couple of weeks spent in a large barn close to Woodstock where James played at the anniversary festival in August.

The band congregated at Westside Studios in March 1995 with Brian Eno. Eno’s book “A Year With Swollen Appendices” documents these sessions – click on the link above to view excerpts of the diaries.

Following these sessions, the band did not even get together in the same room for six months. When they did finally get together on what became known as “Black Thursday” – November 16 1995, all hell broke loose. Larry announced that he was leaving the band to save his marriage. A tax bill for the past five years arrived which the band thought was covered. And Tim told the band that he was going to New York to record an album with Angelo Badalamenti.

James survived. Western Hotels used Born of Frustration for a TV commercial in the States which cleared the tax bill. An old school friend of Saul’s, Adrian Oxaal, previously of Sharkboy, was drafted in to replace Larry.

The band, minus Tim, convened at Dave’s house in North Wales where he had built his home studio, dubbed Cafe Mullet (apparently because Dave looks like a fish) to work on the tracks from the Westside sessions. Tim kept in touch with the band’s progress, sending contributions from New York. Slowly but surely, Whiplash fell into place, the electronic influences of the dance music many of the band were increasingly interested in more prominent than ever before.

On Tim’s return, the final vocal tracks were put in place and Stephen Hague was drafted in to add his “pop Midas touch” to the tracks with Eno helping out with advice and backing vocals.
Having been out of the limelight in the UK for almost four years, James were unsure of what reaction they would get. Three warm-up shows at the end of January were rapturously received. The first single She’s A Star was A-listed by Radio 1 and hit number 9 when released in February. The album was released two weeks later and also went to number 9, not up to the placings of previous albums but a meritable performance given the four year hiatus since Laid.

Press reaction to the album was not entirely favourable. Whilst the more conventional tracks were well-received, the more experimental electronic tracks were viewed less favourably, criticised for lacking structure and direction and the lyrical content not reflecting the nature of the music.

Tomorrow, rerecorded from the Wah Wah album, was released as the second single in April, and hit number 13. It coincided with the end of a UK tour which had sold out well in advance, confirming that James audience was still there. Another factor in the success of the single was the 3 CD format that had been employed for both Tomorrow and She’s A Star – one with new b-sides, one with live or session tracks and one with largely unsuccessful remixes.

Following the UK tour, James had scheduled a month and a half tour of America to promote the album. Tim injured his neck on the opening night in Vancouver and struggled to make it through two nights in Portland and Seattle before bowing to the inevitable. A week in traction in a very seedy San Francisco hotel followed. With Tim only half-fit and wearing a neck brace, the band tried to make amends for the cancelled tour, taking their place on the Lollapolooza tour next to Korn, Prodigy and Orbital. Unsurprisingly, this failed to give the album any kind of significant push.

Back in the UK, Waltzing Along became the third single to be released off the album, the rerecorded version hitting number 23 without any significant promotion as the band were still in America.

Lost A Friend was then being touted as a fourth single off Whiplash and a precursor to the planned Best Of album. B-sides were recorded and a set of remixes were commissioned. This was shelved as the record company decided James should record new tracks for The Best Of and promoting another single would delay the release schedule unnecessarily.

Tim doesn’t like the Stephen Hague production of the album, feeling that it is too big, bright and hollow for the songs.

The album was reissued in 2001 and again on double heavy 180g vinyl in 2017. Read about the 2017 reissue on EvenTheStars.

• Avalanche :1997
• Blue Pastures :1997
• Go To The Bank :1997
• Greenpeace :1997
• Homeboy :1997
• Lost A Friend :1997
• Play Dead :1997
• She’s A Star :1997
• Tomorrow :1994
• Waltzing Along :1997
• Watering Hole :1997

Open in Spotify

• She’s A Star
• She’s A Star (Orchestral Version)
• Tomorrow
• Waltzing Along (Clean)
• Waltzing Along (Explicit)

• Reading Announcement – Melody Maker
• She’s A Star – The Guitarist Magazine
• At Home With James – The Mix
• Reading Festival – 22nd August 1997
• Join A Band – Jim interview in NME Student Guide
• Home James – SOS Publications
• Michigan Daily Times Interview
• James Will Lessen The Whiplash – Allentown Morning Call
• Eyenet Interview
• Lucky Jim – The Independent
• Launch.com Biography
• Waltzing Along – Press Release
• FHM Interview
• Lollapalooza Biography
• Lost Control? – A Change Of Scenery
• James Not To Tour – NME News
• Videotech Interview
• James The British Outfit Survive – Orange County Register
• Valiant James : Back From The Brink – Q Magazine
• NME Magazine News
• Long Live Tibet News – Melody Maker
• Tim Booth A Pain In The Neck Official – Melody Maker News
• Will Manchester’s Brilliant Sextet James Ever Crack America? – Pulse Magazine
• Times Of Change – Sessions Magazine
• Snap Cackle And Pop – Big Breakfast
• James : From Manchester With Love – Intro.de
• Melody Maker News
• Tomorrow – Channel 4 TFI Friday – April 1997
• Milk Magazine Interview
• Tim Booth Succumbs To Pre-Millenium Tension – Melody Maker
• Top Of The Pops Magazine – Do You Want To Be An MP?
• Top Magazine Interview
• Tim Booth’s Rebellious Jukebox – Melody Maker
• Radio 1 Website
• MTV Interview / News
• VH1 Interview
• Whiplash USA Album Release – Press Release
• Whiplash Germany Album Release – Press Release
• James Rock The Giant Peach – Atlanta 99x Live
• Better Flagellate That Never – NME
• James Gang Rises From The Ashes – Toronto Sun
• Sit Up And Listen – Scotland on Sunday
• Rodeo Ga Ga – Vox
• Wildpark.de Interview – German
• Whiplash Press Biography (US)
• Whiplash Press Information (US)
• She’s A Star – BBC1 Top Of The Pops – February 1997
• She’s A Star – Channel 4 TFI Friday – February 1997
• She’s A Star – MTV – February 1997
• The Bob Mills Show – February 1997
• 1997: The Year Of Whiplash
• The Whiplash Sessions
• James Takes New Crack With Whiplash – Billboard
• New Booth Explosion – NME
• Penny Kiley James Biography
• A Year With Swollen Appendices – Brian Eno’s Diary

• Reading Festival – 22nd August 1997
• Mountain View Shoreline Amphitheatre (Lollapalooza) – 16th August 1997
• Concord Pavilion (Lollapalooza) – 15th August 1997
• Portland Meadows (Lollapalooza) – 13th August 1997
• George Gorge Amphitheatre – 12th August 1997
• San Bernardino Pavilion (Lollapalooza) – 11th August 1997
• Englewood Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre (Lollapalooza) – 10th August 1997
• Devore Blockbuster Pavilion, San Bernardino – 8th August 1997
• San Jose Lollapalooza – 7th August 1997
• Phoenix Blockbuster Desert Sky Pavilion (Lollapalooza) – 6th August 1997
• Corpus Christi Texas Sky Park (Lollapalooza) – 3rd August 1997
• Dallas Starplex Amphitheatre (Lollapalooza) – 2nd August 1997
• Antioch Starwood Amphitheatre – 31st July 1997
• Maryland Heights Riverport Amphitheatre (Lollapalooza) – 30th July 1997
• Bonner Springs Sandstone Amphitheatre (Lollapalooza) – 29th July 1997
• East Troy Alpine Valley Music Theatre – 27th July 1997
• Mears Val-du-Lakes Amphitheatre (Lollapalooza) – 26th July 1997
• Tinley Park New World Music Theatre, Chicago – 25th July 1997
• Indianapolis Noblesville Deer Creek Music Center (Lollapalooza) – 24th July 1997
• Cincinnati Riverbend Music Center (Lollapalooza) – 22nd July 1997
• Columbus Polaris Amphitheatre (Lollapalooza) – 20th July 1997
• Burgettstown Star Lake Amphitheatre – 19th July 1997
• Cuyahoga Falls Blossom Music Center (Lollapalooza) – 18th July 1997
• Clarkston Pine Knob Music Theatre (Lollapalooza) – 15th July 1997
• Hartford Meadows Music Theatre – 13th July 1997
• Camden Blockbuster Sony Center – 12th July 1997
• New York Randalls Island – 11th July 1997
• New York Greenpeace Rally – 10th July 1997
• Mansfield Great Woods Center (Lollapalooza) – 8th July 1997
• Darien Center Darien Lake PAC – 5th July 1997
• Maple Kingswood Music Theatre (Lollapalooza) – 4th July 1997
• Bristow Nissan Theatre (Lollapalooza) – 2nd July 1997
• Virginia Beach Amphitheatre – 1st July 1997
• Atlanta Lakewood Amphitheatre (Lollapalooza) – 27th June 1997
• West Palm Beach Coral Sky Amphitheatre (Lollapalooza) – 25th June 1997
• Seattle King Kat Theatre – 3rd May 1997
• Portland La Luna – 2nd May 1997
• Vancouver The Rage – 1st May 1997
• Tomorrow – Channel 4 TFI Friday – April 1997
• Manchester Apollo – 28th March 1997
• Liverpool Royal Court – 27th March 1997
• Wolverhampton Civic Hall – 25th March 1997
• Cambridge Corn Exchange – 24th March 1997
• Leicester De Montfort Hall – 23rd March 1997
• London Shepherd’s Bush Empire – 21st March 1997
• London Shepherd’s Bush Empire – 20th March 1997
• Southampton Guild Hall – 18th March 1997
• Exeter University – 17th March 1997
• Newport Centre – 16th March 1997
• Glasgow Barrowlands – 14th March 1997
• Middlesbrough Town Hall – 13th March 1997
• Leeds Town And Country Club – 12th March 1997
• Atlanta Roxy – 1st March 1997
• New York Tramps – 28th February 1997
• Washington 9.30 Club – 27th February 1997
• Cambridge, MA; Lizard Lounge – 25th February 1997
• Cambridge, MA; Harvard Square HMV – 25th February 1997
• She’s A Star – BBC1 Top Of The Pops – February 1997
• She’s A Star – Channel 4 TFI Friday – February 1997
• She’s A Star – MTV – February 1997
• The Bob Mills Show – February 1997
• London Camden Dingwalls – 27th January 1997
• Bristol Fleece And Firkin – 26th January 1997
• Sheffield Leadmill – 25th January 1997