James formed in Manchester in 1982, when Paul Gilbertson (guitar), Jim Glennie (bass), and Gavan Whelan (drums) met Tim Booth (vocals) at Manchester University and asked him to join their fledgling band. During the next year, James became regulars on the local club circuit, and by 1983 they had signed to Factory, releasing their debut EP, Jimone, later that year. Two years later, their second EP, James 2, was released, and Morrissey, the lead singer of the Smiths, publicly endorsed the group, asking them to open for his band. By the summer of 1985, Larry Gott had replaced Gilbertson, and the group signed to Sire Records. Working with producer Lenny Kaye, the group recorded its debut, Stutter, that year, releasing it in early 1986 to generally positive reviews.
Over the next two years, James toured constantly, building up a solid fan base. They released their second album, the folky Strip-Mine, in 1988. The record failed to capitalize on their live following, and the band departed Sire the following year, signing with the independent Rough Trade. On their new label, James released the moderately successful "Sit Down" and the live album One Man Clapping, which climbed to number one on the indie charts. In 1990, Whelan was replaced by David Baynton-Power, and James expanded to a septet with the addition of keyboardist Mark Hunter, violinist Saul Davies, and trumpeter Andy Diagram. The new lineup signed to Fontana Records and released Gold Mother in the fall. Following a handful of minor hit singles, Gold Mother finally became a breakthrough success in the spring of 1991, when a re-recorded version of "Sit Down" -- now boasting a contemporary baggy beat -- climbed to number two on the U.K. charts and became a staple on U.S. modern rock radio. Although the success of "Sit Down" was a blessing, it also was a curse, as the single became all James were known for. The band began to rebel in concert, playing almost nothing but new material, and its next album, 1992's Seven, was perceived as a misguided stab at big arena rock.
For the follow-up to Seven, James stripped away Diagram and worked with producer Brian Eno. The resulting record, Laid, was a quieter, more ambitious album, and it received some of the band's best reviews. While the album was ignored in the U.K., it was an alternative rock hit in the U.S. on the strength of the title track, which became a crossover hit. During the Laid sessions, James recorded another album's worth of experimental music with Eno that was released in the fall of 1994 as Wah Wah. The album received mixed reviews and the group took an extended break throughout 1995, partly due to guitarist Gott's departure. In 1996, Tim Booth recorded a collaboration with composer Angelo Badalamenti (Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet) entitled Booth and the Bad Angel, which received generally positive reviews.
With guitarist Adrian Oxaal in tow, James returned in early 1997 with Whiplash, a more straightforward record that was greeted with mixed reviews. Released in 1999, Millionaires, recorded with new guitarist Michael Kulas, was initially released only in the U.K. Their spectacular follow-up, 2001's Pleased to Meet You, was also available only in the U.K. A few months later, frontman Tim Booth announced his departure from the band he founded nearly 20 years before, and James called it quits following a winter tour of the U.K. in December 2001. The break was short-lived, however, as the band re-formed in 2007 and embarked on a tour in support of the double-disc compilation Fresh as a Daisy: The Singles. The following year saw the release of Hey Ma, James' tenth studio album.
The band returned in 2010 with a pair of "mini-albums" called The Night Before and The Morning After, respectively, before late 2011 brought a short, but novel, U.K. tour (the Orchestra of the Swan and the Manchester Consort Choir were their backup bands). In 2012, the lavish and long-awaited box set The Gathering Sound was issued, and included previously unreleased audio material alongside long-unavailable video concert footage. Details of the Max Dingel-produced La Petite Mort emerged in February 2014, and this first post-Mercury studio album was released four months later in June. Dingel then returned to produce their 2016 record, Girl at the End of the World. Written in Scotland and recorded in London, the album was described by the band as "big but personal, abrasive but warming" and "ultimately uplifting." Two years later, James teamed with producers Charlie Andrew and Beni Giles for Living in Extraordinary Times.
During the 2020 pandemic, Tim Booth teamed up with his Topanga Canyon neighbor Jacknife Lee to construct the basic tracks the rest of James completed while in quarantine. The resulting All the Colours of You was released in June 2021.
Biography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
There are other artists using the same name:
2) James is the vocalist of popular Bangladeshi band Nagar Baul. He was a member of the band Feelings and later formed the band Nagar Baul. James was raised in Chittagong and later moved to Dhaka for his singing career. Stylishly longhaired James--overwhelmingly known as the Nagar Baul (the City Bard), was the pioneer of psychedelic rock in Bangladesh. Originally a lead singer and guitarist, he has always been respected for his solo projects. He became affectionately called Guru by his fans. His tunes were bright and his singing a divergence from the archetypal tunes preferred by the commercial-type directors. His songs expressed love, rage, discontent, frustration, and happiness.
3) A Dutch rapper connected to the Fakkelteitgroep.
4) James Lee - known as James - was a former member of Royal Pirates, a South Korean band. On 2015, he got into an accident that caused him unable to play bass any longer. Hence, he decided to left the band.
James moved back to Los Angeles and decided to release music written post accident in a project called ’the Light EP’ consisted of 5 tracks. (http://jamesleeofficial.com/)
72
James Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Now don't get me wrong, just got to get back out there again
I'm biding my time 'til I can clock out for the day
When I'm on my own dime, you'll hear me say
Satan get behind me, you'll never find me
Once I finally break free
Objects in mirror gonna disappear
You know where I will be
Finally I'm able to do it my way
All the problems and pain, the struggle and strain
I'll leave 'em on the side of the road
While I'm riding that 72 Highway (I'm ready to go)
Roll the windows down, feel the wind hit my face
Get on out of town, give my senses some space
They're playing my song, crank it up, feel the beat
Singing along, my life is complete
Satan get behind me, you'll never find me
Once I finally break free
Objects in mirror gonna disappear
You know where I will be
Riding that 72 Highway
Finally I'm able to do it my way
All the problems and pain, the struggle and strain
I'll leave 'em on the side of the road
While I'm riding that 72 Highway (Get ready to go)
Riding that 72 Highway
Finally I'm able to do it my way
All the problems and pain, the struggle and strain
I'll leave 'em on the side of the road
While I'm riding that 72 Highway (I'm ready to go)
Riding that 72 Highway (windows down, wind in my face)
Finally I'm able to do it my way
All the problems and pain, the struggle and strain
I'll leave 'em on the side of the road
While I'm riding that 72 Highway
The lyrics of James's song "72" are a powerful commentary on religious extremism and the violence it often provokes. The opening lines, "You're going to murder in the name of God / What kind of God you dreaming of?" challenge the idea that committing violent acts in the name of religion is justified. This is further emphasized in the next line, "A God of blood not love", which asserts that the God worshiped by violent religious extremists is not a loving God at all.
The lyrics then turn to the idea of martyrdom and the promise of reward in the afterlife, with the line "So, you can get your 72 / Virgins to abuse / I hope they kick like mules". This phrase is often associated with radical Islam and the promise of "72 virgins" for those who die as martyrs, but here it is turned on its head, suggesting that these supposed rewards are in fact anything but heavenly.
The chorus of the song, which simply repeats the word "war" four times, emphasizes the toll that religious extremism takes in terms of human conflict and suffering. It also highlights the idea that this kind of conflict is often based on simplistic ideas of "us versus them" and the illusion of black and white moral clarity.
Overall, "72" is a powerful and thought-provoking takedown of the violence and hatred that religious extremism can breed, while also acknowledging the complex realities of human conflicts and the ways in which they are often exploited for political gain.
Line by Line Meaning
You're going to murder in the name of God
You're planning to commit acts of violence in the name of God
What kind of God you dreaming of?
What kind of deity are you imagining?
A God of blood not love
A deity who values violence over affection
So, you can get your 72
So that you can receive your reward of
Virgins to abuse
Inexperienced people to mistreat
I hope they kick like mules
I hope they can defend themselves
My God's bigger than your God
My deity is more powerful than yours
He made the world run out of puff
He caused the world to become exhausted
More important things to do
He has more significant tasks to accomplish
It's black, it's white, a fight
There's conflict that is either one extreme or the other
An elephant gray
Complicated and difficult to interpret
There's this universe at stake
The entire cosmos is in jeopardy
We get in the way
Our interference poses a problem
Go left, go right, straight on
Take any direction, as long as it's productive
Just do what they say
Follow orders
War, war
Military conflict
We get in the way
Our involvement causes complications
War, war, war, war
Repeated conflict
Lyrics © DistroKid
Written by: Joshua James
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@harrybhoy64
Its not ONE MAN peeps, its a 7 piece BAND called James who have been kickin around since the 80s...And yes they are brilliant..for more albums check out LAID or WHIPLASH for excellence? among others..
@BillTakats
"My God's bigger than your God!"