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/)
All In My Mind
James Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To get along
Did not express
The point of the dart
What confessed
Then denied
Some things I must hide
To fall in love with you
Bring out your dead
Laid out in line
All my desire
All in my mind
Bring out your dead
Dead don't stay dead
They're sleeping
Sharpen up your stake
What was lied
Thrice denied
Alibis
To stay in love with you
Bring out your dead
Laid out in line
An unmarked grave
Portends to more
Bring out your dead
Dead don't stay dead
They're sleeping
Sharpen up your stake
One one thousand
Two one thousand
Three one thousand
Four one thousand
Five one thousand
Count and turn away
Bring out your dead
Laid out in line
A brief denial
Portends to more
Bring out your dead
Dead don't stay dead
They're sleeping
Sharpen up your stake
The lyrics to James's song "All In My Mind" seem to convey a struggle with honesty and openness in a relationship. The first stanza acknowledges that sometimes people don't express their true feelings or thoughts in order to maintain harmony with their partner. The singer admits to hiding some things, perhaps out of fear or to prevent conflict. But ultimately, these unspoken truths prevent the singer from fully falling in love with their partner.
The second stanza introduces ideas of death and resurrection. "Bring out your dead" suggests a burial, while "dead don't stay dead, they're sleeping" implies a potential for resurrection. The lines "they're sleeping / sharpen up your stake" suggest that the singer feels threatened or attacked by something that they thought was buried or resolved. Perhaps this is related to the earlier idea of hiding things to stay in love, as if these secrets have now grown into something dangerous and destructive.
The chorus is repeated twice, emphasizing the idea of bringing out the dead and the fact that they don't stay dead. The final lines of the song suggest a counting and turning away from something, perhaps again indicating a desire to avoid conflict or confrontation. The song as a whole seems to explore the fear of honesty and the consequences of withholding truth in a relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
What was said
Something that was communicated
To get along
In order to maintain harmony
Did not express
Was not fully conveyed
The point of the dart
The intended message
What confessed
What was admitted
Then denied
Followed by a contradiction
Some things I must hide
There are secrets that must be kept
To fall in love with you
In order to be with you intimately
Bring out your dead
Confront your past mistakes
Laid out in line
Presented in an orderly manner
All my desire
My complete longing
All in my mind
Exists only as thoughts
Dead don't stay dead
Past experiences continue to affect us
They're sleeping
Dormant, but not inactive
Sharpen up your stake
Prepare to confront what haunts you
What was lied
A falsehood was told
Thrice denied
Repeatedly concealed
Alibis
Excuses or justifications
To stay in love with you
To maintain a relationship with you
An unmarked grave
A hidden or forgotten death
Portends to more
Suggests greater significance
One one thousand
A measure of time passing
Two one thousand
Continuation of time
Three one thousand
Another marker of time
Four one thousand
The passage of time
Five one thousand
Time marches on
Count and turn away
Attempt to move on from the past
A brief denial
A temporary refusal to acknowledge something
Bring out your dead
Confront your past mistakes
Dead don't stay dead
Past experiences continue to affect us
Sharpen up your stake
Prepare to confront what haunts you
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: JAMES LAWRENCE GOTT, JAMES PATRICK GLENNIE, MARK HUNTER, SAUL DAVIES, TIMOTHY BOOTH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind