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/)
Lose Control
James Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Where is the love
Where is the love
That everyone is talking of
Where is the love
Where is the love
That everyone is dreaming of
Come to bed
Come to bed
I cannot sleep in all this heat
Come to bed
Come to bed
This terror's all within my head
Don't be deceived, no land in sight
We're all adrift in this dark night
We float on seas of disbelief
While singing songs of pain relief
Shake my body, release my soul
Punish my senses, lose control
This body's young but my spirit's old
Scatter my ashes and let my feelings go
Where is the love
Where is the love
Where is the love
That everyone is talking of
Where is the love
Where is the love
That everyone is dreaming of
Don't be deceived, no land in sight
We're all adrift in this dark night
We float on seas of disbelief
While singing songs of pain relief
Shake my body, release my soul
Punish my senses, lose control
This body's young but my spirit's old
Scatter my ashes and let my feelings go
Shake my body, release my soul
Punish my senses, lose control
"Where is the love" is a question that James asks repeatedly in the opening lines of his song, "Lose Control". He wonders where the love that everyone is talking about and dreaming of is. The lyrics of the song suggest that the world is engulfed in chaos, confusion, and pain, and people seem to have lost their sense of love, empathy, and compassion towards each other. James feels the heat of this disconnection, which the song suggests is figurative and literal. He asks his partner to come to bed with him, but his mind is in a state of distress and turmoil, making it difficult for him to sleep.
The second verse of the song suggests that people are lost at sea, without a clear sense of direction or purpose. They sing songs of pain relief to combat their disbelief, but James feels this is a temporary solution, a mere distraction from the problems at hand. He implores his partner to shake his body, release his soul, and punish his senses, indicating that he wants to lose control. James seeks to scatter his ashes metaphorically and let his feelings go. He yearns for a way to escape the pain, the confusion, and the helplessness that he feels in the world.
Line by Line Meaning
Where is the love
James wonders where the love that everyone talks about is
That everyone is talking of
James thinks that people talk about love but don't really show it
Where is the love
James repeats his question in search of answers
Where is the love
James continues his quest for love
Where is the love
James questions the existence of love
That everyone is dreaming of
James believes that people dream about love but don't experience it in reality
Come to bed
James asks his partner to come to bed
Come to bed
James repeats his request for his partner to come and sleep with him
Come to bed
James insists on his partner's presence in the bed with him
I cannot sleep in all this heat
James finds it hard to sleep because it's too hot in the room
Come to bed
James reiterates his partner to join him in the bed to help him sleep
Come to bed
James insists once more for his partner to join him and sleep
This terror's all within my head
James is afraid of something but realizes he's just imagining things
Don't be deceived, no land in sight
James cautions us that we shouldn't be tricked as there's no hope in sight
We're all adrift in this dark night
James feels like he's lost and alone in the darkness of the night
We float on seas of disbelief
James thinks that we're just aimlessly moving through life without any real purpose
While singing songs of pain relief
James believes that we use music to console ourselves when we're in pain
Shake my body, release my soul
James wants to be free physically and mentally
Punish my senses, lose control
James wants to experience intense physical sensations and let go of himself
This body's young but my spirit's old
James feels like he may be young in age but he's mature in his spirit
Scatter my ashes and let my feelings go
James wants to be free from all his emotional baggage when he dies
Shake my body, release my soul
James repeats his desire to be free physically and mentally
Punish my senses, lose control
James repeats his desire to let go of himself and experience intense physical sensations
Where is the love
James concludes his search for love
Where is the love
James ends his song with yet another unanswered question
Where is the love
James leaves us pondering over the true meaning of love
That everyone is talking of
James reminds us of what people keep talking about but no one knows the answer to
Where is the love
James finishes off his song with his final attempt to find the answer to the question that he started with
That everyone is dreaming of
James concludes that people are dreaming of a love that may be impossible to find in reality
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: JAMES GLENNIE, LAWRENCE GOTT, TIMOTHY BOOTH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@bigtommyt71
One of the most under-rated madchester bands from that era
@craigcullen28
A totally underrated band FULL STOP
@valley_robot
I don’t think James are underrated at all they had massive success
@gord220turbo
The amount of amazing bands out of Manchester is quite surreal. Dynamite.
@aceyace9069
Agree totally they kikk the shyte out of some of today's bands...😎
@scooby1235
people always say this "under rated" - Come Home, Sit Down she's a star - Laid and this track... every indi club in the world had those on the playlist@@valley_robot
@Camarggio
I was 15 in 1980 and 25 in 1990. I can positively say that I fully enjoyed 2 amazing decades of music and partying. At 35 in 2000, I was still enjoying being relatively young and carried on having fun as much as I could. I'll be 59 next year and my partying days are behind me. I had more than my fair share of wild partying. I don't miss it anymore. Now I'm more than happy with a bottle of wine and netflix.. ...😂
@jonnyfrench19
So you lost control then?
@MikeLuisCozinheiro75
2020 anyone?
@MoogerTuber
James Lasts