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/)
Lost A Friend
James Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It says go to sleep
Go to sleep.
Turns me into a Siamese twin
Where do I start?
The TV screen begins
Plugs me into some holy geek
His point in life is incomplete
That only money can make me happy
Hold the course and then sail
Across the satellite beams
Across the oceans or seas
To the light house I can be
I see some soldiers with guns
And they are killing for fun
They are killing to entertain me
Caught between that world and this
I'd sell my soul for a bond girl's kiss
Caught between that world and this
I'd sell my soul for a state of bliss
My TV is telling me
That all the money
Goes into the military
Hold the course and then sail
Across the satellite beams
Across the oceans or seas
To the light house I can be
I see some soldiers with guns
And they are killing for fun
They are killing to entertain me
And then I heard your name
As the spaceman came
He came right through my screen
And then his lifeline broke
He began to choke
Jump cut to another scene
Lost a friend to the sea
I lost a friend to the sea
The first verse of "Lost A Friend" by James paints a vivid image of the pervasive and hypnotic nature of our technology, specifically television, in our lives. The TV is personified as it "stares" at James, commanding him to sleep. The metaphor of turning the singer into a "Siamese twin" with the TV is a powerful and haunting image of how we can become glued to technology and lose ourselves in it. The next lines describe how the screen "plugs" James into "some holy geek," which could represent the TV or perhaps a larger commentary on the power and influence of media and technology over our thoughts and actions. The line, "His point of life is incomplete," could suggest that technology may not offer us the fulfillment or purpose as a true human connection would. As this verse progresses, James's TV tells him that money is the path to happiness, a message often perpetuated in our consumerist society.
In the second verse, the singer begins to describe the bizarre and disturbing scenes he's witnessing on television. He sees soldiers killing for entertainment, revealing the disturbing effects of war as it becomes a tool to numb or entertain people on the other side of a screen. The chorus describes the singer's attempt to escape from these disturbing images and messages, both physically ("sailing across satellite beams, oceans or seas") and mentally. The haunting repetition of the soldiers killing for fun and to entertain the singer create a surreal and unsettling feeling.
Towards the end of the song, the singer hears a friend's name as a "spaceman" comes through his screen, only for the man's "lifeline" to break and for the scene to abruptly change. The final line, "Lost a friend to the sea," is a poignant and melancholy conclusion to the song. It is unclear if the friend's death is metaphorical or literal, but it reinforces the weight of the themes explored throughout "Lost A Friend" - the inescapable influence of technology and society's obsession with money and entertainment.
Line by Line Meaning
My TV is staring at me
The singer is personifying their television as it is constantly on and staring at them.
It says go to sleep
The television is trying to convince the singer to go to bed.
Go to sleep.
The television is urging the singer to rest.
Turns me into a Siamese twin
The TV has become so entwined with the artist’s life that it feels like a conjoined twin.
Where do I start?
The artist feels overwhelmed and unsure of where to begin with their issues.
The TV screen begins
The television is the starting point of the singer's problems.
Plugs me into some holy geek
The singer feels forced into connecting with people who are passionate about something they don't understand.
His point in life is incomplete
The person the artist is connected to appears to be lost in life and unsure of their purpose.
My TV is telling me
The TV is influencing the artist with its messages.
That only money can make me happy
The TV is espousing the message that money is the key to happiness and fulfilment.
Hold the course and then sail
The singer is encouraged to stick with their beliefs and to follow their passion.
Across the satellite beams
The artist is dreaming of a way to be free from their current situation and travel far away.
Across the oceans or seas
This adds to the idea that the singer is searching for a new beginning and a way to escape.
To the light house I can be
The lighthouse symbolizes a guiding light that can lead the singer out of their darkness.
I see some soldiers with guns
The singer is envisioning an image of soldiers with weapons.
And they are killing for fun
The artist believes that the soldiers are taking pleasure in killing.
They are killing to entertain me
The artist recognizes that the violence they see is being broadcasted to them for their own entertainment.
Caught between that world and this
The singer is torn between their own reality and the world they see on their television.
I'd sell my soul for a bond girl's kiss
The singer would trade anything for something as shallow and fleeting as a kiss from a famous person.
I'd sell my soul for a state of bliss
The artist is willing to do whatever it takes to achieve happiness.
That all the money
The artist is repeating the message that the TV has been telling them about money.
Goes into the military
The TV is informing the artist that a significant amount of money is being spent on the military.
And then I heard your name
The singer suddenly hears the name of someone important to them.
As the spaceman came
A spaceman appears on the screen of the television.
He came right through my screen
The singer is imagining the spaceman stepping out of the television and into their room.
And then his lifeline broke
The spaceman's lifeline is the only thing keeping him alive and it breaks.
He began to choke
The spaceman is struggling to breathe.
Jump cut to another scene
The artist has changed the channel or the TV has changed scenes automatically.
Lost a friend to the sea
The artist has lost a friend to something like death or betrayal.
I lost a friend to the sea
The singer is giving emphasis to their feeling of loss over their friend.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: JAMES GLENNIE, LAWRENCE GOTT, TIMOTHY BOOTH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
carpog
I don't think James ever got enough credit for their politically astute lyrics. This song is a great example.
Pet Shop Boys Partnership
GORGEOUS, James.. you guys are ABSOLUTELY magnificent WHIPLASH was written, produced and played to perfection. I speak for many U.S Fans.. specifically in Atlanta, Georgia. We had the privilege of supporting you guys at the Roxy Atlanta. We were about 20 of the 50+ that rushed the stage and had a "Sit down" next to y'all ( a southern slang).….Come back and visit the warm ♥️ heart of the South, we'll all be there!!
Marcus Tillman
Saw them in Atl
Fraser Gemmell
I'd forgotten about this incredible song,, absolutely love it ❤
Stephen Deroski
James is such an excellent band
Gavin D
Their finest song.
kareen strathearn
best band in the world ,,thank you tim booth
original channel
Amazing sound texture
Ryan Edwards
Their best song. Hold the course and then sail.
A G
Great band