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/)
Medieval
James Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Those men he thought were friends turned out to be the enemy
Their uniforms were black not brown, they marched to a different step
But he soon tuned in to their frequency
By shifting up one fret
But the one thing that united them
Was they all had life to give
But it wasn't their intention to serve that way, but to kill so they may live
Set them marching, stop them thinking
Psyche them up with your will
Stir them up with frantic rhythm
Send them out to kill, kill, kill, kill kill
We are sound we are sound we are sound
Back in human form, skin tight uniform, caught upon the barbed wire
Back in human form, skin tight uniform, crucified upon the barbed wire
The wire
We are sound
The lyrics of James's song "Medieval" talk about a soldier who goes to war with his comrades, only to find out that they are not what they seem. He gets separated from his group and is confronted by soldiers who are dressed in black instead of brown, and they march to a different beat. Despite this, he manages to tune in to their frequency by shifting up one fret, showing that he still has some common ground with them. However, the common ground between them is that they all have life to give, but not necessarily to serve, but to kill so that they may live. The chorus of the song, "We are sound, we are sound, we are sound", is repeated throughout and seems to refer to the power of sound in uniting people, whether they are friends or enemies.
The second half of the lyrics take on a more disturbing tone as the soldier is caught in barbed wire and "crucified upon the barbed wire". The lyrics make a reference to "skin tight uniform", which implies that the soldier's identity is lost in the machinery of war. The lyrics of this song seem to convey a sense of desperation, loss, and helplessness that are often associated with war. The chorus, "We are sound, we are sound, we are sound", seems to imply that sound can be used as a tool of manipulation and control to make people forget their humanity and do things that they would not do otherwise.
Line by Line Meaning
Caught in the long grass, got separated from his company
He found himself lost and alone in a dangerous place, away from those he believed were his allies.
Those men he thought were friends turned out to be the enemy
He discovered that the people he trusted and thought were his friends were actually his adversaries.
Their uniforms were black not brown, they marched to a different step
He realized that his enemies were distinguishable from his friends by the color of their uniforms and their movements.
But he soon tuned in to their frequency
By shifting up one fret
He adapted to his enemies' tactics by making a small change and following their lead.
But the one thing that united them
Was they all had life to give
But it wasn't their intention to serve that way, but to kill so they may live
Although they shared the commonality of being alive, their purpose was not to give life but to take it in order to preserve their own.
Set them marching, stop them thinking
Psyche them up with your will
Stir them up with frantic rhythm
Send them out to kill, kill, kill, kill kill
The leader's role is to suppress independent thought and instill a sense of urgency and frenzy in their followers, motivating them to go out and kill without hesitation.
Back in human form, skin tight uniform, caught upon the barbed wire
Back in human form, skin tight uniform, crucified upon the barbed wire
The wire
He reverts to his human form, now adorned in the same uniform as his enemies, and is physically and symbolically trapped by the barbed wire, representing the entanglements and consequences of war.
We are sound, we are sound, we are sound
The repetition of this phrase serves as a reminder that, regardless of which side they are on or what their intentions may be, everyone involved in war is still human and capable of creating sound, music, and art.
Contributed by Michael L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.