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/)
Mirage
James Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(Wait a second) you're gone now
I run to touch you but you vanish through the doorways
And oh, how
Hard it is to live without you
I love everything about you
Now I know you're really gone
But my imagination is so strong
And your face is telling me that you
Oh yeah oh, want to be by my side
Oh yeah oh, now it's finally time
(Wait a second)
Mirage, that's all you are to me
Mirage, something I only see
So I keep walking through the alleys and the hallways
(Where are you?)
I keep remembering the kissing in the doorways
The car too
How it all comes back to me
The movies every Saturday
The place we used to go to eat
I want so much to have it like it used to be
That I see you coming into view
And your face is telling me that you
Oh yeah oh, want to be by my side
Oh yeah oh, now it's finally time
(Here it comes again)
Mirage, that's all you are to me
Mirage, something I only see
Just a mirage, that's all you are to me
Just a mirage, something that I only see
Just a mirage, that's all you are to me
Just a mirage, something that I only see
The lyrics to James's song Mirage describe the experience of seeing someone who you once loved and lost, in various places and situations, and feeling like they are not really gone. The singer describes seeing this person in alleys, hallways, and doorways, but every time they try to reach out and touch them, they vanish through the doorways. Despite knowing that this person is really gone, the singer's imagination is so strong that they continue to see them coming into view, and their face is telling them that they want to be by their side. The singer remembers all the things they used to do with this person, like kissing in the doorways, going to the movies every Saturday, and eating at a certain place, and wants so much for things to go back to the way they were.
The repeated use of the word "mirage" throughout the song emphasizes the idea that this person is not really there, but rather a figment of the singer's imagination. A mirage is something that appears to be real, but is actually an illusion caused by light and heat, and this is how the singer sees this person - as something that isn't really there, but seems real to them. The second verse continues in the same vein as the first, with the singer walking through alleys and hallways and remembering all the things they used to do with this person. The song ends with the repeated refrain of "just a mirage," underscoring the idea that this person is not really there and the singer needs to move on.
Overall, Mirage is a poignant and nostalgic song about the pain of losing someone and the difficulty of letting go. The use of imagery throughout the song - alleys, hallways, doorways - creates a dreamlike atmosphere that suits the theme of the song well.
Line by Line Meaning
I see you standing in the alleys and the hallways
I see an image of you in my memory
(Wait a second) you're gone now
But when I take a second look, you're not really there
I run to touch you but you vanish through the doorways
Every time I try to get close to you, you disappear
And oh, how Hard it is to live without you
I can't bear to live without you by my side
I love everything about you
You're perfect in every way and I cherish everything about you
Now I know you're really gone
I know deep down that you're not with me anymore
But my imagination is so strong
However, my imagination is so vivid and compelling
That I see you coming into view
That I keep seeing you in my mind
And your face is telling me that you
Your imagined face expresses to me that you
Oh yeah oh, want to be by my side
Want to be with me by my side
Oh yeah oh, now it's finally time
And maybe it's time we should be together again
(Wait a second)
But just as suddenly as it appeared, my illusion vanishes
Mirage, that's all you are to me
What I see is nothing but a false impression
Mirage, something I only see
It's just an illusion in my mind
So I keep walking through the alleys and the hallways
I keep wandering through the places we used to be
(Where are you?)
Wondering where in the world you could be
I keep remembering the kissing in the doorways
Remembering our passionate moments in doorways
The car too
And our rides in the car
How it all comes back to me
All these memories come flooding back to me
The movies every Saturday
And our routine of going to the movies every Saturday
The place we used to go to eat
And our favorite food joint we used to go together
I want so much to have it like it used to be
I long to relive those happy moments with you
That I see you coming into view
And my mind conjures up visions of you
And your face is telling me that you
And I imagine you with a face that expresses
Oh yeah oh, want to be by my side
Your deep desire to still be with me
Oh yeah oh, now it's finally time
Now that we each learned our lesson, it's time we should be together
(Here it comes again)
But just as quickly, reality hits hard
Mirage, that's all you are to me
You're nothing but an illusory dream
Mirage, something that I only see
A figment of my imagination that I mistakenly believe real
Just a mirage, that's all you are to me
You're an unrealistic mental projection
Just a mirage, something that I only see
A false vision that exists only in my mind
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Ritchie Cordell
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind