James emerged from their native Manchester in the mid-'80s playing a brand … Read Full Bio ↴James emerged from their native Manchester in the mid-'80s playing a brand of urgent, ringing guitar pop distinguished by Tim Booth's keening, insistent vocals. Booth's dramatic stylings and James' dedication to textured guitars earned the group the designation of "the next Smiths," a connection strengthened by Morrissey's endorsement of the band. By the dawn of the '90s, James shook off these comparisons by embracing acid house, the first of many adventurous left turns the band took over the decades. "Sit Down," an old open-hearted tune re-recorded for the age of "baggy," proved to be their breakthrough, reaching number two in the U.K. in 1991 and becoming an alternative rock hit in the U.S. With its singles "Sound" and "Born of Frustration," Seven consolidated that success in 1992, but it was 1993's Laid that established the group's mature sound. Working with Brian Eno, the group took aural risks that paid off artistically and commercially: the title track became their biggest American hit. From there, James had a flurry of activity in the late 1990s before entering a hiatus in 2001. The band regrouped in 2007, releasing Hey Ma the following year and then settling into a groove where they alternated tours with ambitious album projects such as 2010's two-part The Night Before and The Morning After, as well as 2021's pandemic journal All the Colours of You.

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/)

Once A Friend
James Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

You were created just for me.
You were created just to tease.
You've never loved, you've just diseased.
I put my faith in you,
Spoiled all your schemes.

You fooled us all, we're easily led.
Your body folds into a head.

Your spirit's stuck inside your head.
I put my faith in you, turned you into God,

You were once my friend, but never again,
once my friend, but never again,
once my friend, but never again.

You showed me all the things I like.
I'll turn defence into attack.
I'll make you wish you're still on strike.
I put my trust in you, turned you into God,

You were once my friend, but never again,
once my friend, but never again,
once my friend, but never again.
No never again.

You were always running me down.
I was always in the way.
Sick of being understanding,
Now I'm gonna make you pay!

Now I'm gonna make you pay!
How I'm gonna make you pay!

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of James's song "Once A Friend" depict the unraveling of a once-close friendship. The singer believed that the person they are singing about was created just for them but now feels like they were just there to tease and had never truly loved them but instead was just a disease in their life. The singer put their faith in this person and spoiled all of their plans, but ultimately, the person fooled them and everyone else, and their spirit is now stuck inside their head. The singer turned them into a godlike figure, but they were once friends and never will be again.

The second verse of the song has more aggression and animosity towards the former friend. The singer says that this person showed them all the things they like, but now they are going to turn defense into attack and make them pay for their actions. The singer is fed up with always being understanding and being constantly run down by this person, so now they are ready to retaliate. Overall, the song's lyrics convey a sense of betrayal and anger towards a friendship that was once important but is now over.

Line by Line Meaning

You were created just for me.
I believe that you were made specifically to be in my life.

You were created just to tease.
Your purpose is to torment and play with me.

You've never loved, you've just diseased.
You have never experienced true love, only negativity that spreads like a disease.

I put my faith in you, Spoiled all your schemes.
I trusted you and your plans were ruined because of that trust.

You fooled us all, we're easily led.
You deceived everyone without much effort.

Your body folds into a head.
You're so bony and skinny that your head seems to be larger than the rest of your body.

Your spirit's stuck inside your head.
Your thoughts and beliefs are narrow-minded and restrictive.

I put my faith in you, turned you into God,
I had so much faith in you that I almost idolized you.

You were once my friend, but never again, once my friend, but never again, once my friend, but never again.
You were briefly my friend, but after everything that's happened between us, that will never be the case again.

You showed me all the things I like.
You helped me discover things that I enjoyed.

I'll turn defence into attack.
I will use my defensiveness and turn it into an offensive strategy against you.

I'll make you wish you're still on strike.
You will regret going on strike against me.

I put my trust in you, turned you into God,
I trusted you so much that you became like a god to me.

You were once my friend, but never again, once my friend, but never again, once my friend, but never again. No never again.
Just like before, you will never regain my trust or friendship.

You were always running me down.
You often spoke negatively about me behind my back.

I was always in the way.
You viewed me as an obstacle in your progress.

Sick of being understanding,
I'm tired of trying to empathize and sympathize with you.

Now I'm gonna make you pay!
Now it's time for you to suffer the consequences of your actions against me.

Now I'm gonna make you pay!
I have a plan in motion to exact revenge against you.

How I'm gonna make you pay!
I am going to punish you in a way that will hurt you just as much as you have hurt me.

Contributed by Brooklyn Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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