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/)
Out of the blue
James Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'll see you soon
I stopped feeling down
Right out of the blue
Nothing I've found
Can control my mood
So I'll see you soon
Like I always do
Night vision, I'm a bat
Ya, I always wear a mask
Fall for false floor, trapped
I'm the ghost that they catch
Put a stake through my chest
Or I might come back again
Ya it's turtles till the end
I'm immortal, never ends
There's a portal in my bed
Oracles tell me what's next
Ya the cords go in my head
Slurp the juice out the outlet
Wake up, redo it again
Eyes acidic, litmus test
Iridescent from the sweat
Green stains around my neck
Yoouuu
I'll see you soon
I stopped feeling down
Right out of the blue
Nothing I've found
Can control my mood
So I'll see you soon
Like I always do
I
I don't know
I suppose
I never
Really have
And I don't think
That I ever will
My blood is liquid courage
Drink in a hurry
I will save the day
Give me time for now
Walk me to my place
You fill my step with bounce
Twirl me around like I'm in a gown
Turn that frown right upside down
I'm defined by what I don't have
So you don't have to listen
This song good enough? it isn't
I'm still spoiled, London Tipton
My ancestors had a vision
I'm a genius on a mission
They pretty much all left Europe before the Holocaust, escaping the final boss
Yoouuu
I'll see you soon
I stopped feeling down
Right out of the blue
Nothing I've found
To control my mood
But I'll see you soon
Like I always do
Yoouuu
I'll see you soon
I stopped feeling down
Right out of the blue
Nothing I've found
Can control my mood
So I'll see you soon
Like I always do
The lyrics to James Gabriano’s song, La Isla Bonita, is a dreamy description of San Pedro, an island off the coast of Belize. The opening line, “Como puede ser verdad” or “How can this be true” sets the tone of disbelief that the singer feels about the beauty of the place. The song then describes how the singer, in her dream, felt like she had never left the island and knew the song that a young girl with eyes like the desert sang. The island seems like yesterday, even though it was far away, and the breeze is tropical and wild. The singer’s yearning to be at La Isla Bonita is reflected in the repeated verse, “This is where I long to be”.
The samba music and sunset on the island made a lasting impact as the sounds “ring through my ears and sting my eyes”. The singer then falls in love with San Pedro when she hears “Te dijo te amo” or “I love you” in Spanish. However, as the days pass by, they go too fast, and the singer is left with beautiful memories of the island. The longing to return to La Isla Bonita is intertwined with the description of the beautiful faces and carefree love that exists on the island. Gabriano leaves the ending with a repetition of “La la la la la la la” and “El dijo que te ama” or “He said he loves you”, leaving the listener with a romantic impression of San Pedro.
Line by Line Meaning
Como puede ser verdad
How can it be true?
Last night I dreamt of San Pedro
I had a dream about San Pedro last night
Just like I'd never gone, I knew the song
Even though I had left San Pedro, I still knew the song
A young girl with eyes like the desert
There was a young girl with desert-like eyes
It all seems like yesterday, not far away
It feels like it was just yesterday, not a long time ago
Tropical the island breeze
The island breeze is tropical
All of nature wild and free
The entire nature is wild and free
This is where I long to be
I want to be here
La isla bonita
The beautiful island
And when the samba played
And when the samba music played
The sun would set so high
The sun would set really high
Ring through my ears and sting my eyes
The music would be loud in my ears and the sun would hurt my eyes
Your Spanish lullaby
Your Spanish bedtime song
I fell in love with San Pedro
I fell in love with San Pedro
Warm wind carried on the sea, he called to me
The warm wind on the sea called out to me
Te dijo te amo
He said 'I love you'
I prayed that the days would last
I wished that the days would never end
They went so fast
But they went by so fast
I want to be where the sun warms the sky
I want to be where the sun warms the sky
When it's time for siesta you can watch them go by
During siesta time, you can watch people go by
Beautiful faces, no cares in this world
There are beautiful faces with no worries in this world
Where a girl loves a boy, and a boy loves a girl
Where a girl loves a boy, and a boy loves a girl
La la la la la la la
La la la la la la la
El dijo que te ama
He said he loves you
La la la la la la la
La la la la la la la
Lyrics © DistroKid
Written by: Jamie Greenberg
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@dakotaclark3197
When the guy dropped and the other guy stopped spinning and threw it back to him.....i died it was soo cool
@ProfCambrielle
I love the geometric print on the leotards! Wonderful!
@Alcazarbro
Impressive, as always. Very nice.
@GuardInst101
Nice support from 1:59-2:04
@PatrickAlbertLising
Sigh, my drop at 2:40 will forever haunt me.
@shanlismells
It's okay still love ya
@XXtheJUMPoffXX
2:40 if that landed on somebody O_O