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/)
Seven
James Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
More on the way
Resuscitate goose flesh pool sweat
Blood let
Pallor pony expressed away
Road less reveled
Lines less scrabbled
Never seen reapers death eaters
To yours lives suspended
Respawn point not even in this dimension
Survival paraphrase waxed and waned
By the same
Quoting
Comfort to cage
Love to pain
Treasured severed
Mint verde vocation
Coined Amalgamations
Rolling closures wearing earth's entails
Kit kat
Tit for tat
Titillation for tattoos
Trilling inkings
Treading truths
Inflated daemons
Demonstrating
Clicking buttons
Postulating
Product placement
Government Cheese
Checking account or savings
Nonsense saying
Mo' Money Mo' Magnification
Marketplace den microcosm
This Is this and worth what we say
And what we say
Trust golden
Golden pearly plated gates
Trust invested psychic real state hey
What we say
Trust golden plated gates
Pearly gates
Trust invested psychic real state
Ahhraaa
And then yeah yeah
You know
You know
You know
The song "Seven" by James describes a state of mind where the singer is alone and preoccupied with his thoughts. The opening lines, "Alone again tonight, just dreaming of dreaming, head racing and scheming, it's always a fight," suggest that the singer has trouble controlling his thoughts and can't stop the incessant stream of ideas going through his mind. He's trapped in a cycle of overthinking with no escape, as he says, "It's been too long a time, just dreaming of dreaming, head racing and scheming, with no reason or rhyme."
The chorus offers a temporary solution to this internal turmoil: the singer pleads for someone to come to him and stay with him until the morning. He declares, "I want you, I need you, it's all that I can do." This could imply either a romantic partner or a close friend who could provide comfort and support during this difficult time. However, the singer acknowledges that this is only a temporary solution; as soon as the morning light comes, they will have to go their separate ways, and he will be alone again.
The final verse, "Orchestral agony, a multitude of voices, as symphony transforms into cacophony," suggests that the singer's thoughts are so overwhelming that they've taken on a physical form. The "multitude of voices" could represent the different thoughts and ideas that are battling for the singer's attention, while the "symphony" and "cacophony" could be metaphors for the beauty and chaos of his mental state. Overall, "Seven" is a poignant portrait of a mind in turmoil, seeking refuge in the companionship of others.
Line by Line Meaning
Alone again tonight
Spending another night by himself
Just dreaming of dreaming
Desiring to dream while awake
Head racing and scheming
Mind constantly working through ideas and plans
It's always a fight
Life is a constant struggle
It's been too long a time
Feels like it's been forever
With no reason or rhyme
Without any clear pattern or purpose
Come to me tonight
Desiring company
And stay until the morning's light
Longing for someone to stay until morning
I want you
He desires someone's presence
I need you
Craving someone's companionship
It's all that I can do
All he can think about
Stay with me tonight
Asking someone to stay with him
At least until the morning's light
Wishing for someone to stay until morning
Just thinking over things
Reflecting on things in his mind
Over and over and
Repeating the thoughts in his mind
Over and over-
Repeating thoughts nonstop
thinking things
Constantly thinking
Orchestral agony
Feeling overwhelmed with emotions
A multitude of voices
Feeling like there are many things to consider
As symphony transforms into
As the ordered and structured beauty turns into
Cacophony
A chaotic and discordant sound
Lyrics © DistroKid
Written by: Jamal Clay, Rondald Owens
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jorge Eduardo Cieza Aubert
Correct lyrics:
Blow me away
Was that love you declared
Only a word
Love can mean anything
Understand the world we're living in
Oceans apart
What's that view from your wave
Beautiful craft
Weather and change
Understand the world we're living in
Love can mean anything
God made love to me
Soothed away my gravity
Made me a pair of angel's wings
Clear vision and some magic things
God is love to me
Thank you for those things
Understand the world we're living in
Love can mean anything
Darling
I'm open
Unguarded
Unbroken
Now we've done our time
We can drift away
Like the heavy cloud
With the weight of rain
Understand the world we're living in
Love can mean anything
Understand the world we're living in
Love can change anything
FaithInTheFuture23
Blow me away
Was that love you declared
Only a word
Love can mean anything
Understand the world we're living in
Oceans apart
What's that view from your wave
Beautiful craft
Weather and change
Understand the world we're living in
Love can mean anything
God made love to me
Soothed away my gravity
Made me a pair of angel's wings
Clear vision and some magic things
God is love to me
Thank you for those things
Understand the world we're living in
Love can mean anything
Darling
I'm open
Unguarded
Unbroken
Therenegadeaussie
Blow me away
Was that love you declared?
Only a word
Love can mean anything
Understand the world, we're living in
Oceans apart
What's that view from your wave
Beautiful craft
Weather and change
Understand the world we're living in
Love can mean anything
God made love to me
Soothed away my poverty
Made me a pair of angel's wings
Clear vision and some magic things
God is love to me
Thank you for those things
Understand the world, we're living in
Love can mean anything
Darling, I'm open
Unguarded, unbroken
Now we've done our time
We can drift away
Like a heavy cloud
With the weight of rain
Understand the world we're living in
Love can mean anything
Understand the world we're living in
Love can mean anything
Understand the world, we're living in
Love can mean anything
Understand the world, we're living in
Love can change anything
Felipe Hildebrand
Most underrated band of all times. They desereved the world for songs like this gem.
Θεοδωρος Λ.
Vvery much loved all over Greece- best lives too
Paul
They are mostly known for Sit Down and Laid but this track blows them both out of the water.
Martin Rose
@Paul Exactly! Here in Macedonia I think people like "Sometimes" a lot!
Martin Rose
Getting Away With It as well, my favourite along with this.
Paul
@Martin Rose Sound and Born of Frustration are also great.
LuigiBavi
James regularly meshes smart, deep, uplifting lyrics with beautiful, catchy music better than most bands could ever dream of on their best day. This song is just another example.
Clare
I think Tim Booth is one of the best lyricists ever, if not THE best.
Paul
He's also a great dancer too. Just like Morrisey. And both men are from Manchester.
Braxton Wages
Yes. I wholeheartedly agree.