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/)
Skullduggery
James Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Made a meal of the wax and hairs
Phoned friends, had an insect party
But all I could hear was the bass drum drum
All I could hear was the bass drum drum
Now if you put your ear close you'll be able to hear
Not the sea shore noise of the shore sea shell
And the bronze of the bell
Going ding dong, ding dong, ding dong dong
Going out of my mind as they hollow my head
I'm floating in the air, but my body's in bed
The more they eat, the more I see
What is not, but just could be
You can hear them laughing in my head
You can hear them laughing in my head
Ha ha ha ha ha
Now they've eaten my memory, I can't recall
How the world used to be before
So a vision is the same as what is real
Depends upon the lighting, and how I feel
Ding dong, drum drum, ha ha ha ha ha
And then the music stopped
The musician went away
They'd eaten all my brain
The red and the grey
They all stack at home
Dug a tongue through my nose
Where my brain used to be
Now there's only a hole
The lyrics of James's song Skullduggery describe a disturbing situation where an earwig crawls into the singer's ear and starts feeding on the wax and hairs. The bugs soon invite their friends over for an all-out insect party, and the only thing the singer can hear is the relentless beat of the bass drum. The situation spirals out of control as the earwigs devour more and more of the singer's brain, causing him to lose his memory and sense of reality. The song ends with the chilling image of a hole in the singer's head where his brain used to be.
At its core, Skullduggery is a cautionary tale about the dangers of succumbing to the relentless drumbeat of modern life. The earwigs can be seen as a metaphor for the distractions and temptations that gnaw away at our minds, causing us to lose touch with our true selves. The repetition of the ding dong and drum drum sounds, combined with the haunting laughter of the bugs, creates a sense of unease and disorientation that perfectly captures the song's dark themes.
Line by Line Meaning
An earwig crawled into my ear
A small insect crawled into my ear
Made a meal of the wax and hairs
The insect ate the wax and hairs in my ear
Phoned friends, had an insect party
The insect called its friends to join in eating in my ear
But all I could hear was the bass drum drum
I could only hear a constant thumping sound
Now if you put your ear close you'll be able to hear
If you listen closely, you can hear
Not the sea shore noise of the shore sea shell
Not the sound of a seashell at the beach
The clatter of plates
The sound of dishes being moved
And the bronze of the bell
The sound of a bronze bell ringing
Going ding dong, ding dong, ding dong dong
Making a repeating bell sound
Going out of my mind as they hollow my head
I feel like I am losing my mind as they eat away at my brain
I'm floating in the air, but my body's in bed
I feel like I am detached from my body
The more they eat, the more I see
As they eat more, I start to see things
What is not, but just could be
Things that aren't real, but I imagine they could be
You can hear them laughing in my head
I can hear the insects laughing in my mind
Ha ha ha ha ha
The sound of laughter
Now they've eaten my memory, I can't recall
Because they ate my brain, I can't remember things
How the world used to be before
What things were like in the past
So a vision is the same as what is real
My perception of reality is influenced by my surroundings
Depends upon the lighting, and how I feel
It depends on the lighting and my emotional state
Ding dong, drum drum, ha ha ha ha ha
Repeating bell sound with laughter
And then the music stopped
The sounds stopped
The musician went away
The insects left my ear
They'd eaten all my brain
The insects had eaten all of my brain
The red and the grey
The color of the brain tissue being eaten
They all stack at home
The insects returned to their home
Dug a tongue through my nose
The insect stuck its tongue through my nose
Where my brain used to be
Where my brain used to be located
Now there's only a hole
Now there is an empty space where my brain used to be
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: GAVIN WHELAN, JAMES GLENNIE, LAWRENCE GOTT, TIMOTHY BOOTH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind