HISTORY OF JAMES
1980
March : James, or Venereal and The Diseases as they were then known, play their
first ever show at Eccles British Legion.
December : Volume Distortion, as they were now known, support The Fall at
Manchester Poly's Cavendish Hall
1981
1982
January-February : Model Team International record their first real demos in
Hulme with Jenny Ingram on vocals
March : Jim, Gavan and Paul spot Tim dancing at a Manchester University disco
and ask him if he would like to dance for the then Model Team International
April : Tim makes his live debut for Model Team International at Sheffield
Leadmill supporting Orange Juice
July : James record a four-track demo - Hymn From A Village, If Things Were
Perfect, Withdrawn and What's The World - with Nick Garside at Out Of The Blue -
Tim's first recorded work with the band
August : The name James is adopted by the band after many changes over the past
two years. James debut at Darwen's 21 Club advertised as "James (Not A Poet)"
and Tim started the show by reading a poem.
November : James support New Order at the Hacienda in a show recorded for A
Factory Outing video
December : James record another demo of Hymn From A Village and Stutter.
1983
March : Factory arrange for James to support New Order at Liverpool's State
Ballroom
August : Jimone EP recorded at Strawberry Studios in Stockport
October : James play their first John Peel session for Radio One
November : Jimone EP released
November : James support The Smiths at The Hacienda
December : James support New Order at Brixton Academy, their first major London
show
1984
July : Jim marries Jennie Ingram
August : Paul Gilbertson and Larry play their only show together at Deville's in
Manchester
September : Before the Hacienda show, Jim breaks the news to Paul that he has
been replaced in the band by Larry due to his increasing unreliability and
drug-related problems
October : The James II EP is recorded at Strawberry Studios in Stockport
November - James support The Smiths on a nine-date Irish tour, travelling around
in the back of a Transit van.
1985
February - April : James tour the UK as special guests of The Smiths on their
Meat Is Murder touring, fuelling still further press comparisons of the two
bands
March : James II EP released
March : James feature on the cover of the NME for the first time
May : James announce to Factory Records that they want to leave the label and
record for a major label
June : Village Fire EP released
June : James withdraw from The Smiths tour of the US a couple of days before
they were due to depart
June : James perform at the Glastonbury and WOMAD festivals
August : James play a series of shows including the Manchester Platt Fields
Festival and Bristol Aston Court Festival
October : James record the Chain Mail / Sit Down EP with Lenny Kaye at Crescent
Studios in Bath
1986
January : James record their debut album Stutter with Lenny Kaye at Amazon
Studios in Liverpool
March : Chain Mail single released
June : James play a series of UK dates to coincide with the release of the
Stutter album
July : So Many Ways single released
July : James play at the Manchester PSV Club as part of the Tenth Summer
celebrations
July : Stutter LP released
October : James play a series of UK dates including a three-night residency at
the London ICA
November : James embark on a small venue tour of Germany
1987
January : James play two live shows at London ULU, broadcast by GLR, and
Northampton Ring The Bells as preparation for their upcoming recording sessions
February : James record the original version of the Strip Mine album at
Rockfield Studios in Wales with producer Hugh Jones.
April : Jim's wife Jennie gives birth to a daughter, Gemma
August : James play two nights at Manchester Green Rooms including an acoustic
set.
October : James play a three night tour of Manchester, London and Birmingham
despite another delay to the release of the Strip-Mine album
1988
January : Strip-Mine is remixed by Steve Power and James in three days at
London's Battery Studios
April : What For single released
April : James play a small UK tour to promote the release of What For
May : James headline an Anti-Clause 28 show at Manchester International
supported by The Stone Roses
September : Ya Ho single released
September : Strip-Mine LP released
September : Using a loophole in their record contract stating that Sire must
inform the band in writing six months after delivery of the second album that
they wanted to take up the option of five more albums, James break free from
Sire.
October : James perform a session for Andy Kershaw's Radio 1 show - the first
radio broadcast of Sit Down
October : James play a UK tour to support the release of Strip-Mine supported by
the Happy Mondays and then travel to Paris for a one-off show
October : On the last night of the Strip-Mine tour at the London Astoria, a fan
is spotted wearing a distinctive home-made JA-MES shirt. He is invited backstage
where the band offer to buy the design. The rest is history.
October : Manager Martine persuades Colin Cook, manager of the Royal Bank of
Scotland in St Ann's Square in Manchester to lend James £12,000 to record and
release One Man Clapping on their own label
November : James play two nights at Bath Moles Club, recorded for later release
as One Man Clapping
November : Following an on-stage fight with Tim at a Stoke Polytechnic ball and
a recent history of major arguments, Gavan is asked to leave the band.
1989
February : David Baynton-Power joins the band after a tip-off from Andy Dodd of
So What Management and persistence from Tim to convince the reluctant Dave
February : After being spotted by Larry at a busker's night at Manchester's Band
on the Wall, Saul is invited to a rehearsal and offered a place in the band.
March : James open a UK tour at Newcastle University, the two new members' debut
show with support by Inspiral Carpets
March : Jim misses several of the tour dates with a roadie standing in as he was
awaiting the birth of his son in Manchester
March : One Man Clapping LP released
April : Mark Hunter joins James on the recommendation of Mick Armistead, James
on-and-off keyboard player during 1988
April : Following the success of One Man Clapping, James reach agreement with
Rough Trade to release a couple of singles and to record an album
June : Sit Down single released
June : The video of Sit Down receives a Musician's Union ban because it featured
Jim sat on a stool banging a drum
June - July : James play a UK tour calling at Liverpool, Nottingham, Bristol,
Leicester, Manchester and culmulating in two nights at London's infamous Marquee
Club
August : Andy Diagram joins James
August - October : James record the Gold Mother LP at Out Of The Blue in Bury
and the Windings in Wrexham.
November : Come Home single released
November - December : James perform a triumphant UK tour despite being
flu-ridden for most of it. Audiences take to stage invasions and mass sit-downs
when Sit Down is played.
1990
January : James sign to Fontana Records
April : How Was It For You? single released
May : How Was It For You? is denied a Top of the Pops appearance due to the
video featuring Tim immersed in water
June : Gold Mother LP released
June : James tour the UK on their World Cup tour taking days off when England
have matches. At the end of the tour, they play a triumphant show at
Glastonbury.
June : Come Home single released
August : James play two sold out nights at Blackpool's Empress Ballroom
August : James support David Bowie and The Cure at outdoor shows at Manchester
Maine Road and Crystal Palace
December : Lose Control single released
December : James sell out a mini tour taking in Newcastle, Glasgow and Brixton,
completed with two triumphant nights at Manchester's 10,000 capacity G-Mex. The
second night is filmed for later release on the Come Home live video.
December : A proposed mini-tour of the Soviet Union is cancelled at the last
moment.
1991
January : James play Wembley Arena as part of the indie night of the Brit Awards
January : James play five songs included the unreleased Ring The Bells on the
roof of Piccadilly Hotel in Manchester. 5,000 people turned up and the
Manchester traffic was brought to a standstill
February : March : James retire to the Manor complex in Oxford to start
recording the follow-up to Gold Mother
February : Three weeks before the single release, James perform Sit Down on
Terry Wogan's primetime BBC chatshow.
March : Sit Down single released
March : James play a secret show at Paris La Locomotive club where they preview
ten songs from their recent demos that were to form the basis of the Seven
album, albeit sounding radically different and including Pressure's On and the
unreleased Somebody Help Me
April : Come Home live video released
May : The Gold Mother album is rereleased with Sit Down and Lose Control
replacing Hang On and Crescendo. Fans are offered the opportunity to exchange a
copy of the old album for a new copy at branches of Our Price.
June : James preview three new songs - Heavens, Protect Me and Born of
Frustration - live on Channel 4's Friday Night At The Dome
August : After their own set was curtailed by power failure and with Andy and
all their equipment shipped home, James are drafted in at the last moment to
headline the Hultsfred Festival in Sweden after Status Quo withdrew.
August : James headline Reading Festival and are critically mauled for daring to
play Sit Down early in the set and playing five new songs.
September : James complete recording of the Seven album with Youth at Olympic
Studios in London
September - November : James embark on their biggest ever tour, 31 sold out
dates previewing most of the Seven album, which should have been ready to
coincide with the tour.
November : Sound single released
December - James play a pre-Christmas fan-club show at Warrington Parr Hall
previewing all 11 tracks from the Seven album, the show being filmed for
subsequent release as the Seven Live Video
1992
January : As the band travel to LA to film the Born of Frustration video, Larry
is mugged at gunpoint on Sunset Boulevard and catches the next flight home. Tour
manager Richard stands in for the video shoot in a very concealing hat and coat.
January : Born Of Frustration single released
February : Seven LP and Live Video released
February : James return and play their first US gig - an outdoor rain-soaked
free show in San Francisco's Union Square
March : Starting in Toronto, James first North American tour is a massive
success with 11 sold-out shows
April : Ring The Bells single released
April - May : James follow their US tour with dates in France, Germany, Denmark,
Switzerland, Italy and Portugal
June : James headline Saturday night at Glastonbury as a late replacement for
Morrissey, kicking off the show with a cover of Morrissey's We Hate It When Our
Friends Become Successful, reportedly a tribute to James
July : James headline their own triumphant show at Alton Towers supported by PIL
in front of 30,000 people. The gig was broadcast live on Radio 1 and almost had
to be cancelled as high winds blew the stage roof off earlier in the day.
July : Seven EP single released
July : After playing the Fort Le Neuilay festival in Calais, a couple of members
of the band and the crew are attacked in a nightclub in Calais as the festival
degenerates into violence
July : James are offered an acoustic support slot for Neil Young's US tour and
are contacted by Brian Eno with a view to him producing James next album
September : James support Neil Young on his acoustic US tour
September - November : James stay in the US and tour with The Soupdragons, Black
Sheep and the Tom Tom Club
December : James play six dates in Japan with the Soup Dragons
December : Returning to the UK, James play six acoustic shows in Leeds, Glasgow,
Bristol, Manchester and London, the latter being recorded for a Radio 1 In
Concert broadcast.
1993
February - March : The Laid and Wah Wah albums are recorded over a six-week
period at Real World Studios in Bath
March : James play a one-off gig at Bath Moles Club as an attempt to record a
live album and roadtest the new songs
July : James support Neil Young on three European outdoor dates in London, Milan
and Bad Mergentheim (Germany)
August : Sometimes single released
August : James headline the WOMAD Festival in Carlylon Bay, Cornwall
September : James tour US as part of the WOMAD touring festival
September : Laid LP released
September : James play one song live into each show on Radio 1 on the day of
release of the Laid album.
October : After a full-scale US tour is cancelled due to marketing
disagreements, James play two low-key shows in California.
November : Laid single released
November : James with support from Radiohead tour Europe visiting Germany,
France, Spain Switzerland and Portugal
December : James tour the UK again supported by Radiohead. Andy Diagram makes a
one-off reappearance at the Manchester show.
1994
January : James open the year with a series of US arena shows as special guests
of Duran Duran
February - March : James play an extensive tour of the US
March : Jam J / Say Something single released
April : Martine resigns as James manager, Peter Rudge takes over worldwide
representation
May - June : To capitalise on the success of the previous tour and the massive
radio success of Laid, James return for a second tour of the US, playing at
significantly larger venues than two months earlier.
June : James return to the UK to play the Glastonbury Festival, Larry's last
ever UK gig
August : James spend a few days in a "big barn" near Woodstock, working on new
material
August : James play some small festivals in Oregon and Washington on the West
Coast before the massive Woodstock II festival, Larry's last ever gig.
September : Wah Wah LP released
November : Black Thursday - James reconvene at The Windings in Wrexham to start
their new album. Larry announces that he's quitting, Tim announces that he's off
to record the Booth and the Bad Angel album with Angelo Badalamenti and a
£250,000 tax bill is discovered
1995
March : James spent two weeks in Westside Studios with Brian Eno
June - July : Tim records the basic tracks for the Booth and the Bad Angel album
in New York
October - November : The Booth and the Bad Angel album is finished in Liverpool
with the assistance of Bernard Butler who tried to convince Tim to leave James
and form a band with him.
1996
February : James reconvene at RAK Studios with Adrian on-board and Tim back to
record the Whiplash album with Stephen Hague
June : I Believe, Booth and the Bad Angel single, released
June : Booth and the Bad Angel LP released
June : James act as the backing band for Booth and the Bad Angel on BBC's Later
With Jools show
1997
January : James make their eagerly awaited live return with Adrian Oxaal's live
debut at three low-key shows at Sheffield Leadmill, Bristol Fleece And Firkin
and London Camden Dingwalls
February : She's A Star single released
February : Whiplash LP released
February : A friend of Saul's in Toronto, Michael Kulas, is drafted in to add
backing vocals
February - March : James play a series of low-key dates in the US to coincide
with the release of the Whiplash album
March : James take on their first UK tour for almost four years, playing
thirteen mainly sold out dates culminating in a hometown show at Manchester
Apollo
April : Tomorrow single released
May : James begin North American tour in Vancover
May : Three dates into the tour, Tim Booth's neck injury means he has to spend a
week in traction in a San Francisco hotel room and the North American tour is
cancelled.
June : Dance offshoot Money make their only ever live appearance at the Toronto
WXNE Festival
June : Waltzing Along single released
June : James cancel Glastonbury appearance due to Lollapolooza commitments.
June - August : James take part in the Lollapolooza travelling festival across
America with bands like Korn, Prodigy and Underworld with Tim in a neckbrace
July : James cancel T In The Park appearance due to Lollapolooza commitments.
August : James cancel V97 appearance due to Lollapolooza commitments.
August : James return to the UK to play Reading Festival
December : Saul starts to write material at his home studio over Christmas which
will form the basis for the Best Of singles and some Millionaires tracks
1998
January : James play invitation-only secret acoustic gig at London Whitfield
Street Studios which is recorded for the Unhinged bonus CD given away with early
copies of the Best Of
March : Destiny Calling single released
March : James have a radio and TV promotional blitz - performing on GLR, Virgin
Radio, MTV and two live Radio 1 sessions
March : The Best Of LP released
March : James play two free live shows, at London's Virgin Megastore and on a
barge in Manchester's Castlefields area to promote the Best Of
March - April : James spend two weeks at Bath's Real World Studios rehearsing
for the tour and writing new material
April : James play a six-date sold-out Greatest Hits tour in Manchester,
Glasgow, Doncaster and Brixton
May - June : Tim plays Len in a month-long run of Edward Bond's controversial
play Saved at Bolton's Octagon Theatre
May : Runaground single released
June : James headline the Finsbury Park Fleadh
June : James almost cancel Glastonbury Festival appearance due to a clash with
the England vs Columbia World Cup match
July : James cancel T In The Park appearance due to Tim's throat problem
August : James play a warm-up show in Carlisle ahead of two performances at the
V98 festival in Leeds and Chelmsford.
November : Sit Down Apollo 440 Remix single released
December : James embark on an arena tour of nine dates including sold out dates
at Wembley Arena and Manchester Nynex, supported by Stereophonics and Gene.
Eight new songs are unveiled during the tour.
1999
February - March : James complete the final mixing sessions for the Millionaires
album at three London studios
July : James play a warm-up show at Liverpool L2 and then steal the show at the
second day of T In The Park
July : I Know What I'm Here For single released
July : James play a spectacular one-off show at the Tower Ballroom in Blackpool
with Mark entering from the floor playing the Wurlitzer and the band backed with
PVC-clad dancing girls.
July : James headline the Guildford Festival
September : James headline Radio 1's live festival in Manchester's Heaton Park
September : James perform an exclusive invitation only acoustic show at
Glasgow's Lighthouse
October : Just Like Fred Astaire single released
October : James play two secret shows at Norwich UEA and London's Embassy Rooms
to coincide with the release of the Millionaires LP
October : Millionaires LP released
November : James play the last ever session at the old GLR basement in London
November : James play two nights at Dublin's Olympia, their first headline Irish
dates for eight years
December : James, supported by Cast, play an seven-date arena tour of the UK
December : We're Going To Miss You single released
2000
April : James sketch about 20 demos during a two-week studio session
May : James headline several Portuguese festivals, an MTV Five Night Stand
concert in London and become one of the first Western bands to play China
October : James spend three weeks at the House In The Woods studios in Surrey
writing and refining new material with Brian Eno
October - November : James perform a low-key UK theatre tour unveiling 12 songs
written for their as yet unrecorded album
November : James support Smashing Pumpkins at the Centurion Supersport Park in
South Africa - their first ever gig in that country
November - December : James record their latest album in a three-week period at
the House In The Woods studio
2001
January : James play at Jacques Villeneuve's charity ski event near Geneva in
Switzerland
January - February : Mixing sessions for the new James album take place in
London
June : James play a special one-off gig for XFM at the Sound nightclub in
Leicester Square, London
June : James release the only single from the Pleased To Meet You album -
Getting Away With It (All Messed Up) - it peaks at Number 22.
July : The album Pleased To Meet You is released and reaches a disappointing
number 11 in the UK album charts.
July : James play at Grimsby Auditorium as a warm-up for appearances at the T In
The Park and Liverpool Summer Pops festivals.
August : James headline the Benicassim Festival in Spain and the Guildford
Festival in England on consecutive nights before heading to Ireland for the
Witnness Festival before enduring the stigma of supporting Bryan Adams at
Nottingham's Cities in the Park event.
August : Rumours surface that James and Mercury Records are to part company
after the Pleased To Meet You album. This was confirmed two weeks later by the
band.
September : James headline the Madeira Island Music Festival in Portugal and the
Electron Festival in Greece.
October : Tim Booth announces through the James official website that he intends
to leave the band after the December UK tour to pursue other interests.
November : Jim Glennie issues a statement that James will continue in future in
some form or other.
November : James play three gigs in Madrid, Lisbon and Porto.
December : James play their final UK shows with Tim Booth taking in Brighton,
Leeds, Newcastle, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow and London. Former band
members Larry Gott and Andy Diagram are slated to join the band for those shows.
December : Mercury Records reissue four James albums - Gold Mother, Laid, Seven
and Whiplash - with extra live and remix tracks plus a b-sides Ultra. All fail
to chart.
2002
June : James issue a live CD, video and DVD entitled Getting Away With It Live
through Sanctuary Records and Warner Music Vision.