James

Biography

There are at least two artists in this entry:

1. James (formed 1981 in Manchester, England) are a popular band that were at the forefront of the indie rock movement, releasing a string of hit singles and maintaining popularity through the 90’s.

The band’s sound is mostly defined by their lead singer Tim Booth’s resonating vocals and emotional lyrics, as well as a spirit of experimentation that they held onto throughout their active career. The band’s most well-known songs include the hits PlaySit Down and PlayLaid, the former marking the band’s rise to popularity.

James were branded as part of the ‘ scene’ of upcoming 80s at first, but eventually reached a pinnacle of popularity. For many reasons, including the departure of lead singer Booth, the band’s final album became a struggle to record. This departure occured in 2001 and the band has been inactive since, though they never officially declared a breakup.

In January 2007, music magazine Filter cited an announcement on singer Tim Booth’s personal website, saying that “Tim will be rejoining James in early 2007 for a series of live shows to be announced very soon.” At the same time, James’ old website was replaced by a new domain holder at www.wearejames.com. The site confirmed that the line-up for the reformed band will be that which recorded the album Laid: Booth, Gott, Glennie, Davies, Hunter and Baynton-Power. Booth confirmed in interviews that he became convinced to rejoin the band after meeting up with Glennie and Gott the previous November for a jamming session, out of which new songs were born.

The initial 5 dates of the tour were expanded to 7 on the day tickets went on sale (26th January) due to high demand; the whole tour had sold out by close of business. The tour took place during late April 2007, and was followed later in the year by more live shows, including festivals. The band is also releasing a new compilation album, “Fresh As A Daisy - The Singles”, and Jim Glennie has stated that James will be working on a new album throughout the remainder of 2007. The album is expected to be released in early 2008.

2. James is the vocalist of popular Bangladeshi band Nogor 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. His presence in rock music has been prolonged; his influence on those of successive generations has been profound. Something fresh was there—the audience could feel it. He became affectionately called Guru by his innumerable 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.

Edited by IRONICtypo on 14 Sep 2008, 16:46

Sources (view history)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_(Faruk_Mahfuz_Anam)

Factbox (?)

Formed in
  • 1981
Split in
  • 2001
Reformed in
  • 2007
Founded in
  • Manchester, England

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