News

“We return to the land of milk and honey. In our gnarly, battered tour bus we follow the path of the wagon trains. The West Coast calls; sorry East Coast fans – economics. Next time. Been wanting a crack at Coachella for a while and now we have our shot. Then on to South America. Returning to the passion of Mexico, Chile and on to the virgin territories of Brazil and Argentina. Don’t miss us, you never know how much more of this we have in us. Here’s to connection, unity and the fever of dancing naked under a full moon.” – Tim

Spring 2012 will see the band return to the US for a West Coast run of dates around their performances at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, before heading off to Mexico and South America.  Visit the live page for the full itinerary.

“Our last US tour was the first time we tried offering fan access to our sound checks. We approached it really uncertain of what to expect. They ended up being a blast for all of us, and offer an insight into the chaotic inner workings of James. They are spontaneous affairs. You may get to see us butcher songs we haven’t played in years as we attempt to get them match-fit, improvise, pratfall, argue, cover Britney Spears (in honey) or just play some beautiful music. Whatever, I think you will enjoy them and they make the shows better, more intimate; nobody’s asked for their money back so far……” – Tim

We’ll be offering the ever popular VIP Soundcheck packages for all headline shows on this tour. They are strictly limited in number, and the pre-sale for the North American dates commences at 10am local time on Wednesday 15th February, via our US ticketing partner.

The packages include one General Admission floor ticket at GA shows plus early entry – for seated shows: a premium seat location in front 5 rows of the theatre, as well as a unique opportunity to attend 3 songs of the band’s soundcheck, a 15 minute Q & A session (questions from audience after soundcheck), priority early entry into the venue, and a VIP souvenir laminate to take home. (Please note, the VIP packages are non-transferable and you will need photo I.D. to collect your pass at the venue on the day of the show.)

James will be performing at Rock in Rio Lisboa for the first time this summer, on Sunday 3 June.  The festival takes place in the purpose-built “City of Rock” in Lisbon’s Parque da Bela Vista.

Unusually for a Portuguese festival, James are not the headline act – Bruce Springsteen will be closing the show.

Tickets are on sale now through Ticketline Portugal.  Visit the official Rock in Rio Lisboa website for full details and more information on the rather surprising line up, which includes Metallica and Mastodon.

Due to popular demand by band and fan alike, James will be returning to Chile this April for a headline show in their capital city.

“We had a fantastic time in Santiago so have been lobbying our management to return. It is with great pleasure that we will be able to bring the full James experience,” said Tim yesterday.

Pre-sale tickets for the show at the 7,000-capacity Teatro Caupolicán will be on sale from 12pm local time (CLST) today, and there will be a limited number of V.I.P. soundcheck packages available exclusively through our ticketing partner. 

Cada VIP Entrada incluye: 1 entrada para un control de sonido de 3 canciones, 1 entrada para una ronda de preguntas con la banda, un gafete laminado edición especial, 1 entrada para el concierto con la capacidad de entrar mas temprano al teatro.

We’re very pleased to announce that James will finally be playing the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival this spring.

This year the festival takes place over two weekends, and James will be playing on both Friday 13th and Friday 20th April.

As ever, expect a fantastic line up of mostly alternative artists and bands inluding Radiohead, The Black Keys, At The Drive-In, Swedish House Mafia, Pulp, Godspeed You! Black Emporer, Explosions in the Sky, Wild Beasts and many more – visit the Coachella website for full details.

Tickets go on sale at 10am PST (that’s 6pm in the UK) on Friday 13th January.

The band are giving 6 Music a world exclusive next week – first play of two tracks recorded live on the recent orchestral tour.

Mike Joyce will be premiering these on Monday 2 January when he stands in for Radcliffe and Maconie between 1 – 4pm GMT.  Tim will be joining him live on air, via telephone from Los Angeles.

The two tracks chosen will be kept under wraps until the broadcast.  Both were recorded on the autumn tour featuring Orchestra of the Swan and The Manchester Consort Choir, and were conducted and arranged by Mancunian composer Joe Duddell.

Tune in between 1 – 4pm next Monday, 2 January.  If you’re in the UK you can listen on DAB radio, digital and satellite television (details here) or online, and if you’re further afield you can still catch the broadcast online via the BBC iPlayer.

Update 02.01:You can now listen to the archived broadcast via the BBC iPlayer here or here.  If you don’t have time to listen to the whole show, we had fan tweets read out at 1hr 06mins and 1h 30m into the program, the main piece (chat with Tim plus the two tracks) from 1hr 41m, and a second playing of the track Mike accidentally talked over near the end at 2hr 51m.  Enjoy!

A seasonal update from Booth HQ:

“Over at Tim’s website we have the pleasure of announcing our Christmas Sale. You can now get your hands on the Special Vinyl Edition of Love Life for only £15 (plus p&p).

Not only that but we have the remaining stock of Love Life Tour 2011 T-shirts for sale and a fantastic new video for Monsters.

Have a great Christmas!”

We’ve had some bad news from Universal about the box set. Due to technical problems with the manufacture of the USB element, there is no way they’ll be able to get it out in time for Christmas as hoped.

The band are very upset and frustrated by this development and would like to offer their sincere apology to everyone who’s been waiting for their copy, we know many of you were hoping to find (or place) it under the tree this year.

If you’ve pre-ordered The Gathering Sound, please keep an eye on your inbox for an email from the Universal store, Amazon, HMV, or Play.com which will provide more information.

Universal are now aiming to release in early 2012. Once we have seen for ourselves that all issues with the USB stick have been resolved and they’re ready to go into production, we’ll be in a position to confirm a release date and will let you know when to expect delivery.

Thanks for your ongoing patience and understanding.

James have just been confirmed as the Saturday night headliners for next summer’s Wychwood Music Festival, which will take place at Cheltenham Racecourse over the weekend of 8 – 10 June 2012.

Wychwood is a relaxed, family friendly affair set against the backdrop of the Prestbury Hills, and has been likened to “a bijou Glastonbury” by The Independent.

If you’re tempted, there are Earlybird tickets on sale now through the end of December that offer a savings of £15 – £30 per person depending on whether you’re camping, bringing the caravan, or spending the nights off-site. According to the festival’s website, if you book now you can take advantage of their quarterly payment plan and you can also participate in the “introduce a friend” discount scheme (more information here).

In a James-themed twist on ‘planking’, the festival organisers will be offering fans a chance to win weekend camping tickets by sending in photos of themselves ‘sitting’ in unusual places – keep an eye on the Wychwood Facebook page for details.

Tim, Larry, and our mysterious mobile Yoga master Juliet are tweeting and blogging about the tour – check out our blog here and Tim’s twitter to see what they’re up to on the road.

James are set to receive a PRS for Music Heritage Award on Tuesday 1st November in their home town of Manchester.

A special black plaque will be erected on the site of The Haçienda (FAC 51) on Whitworth Street, where the original group – Jim Glennie, Paul Gilbertson, Gavan Whelan and Tim Booth – played their first official gig as James, supporting Big Country, on 17 November 1982.

Labelled ‘the most famous club in the world’, The Haçienda provided a musical platform for some of the 20th Century’s most important and influential artists.  The brainchild of Rob Gretton and Tony Wilson, the club was owned by Factory Records and New Order.  James went on to release their debut single Jimone (FAC 78) on the Factory label in 1983, followed by James II (FAC 119) and the Village Fire EP (FAC 136) in 1985, giving them a springboard for their wide reaching success.

PRS for Music set up the Heritage Award in 2009 to recognise the unusual ‘performance birthplaces’ of famous bands and artists. James is the ninth band to be honoured with the permanent plaque.

Tim, Jim, Larry, Saul, Mark, Dave and Andy, along with Peter Hook of New Order, will be present at the ceremony to see the plaque unveiled.

Jim Glennie had this to say: “It’s fantastic to be recognised by PRS for Music in this way, and to have a plaque on the site of The Haçienda is a true honour. Gigs have always been the mainstay of this band’s existence, and without the support and encouragement of the people of Manchester we would have never got started in the first place. Yet here we are, 29 years later.”

Peter Hook responded, “When things like this happen it makes me realise how much impact Factory Records and The Haçienda have had on the world of music! I loved James’ first record on Factory and was truly sorry when they left. The fact they want to celebrate their first gig with The Haçienda and their relationship with Factory is wonderful and I’m very proud of the role both have played in giving the world a truly great band.”

The dedication ceremony begins at 2pm on Tuesday 1st November and you are all welcome to attend.