News

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.

The times for the shows have now been finalised and are as follows.

Doors at all venues bar RAH open at 7pm, RAH doors open 6:45pm. No support. James on stage at 8pm. Two sets with a short interval in between. Curfew 10:30pm.

N.B. Though these times are confirmed, we obviously cannot guarantee they won’t change slightly due to circumstances beyond our control or problems on the day, and suggest you leave some room to manoeuvre when booking travel – especially the return portion in case the show runs late. Unlikely, but better safe than sorry as they say.

Facebook users will find the event page for the tour here; any further updates or info will be posted there as well as here on wearejames.com.

V.I.P. information has also been finalised and full details have been emailed direct from CrowdSurge.  If you bought a V.I.P. package and have not received that message, please contact CrowdSurge support by email (support@crowdsurge.com) or telephone 0845 050 8258.

Briefly, V.I.P. check in commences at 4:15pm and you need to be there to collect your laminate by 4:30pm. Soundcheck and Q & A will be from 5 – 5:30pm.

Very sorry to report that the box set release has had to be pushed back slightly due to ongoing problems with the USB element.  As soon as we have a definite date we’ll let you know, but at this point we can confirm it won’t be out before November.

Update 1 Nov: Barring any further unanticipated problems, The Gathering Sound should be out in early December.

Free acoustic performance at the Ξαρχάκος cafe bar opposite Thessaloniki’s White Tower at 7pm TONIGHT – spread the word!

Also please note change of venue for tomorrow’s show, which will now take place at ΙΒΑΝΩΦΕΙΟ.

Due to popular demand, the band have decided to make the choir seats available for the previously sold out  Bridgewater Hall and Royal Albert Hall dates on the upcoming tour.

Choir seats are located at the rear of the stage and offer a unique way to experience the show – up close and personal, and essentially from the band’s perspective.  These tickets are quite limited in number and will go on sale tomorrow morning at 9am via gigsandtours.com and the venue box offices priced at £35.

If you’re curious about what’s in store, you can now watch our exclusive live video of Top Of The World from the first rehearsal workshop, which took place at Salford University last year and features the Manchester Consort Orchestra along with Tim, Jim, and Larry, with Joe Duddell at the helm.  Please note this is not Orchestra of the Swan, who will be touring with the band, but you’ll get the drift…  Larry has written a little intro on the forum which you can read here.

Special thanks to Ali Hudson, Paul Nicholson, Stephen Fildes and Matt Tidmarsh for the marvellous video.

Championes, championes, olé olé olé!  Jim Glennie was named “Best In Class” by Mary Anne Hobbs on Xfm tonight, following a one-day poll of listeners’ favourite bass players.

He managed to see off competition from scores of high profile bands and household names, including Nicky Sixx, Flea, Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth, Lemmy, Colin Greenwood from Radiohead, Sting, the Foo Fighters’ Nate Mendel, Les Claypool, John Entwistle, fellow Mancunian Mani from the Stone Roses, and even his own personal bass-hero Hooky.

The result of the face-off, in which Xfm aim to name the very greatest exponents of every aspect of music, was announced live on air during the Music: Response show shortly before 11pm, and was accompanied by a track to showcase his skills (though it has to be said their choice of Sit Down was a little unimaginative – we would have gone for Jam J, Out To Get You, or even newbie Rabbit Hole ourselves, but I suspect they were caught unawares so we’ll let them off).

A big thank-you to “the James army on Facebook” as Mary Anne affectionately described the legion of loyal and discerning supporters who cast their vote today, carrying rock’s most underrated underdog to a well deserved victory.

The band are planning a rare trip to Turkey next month for a headline show at Refresh the Venue in Istanbul, as part of Avea’s Escape to Music concept.

Tickets are on sale now and available from biletix.com priced at 35 euro, and you can access the site in English here.

For more information please visit the venue’s website.

Today’s Album of the Day on the excellent BBC 6 Music is Laid.  Tracks from the album will be featured on programs throughout the day, so do tune in.

The album has also been given a fresh review on their site by Ian Wade for the occasion.

“James’ masterpiece from 1993 marked the beginning of their work with Brian Eno.

By the time of this fifth album, Radio 1 was holding James Days and the band had graduated to football ground-sized shows, while stateside they were supporting the likes of Neil Young.

Another sign of their status the arrival of Brian Eno as producer — Laid is the first of several collaborations between man and band. His presence was made perfectly clear when James’ sixth album, Wah Wah, collected textural and ambient pieces and improvisational jams from the Laid sessions.

But this set was one of solid songwriting, showcasing James at their finest, relaxing into their own skins.”

You can read (and comment on) the full review here, and listen live to 6 Music via their homepage.

The band will have a full weekend of festival performances in Portugal later this month, with a headline slot at Feira de São Mateus now confirmed for Saturday 20th August, in between the Cascais and Funchal appearances.

Tickets are on sale now from the venue box office – it is a council-sponsored event so the price is a rather reasonable 5 €…!