James

James is an indie rock band from Manchester, England, formed in 1981. After an uphill struggle throughout the 1980s, they went on to become one of the most consistently successful acts of the 1990s, scoring a string of hit singles during the decade including "Sit Down" and "Laid". Following the departure of lead singer Tim Booth in 2001, the band became inactive, although no split was ever officially confirmed. In January 2007, the group announced that it was reforming to play some live shows and that they had been writing new material. A new website was launched, confirming an initial 5 dates in the UK in April. Tim Booth's own site also confirmed the reformation. On 16th March, James played a secret comeback gig at Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen, in front of an audience of just 250. On 30th April 2007, James played a further secret gig in front of 300 fans at the Club Academy in the Manchester University Student Union, aka The Cellar Bar, poignant because this is where Tim Booth first met Jim Glennie back in 1981. A third secret gig was held again at Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen on 25th June 2007. And a fourth secret gig was performed on 6th July 2007 at The Venue, in the basement of the Oran Mor bar on Byres Road in Glasgow, in front of 450 fans. The show was a warm-up gig for James' appearance at T in the Park the following day, 7th July 2007. On Saturday the 17th (Weston Park, Staffordshire) and Sunday the 18th (Hylands Park, Chelmsford) of August they played to a crowd of tens of thousands at the 2007 V Festival before Kasabian and The Killers. They were the only band to invite members of the crowd onto the stage and during one of their songs, Tim Booth jumped off the stage and crowdsurfed.