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Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. James are an English rock band from Manchester, who were formed in 1982. Following the departure of lead singer Tim Booth in 2001, the band became inactive, but reunited in January 2007 and have gone on to produce a further seven albums. Live performance has continually remained a central part of the band’s output. As of 2010, the band had sold more than 25 million albums worldwide. James were formed in 1982 in Whalley Range, Manchester, when Paul Gilbertson persuaded his friend Jim Glennie to buy a bass guitar and form a band with him. Their line-up solidified when Gavan Whelan joined on drums.

Although they were now being touted as the “next big thing”, several complex issues slowed their progress. Gilbertson’s drug problems presented the band with no choice but to ask him to leave. Booth and Glennie had joined a sect named Lifewave that imposed many restrictions on their lifestyle and threatened the band’s stability. February 1986 and was followed by their debut album, Stutter, in July of that year. James had by this point earned themselves a reputation as a live act and had built a solid fanbase. Sales of James T-shirts were particularly successful in Manchester even before they reached the Top 40.

In November 1988, drummer Whelan became involved in an on-stage fight with Booth and was asked to leave the band. He was replaced by David Baynton-Power a few months later. New singles “Sit Down” and “Come Home” became strong hits in the independent charts, and the latter featured on the compilation album Happy Daze. Gold Mother was released in June 1990 just as the ‘Madchester’ movement, with its wave of popular Manchester-based indie bands, brought James to public attention and won them mainstream recognition. The band members spent the rest of the year recording their next album, Seven, which was released in February 1992. In 1993, James were invited on an acoustic tour of the US supporting Neil Young at a series of natural outdoor venues in the autumn.

Laid was released in September 1993 to positive reviews. The recording of the follow-up album faced difficulties from the start. Determined to continue despite the setbacks, the band set up studio in Baynton-Power’s house. Former Sharkboy guitarist Adrian Oxaal was drafted in to replace Gott on guitar, while Booth returned periodically from the States to add his vocals. The band toured to promote the album, recruiting Michael Kulas as rhythm guitarist while in the States. Booth suffered a neck injury while dancing on stage in the US, resulting in a series of tour dates being cancelled as he underwent emergency surgery, and the band being offered a place instead on the Lollapalooza tour.

The band then returned to the studio to begin work on their next album, Millionaires, which was released in October 1999. The album did not reach the phenomenal sales level predicted, but still entered the UK Album charts at number 2, and sold over 150,000 copies. After the disappointing performance of Millionaires the band chose to start anew in their approach to their next album, working with Eno once again. They embarked on a small-scale tour in the autumn of that year on which their set lists consisted almost entirely of new material.

Shortly after their last album release, James reached the end of their contract, and Tim Booth announced he was leaving the band to concentrate on other projects of his own. They played a farewell tour of the UK at the end of the year. Their final hometown gig, at the Manchester Evening News arena on 7 December, was recorded for a live CD and DVD, Getting Away With It Live. A planned compilation of material from the band’s Factory and Sire years was announced in 2001, but the album, Strange Dancing, was never released. The first two James albums, Stutter and Strip-mine, were re-pressed in June 2007, but without any additional rarities. Booth continued as a solo artist in 2004 with the release of his solo album Bone, co-written and produced by Lee Muddy Baker.