Dickie Felton 3 Sept 2021
The day James did a signing session to promote their ‘Gold Mother’ album I was stuck in school taking a mock A-Level.
So that sunny day in June 1990 mum went down to Liverpool HMV instead.
She explained my absence to singer Tim Booth who scribbled: “Richard – LATE” on the sleeve of the record. A prized possession of mine all these years later.
I should’ve bunked off school that day to meet the band myself.
But given I’d failed every exam during that period of educational frustration I thought it best to hang on.
Anyway, I was satisfied I’d be at the main event later that evening when James appeared at Liverpool Royal Court.
Back then James gigs were uplifting and wild. And guess what? Thirty-one years later the exuberance is still there.
That group I watched three decades ago continue to mesmerise audiences.
I didn’t really know what to expect when Booth and band entered the fray at Lancaster’s beautiful 54 acre Williamson Park as part of the Highest Point festival.
Right from the get-go Booth and band were absolutely on fire.
The setting – a stage in front of the imposing Ashton Memorial – adding to the grandeur.
Last night I was stunned by how James provided so many flashbacks to that era of adventure in my teens.
‘Come Home’ sounded better than ever. And offers proof that James were leading the way in talking about mental health in their songs back in 1990:
‘It’s that time again when I lose my friends. Go walkabout, I’ve got the bends from pressure.”
I may has well been back on the sloping stalls of the Royal Court in 1990 when ‘Sound’ and ‘Born of Frustration’ kicked in.
Everyone expects ‘Sit Down’ and they played it. Beautifully. And thankfully mid-set – tucked in-between other classics.
With two new members including Chloë Alper on vocals and guitars adding a fresh vibe to proceedings, James are writing the best songs of their career.
‘Zero’ from the latest album ‘All The Colours of You’ is turning into a classic as is ‘Beaches’ and ‘Whatever It Takes’ which has anthem-like-qualities.
There’s a complete unpredictability to the James set-list.
At one point Booth throws the choice of the next song to the audience.
The biggest cheer meaning ‘She’s a Star’ basks in beauty as the sun sets over Morecambe Bay.
It was almost as if James had compiled the perfect setlist just for me.
‘Sometimes’ was just glorious, as was ‘Getting Away With It’.
The encore was sublime. A rocky, punked-up version of 1984’s ‘Stutter’ before the dreamlike finale ‘Top of the World’ – another from 1990.
Despite the older songs, this was far from a night of nostalgia.
The James squad and sound of 2021 is better than it was all those years ago.
