aka The Vinyl Villain incorporating Sexy Loser
#039– James ‘Hymn From A Village’ (Factory Records ’85)
Hello friends,
James, ey? Yes, them of ‘Sit Down’ – and ‘Come Home’ – fame, for younger readers, if such creatures do at all exist over here!
But, you know, James were more than those two hits, by far more, in fact! In my book, they easily were one of the best bands to come from the UK for a full decade. And as we have seen on numerous occasions, it certainly isn’t easy for a band to remain true to a self-imposed style for such a long time, especially when satisfactory success is not in sight by and large. I mean, we listeners, we easily tend to complain about bands who try new stuff, expand their horizons in order to gain wider attention – and consequently sell more records, so that they can afford a living. Because this is what bands make music for, not for pleasing boring nerds like us!
James though, they never changed a great deal, at least that’s what I would think. They had considerable success from scratch on, first locally in Manchester, where they gained a reputation as a good live act. They quickly got a record deal with Factory, released their debut single in 1983, supported The Smiths in early ’85, all of which is not too shabby for a band, so perhaps rightly they were considered to be ‘the next big thing’ back then. Then again, ‘the next big thing’ was a term much too inflationary used in those days anyway, so it should be taken with a pinch of salt, perhaps. Anyway, the guitarist became a drug addict whereas the singer and the bassist ended up in some sort of sect which entailed restrictions on their lifestyles. Under these circumstances, the next record would turn out to be utter crap, you would have thought.
mp3: James – Hymn From A Village
Jim Glennie, the bassist, once said that “this is the one James song that he would want to survive if all but one were accidentally erased”. That would be my wish as well, although I strongly suggest to everyone reading this to have a closer look into James back catalogue until, let’s say, 1993: if you’re not familiar with what they issued then, you may have missed a treat.
But first of all, enjoy the one above!
Take care,
Dirk
P.S.: fun fact: I saw them live once at an indoor festival in Germany (they were absolutely stunning). And I spent the whole show standing right beneath one of the few indie rock goddesses of the time, Naomi Yang out of Galaxie 500 (who were on the same bill, along with, oddly enough, Einstürzende Neubauten):
I still could drive a nail through my foot every I remember this gig, because within all of James’ set I was too shy to address Naomi …. ah well …
JC adds……
I hope Dirk doesn’t mind, but the release of this single back in 1985 coincided with what I think was James’ first appearance on national TV in the UK. It was on Whistle Test on BBC2 and consisted of two songs played live at the ICA in London. I’m sure Microdisney were also on that night….I’ve got in on a VHS tape somewhere.
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 
For me James never matched their initial burst into the limelight. I stayed loyal till Laid (great songs still being produced) but the urgency had faded.
This single was hard to get – back in the day. I coveted a copy a ‘new’ friend showed me in ’89-ish.
Two quite perfect songs full of fight.
I recall the Whistle Test appearance. Watching it again this morning… wow!
Flimflamfan
Hymn is still probably my favourite James track.
I saw them (fairly randomly) in Edinburgh at the beginning of the Gold Mother tour where they suddenly broke big. Absolutely astounding. Difficult to see why they were not huge. By the end of the tour (also saw them in Middlesbrough) they were huge and their t-shirts were everywhere.
They are a bad who think they deserve to be big though – saw them down the bill at Latitude and they were clearly pissed off to be on before Mumford and Sons. Dropped down a league, started headlining again, and now back in the big leagues where they think they belong.
Early to mid 80s James were a revelation, skewed folk-rock with occasional lurches into liquid West African guitar lines, with literate lyrics pitched perfectly at eco-aware, feminist, anti-capitalist student sorts. Those early singles like the Jimeone EP, Chain Mail and Hymn were brilliant, and I loved the first LP Stutter. After Sit Down (eventually) hit big, T-shirts were everywhere and they caught a mild dose of the Madchester virus, they weren’t quite the same band. Still had their moments, but not the weird genius captured on those early records (and partly on the One Man Clapping live album).
chaval
My favorite James track as well. Back in the day I was starved for indie UK music but it was hard to come by and impossible to listen to. I subscribed to the NME to see what was happening in the indie charts (and to read to lovely malicious writing). There was a review of a James performance, and Tim Booth was described as a ‘dancer’ rather than a singer. So I bought this 12″ single on the faith of the article without having heard the band. And I loved it and still do. Maybe the loosest song I know. Another winner, Dirk!
‘they caught a mild dose of the Madchester virus’
That’s a wonderfully imaginative turn of phrase. You’ve still got it, chaval……………………….
Love this song, stuck with them through to Gold Mother and then bailed. Apart from Jam J, the Sabres of Paradise ‘remix’. Jagz Kooner smirked when I asked him recently how much of James remained on that remix EP. Not very much.
Can do little but violently agree here.
Hymn is my favourite James single
One Man Clapping is my favourite James album and they remain a great live band. They are probably as big now as they ever were and i’m pleased for them as they always move forward and never resorted to the play the Greatest Hits route.