JAMES WHO'S WHO? - R to Z

DANNY RAM

Ram was the vocalist in Model Team International just prior to Tim's joining.  He was sacked as he was unwilling to adher to the rules the band were imposing on themselves about not drinking before performances and had been involved in several altercations with Paul. He was later to end up in Strangeways.

ELLIOT RASHMAN

Best known as Simply Red's manager, Rashman's partnership with Andy Dodd called So What Management? took over James for about a year in 1987-8 and negotiated with Sire on the band's behalf, including getting Sire's agreement to a remix of Strip-Mine.

MARK RILEY

Now Lard, Mark Radcliffe's sidekick on Radio 1, Mark Riley was a member of The Fall in the early eighties and was a good friend of the young Paul and Jim, helping them to get support slots with The Fall at early Manchester shows.

DEAN ROBERTS

The band's security manager between 1998 and 2001 and a friend of Dave's from North Wales, Dean is nicknamed DossePosse by the band.

ROUGH TRADE RECORDS

Another legendary indie label that is no more, James signed to Rough Trade after One Man Clapping and released two singles Sit Down and Come Home and recorded the album Gold Mother. Close to bankruptcy, Rough Trade sold the album to Fontana after MD Geoff Travis had agreed to release James as he could not promise them the promotion they required and did not see their commercial potential in the same light as the band.

PETER RUDGE

Rudge was manager of the Rolling Stones at the age of 22 and managed several major bands in the seventies and eighties including Duran Duran.  He took on James management in the US in 1992 and later worldwide representation in 1994.

SIRE RECORDS

James signed to Sire, home of Madonna and Talking Heads, on leaving Factory in 1985.  The relationship never really worked, the two albums Stutter in 1986 and the much-delayed Strip Mine in 1988 were both commercial disasters as the label lost interest soon after signing James.  James escaped from Sire on a technicality as they had to inform James they wanted to take up the option in the contract for 3 more albums within six months of the masters of the second album being delivered which they failed to do.

JEFF SKELLERN

Jeff was the band's bass guitar tech in the late eighties and early nineties and stood in for Jim at several shows on the spring 1989 tour when Jenny Glennie was expecting a child and Jim did not travel with the band, including Dave and Saul's first ever show.

PATTI SMITH

Possibly Tim's biggest musical inspiration, dating back to school when he has been told his father was on the verge of death and he went into the school common room and put on a tape which happened to be Patti Smith's album Horses.  Smith is one of the two women that Tim wrote Sit Down to thank.

THE SMITHS

The Smiths were undoubtedly the biggest independent band in Britain in the 1980s and they were champions of James, taking them on their 1985 Meat Is Murder tour and vociferously praising James in the music press.  They also covered What's The World. James were however then stung with Smiths comparisons throughout the rest of the eighties.

SO WHAT MANAGEMENT?

A partnership between Andy Dodd and Elliot Rashman that managed James between 1987-8, their only other band being Simply Red. They were responsible for getting the funds from Sire to remix Strip Mine but resigned before Sire finally agreed to release it.

SOUND INVESTMENT

A US fanzine that was published between 1993 and 1998.

SEYMOUR STEIN

Head of Sire Records who signed James in 1985. 

STEPHEN STREET

Producer of many indie bands including Blur who has been brought in to produce the next album with the working title We Want Our Money Back.

GEOFF TRAVIS

Managing Director of Rough Trade who advised the band as a friend in the mid 1980s and tried to act as a gobetween with the band and Sire as several of his bands were signed to Sire in the US.  He helped the band to finance and distribute the One Man Clapping album before signing James.  As Rough Trade slumped towards bankruptcy following The Smiths split and a string of failed signings, Travis agreed to release James and the Gold Mother album, saving both from getting entangled in bankruptcy proceedings.

VENEREAL AND THE DISEASES

The name of Paul and Jim's band for their first ever show at Eccles British Legion in 1980.  The name lasted one show which consisted of Jim, very drunk, shouting three songs.  The name was dropped in order to try and get more shows.

VOLUME DISTORTION

The band's second name, keeping the initials VD.  This name lasted slightly longer than the first before Paul's t-shirt scam saw the name changed to Model Team International.

ANTHONY H WILSON

Granada TV presenter and boss of Factory Records, Wilson was a massive James fan who tried to persuade the band to record an album with Factory before signing to a major.  He remained a fan and a support later offering James slots on his late night TV show The Other Side of Midnight.

JOHN YARR

Yarr was an ex-army officer and leader of the Lifewave group before it was discovered that he had been sleeping his way through the female membership of the group. 

NEIL YOUNG

Veteran US rocker who invited James to support him on his 1992 outdoor acoustic tour and 1993 European outdoor shows.

YOUTH

Formerly of eighties band Killing Joke, Youth was brought in to produce the Seven album, but his unusual working practices, including using    only candlelight in the studio, fazed the band and the recording sessions were not a great success.