JAMES RELISH IN NEW COOP LIVE IN THE PENULTIMATE NIGHT OF THE YUMMY TOUR

THE MANCHESTER BAND SHOW CELEBRATED FIRST NO.1 ALBUM WITH MASSIVE ARENA TOUR

This month, Manchester’s own James, celebrated the success of their 18th studio album Yummy with an 8 date UK arena tour. Kicking off in Aberdeen at the beginning of June, the legendary band have frequented the arenas of Newcastle, Glasgow, Leeds, Cardiff and Birmingham so far, however, no show quite lives up to the 23,500 capacity sell out homecoming at Manchester’s newest (and somewhat troublesome) arena COOP Live. A set packed with nostalgic gold alongside the crispiness of new, James knew exactly how to please their intergenerational crowd.

Ready to warm up the crowd were noughties indie pop band Razorlight. Playing a delightfully full setlist of favourites such as ‘In The Morning‘ ‘Stumble and Fall‘, ‘Golden Touch‘ and ‘Before I Fall To Pieces‘ from their hay-day was enough to throw us back a few years. It was great to hear that Johnny Borrell and the band have been busy working on new material and we are treated to glimpse of that tonight with new tunes ‘Scared Of Nothing’ and ‘Dirty Luck’. Both solid tracks that show potential from Razorlight who last released Olympus Sleeping back in 2018, a full decade since their last. Could this be the revival of one of England’s once most exciting indie talents?

James emerge a little after 8.30pm and are met with a deafening roar of approval from the 23,500 fans packed into the new arena. “Breaking the ice” with crowd pleasers ‘Johnny Yen‘ and ‘Ring The Bells‘, the first new track from their recent No.1 album album Yummy is the charming age defiant ‘Rogue’. At 64 years old, the James front man Tim Booth is looking fresher than ever, and he waste no time this evening reminding this crowd of that. Defiant to be held back by age, Tim celebrates being alive and during ‘Life Is A Fucking Miracle’, he dives into the crowd to enjoying a spot of crowd surfing: something which fans are in awe of.

As the show progresses, James deliver a good balance of greatest hits with those from the album they are touring. Particular highlights include ‘She’s a Star‘ and ‘Sit Down‘ which sound just as good now as they 25 years ago. However, this is the ‘Yummy’ tour so it was expected we would hear some of these live for the first time. ‘Butterfly‘, ‘Shadow of a Giant‘ and ‘Mobile God‘ to name but a few and despite being as new as they are, the reaction is strong with many singing along to Tim’s every word.

We must commend the rest of James though, bassist Jim Glennie has been by Tim’s side from the very beginning and as a pair they have an incredible stage bond. Massive credit to guitarist/violinist Saul Davies, keys player Mark Hunter and drummer David Baynton-Power who are the other staples within the band after nearly four decades who continue to showcase their talent and diversity as musicians after all these years. Then there’s lead guitarist Adrain Oxaal and Andy Diagram blowing the horn amongst those who have come and gone over the years but always seem to find their way back to James. You only need to witness this sensational group on stage to understand their continued longevity as a band today and together with their latest additions backing singers and multi-instrumentalists Debbie Knox-Hewson and Chloe Alper, the band are only two short of a football team.

With such a full and energetic band taking up space on the massive Coop Arena this evening, it was a spectacle to be seen. Closing up with their much adored classic ‘Laid‘, it’s anthemic style and infectious sing-along quality just doesn’t get old: much like the band themselves.

The Yummy Tour has now come to an end in the UK, however, there are plenty of opportunities to catch the band over the Summer as they prepare for a busy festival season which kicks off in Glastonbury next week. Check out James full live schedule, including their recently announced US co-headline tour with Johnny Marr, over on their website now https://wearejames.com/live/

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