James

The latest gig on our A to Z Musical Tour was ……

Support act – Razorlight

Between 2004 and 2006, Razorlight were omnipresent on the musical scene. Two great albums, 2004’s Up All Night and 2006’s Razorlight produced a number of hit singles, Brit and NME Award nominations and prestigious slots supporting the likes of Oasis and The Rolling Stones.

And then, as suddenly as they had hit the musical heights, they seemed to ride off into the sunset.

However, fast forward to 2024, and here they were again in a supporting role for our headliners James. During their forty minute set, they rattled through all the songs we remembered so fondly from their earlier incarnation. The ‘hit’ songs were the obvious crowd pleasers, while the couple of new tracks played showed they had lost none of their prowess in recording catchy indie pop songs.

It was a genuine reminder of how good they were back in the day and, on last night’s showing, we’ll be hoping the resurgence brings them back to the fore once more.

Set list included

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James

And before long, James were striding onto the vast Hydro stage. All nine of them, plus a four piece choir that sang throughout the night. Two drummers/percussionists, three guitarists, keyboards, trumpet player, bass and of course, on vocals Tim Booth, a man who continues to make bald look cool.

Tim Booth – lead vocals, Jim Glennie – bass guitar, Adrian Oxaal – lead guitar, cello, David Baynton-Power – drums, percussion, Saul Davies – rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, violin, percussion, Mark Hunter – keyboards, piano, programming, Andy Diagram – trumpet, percussion, Deborah Knox-Hewson – percussion, drums, Chloe Alper – guitar, percussion

What this group of musicians were able to deliver was almost perfect reproductions of the album tracks and hit singles we were so familiar with. There were of course added frills to the songs throughout the performance. And what a performance it was to delight the Glasgow audience.

With a back catalogue stretching back almost forty years, there were plenty of handpicked classics throughout the set to keep the audience singing along in tandem with the band.

As you would expect, the set list was interspersed with new tracks from the latest album Yummy which was reviewed earlier this week. They blended in well with the old and will no doubt become future standards as time moves on.

The set list

There are few airs and graces about James and Tim Booth in particular. He’s worn his heart on his sleeve throughout his career. As he reminded us, he’s now 64, but he’s not adverse to a spot of crowd surfing.

While he is the figurehead of an extremely successful band now in their fifth decade of playing together in one or other collaborative formats, throughout the night, he recognised the musicianship and expertise that all around him on the stage brought to the show. For some of us old enough to remember Genesis at the Apollo, there was even a duet from drummers Deborah and David to keep us toe tapping away.

Another Friday night in Glasgow. Another great show by a consummate showman and group of like minded people who brought a few hours of musical bliss to us all. What more could you ask for?

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