'Ullapool helps me recover from life in rock band James'

As a band they have partied through Madchester, experienced Britpop and watched streaming take over the music industry.But indie pop veterans James might never have made it that far without a supply of Scottish support.The band's bassist Jim Glennie believes the group were encouraged to keep going in their early years because gigs in Scotland were so good.And Jim, the group's only remaining original member, has another reason to feel fond of Scotland - as he has spent the past 25 years living in Ullapool, a place that provides a relaxing contrast to life on the road.
"Outside of Manchester there's no place that's been as devoted to us as Scotland", reflects Jim."In the early days, when no-one was interested, it was amazing to come to play shows in Scotland and to have a boost of 'we must be doing something right, loads of people are coming to shows here and loving it!'"That fuelled us – Manchester and Scotland gave us a feeling we were doing the right thing so we should keep on going. "It was a long period to reach Sit Down [the band's No 2 hit in 1991], and there were a lot of conversations before then about whether to keep going and whether we were making progress."
The band did keep on going, from early days that featured constant line-up changes and record label fallings-out to a 90s packed full of hits. After breaking up in 2002 and reforming five years later, the group have enjoyed a prolific second life, releasing several albums and last year enjoying their first ever chart-topper with their 18th record, Yummy."I was surprised how much it meant to me," says Jim. "I've got used to giving my runners-up speech over the years, I think we've had three, number three albums and four number two albums so getting to number one was a complete shock, a ridiculously pleasant surprise."It was a real joy to think that there are people we are still connecting with."
Jim has had a long connection with Ullapool, starting when he visited the area on holiday with his parents.Around the turn of the millennium he found himself the last James member still living in Manchester, and wondered about moving to Scotland for a spell. And 25 years later, he's still here."I love it as a contrast to the bonkers world of James. Often I'll travel from Inverness, and coming back into the airport after a tour feels like the weight coming off my shoulders."The drive to Ullapool is stunning and it's like therapy to me, like someone giving me a massage for half an hour. "Everything else just dissolves into unimportance at that point and a big smile comes on my face. It feeds both my physical and mental health."
Despite the full-on nature of life in James, the group's desire to keep making new music is as strong as ever.Work on a new album is already under way and Jim believes it's crucial the band stays fresh, rather than just relying on old familiar hits like Laid and Say Something."It's that buzz of going into a room and creating something from nothing and getting all excited about taking it into the big bad world", he says. "We want to keep being relevant and keep challenging ourselves. We also always want to change from album to album, so that's not the easiest path through the industry – but it's why we're still here. "You have to do what you need to do to survive and make this work. If you get dragged along by doing exactly what the industry wants then you'll just be destroyed."The band veered close to destruction on several occasions, including discovering they owed hundreds of thousands of unpaid tax in the mid-90s, and a period when Jim says "relationships were getting messed up"."We were being childish and silly and selfish, and were very close to messing the whole thing up," he recalls. "It's ridiculous when it's the best job on the planet pretty much, and to blow it through being childish is really shooting yourself in the foot. But good gigs remind you there is still something worth fighting for."
Next on the group's gigging list is the Pavilion festival in Ayr - the event curated by local DJ Ewan McVivar that's now in its third year.However, it comes at a difficult time for festivals in general, as the music industry still recovers from a turbulent few years. "The industry's been battered with Covid and Brexit. There's huge pressure on festivals and people don't have an endless supply of money now. "There's so much uncertainty, which is a shame, because people need an uplift in their life, the collective joy they get from something like a festival or a football match. That shared experience can be something that's so euphoric."
Give people hope
For Jim, the creative arts need support from governments, to ensure that people can get involved - whether it's music, theatre or dance."It's a way out of people's problems and issues, and it can give them hope," he argues. "It can give a voice to people from disadvantaged backgrounds and right across the board, there is no support given to that. "There seems to be no recognition of the importance in that to society. Helping kids into music seems a no brainer to me and it seems to be ignored by government after government."Jim knows of what he speaks - last year he found himself onstage at Greece's legendary Acropolis theatre, performing a special James gig with a orchestra and gospel choir."We'd been trying for years as they only give so many permits a year. It was so hot they closed it three days later - but it was amazing to do, a real pinch me moment. I fancy the pyramids next."

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

BBC News

29 minutes ago

• BBC News

Chesil Youth Pride 2025 announces family theme

A Pride event for young people from the LGBTQ+ community is set to have a "we are family" theme, organisers have said. Chesil Youth Pride is returning for its third year in Weymouth on will start at 12:00 BST at Weymouth College and feature live music, creative activities and a parade along the year more than 200 young people attended with their families and friends. James, 16, from Weymouth said: "Chesil Youth Pride is such an important event to me and others, because it makes people closer to each other. It brings a community of very similar people together."Every year is different but always awesome."Dorset Council released a statement explaining that the event was created after the authority received feedback from young people saying they felt unsafe in their communities and "wanted a safe space to be themselves".The event will see the launch of a safe space charter in libraries for young LGBTQ+ people. Councillor Clare Sutton said: "Chesil Youth Pride is about ensuring all young people in Dorset feel a sense of belonging, safety and inclusion, and have fun at the same time."We are also incredibly proud to introduce the safe space charter at our local libraries. I'm hoping to see many young people come to Chesil Youth Pride and celebrate as one big family." You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.

Scottish Sun

10 hours ago

• Scottish Sun

Rock legends announce huge Scots gig on first UK tour in six years

The veteran group will perform in Aberdeen, Leeds, London, Newcastle, and Wolverhampton - before ending their tour in Glasgow LONG-AWAITED RETURN Rock legends announce huge Scots gig on first UK tour in six years Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) SCOTTISH rock icons have announced a new gig as part of their UK tour. The band will be playing in venues around the UK for the first time in six years. Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up 1 Idlewild will play three dates in Scotland as part of their first UK tour in six years The veteran group will perform in Aberdeen, Leeds, London, Newcastle, and Wolverhampton. The tour will finish with a night at the iconic Barrowland Ballroom in Glasgow. Tonight, Idlewild announced they will also play a night in Dundee. They will take to the stage at the city's LiveHouse venue on December 6. The band will be joined by special guests but their support is still to be announced. Idlewild will play in Aberdeen on December 5 and wrap up their tour on December 7 in the east end of Glasgow. The message from promoters DF Concerts read: "We're delighted to confirm Cult Scottish Alternative rock band IDLEWILD will be making a stop at LiveHouse as part of their first UK tour in six years. "Formed thirty years ago in Edinburgh by vocalist Roddy Woomble, Guitarist Rod Jones and Drummer Colin Newton, the band have released nine studio albums and toured worldwide as a headline act, alongside as support to REM, U2 and Pearl Jam amongst others. "For the last decade Idlewild's line up has been completed by multi-instrumentalists Andrew Mitchell on bass and Luciano Rossi on Keyboards." Idlewild were formed in Edinburgh in 1995. Deacon Blue star James Prime dies aged 64 after short illness Tickets are on sale now and are available here.

Daily Mirror

13 hours ago

• Daily Mirror

Oasis fans offered tips to avoid travel chaos after gigs at Murrayfield Stadium

Liam Gallagher and Noel Gallagher will be at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh on the Oasis Live '25 Tour, with fans of acts like Taylor Swift offering advice to concertgoers Fans of Oasis have been offered advice from supporters of acts like Taylor Swift and Robbie Williams ahead of the band's reunion tour. It comes ahead of Liam Gallagher and Noel Gallagher playing gigs at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh. There's concern about getting home from the venue, which has a capacity of 67,000, in August. It comes following the experiences of Taylor's fans, who grappled with transport difficulties last June when the international singer dazzled crowds over three nights at the venue during her Era's Tour. ‌ Now, as the countdown to the Oasis gigs on August 8, 9 and 12 continues, fans of the band have been issued advice, as reported by the Daily Record. It includes them having been dissuaded from using Haymarket station – advice shared on a Reddit thread entitled: "People of Glasgow that are going to Oasis in Edinburgh, how are we getting home?'' ‌ The user sparked discussion about how people that live outside of Edinburgh are planning to get home. The post read: "As per title, are people chancing being able to get a train home? A coach? A million pound taxi? I'm really not sure of the best plan of action..." One Swiftie from Glasgow suggested: "Tip from when I was at Taylor Swift last year. Everyone will be trying to get a train from Haymarket, and it'll be f***ing mobbed." Advising instead: "Head to Waverly (either via tram or just walk) and get on the train there, it'll be significantly quieter, and you'll likely get a table seat as well, rather than being stuck standing." There's also been advice from someone who attended Robbie Williams' gig in Edinburgh, where he kicked off his BRIT POP world tour at the end of last month. Offering their advice, they said: "We were at Robbie Williams on Saturday and Citylink buses were pretty decent. "Drop you right outside the stadium and pick you up just a little bit further away be prepared for a bit of [a] wait though because it's busy. So the concert finished at 10:30 and we were on the bus by about 11:30." Get Oasis updates straight to your WhatsApp! As the hotly anticipated Oasis reunion tour grows closer, the Mirror has launched its very own Oasis WhatsApp community where you'll get all the latest news on the Gallagher brothers and all the information you'll need in the run up to the gigs. We'll send you the latest breaking updates and exclusives all directly to your phone. Users must download or already have WhatsApp on their phones to join in. All you have to do to join is click on this link, select 'Join Chat' and you're in! We may also send you stories from other titles across the Reach group. We will also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose Exit group. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. ‌ Another person chimed in to the discussion reassuring revellers about late-night transportation between cities: "The buses run 24 hours between Glasgow and Edinburgh. I don't think it will be that bad trying to get home via public transport." There was however a word of caution about high demand to book ahead from someone else. They wrote: "Make sure to book the [CityLink] 900 and AIR buses ahead of time, they fill up quickly." Another person suggested similarly, writing in part of their response: "Citylink run all night. Happy Bus run private coach transfers from Buchanan to the event and back." ‌ A different user offered a more unconventional tip for catching a quieter bus: "Head to a club till you're completely knackered then head for a bus (they run 24/7 as previously mentioned). By that time most folk will have f***ed off already." Oasis fans are buzzing with anticipation as the band is set to rock Murrayfield Stadium with three gigs this summer on August 8, 9 and 12. The much-awaited reunion tour marks the first time the Gallagher brothers will share the stage in 16 years, with the opening show set to take place in Cardiff on July 4.