James Fearnley

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James Fearnley (born 9 October 1954) is an English musician. He plays accordion in the folk/punk band The Pogues.

Fearnley was born in Worsley, Manchester. As a child he was a choir treble, but his voice changed at the age of sixteen. He also took piano lessons but did not enjoy it, so he chose to learn the guitar instead. He played with the singer Nick Wade and later with a group called The Mixers. Fearnley also became the guitarist in the last edition of Shane MacGowan's band The Nips.

The group then consisted of Shane MacGowan (vocals), Shanne Bradley (bassist) and Jon Moss (drummer). When the Nips disbanded at the end of 1980, Fearnley joined the soul band The Giants. Fearnley was asked by Moss if he wanted to become a permanent member of a band in which he sometimes played, Culture Club. Due to a misunderstanding, Fearnley never joined Culture Club, and shortly after this the band went on to fame.

Fearnley sold his guitar and spent a year trying to write a novel. In 1982, MacGowan and Jem Finer were seeking an accordion player for their latest project. MacGowan knew that Fearnley had taken piano lessons and believed that he may have been able play the accordion too. Finer turned up at Fearnley's flat with an accordion in a laundry bag and persuaded him to give it a try. Fearnley was nicknamed "maestro" because he could tune the instruments.

In 1989, he married the actress Danielle von Zerneck and bought a house in Los Angeles. Fearnley left The Pogues in 1994 due to the band's heavy touring schedule, to spend more time with his family. However, he has since played with the band on several reunion tours.

He became a member of The Low And Sweet Orchestra, which released their debut album of spaghetti western-styled ballads Goodbye To All That in 1996. This group also consisted of former Thelonious Monster vocalist Mike Martt, Circle Jerks' Zander Schloss (guitar), the brothers Kieran and Dermot Mulroney (violins, cello, dobro), Tom Barta (bass) and Will Hughes (drums).

Fearnley has also appeared as a guest musician on albums with Talking Heads (Naked), David Byrne, LILT and Melissa Etheridge (Yes I Am).


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