Alex James (musician)
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| Alex James | |
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 Alex James in Bangkok,Thailand
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Steven Alexander James |
| Born | November 21, 1968 |
| Origin | Bournemouth, England |
| Genre(s) | Alternative rock, Britpop |
| Occupation(s) | Bassist, songwriter, author |
| Instrument(s) | Bass, vocals |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Associated acts | Blur Fat Les WigWam Me Me Me |
| Website | www.Blur.co.uk |
| Notable instrument(s) | |
| Fender Precision Bass Standard | |
Steven Alexander James (born 21 November 1968 in Boscombe, England) is the bass player of English alternative rock band Blur, and also played with temporary bands, Fat Les, Me Me Me and WigWam. He currently classifies himself as a farmer.[2]
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[edit] Biography
He attended the state grammar school, Bournemouth School on East Way in Charminster. James met future band mate Graham Coxon at Goldsmiths College, where James studied French, and was introduced to Damon Albarn and Dave Rowntree, who at the time were part of a band called Circus. He eventually joined the three's new band, Seymour, in 1989, which would later be renamed Blur. While he has been in the band ever since, he now describes the experience as "a past-life".[1]
[edit] Solo projects
Unlike his band mates Albarn and Coxon, James has not released any solo material, although he has been involved in other side projects. In 1998 James formed Fat Les with Keith Allen, Damien Hirst and others, and released (amongst others) the World Cup single "Vindaloo", which reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart. He also worked on a side project called Me Me Me with Stephen Duffy, and has co-written songs for Marianne Faithfull and Sophie Ellis Bextor. James worked with Bextor on a couple of tracks on her solo debut album Read My Lips. He co-wrote and co-produced "Move This Mountain", and co-produced "I Believe" along with Bextor and Ben Hillier. He also played the bass on both tracks. Ellis Bextor's 2003 album, Shoot From The Hip also features James on it. He co-wrote "Love Is It Love" and again plays bass guitar. He also joined his friend and singer-songwriter Betty Boo, in a band called WigWam.
James writes for the British newspapers The Independent and The Observer, as well as Q magazines and The Idler (whom he represented in a team on BBC2's University Challenge: the Professionals in summer 2005 in a team also featuring John Moore of Black Box Recorder; they had a heavy win over The Financial Times in their heat, but did not score highly enough to return for the tournament's later stages). He also presented the Evening Sequence on BBC 6 Music as a stand-in for Tom Robinson between 8-26 August 2005 where he amusingly quipped that it was he who had invented Justin Timberlake's catchphrase "I am going to have you naked by the end of this song." James has subsequently mentioned this, most likely, erroneous claim in a number of later articles in the Idler.
In October 2006, he became one of the presenters of The Tube which ran until March 2007 and was broadcast on Channel 4 Radio. In 2007, Alex was featured on the BBC Radio 4 programme On Your Farm and became one of its regular presenters alongside Elinor Goodman and Adam Henson. In 2007 Alex was a judge on the Channel 4 show Mobile Acts Unsigned. In November 2007, James was featured as a panellist on popular BBC One satirical news quiz Have I Got News for You. In March 2008 Alex signed up to present a new 100-part series 'The A to Z of Classic FM Music' on Classic FM, after successfully hosting the short series When Classic Meets Pop in June 2007.
In August 2008 James is scheduled to appear in the reality tv talent show-themed television series, Maestro on BBC Two.[2]
[edit] Personal life
[edit] Family
James married Claire Neate, a video producer, in April 2003 in Cheltenham. They have three sons: Geronimo (born 16 February 2004), and premature twin boys (born 28 April 2006), Artemis and Galileo she is currently pregnant. They live in Kingham in Oxfordshire on a 200-acre (0.81 km²) farm.
[edit] Space obsession
He has a serious interest in space and space travel, which led him to involve Blur in helping the ill-fated Beagle 2 project, producing the Mars probe's signature tune. Alex is also partly responsible for the creation of Beagle, as he came up with the first idea, which led to the craft being built. His obsession with space is further documented by the track "Far Out" on the Blur album Parklife, on which James sings a list of moons and stars. After studying at the University of Bath for two years he gained an honours degree in astrophysics. On 25 January 2007 James became the "Artist in Residence" in the Astrophysics department at the University of Oxford.[3]. Alex also joined the British Astronomical Association while Blur were still touring.
[edit] Appearances
Alex and Claire were seen at 'Childish Things 4', a variety show at the New Theatre Oxford featuring such performers as Jimmy Carr and Bill Bailey. He was one of the celebrities seen in the crowd along with Jeremy Clarkson.
[edit] Footnotes
[edit] External links
- Alex James regularly contributes to The Spectator magazine
- Alex James is one of the regular presenters of BBC Radio 4's On Your Farm
- Alex James: the cheese diaries, episode 2
- Alex James: the cheese diaries, episode 1
- Alex James interview
- Alex James gives up vegetarianism after 17 years
- Article on Alex James and cheese manufacture
- Heyoka Magazine Interview with John LeKay
- Alex James' most recent article for the Independent
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