Jimmy James (Singer)

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For alternatives for the name Jimmy James see the Jimmy James disambiguation page

Jimmy James (born Michael James 13th September 1939 in Jamaica) is a soul music singer [1].

Contents

[edit] The Vagabonds

The name of Jimmy James backing group, the band consists of:

  • Wallace Wilson on Guitar.
  • Phil Chen on Guitar.
  • Colston Chen on Bass Guitar.
  • Fred Frederick (Real name Mathias Frederick) on Saxophone.
  • Rupert "Bally" Balgobin on Drums.
  • Carl "Breadback" Noel on Organ
  • Carl "Grog" Griffith on Saxophone
  • Count "Prince" Miller regular guest Vocalist/MC

[edit] Background

The Vagabonds were originally formed in 1960. Later, Jimmy James, already a successful solo artist in Jamaica, teamed up with them and in April 1964, they relocated to the UK. Ska Time (Decca Records) was recorded within two weeks of their arrival and is one of the first examples of Jamaican ska music to be recorded in the UK. In 1965 they made some more recordings in Hungary before signing with Pye Records and releasing their best known studio album, The New Religion in 1966. Also in 1965, Jimmy James and the Vagabonds met The Who and supported them at the Marquee Club London They were well received and became the resident band there, on Tuesday nights, for about a year.


A lively club attraction, the energy of their live performance was captured in the album, Live at the Marquee, also featuring the Alan Bown Set. Jimmy James and the Vagabonds were labelmates and rivals of Geno Washington and The Ram Jam Band.


In 2007, James contributed the track "The Other Side of the Street" for Ian Levine's Northern Soul 2007 album.

[edit] On tour

Jimmy James can regularly be seen performing around the UK with former Foundations frontman Clem Curtis [2] [3]. The pair, along with Flirtations vocalist Earnestine Pearce can be seen touring with "The Soul Explosion". In April 2007, he performed at the "Classic Gold Weekender" along with Marmalade, Love Affair & Showaddywaddy [4].

[edit] External links