With over 30 million albums sold across a storied career, JAMES are amongst the most commercially and artistically successful bands of their era. They return to Australia and New Zealand for the first time since 2018 performing all the songs their iconic album ‘Laid’ plus a career-spanning set featuring greatest hits and deep cuts. The highly influential English band formed in Manchester in 1982. Known for frontman Tim Booth’s enigmatic vocals, introspective lyrics, and fearless spirit of genre experimentation, they are key figures in the legendary ‘Madchester’ scene. Ahead of their October Australian tour, frontman Tim Booth chats about their trip downunder
This tour puts Laid front and centre, an album that became a cultural phenomenon far beyond the band’s expectations. When you revisit it now, what strikes you most about how those songs have evolved over three decades?
‘’The Laid album was recorded shortly after we had toured acoustically with Neil Young. It was our first introduction to the mythic landscape of America, playing in canyons and deserts at confessional volume. Brian Eno came to see us and decided that we should record the album in a similar low-key manner. It didn’t exceed our cultural expectations. We assumed it would find a wide audience. However, we didn’t expect the lo-fi 2-minute 20-second throwaway song ‘Laid’ to become the flagbearer of the album. The album holds up.’’
You’re performing Laid in full but also delivering a career‑spanning set. How do you balance nostalgia with the band’s instinct for reinvention, especially after releasing a #1 album like Yummy?‘’
Most of the Laid songs are open for improvisation and the ones that aren’t, we have reinvented. Each night we will change the setlist, and the Laid songs will be integrated amongst many other songs to form a different story depending upon the feel and mood of the day and the city we are in.’
JAMES have always been associated with emotional honesty and introspection. What themes from your early work still resonate with you most strongly today, and which ones feel different with the benefit of time and experience?
‘’The themes of reaching out for connection from loneliness and A dark night of the soul moment in one’s life are there in many of the songs. The themes of transcendence, ecstatic visions. Death and our relationship to it stalks many of the lyrics of the last 5 albums. Surprisingly, they all still feel resonant. The few that don’t, we don’t tend to perform.’’
The band emerged from the Madchester scene, yet you never stayed confined to it. Looking back, how did that environment shape you and where do you feel JAMES diverged from the movement’s expectations?
‘’The Manchester scene exploded from the fusion of dance and indie, pioneered by bands like New Order. We enjoyed it, were on good terms with many of the bands, and took a few of them on tour with us but we had been going 7 years by then and we were aspiring to something more universal. Some of us were more influenced by the Beatles, the Doors, and the Velvets, Patti, Iggy, and had more artistic long-term aspirations.’’
Tim’s vocal and lyrical style has always been described as “enigmatic” and “fearless.” How has his approach to storytelling changed across 18 albums, and what does that evolution sound like on stage in 2026?
‘’I don’t know how to answer this, hopefully it’s got deeper! All of our songs come out of improvisation and the initial lyric tells me what the song wants to be about. That process has remained shockingly constant for 45 years. I Listen to the song emerging and feel what it wants to be about.’’
Your 40th anniversary and the success of Yummy proved that JAMES are still pushing forward creatively. What keeps the band restless, curious, and willing to take risks after four decades?
’Love hunger. I don’t know. We have a constant drive to create something that we’ve never done before: a song that brings down the walls (of Jericho)’’
Australia haven’t seen you since 2018. What emotional or creative significance does this return hold for the band, and what do you hope audiences take away from these shows?
‘’I love coming to Australia in the same way I love coming to America. You still have a mythic landscape that hasn’t been overcivilized by 1,000 years of ‘Civilization.’ There’s a potency in the land and a directness in the audience. Playing with Razorlight is a great double bill. Our general approach to gigs is that we hope the audiences will experience one of the best shows they’ve ever seen!’’
With a catalogue that spans anthems, deep cuts, experimentation, and reinvention, what does a “perfect” JAMES setlist feel like to you? And how do you decide which eras deserve the spotlight on a tour like this?
‘’A perfect setlist straddles the line between order and chaos, risk and ease. Its imperfection is its beauty. A balance between the well-constructed immediate ‘singles’ and the more experimental improvisational pieces. The songs are chosen to curate a journey where the whole is greater than the parts. With our nine-piece band of multi-instrumentalists We are pretty consistent: 19 out of 20 gigs are love bomb, ecstatic experiences.’’
Australia has always shown huge love for James, from early Triple J support to consistently passionate crowds on every visit. How does performing in Australia compare to other parts of the world, and what stands out to you about Australian audiences
‘’Our Australian audiences have always appreciated our musicality and risk-taking. The balance between a wild night and the potent silence of listening to some magical musical moment.’’
James October 2026 Australian and NZ Tour Dates
Thursday 8th October – Red Hill Auditorium, PERTH
Saturday 10th October – Margaret Court Arena, MELBOURNE
Sunday 11th October – Hordern Pavilion, SYDNEY
Tuesday 13th October – Fortitude Music Hall, BRISBANE
Thursday 15th October – Civic Theatre, AUCKLAND, NZ (James Only)
Tickets On Sale Now From: https://www.destroyalllines.com/tours/james