6th February 2026 (early) at Circuit, Kingston
Rescheduled from last November due to illness, this is an acoustic set with Q&A and the first of two intimate shows this evening. There are only 4 members of the band on stage (rather than the usual 85, they joke) – Tim, Jim, Saul and Mike.
The evening starts a somber tone. The first song is Broken by the Hurt, a poignant and empathetic ballad, which is dedicated to a mother that had contacted the band after losing her 18 year old son to drugs. This is followed by a moving rendition of The Shining.
On a lighter note, the Q&A prompts a story about how Sit Down caused everyone to actually sit down at the Locomotive club in Paris, which was Tim said was beautiful due to its spontaneity, despite club floors in the 90s being sticky with spilt beer and cigarette butts, and not particularly nice to sit down on! Additional detail, insults and “comic relief” was provided by guitarist and violinist Saul.
Technical issues meant that the band hadn’t sound-checked or rehearsed that day, however they played a beautiful, acoustic version of Say Something, which had a big singalong during the chorus.
This tour was originally timed with the release of James’ new album Nothing But Love, The Definitive Best Of… in November and they were asked about how they’d chosen the tracks for the triple album. Jim explained that it originally started out as a singles album, but they realised that there were many songs that were important to the band or the fans, that weren’t on the list because they weren’t singles. So Jim and Tim decided what to put on, from their back catalogue of over 400 songs, and swapping tracks in and out.
10 year old Ellen, who was seeing James for the third time, asked Tim what inspired him to become a singer?
He replied, “I came from a house where we didn’t even have a record player, and so music was a quite barren culture, and in my day, there were like 2 TV channels, and there wasn’t a bit much entertainment. And so when you did get hit by something, you got hit big. It was like if you did see something, it was magical.”
He goes on to tell us about the night at boarding school when he found out that his father was very ill and dying, but couldn’t show any emotion. Until he sneaked down and listened to a cassette of music, which contained “Birdland” by Patti Smith, about a boy losing his father and this song unleashed his emotions. This inspired him becoming a singer:
“It was the idea that somebody on the other side of the world could write something for you that was the perfect thing for you in that moment that could save your life”.
It was such a personal story, and felt like he was confiding in us, baring his soul to the thousand fans in the room.
To lighten the mood again, Saul declares that in as a strange segue, this next song is Patty Smith. They then played PS (although Tim said isn’t really about Patti Smith).
The next question from the audience was preceded by a solemn tale from a lady who saw James live last year, followed them around the country, learnt the lyrics and credits them with saving her life. It’s a heavy story, but the question itself was a cheeky marriage proposal to Saul!
The conversation then turns to a discussion of their favourite venues given they have played everywhere from arenas to little gigs like this. The Albert Hall is mentioned, along with some other places, but an annoying Aussie voice chimes from the back demanding to know their favourite.
Tim explains that it’s not just the venue, the audience play their part in the chemistry. He uses an analogy: “You don’t you don’t say to somebody, which is your favourite bed for making love on? You say which was the time you had the most amazing lovemaking experience, and it kind of depends on the 2 people.”
“I know it seems really cheesy, but this is one of the best venues I’ve ever played,” remarked Saul. “It’s amazing. It’s also because of you lot”. Big cheers.
The band started playing Hallelujah Anyhow, but Tim declares “I can’t remember the words to this one, I’m really thrown.” He asked the audience if anyone remembers the opening lines. A few people chipped in with the words and the proposal lady grabbed a mic and sang “Hold me, see, hold me”.
“You have triggered it, so thank you. As Chloe isn’t here, that isn’t the bit I’m going to sing,” laughed Tim. A very moving version of Hallelujah Anyhow followed.
Questions about venues aren’t finished – “James are a very intimate act, and a venue like this is perfect. Why are you playing O2?”
Saul quips, “Well, it was either play the O2, one night, or 223 nights here. And we can’t afford the hotels.”
Tim add, “We love playing the big venues as much as the small ones. So you get a different show, you know, that’s the thing. Can you make an arena intimate? And I think generally on a good day, we can, and you can, but on a good day, it is harder work, it’s a different experience, but it’s a great challenge.”
James had mentioned in advance that they wanted to do a jam/improvised session tonight, but given they were flying by the seat of their pants without a sound check, they decided to do two final songs instead.
An emotional Just Like Fred Astaire followed. The final song, Laid, takes me back to my university years when it was a staple in Manchester’s indie clubs at the end of the 90s. The audience are singing and dancing along with great energy.
My experience of Q&As is that fans want to declare their undying love for the band, and tonight was no different, but I felt that I got to know James much better in this intimate setting with the personal stories that they shared.
I hadn’t realised that James inspired such a loyal fandom. Many of the fans had travelled some distance and a lucky few also had tickets to the later show this evening. (I’m told that the songs were the same but in a different order, and that ribbing from the earlier proposal continued for Saul.)
I also hadn’t realised how great they are live. Though a short set of only seven songs (from their back catalogue of over 400!), it was an excellent selection to showcase the bands range.
Blue Roses Fanzine 2.0 