James at The Piece Hall 2023: Manchester indie band James will be performing at The Piece Hall in Halifax to mark its 40th anniversary in the music industry

James first entered the music scene in 1980, when they were known as Venereal and the Diseases and by December of that year they went by the name Volume Distortion. By March of 1981, the band was named Model Team International, which was then shortened to Model Team.

A year later, the founders of the band Jim Glennie, Paul Gilbertson and Gavan Whelan were preparing for a demo recording session with Jenny Ingham on vocals in time for the new year. They come across Tim Booth dancing at a Manchester University disco and ask if he would like to dance for them; Tim, who is too drunk to answer at the time, wakes up the next morning with a phone number written on his hand, rings it and makes his live debut at Sheffield Leadmill.

This was around the same time that Jim and Paul chose to expand the band by asking local guitar player, Larry Gott, to join them. In August 1982, they settled on the name James for their band and debut at Darwen’s 21 Club, where they were promoted as ‘James (Not A Poet)’ and Tim opened the show with a poem.

The band is known for songs ‘Come Home’, ‘Sit Down’, ‘She’s a Star’ and ‘Lad’, which also became a hit on American college radio. They were very successful in the 1990s, with four top 10s on the UK Singles Chart and nine top 10s on the UK Albums Chart.

After the band’s lead singer, Tim, left the group in 2001, the band had a hiatus, then reunited in January 2007, with Tim rejoining them, and have since gone on to produce a further seven albums. The band currently has nine members: Jim Glennie, Tim Booth, David Baynton-Power, Saul Davies, Mark Hunter, Andy Diagram, Adrian Oxaal, Chloe Alper and Debbie Knox-Hewson. The band is set to perform live at The Piece Hall next year.

When will James perform at The Piece Hall, Halifax?

The band has sold more than 25 million records worldwide since forming in Manchester in the early 1980s. They also attracted critical and commercial acclaim and are considered one of the most influential British bands of the last four decades due to their ‘unique craftsmanship, creativity and musical legacy’.

They are set to perform at the historic Piece Hall on Friday, July 7, 2023.

The headline show is expected to bring the complete full live sound James fans know and love to the Halifax venue in front of a predicted sell-out crowd of 5,550. November 2022 marks their 40th year since James first performed live on stage.

Tim Booth said: “There are a number of great bands who have been around for 40 years. But to get here and to be having the best time of our lives. To be part of a supportive loving family that still has something to say and new ways to say it. To be turned on by every gig and song. To fall in love over and over again, Groundhog Day, with our bandmates and audience. Damn. That’s time well spent.”

CEO of The Piece Hall Trust, Nicky Chance-Thompson DL, said: “We are really pleased to announce the amazing James are playing at The Piece Hall. This was one of our members’ most requested acts - and destiny called.”

James will join Madness, Sting, Embrace, War On Drugs and The Lumineers among the 2023 headliners for Live at The Piece Hall with many more artists still to be announced.

How can I buy a ticket to see James at The Piece Hall?

Tickets will go on general sale at 9am on Friday, December 2, 2022 via the Ticketmaster website.

Pre-sale tickets will also be available to members of The Piece Hall from 9am on Tuesday, November 29, 2022.

If you are not a member, you can sign up on The Piece Hall website before 8pm on Monday, November, 2022 and get pre-sale tickets.

Doors will open at 6pm and the event will finish by roughly 11pm, booking fees apply and the price of tickets vary depending on the type of ticket you purchase between £45 and £180.