James were formed in 1982 in Whalley Range, Manchester, when music enthusiast Paul Gilbertson, inspired by the post-punk bands of the era, convinced his best friend Jim Glennie to buy a bass guitar and form a band with him.

Rehearsing regularly in Glennie's bedroom with whatever other musicians were available, their line-up solidified with the acquisition of Gavan Whelan on drums. They played a string of gigs under the names Venereal and The Diseases and, later, Volume Distortion, before settling on the name of Model Team International, then shortened to Model Team.

They performed mostly improvised material derived from jam sessions, supporting The Fall at an early gig. Vocalists and other musicians drifted rapidly in and out of their line-up, until the band encountered Tim Booth at a student disco.

Intrigued by Booth’s wild, Whirling Dervish-like dancing style, Gilbertson invited him to the band’s Scout hut in Withington to join the band as a dancer. After accepting the invitation, Booth was quickly promoted to lead vocals as well as lyricist.

After a brief period under the name Tribal Outlook, the band renamed themselves James in August 1982, following Gilbertson’s idea to name themselves after one of the band members. The name came from Jim Glennie. The other members' names were rejected - Gavan was "too heavy metal", while Paul was “too modest” to put his own name forward and Tim was concerned about accusations of egomania that might be associated with a band being named after the lead singer. "James" was, however, declared "amorphous enough" to summarize what the band was about.

The band instantly knew that people would make the mistake of thinking their name represented one person, and played upon this by having Tim walk on stage alone at the beginning of one gig and reading a poem to trick the audience into thinking they had been conned into watching a poet. (Maconie, 2000).

A gig at The Haçienda caught the attention of Tony Wilson of Factory Records. He offered James an album deal with Factory, but the band, by now settled a live act, were worried about tarnishing their material in the studio and settled instead for a three-track EP. Their debut release, the Jimone EP, was recorded at Strawberry Studios, Stockport, in August 1983 and released on Factory Records in November. It was named single of the week by major music papers in the UK, and led to a tour supporting The Smiths.

Although they were now being touted as the 'next big thing', several complex issues slowed their progress. Paul Gilbertson’s drug problems gave the band had no choice but to ask him to leave, and Booth and Glennie had joined a sect named Lifewave, which imposed many restrictions which threatened the band’s stability.

The band’s second EP, James II, was released over a year after the first and accompanied by a feature on the cover of the NME, Gilbertson having been replaced by the band’s guitar tutor Larry Gott. (The first two EPs would later be collected as Village Fire.) Reviews were once again positive, and Factory were eager for James to record an album with it, but the band believed Factory were purely image-based and left the label, striking a deal with Sire Records.

Their third release, the Sit Down EP (no relation to the song of that name) came out in March 1986, and was followed by their debut album, Stutter in June of that year. Reviews were generally lacklustre and the album only reached number 68 in the UK chart. Low on money and lacking coverage and promotion, the band recorded their second album, Strip-mine, attempting a more conventional song structure in an attempt to please Sire.

The album almost went unreleased, but after undergoing a slight remix to sound more radio-friendly, Sire released the album in September 1988, over a year after it had been initially completed. However the album only reached number 90. After finding a clause for ending their contract, the band left Sire. Desperate for money, the band members were driven to the extreme of participating as human guinea pigs in medical experiments at the Manchester Royal Infirmary, earning them a place on a TV documentary about the desperation of fallen rock stars.

James had by this point earned themselves a reputation as a solid live act and had built a solid fanbase. Sales of James t-shirts were particularly successful in Manchester even before they reached the top 40. James financed the production of a live album with a bank loan, One Man Clapping, and the help of Rough Trade Records. The album went to #1 in the indie charts, reinvigorating media interest in the band.

In November 1988, drummer Whelan became involved in an on-stage fight with Tim Booth and was asked to leave the band. He was replaced by David Baynton-Power a few months later. During the following year they hired three new members in the forms of Saul Davies (guitar, violin, percussion), Mark Hunter (keyboards) and Andy Diagram (trumpet, percussion).

The new seven-piece line-up went into the studio to record their third studio album, and new singles “Sit Down” and “Come Home” became strong hits in the independent charts. The album, Gold Mother, was intended to be released on Rough Trade but the owner of the label, Geoff Travis, believed James could only reach an audience of 20,000 to 30,000. The band believed they had more potential than this and bought the rights to the album from Rough Trade. A successful winter tour in 1989 attracted a deal with Fontana Records, and the band ended a difficult decade on an optimistic note.

Gold Mother was released in June 1990, just as the ‘Madchester’ movement, with its wave of popular Manchester-based indie bands, focused public attention on James and won them mainstream recognition. Singles “How Was It For You”, the remixed “Come Home” and “Lose Control” all made the top 40, and the band’s newfound success was re-affirmed when they played two sell-out dates at the Manchester G-Mex at the end of the year.

In March 1991, when the popularity of “Sit Down” led to a re-recorded version being released as a single, reaching #2 in the UK singles chart. Gold Mother was re-released to include "Sit Down" and previous single "Lose Control", and the album sold ten times more copies than Geoff Travis originally predicted. The song became one of the biggest-selling singles of the year.

The band spent the rest of the year recording their next album, Seven, which was released in February 1992. It reached #2 in the UK album charts and earned the band some recognition in the US as they embarked on their first Stateside tour. The band’s activities culminated in a sell-out show to 30,000 people at the Alton Towers theme park in July, broadcast live on BBC Radio 1.

They were then invited on an acoustic tour of the US supporting Neil Young at a series of natural outdoor venues in the autumn. They returned to England refreshed and ready to record their new album, with Brian Eno, whom they had originally approached to produce Stutter, but who had been unavailable at the time).

Eno set about bringing out the ambience in James’ music, and took them through a recording process that the band later described as a "journey of self-discovery". The process resulted in not one but two albums: the 'song' album, Laid, and the experimental Wah Wah, which showcased the band’s improvised jams recorded on the spot, then mixed by Eno. Booth's vocals were then added to the results.

Laid was released in September 1993 to positive reviews. As well as being a success in the UK, the album also broke the band in the US, shipping over 600,000 copies despite and charting at #68, propelled by the immense popularity of its risqué title track on US student radio. The band spent most of 1994 touring the States. Wah Wah was eventually released in September 1994 to a lukewarm reception.

The recording of the follow-up album faced difficulties from the start; Larry Gott left James, and manager Martine resigned. Booth also wished take a break to record an album with Angelo Badalamenti. There was also the discovery of a £250,000 tax bill. The band set up studio in David Baynton-Power’s house and Adrian Oxaal was drafted in to replace Gott on guitar, while Booth returned periodically from the States to add his vocals.

1996 saw the release of Booth’s album with Badalamenti, Booth and the Bad Angel, and the new James album, Whiplash, was released in February 1997. The album proved a successful comeback, reaching the UK top 10 as did the single “She’s A Star”.

The band toured to promote the album, recruiting new member Michael Kulas while in the States, on rhythm guitar. Booth suffered a neck injury while dancing on stage in the US, resulting in a series of tour dates being cancelled as he underwent emergency surgery, and the band being offered a place instead on the Lollapalooza tour.

In March 1998, a greatest hits album, The Best Of, was released, compiling all the band’s hits since their signing to Fontana. The album reached #1 in the UK album charts and sell-out tours throughout the year followed. The band returned to the studio to begin work on their next album, Millionaires.