| Alex James | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Stephen Alexander James |
| Born | November 21 1968 |
| Origin |  Bournemouth, England |
| Genre(s) | Alternative Rock, Britpop, Electronica |
| Occupation(s) | Bassist, songwriter, Author |
| Instrument(s) | Bass |
| Years active | 1988 - present |
| Associated acts |
Blur Fat Les WigWam Me Me Me |
| Website | Blur |
Alex James (born Stephen Alexander James, 21 November 1968, in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, England) is the bass player in the band Blur, and one of the members of Fat Les.
The only member of Blur not to come from Colchester, James met future bandmate Graham Coxon at Goldsmiths College, where the two were studying, and was introduced to Damon Albarn and Dave Rowntree, who at the time were part of a band called Circus. He eventually joined the three's new band, Seymour in 1989, which would later be renamed Blur. He has remained in the band since.
Side projects
Unlike his bandmates Albarn and Coxon, James has not released any solo material, although he has been involved in other side
projects. In 1998 James formed Fat Les with Keith Allen, Damien Hirst and others, and released (amongst others) the World
Cup single "Vindaloo", which reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart. He also worked on a side project called Me Me Me
with
James writes for the British newspapers The Independent and The Observer, as well as Q magazines and The Idler (whom he represented in a team on BBC2's University Challenge: the Professionals in summer 2005 in a team also featuring John Moore of Black Box Recorder; they had a heavy win over The Financial Times in their heat, but did not score highly enough to return for the tournament's later stages). He also presented the Evening Sequence on BBC 6 Music as a stand-in for Tom Robinson between 8-26 August 2005 where he amusingly quipped that it was he who had invented Justin Timberlake's catchphrase "I am going to have you naked by the end of this song." James has subsequently mentioned this, most likely, erroneous claim in a number of later articles in the Idler.
In October 2006 he became one of the presenters of The Tube (Radio Series) which ran until 1st March 2007 and was broadcast on Channel 4 Radio.
Personal life
Family
James is married to Claire Neate, a video
Vegetarianism
James was a vegetarian for 17 years, then reverted after he had begun living on a sheep farm where he is to go into the cheese manufacturing business.
Space obsession
He has a serious interest in space and space travel, which led him to involve Blur in helping the ill-fated Beagle 2 project, producing the Mars probe's signature tune. His obsession with space is further documented by the track "Far Out" on the Blur album Parklife, on which James sings a list of moons and stars.
Recent
- James is now making video podcasts documenting his cheesemaking venture for Guardian Unlimited
- He is involved with promoting the RSA's research and campaign into Personal carbon trading.
- On February 11 2007, James appeared in the four-part fictional jury show The Verdict.
- On May 29 2007, He appeared on Gordon Ramsay's The F-Word, where he discussed drinking breast-milk and persuaded Ramsay to try some in a cappuccino.
- On July 8 2007, James made an appearance on the BBC show Something For The Weekend, where he assisted in making baked alaska.
Trivia
- His favourite Blur album is Modern Life Is Rubbish.
- His children's names are; Geronimo, Artemis and Gallileo.
External links
- Alex James: the cheese diaries, episode 2
- Alex James: the cheese diaries, episode 1
- Alex James interview
- Alex James gives up vegetarianism after 17 years
- Article on Alex James and cheese manufacture
- Heyoka Magazine Interview with John LeKay
- Alex James' most recent article for the Independent
| Blur | |
|---|---|
| Damon Albarn • Alex James • Dave Rowntree • Graham Coxon | |
| Discography |
Albums: Leisure • Modern Life Is Rubbish • Parklife • The Great Escape • Blur • 13 • Think Tank Compilations: The Special Collectors Edition • Live at the Budokan • [[Bustin' + Dronin']] • The 10 Year Limited Edition Anniversary Box Set • Blur: The Best of Singles: See Blur Singles |
| Other projects | The Ailerons • Fat Les • The Good, the Bad and the Queen • Gorillaz • Me Me Me • WigWam |
| Related articles | Food Records • Honest Jon's • Stephen Street • Transcopic • The Battle of Britpop |
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