James’ masterpiece from 1993 marked the beginning of their work with Brian Eno.
It may be hard to believe, but once upon a time, back in the pre-Britpop era of the early 90s, James were one of the biggest groups in the UK. Sure they dated further back than that, being the mildly unfashionable band mentioned in passing while fellow Manchester types The Smiths, The Stone Roses and Happy Mondays came, and went, and ultimately imploded. But after a couple of albums, they grabbed the baggy bandwagon by its number plate with 1990’s Come Home and eventually broke through big-time with indie disco perennial Sit Down when it was re-released in 1991. The result: their records finally sold more than their t-shirts (25 million worldwide is a figure many of today’s bands would lop off a limb for) and a decent career beckoned. A number of hit singles graced the charts, so it was no real surprise when their comeback tour in 2007 was such a success. James were, and very much remain, a band that a lot of people are very fond of.