James Allan (born 21 September 1979) is the lead singer and guitarist of the Scottish

rock band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guita ...

Glasvegas Glasvegas are a Scottish indie rock band from Glasgow. The band consists of James Allan (vocals), Rab Allan (lead guitar) and Paul Donoghue (bass guitar), with Swedish drummer Jonna Löfgren joining the group in 2010 until her departure in 2020 ...

, and a former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

Early and personal life

Born in

Dalmarnock Dalmarnock (, gd, Dail Mheàrnaig) is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated east of the city centre, directly north of the River Clyde opposite the town of Rutherglen. It is also bounded by the Glasgow neighbourhoods of Pa ...

, Glasgow, he attended the city's

St Mungo's Academy St Mungo's Academy is a Roman Catholic, co-educational, comprehensive, secondary school located in Gallowgate, Glasgow. The school was founded in 1858 by the Marist Brothers religious order. The debate team at St Mungo's were the first Scotti ...

.Dingwall, John. 2 August 2008.
Exclusive: Scots band Glasvegas set to break into the big-time with tipped debut
. '' Daily Record''. Retrieved on 6 January 2009. Allan is a lifelong supporter of

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

. Allan's cousin is Glasvegas bandmate/guitarist Rab Allan. His sister Denise is the band's co-manager.

Football career

Allan played as a winger for

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a ...

Cowdenbeath Cowdenbeath (; sco, Coudenbeith) is a town and burgh in west Fife, Scotland. It is north-east of Dunfermline and north of the capital, Edinburgh. The town grew up around the extensive coalfields of the area and became a police burgh in 18 ...

, East Fife, Queen's Park, Gretna,

Stirling Albion Stirling Albion Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the city of Stirling. The club was founded in 1945 following the demise of King's Park after World War II. The club currently competes in Scottish League Two as a member of the ...

and

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990. Dumbarton was the ca ...

, making 116 appearances in the

Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km south ...

. He was part of the Cowdenbeath squad that won promotion as runners up in the

2000–01 Scottish Third Division The 2000–01 Scottish Third Division was won by Hamilton Academical who, along with second placed Cowdenbeath, gained promotion to the Second Division. Elgin City finished bottom. Table {{DEFAULTSORT:2000-01 Scottish Third Division Scottis ...

Music career

During his football career, Allan decided to write songs and form a band. After touring Scotland for several years Glasvegas released four singles, before eventually being signed to Columbia. His songs deal with social issues such as

psychopathic Psychopathy, sometimes considered synonymous with sociopathy, is characterized by persistent antisocial behavior, impaired empathy and remorse, and bold, disinhibited, and egotistical traits. Different conceptions of psychopathy have been ...

fathers (" Daddy's Gone"), murder (" Flowers & Football Tops") and the challenges of social work (" Geraldine"). He also wrote about homosexuality ("I Feel Wrong"). On 8 September 2009, a Tuesday, bandmates Rab Allan and Paul Donoghue announced that James Allan had been missing since the previous Friday, which resulted in a no-show at the

Mercury Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...

awards ceremony. However, he made a call to the band's manager on 9 September 2009 that he was safe and well in New York, where Glasvegas were about to embark upon a US tour supporting

Kings of Leon Kings of Leon is an American rock band formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1999. The band is composed of brothers Caleb, Nathan and Jared Followill, and their cousin Matthew Followill. The band's early music was a blend of Southern rock and gar ...

. It is thought that the lack of communication sourced from Allan being without a mobile phone for six months, according to bandmates. Allan cites

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

and

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...

as his main influences. He also says that Ian McCulloch of Echo and the Bunnymen is one of his inspirations.McMonagle, Mickey
James Allan breaks cover to go on booze-up with Bunnyman
'' Daily Record''. 4 October 2009

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allan, James 1979 births Living people 21st-century Scottish male singers Footballers from Glasgow Scottish rock guitarists Scottish male guitarists Scottish rock singers Scottish footballers Cowdenbeath F.C. players East Fife F.C. players Queen's Park F.C. players Gretna F.C. players Stirling Albion F.C. players Dumbarton F.C. players Scottish Football League players People educated at St Mungo's Academy Musicians from Glasgow Association football wingers Falkirk F.C. players Dunipace F.C. players Bridgeton–Calton–Dalmarnock 21st-century British guitarists