James Grant (born 8 October 1964) is a Scottish musician, singer, and songwriter. He grew up in Glasgow's
Castlemilk
Castlemilk ( gd, Caisteal Mheilc) is a district of Glasgow, Scotland. It lies to the far south of the city centre, adjacent to the Croftfoot and Simshill residential areas within the city to the north-west, the town of Rutherglen - neighbourhoo ...
district and still resides in the city.
Friends Again
James Grant's music career began in 1982 as songwriter and guitarist in the
new wave band
Friends Again, alongside Chris Thomson, later of
the Bathers. The group had minor hit singles with "State of Art", "Sunkissed" and "Honey at the Core". They released a self-titled EP in 1983 which reached No. 59 in the UK and then recorded their debut album, ''Trapped & Unwrapped'', in 1984. On 5 June 2015, as part of the BBC Music Day at the broadcaster's Pacific Quay HQ in Glasgow, Grant and Thomson reunited to play two Friends Again songs - "State of Art" and "Honey at the Core" - for a live studio audience. Their performance was broadcast live on the ''Music Through Midnight'' show presented by Billy Sloan, though it was also filmed, perhaps for online content or a future broadcast.
Love and Money
When Friends Again split in 1985, Grant went on to form
Love and Money along with drummer Stuart Kerr and keyboardist Paul McGeechan. In their nine years together, they recorded four moderately successful albums, ''
All You Need Is...'', ''
Strange Kind of Love'', ''
Dogs in the Traffic'' and ''
Littledeath'', and had six chart hits in the United Kingdom.
In a newspaper interview in 2019,
Grahame Skinner
Grahame Skinner ("Skin") is a Scottish musician who currently fronts the band, The Skinner Group. He has been the lead singer for a number of bands.
He has been a member of:
* The Jazzateers (1983)
* The White Savages / Kites (1983)
* Hipsway ...
, the lead singer of Scottish pop / new wave band
Hipsway
Hipsway are a Scottish pop/ new wave band.
History and description
The band was formed in Glasgow in 1984 by ex- Altered Images guitarist Johnny McElhone on bass, and featuring Grahame Skinner (vocals), Pim Jones (guitar) and Harry Traver ...
, claimed that Grant should have had a credit on their debut single "The Broken Years", as he played lead guitar on the demo which won the band their first record deal with Mercury Records.
Solo career
Grant's first solo album, ''
Sawdust in My Veins'', was released on Survival Records in 1998. It featured long term collaborator
Donald Shaw,
Karen Matheson
Karen Matheson OBE (born 11 February 1963) is a Scottish folk singer who frequently sings in Gaelic. She is the lead singer of the group Capercaillie and was a member of Dan Ar Braz's group L'Héritage des Celtes, with whom she often sang lea ...
, harmonica player
Fraser Speirs
Fraser Speirs is a Glasgow-based harmonica player. Originally trained as a medical illustrator, Speirs has been performing for over 30 years and is now an internationally known performer and teacher.
He continues to perform with such musicians ...
, drummer
James Mackintosh
Sir James Mackintosh FRS FRSE (24 October 1765 – 30 May 1832) was a Scottish jurist, Whig politician and Whig historian. His studies and sympathies embraced many interests. He was trained as a doctor and barrister, and worked also as a jo ...
and the BT Scottish Ensemble. After a label change to Vertical, the same lineup was retained for ''
My Thrawn Glory'' in 2000. ''
I Shot the Albatross'', a collection of poetry set to music, was released in 2002. It included interpretations of works by
Edwin Morgan,
EE Cummings
Edward Estlin Cummings, who was also known as E. E. Cummings, e. e. cummings and e e cummings (October 14, 1894 - September 3, 1962), was an American poet, painter, essayist, author and playwright. He wrote approximately 2,900 poems, two autobi ...
, and
William Blake
William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...
. The gentle, introspective ''Holy Love'' followed in 2004, featuring contributions by dobro player
Jerry Douglas
Gerald Calvin "Jerry" Douglas (born May 28, 1956) is an American Dobro and lap steel guitar player and record producer.
Career
In addition to his fourteen solo recordings, Douglas has played on more than 1,600 albums. As a sideman, he has ...
and ex-Thrum vocalist
Monica Queen
Monica Queen is a singer from Glasgow, Scotland who has collaborated with Belle & Sebastian (e.g., on ''Lazy Line Painter Jane'' from the Lazy Line Painter Jane EP), Chris Coco, James Grant and Jim White, among others. She is listed on the Fire ...
. ''Strange Flowers'', a more upbeat collection, was released in February 2009.
Grant also scored the film ''The Near Room'' and has collaborated with
Capercaillie's Karen Matheson
Karen Matheson OBE (born 11 February 1963) is a Scottish folk singer who frequently sings in Gaelic. She is the lead singer of the group Capercaillie and was a member of Dan Ar Braz's group L'Héritage des Celtes, with whom she often sang lea ...
, performing live and writing songs for her solo records ''
The Dreaming Sea'', ''
Downriver
Downriver is the unofficial name for a collection of 18 cities and townships in Wayne County, Michigan, south of Detroit, along the western shore of the Detroit River.
The place is sometimes referred to as South Detroit.
Etymology
The name ...
'', and ''
Time to Fall''.
In conversation with radio presenter Billy Sloan on BBC Scotland's ''Music Through Midnight'' show on 5 June 2015, Grant revealed he was writing material and suggested it was more likely to be for a solo album than another Love and Money project.
Love and Money reformation and new album
Love and Money reformed for a show at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall as part of Celtic Connections 2011; this was intended to be a one-off but was very successful and the band subsequently decided to tour the UK. Following this, the band released their fifth studio album ''
The Devil's Debt'' in 2012. A limited edition live album of their Royal Concert Hall show, ''Strange Kind of Love'' was also released.
Discography
Albums
* ''
Sawdust in My Veins'' (Survival, 1998)
* ''
My Thrawn Glory'' (Vertical, 2000)
* ''
I Shot the Albatross'' (Vertical, 2002)
* ''Holy Love'' (Vertical, 2004)
* ''Strange Flowers'' (Vertical, 2009)
* ''James Grant & the Hallelujah Strings'' (Vertical, 2016)
Singles
* "Pray the Dawn" (Survival, 1998)
* "Hey Renee" (Vertical, 2001)
References
External links
Lyrics and chords for James Grant songs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grant, James
Scottish singer-songwriters
Scottish new wave musicians
Vertical Records artists
Living people
1964 births