James Armstrong (born 24 July 1944,

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

) is a guitarist from

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. Armstrong's musical career started while he was still a schoolboy, when he played in Belfast's top showband, The Melotones, who were resident in the city's Romano's Ballroom. Armstrong played and recorded in the mid-'60s with

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...

and

Them Them or THEM, a third-person plural accusative personal pronoun, may refer to: Books * ''Them'' (novel), 3rd volume (1969) in American Joyce Carol Oates' ''Wonderland Quartet'' * '' Them: Adventures with Extremists'', 2003 non-fiction by Welsh ...

, touring both

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

(where he lived – playing and recording – for 4 years). Of the 51 tracks recorded by Morrison and Them (1964–66), Armstrong played on over half, and while living in America met and played with

Jim Morrison James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, poet and songwriter who was the lead vocalist of the Rock music, rock band the Doors. Due to his wild personality, poetic lyrics, distinctive voice, unpredicta ...

The Doors The Doors were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential ro ...

Captain Beefheart Don Van Vliet (; born Don Glen Vliet; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. Conducting a rotating ensemble known as Th ...

and

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...

. During this time he was voted 3rd best guitarist in the world (after

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

& Frank Zappa). After leaving

in 1969 Armstrong again teamed up with vocalist Kenny McDowell (who had replaced Van Morrison) in Sk'Boo, alongside Ricky McCutcheon and Colm Connolly. Then he and McDowell (born Kenneth McDowell, 21 December 1944, in Belfast, Co Antrim) formed the band Truth (1969–71) in Chicago with bassist Curtis Bachman (ex The Buckinghams) and drummer Reno Smith (ex Baby Huey & the Babysitters). They also added ex-Them keyboards/vibes/flute/sax player Ray Elliott (born Raymond Elliott, 13 September 1943, in Belfast, Co Antrim). In the late '70s, after playing with McDowell in Spike, Jim Armstrong was guitarist with Northern Irish rock outfit Light. Armstrong and his 'Light' bandmate Brian Scott also played in a brief 'Them' tour of Germany in 1979. In the '80s Amstrong and McDowell performed with a reformed Sk'Boo. It was with Sk'Boo that he regularly played Belfast's Errigle Inn. At home in

where he worked for the civil service, he was a sought after session musician, and has been involved in many locally produced records and projects with Ulster Television, BBC Television and other radio stations. After touring for 9 years with one of the many incarnations of 'Them – The Belfast Blues Band' in the '90s with

Eric Wrixon Eric Wrixon (29 June 1947 – 13 July 2015) was a musician from Belfast, Northern Ireland, and a founding member of Them (band), Them and Thin Lizzy. He came up with the band name "Them" (from the 1954 sci-fi film ''Them!''), but as he was a mino ...

(the person who gave 'Them' their name, but never toured with the original band), he formed the Jim Armstrong Band with Scottish singer and harp player Jim Gilchrist, bass player Ali McKenzie (ex Belfast Blues Band) and drummer Siggi Heilek (ex Belfast Blues Band). He has played a huge variety of music in his time but blues is his main love. He is currently (2015) living in Las Vegas having moved to the USA following a health glitch when touring with his Jim Armstrong Band in Germany.

Discography

Them

*''

Them Again ''Them Again'' is the second album by the Northern Irish band, Them, whose lead singer and songwriter was Van Morrison. The album was released by Decca Records in the UK on 21 January 1966 but it failed to chart. In the U.S. it was released i ...

'' (January 1966,

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

(U.K.); April 1966, Parrot (U.S.); CD reissue 1990,

Polygram PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be a ...

) :*Call My Name / Bring 'em on In (March 1966,

) :*

Richard Cory "Richard Cory" is a narrative poem written by Edwin Arlington Robinson. It was first published in 1897, as part of ''The Children of the Night'', having been completed in July of that year; and it remains one of Robinson's most popular and ant ...

/ Don't You Know (May 1966,

) :*Dirty Old Man (At The Age of Sixteen) / Square Room (August 1967, Sully Records 1021) :*Walking in the Queen's Garden / I Happen To Love You (November 1967, Ruff Records 1088) :*Dirty Old Man (At The Age of Sixteen) / Square Room (December 1967,

Tower Records Tower Records is an international retail franchise and online music store that was formerly based in Sacramento, California, United States. From 1960 until 2006, Tower operated retail stores in the United States, which closed when Tower Records ...

; ''newly-recorded versions of both tracks'') :*Walking in the Queen's Garden / I Happen To Love You (December 1967,

384; ''re-issue of Ruff Records 1088'') *'' Now and "Them"'' (January 1968,

; CD reissue 2003,

Rev-Ola Records Rev-Ola Records is a British independent record label formed in 1990 that specializes in reissues, as well as select new releases. The label is headed by Joe Foster, a former child actor and musician/producer. He, along with Alan McGee and ...

) :*But It's Alright / Square Room (April 1968,

407;'' 'B' side edited version of album track'') *''Time Out! Time in For Them'' (November 1968,

; CD reissue 2003,

) :*Waltz of the Flies / We've All Agreed To Help (1969,

461) :*Corina / Dark Are The Shadows (March 1969,

493)

Truth

*''Of Them & Other Tales'' (1995, Epilogue Records; ''recorded in 1969-1970'')

Light

:*The Break / Castles in the Sand (1978, Mint Records CHEW 21) *''Light'' (1979, Mint Records MINT 11) :*Dry Your Eyes / Turn Out The Light (1980, Shock Rock SRS 501)

Sk'Boo

:*It's A Hard Road / Music Is Life / Talking Pictures-God's Peace in Mind (1982, Cuecomber Records CUE 1001)

Them – The Belfast Blues Band

*''Live in Europe '96'' (1997, BBB; ''only sold at live shows'') *''Them 2000'' (2001; ''only sold at live shows'')

Jim Armstrong Band

*''Live in Belfast'' (2003; ''only sold at live shows'') *''100% X VOL'' (2005; ''only sold at live shows'')

Notes

Jim owned a 1959

Gibson Les Paul The Gibson Les Paul is a solid body electric guitar that was first sold by the Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1952. The guitar was designed by factory manager John Huis and his team with input from and endorsement by guitarist Les Paul. Its typi ...

bought in America touring with Them in 1968 now owned and used frequently by

Mike McCready Michael David McCready (born April 5, 1966) is an American musician who serves as the lead guitarist for the rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of the band. McCready wa ...

of the

Grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of p ...

rock group

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, guita ...

References

External links

See extract from Irish Folk, Trad and Blues: A Secret History by Colin Harper and Trevor Hodgett

* ttp://www.irishrock.org/irodb/bands/light.html 'Light' at Irish Rock Discography
'Sk'Boo' at Irish Rock Discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, Jim 1944 births Living people Musicians from Belfast Guitarists from Northern Ireland Van Morrison Them (band) members