Spencer Frederick James (born 15 April 1953) is an English singer and musician. He has been the lead singer of veteran pop band

The Searchers ''The Searchers'' is a 1956 American Technicolor VistaVision epic Western film directed by John Ford and written by Frank S. Nugent, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May. It is set during the Texas-Native American wars, and stars John Wa ...

since 1986. James was also a member of the

one-hit wonder A one-hit wonder or viral hit is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music p ...

band

The First Class The First Class were a British pop music studio-based group, put together by songwriter and record producer John Carter. They are best known for their hit song " Beach Baby," a top 20 hit in both the US and UK. Career The First Class was the ...

that scored a No. 4 hit with the song "

Beach Baby "Beach Baby" is a song by the British band The First Class. Written by John Carter and his wife, Gillian (Jill) Shakespeare, the song became the band's only substantial hit. The subject of the lyrics is not holiday love, but a broken love relatio ...

Early life

James grew up in Hayes, Middlesex. Working for Marshall's Music Group, he developed an interest in guitars and began playing and singing in local bands. James improved his stage craft while deputising in the band White Plains. He then moved on to form a band named Duke.

Career

The First Class

The First Class was initially a studio creation featuring the voice of

Tony Burrows Anthony Burrows (born 14 April 1942) is an English pop singer and recording artist. As a prolific session musician, Burrows was involved in the production of numerous transatlantic hit singles throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s, most of wh ...

. The success of the song "

" (#4 in the US) led to demand for live appearances. A group, including Spencer James, was assembled to perform a number of dates as The First Class. In 1983, The First Class recorded the single "

Gimme Little Sign "Gimme Little Sign" is a classic soul music song, originally performed by Brenton Wood and written by Wood (under his real name, Alfred Smith), Joe Hooven and Jerry Winn. The charted versions were Wood's, Peter Andre's, the Sattalites', and Danie ...

" with Spencer James on vocals. The single had some success in the Netherlands.

Nightfly

Formed in 1985 (originally under the name Heyday), Nightfly was a

supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to: * Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields * Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry * Supergroup ...

consisting of Spencer James on lead vocals,

Zak Starkey Zak Richard Starkey (born 13 September 1965) is an English rock drummer who has performed and recorded with English rock band the Who since 1996. He is also the third drummer to have appeared with English rock band Oasis. In 2020, Starkey toure ...

on drums,

Boz Burrell Raymond "Boz" Burrell (1 August 1946 – 21 September 2006) was an English musician. Originally a vocalist and guitarist, Burrell is best known for his singing with King Crimson (1971–1972) and bass playing in Bad Company (1973–1982, 1998� ...

(ex-

Bad Company Bad Company are an English rock supergroup that was formed in 1973 by singer Paul Rodgers, guitarist Mick Ralphs, drummer Simon Kirke and bassist Boz Burrell.Bad Company ''AllMusic'' Peter Grant, who managed the rock band Led Zeppelin, also ...

) on bass,

Micky Moody Michael Joseph "Micky" Moody (born 30 August 1950) is an English guitarist, and a former member of the rock bands Juicy Lucy and Whitesnake. He was also a founder-member of Snafu. Together with his former Whitesnake colleague Bernie Marsden h ...

(ex-

Whitesnake Whitesnake are an English hard rock band formed in London in 1978. The group was originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their own entit ...

) on guitar and

Mickey Simmonds Mickey Simmonds (born 31 January 1959, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England) is an English session keyboardist, arranger and composer. He is best known for his work with progressive rock acts, Mike Oldfield, Renaissance, Camel and Fish. He ha ...

on keyboards. Nightfly toured in early 1985 but broke up soon after. James went on to form the Spencer James Band which enjoyed considerable success around the pub circuit of West London. At one gig at

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

's Red Lion they shared the bill with The Searchers.

The Searchers

In December 1985 long-time lead singer of The Searchers,

Mike Pender Michael John Prendergast (born 3 March 1941), known professionally as Mike Pender, is an English singer and guitarist. He was an original founding member of Merseybeat group the Searchers. He is best known as the lead vocalist on many hit s ...

, announced that he was leaving the group. Founding member John McNally recalled Spencer James from the Brentford gig and he was recruited as the new lead singer. His mastery of the synthesizer guitar also added authentic strings and keyboard sounds to The Searchers stage performances, emulating their original studio recordings. For more than twenty years, James has completed extensive national and international tours with The Searchers. He has also contributed to the album '' Hungry Hearts'' and a number of live recordings of the band (see Discography).

Discography

With
The First Class The First Class were a British pop music studio-based group, put together by songwriter and record producer John Carter. They are best known for their hit song " Beach Baby," a top 20 hit in both the US and UK. Career The First Class was the ...

Studio albums

Singles

Solo

Despite his hectic schedule with The Searchers, James has found time to record a number of solo albums in his home studio (SJO Music), many of the songs written himself. He also records and produces other acts. * Days Gone By (1987) *''Tides of Time'' *''Love Remains'' *''Breathe In, Breathe Out'' (2004) *''The Age of Reason'' (2011) *Hope For Me Yet (2012) *Chapter & Verse (2016) *Time For Letting Go (2018)

With
The Searchers ''The Searchers'' is a 1956 American Technicolor VistaVision epic Western film directed by John Ford and written by Frank S. Nugent, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May. It is set during the Texas-Native American wars, and stars John Wa ...

Albums

Videography

* * * *

References

External links

*
The Searchers websiteThe Searchers discography including James's releases
{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Spencer English pop guitarists English male guitarists English pop singers English male songwriters Living people People from Hayes, Hillingdon 1953 births The Searchers (band) members