Anthony Eric James (born 12 April 1953) is an English pop musician and record producer, who was the bassist for the 1970s–1980s bands
Generation X,
Sigue Sigue Sputnik and
the Sisters of Mercy.
Early life
Tony James was born in
Shepherd's Bush
Shepherd's Bush is a district of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan.
Although primarily residential in character, i ...
in West London on 12 April 1953, and spent his childhood years in
Twickenham. After formal education at
Hampton Grammar School
Hampton School (formerly Hampton Grammar School) is an independent boys' day school in Hampton, Greater London, England. It is regarded as one of the top independent schools in the country. Hampton School’s A-Level and GCSE results in 2021 ...
he attended
Brunel University, from which he graduated with first-class honours in mathematics and computer science. Before becoming a professional musician he was briefly employed as a computer programmer in the accounting department of a company.
London S.S.
In 1975 James was a member of an early London proto-
punk rock formation styling itself as
The London S.S., along with
Brian James (later of
The Damned) and
Mick Jones and
Terry Chimes (both future members of
The Clash).
Generation X
In late 1976 James joined the new band
Chelsea as its bassist, the group included
William Broad (a member of the
Bromley Contingent) on guitar, John Towe on drums and
Gene October as its frontman/lead singer. After a few weeks and a handful of support gigs in London and Manchester, James and Broad parted company with Gene October over a lack of personal chemistry, which October reciprocated the sentiment of, and departed taking John Towe with them to form another new band which they named
Generation X. Broad renamed himself with the performance punk pseudonym "Billy Idol" as he switched from the guitarist's role to be the singer/frontman on the recruitment of
Bob "Derwood" Andrews as its lead guitarist.
Generation X played their first gigs in London in December 1976, and swiftly began writing their own material and playing live in venues around London and further afield. After five months Towe was dropped from the group's formation at James's instigation, and was replaced by the drummer
Mark Laff, to complete the line-up that signed to
Chrysalis Records
Chrysalis Records () is a British record label that was founded in 1968. The name is both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders' names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis. It started as the Ellis-Wright Ag ...
and released the band's first single, "Your Generation" in September 1977, which entered the Top 40 of the
UK Singles Chart.
The band went on to release two long-players, the self-titled ''
Generation X'' (1978) and ''
Valley of the Dolls Valley of the Dolls may refer to:
* ''Valley of the Dolls'' (novel), a 1966 novel by Jacqueline Susann
** ''Valley of the Dolls'' (film), a 1967 film adapted from the novel
*** " (Theme from) Valley of the Dolls", the title song from the film, pe ...
'' (1979), and several singles, all but one of which charted, and through a hectic touring schedule increasingly gained media recognition as one of the acts with a potentially bright commercial future that had emerged from the
punk-rock scene.
However, in early 1979 the band's internal cohesion began to come apart after the relative commercial failure of the ''Valley of the Dolls'' L.P., which had gone no higher than #51 in the U.K. Albums Chart, and disagreements arose within it about its future musical direction in London's post-punk landscape, the writing process and credits for its work, augmented by the appearance of personality clashes. These came to a head in late 1979 during the recording of what was the band's (unfinished) third long-player (retrospectively commercially released 20 years later the under the title ''
Sweet Revenge)''. Generation X broke up in acrimony at the year's end with Andrews the lead guitarist quitting the act, and Idol and James asking its drummer Mark Laff to leave the band shortly afterwards over another disagreement.
Gen X
After abandoning the recording sessions at Olympic Studios, in early 1980 James and Idol re-launched the band in the
New Romantic
The New Romantic movement was an underground subculture movement that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The movement emerged from the nightclub scene in London and Birmingham at venues such as Billy's and The Blitz. The New ...
style, re-titled with the new name Gen X, with the drummer
Terry Chimes.
Re-recording some of the material from the abortive Olympic sessions, along with several new songs, at the beginning of 1981 it released a long-player entitled ''
Kiss Me Deadly'', featuring session-playing from several different lead guitarists in the absence of a permanent one in the band's line-up. A small tour was also carried out to promote the new band with
James Stevenson having been brought in as its stand-in guitarist. ''Kiss Me Deadly'' was a commercial failure on release, failing to enter in the UK's Albums Chart, with its only single release "
Dancing with Myself" also failing to enter the Top 40 Singles Chart; in consequence Chrysalis Records dropped the band's contract and the band broke up, with Idol leaving to pursue a solo career in the United States of America.
Sigue Sigue Sputnik
In 1981, after writing the single release "Russian Roulette" for the band
The Lords of the New Church, playing on ''
The London Cowboys''' long-player ''Animal Pleasure'' and producing the long-player ''
Song and Legend'' for the band ''
Sex Gang Children
Sex Gang Children are an early gothic rock and post-punk band that formed in early 1982 in Brixton in London, England. Although the original group only released one official studio album, their singles and various other tracks have been pack ...
'', James formed the
rockabilly/
cyberpunk act ''
Sigue Sigue Sputnik'', which he wrote and performed with until 1989.
[Thompson, Dave (2000) ''Alternative Rock'', Miller Freeman, , p. 615-617][Handelman, David (1986)]
Sigue Sigue Sputnik: 'Fantasy band?'
, '' Gettysburg Times'', 8 August 1986, p. 26, retrieved 2010-09-25
Subsequent career
In 1990 James became the bassist with
The Sisters of Mercy, recording with it on the ''
Vision Thing'' album; he also played on the band's subsequent live tours, however he left the band the following year.
On 20 September 1993, during Billy Idol's ''No Religion'' Tour, James joined Generation X for a one-off reunion performance at the
Astoria Theatre
The London Astoria was a music venue at 157 Charing Cross Road, in London, England.
Originally a warehouse during the 1920s, the building became a cinema and ballroom. It was converted for use as a theatre in the 1970s. After further developme ...
in London's West End.
From 2002 to 2013 James worked with
Mick Jones, his erstwhile associate from The London S.S. in the mid-1970s, in an act titled
Carbon/Silicon
Carbon/Silicon is a rock music duo consisting of Mick Jones (formerly of The Clash and Big Audio Dynamite) and Tony James (formerly of Generation X and Sigue Sigue Sputnik). The band formed around 2002.
Career
Similar in many respects to Jo ...
, with James co-writing songs and playing guitar.
Discography
Generation X
*1978 – ''
Generation X'' (
Chrysalis Records
Chrysalis Records () is a British record label that was founded in 1968. The name is both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders' names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis. It started as the Ellis-Wright Ag ...
)
*1979 – ''
Valley of the Dolls Valley of the Dolls may refer to:
* ''Valley of the Dolls'' (novel), a 1966 novel by Jacqueline Susann
** ''Valley of the Dolls'' (film), a 1967 film adapted from the novel
*** " (Theme from) Valley of the Dolls", the title song from the film, pe ...
'' (Chrysalis Records)
*1998 – ''
Sweet Revenge'' (Empty Records)
(originally recorded in 1979)
*2004 – ''
K.M.D. – Sweet Revenge Xtra'' (Revel Yell Music)
(featuring bonus tracks)
;Generation X Compilations:
*1985 – ''
The Best of Generation X
''The Best of Generation X'' is a compilation album of English punk rock band Generation X.
It was released by Chrysalis Records in 1985 in response to the international success that the band's frontman Billy Idol had recently achieved, as we ...
'' (Chrysalis Records)
*1990 – ''The Idol Generation'' (
Castle Communications)
(Australia only.)
*1991 – ''
Perfect Hits 1975–81
Generation X (later known as Gen X) were an English punk rock band, formed in London in 1976. They were the musical starting point of the career of their frontman Billy Idol, and issued six singles that made the UK Singles Chart and two album ...
'' (Chrysalis Records)
*1999 – ''Live at the Paris Theatre '78 & '81'' (
EMI Records
EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company of the same name in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succ ...
)
(edited and reissued in 2002 as ''One Hundred Punks – BBC Live in Concert'')
*2002 – ''
Radio 1 Sessions'' (
Strange Fruit Records)
*2003 – ''
Anthology
In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors.
In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...
'' (EMI Records)
*2003 – ''Live at Sheffield'' (Empty Records)
*2005 – ''
Live
Live may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film
* ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film
*'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD)
Music
*Live (band), American alternative rock band
* List of albums ...
'' (EMI Records)
Gen X
*1981 - ''
Kiss Me Deadly'' (Chrysalis Records).
London Cowboys
*1982 – ''Animal Pleasure'' (Underdog Records)
The Lydons and the O'Donnells
*1986 – ''Family Album'' (MBC Records)
Sigue Sigue Sputnik
*1986 – ''
Flaunt It'' (
Parlophone Records)
*1988 – ''
Dress for Excess'' (Parlophone Records)
*1996 – ''Sputnik: The Next Generation'' (EMI Records)
(as "Sputnik: The Next Generation")
*2000 – ''Sci-Fi Sex Stars'' (Sputnikworld Records)
(as "Sci-Fi Sex Stars")
*2001 – ''Piratespace'' (Sputnikworld Records)
*2002 – ''Blak Elvis vs. The Kings of Electronic Rock and Roll'' (Sputnikworld Records)
*2003 – ''Ultra Real'' (Sputnikworld Records)
;Sigue Sigue Sputnik Compilations:
*1990 – ''
The First Generation'' (
Jungle Records)
*1997 – ''The First Generation – Second Edition'' (Jungle Records)
*1998 – ''
The Ultimate 12" Collection'' (Sputnikworld Records)
*1999 – ''Flaunt It + Dress for Excess''
– French single CD edition of both albums (minus "Success" and "Dancerama").
*2001 – ''21st Century Boys: The Best of Sigue Sigue Sputnik'' (EMI Records)
*2003 – ''The First Generation – Vid Edition'' (Jungle Records)
*2008 – ''1984 Flaunt It: Demos and More'' (Cleopatra Records)
The Sisters of Mercy
*1990 – ''
Vision Thing'' (MBC Records)
Fin de Siécle
*2003 – '' This Is What I Like...... '' (Sputnikworld Records)
Carbon/Silicon
*2007 – ''The Magic Suitcase EP'' (Carbon/Silicon Records)
*2007 – ''
The Last Post
The "Last Post" is either an A or a B♭ bugle call, primarily within British infantry and Australian infantry regiments, or a D or an E♭ cavalry trumpet call in British cavalry and Royal Regiment of Artillery (Royal Horse Artillery and R ...
'' (Carbon/Silicon Records)
*2008 – ''Carbon Casino'' (Carbon/Silicon Records)
;Carbon/Silicon Digital Releases:
*2010 – ''A.T.O.M.'' (Carbon/Silicon Records)
*2010 – ''Western Front'' (Carbon/Silicon Records)
*2010 – ''The Crackup Suite Parts 1 and 2'' (Carbon/Silicon Records)
*2010 – ''The Carbon Bubble'' (Carbon/Silicon Records)
*2013 – ''Big Surprise'' (Carbon/Silicon Records)
References
External links
Carbon/Silicon official siteSigue Sigue Sputnik official site*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Tony
1953 births
Living people
Alumni of Brunel University London
English new wave musicians
English record producers
English rock bass guitarists
Generation X (band) members
Gothic rock musicians
Male bass guitarists
Sigue Sigue Sputnik members
The Sisters of Mercy members
Carbon/Silicon members