We
listened to, and reviewed, Simon James’ new album ahead of release, so of course
we had to be at the official launch to hear the new music played live. Rik made the trip to Manchester’s Night
People armed with Simon’s favourite sweets – Orange Smarties.
The
venue itself was dark, moody and felt like a proper underground music venue – perfect
then to showcase Simon and his new album.
Simon
was supported – as ever – by close friend and label mate Sam Coe who opened
with a sort of solo set – Sam without her Long Shadows, but accompanied by
label boss Kevin on guitar. Sam played keys, Sam sung her new solo material and
Sam was fantastic!
While
I sat with Sam for a chat, Jamie Freeman took to the stage, and even in the green
room we could hear how much the assembled crowd were enjoying his set
And
then it was 9pm, and Simon James and the Deep River Pilots took to the
stage. It was a small stage in a small
venue, but Simon and the boys absolutely filled it with a powerful
performance. Simon’s music is gritty,
its gruff and it is mature – as one audience member commented to me, he couldn’t
do this if he was 25. There was a rowdy
edge to the night, with – it seemed – half of Simon’s village along to support
him this was never going to be a genteel listening party, but that wouldn’t be
Simon’s style! With his family in the room
and Sam Coe on backing vocals Simon gave a great performance – his voice, the music,
the band all coming together to create a fabulous sound. Stand out track Oh
Honey just seemed so effortless as it flowed from the stage, Something Worth
Fighting For was sung with real emotion – and Simon declared it to be his own
favourite track from the album
The
album is great, the live performance of it really did the writing justice – you
feel the power, feel the realism.
The
evening ended on Ready To Fly which seemed so apt, especially as the album
charted at number 4 on the iTunes chart that very day. When Sam Coe called Simon’s Name after the
final band roll call he gave the crowd a very happy, cheeky grin.
I
took a rather sweaty Simon outside for a breath of fresh air and a chat after the show
and asked him how it felt after launching his new album on the new label. His reply
“exhausted and elated. It was a great gig, a really really amazing gig”
Simon
writes from experience, as he says
“You can’t just write a song by picking out happy lyrics from someone else, and you can’t just write bullshit…I’m not very good at writing happy songs”
Simon
writes alone, but bounces off Sam, but in essence he writes for himself, and
even if someone else doesn’t like it, he’s still going to write it.
Everything
about Simon is authentic, influenced by what he sees, his time of life and by the
music he grew up with – it is all very much real life. Is start in music was at age 6 when his
father was given a guitar as part payment for a bill. His sound is a mix of Folk,
Country and Blues – all the bands and styles that have had an impact on him
over the years.
On
UK Country and song writing
“Its about writing songs that tell the truth, as long as people are out there singing and playing songs that tell the truth, that’s ok with me”
The
album is undeniable gritty, but the performance was “Happy in a Simon James way”
– and Simon explained this very simply
“Its happy because I enjoy playing on stage”
Simon
James has gone from An Ordinary Man, to Happy Ever After, and with this new
album and his love of being on stage he is undeniably Ready To Fly
Simon
James’ new album Happy Ever After on Ginger Dog Records is available now to
download, to stream or to buy as a physical copy
If
you are planning to catch Simon at Millport Festival, bring him Orange Smarties
and a nip of Crème De Menthe
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