We have received more sad news, Jimmy James (of Jimmy James & The
Vagabonds fame) has died today aged 83. No further details are currently
available.
Born Michael James Francis in Kingston, Jamaica in 1940, he recorded in
Jamaica in the early 60s and had a local hit with a self-written song
"Come Softly To Me" in 1962.
The Vagabonds were formed in 1960 and James joined them in 1964 and they
set off to the UK, initially for a six month tour but ended up staying.
They were signed to Pye Records and within a matter of weeks
released their first single. An album, "The New Religion", followed in
1966, essentially an album of cover versions. Several tracks from it have
featured on Northern Soul dancefloors over the years, particularly "This
Heart Of Mine", a Barrett Strong song originally recorded by The Artistics
on Okeh in 1965.
Their first hit came in 1968 with a cover of Neil Diamond's "Red Red
Wine" which peaked at #36 on UK pop chart (a big hit for UB40 in the 80s
of course). It was another eight years before their next with "I'll Go
Where The Music Takes Me" (#23) and "Now Is The Time" (#5) both in 1976.
However, by this time it was a completely different set of Vagabonds as
the original group disbanded in 1970 and were replaced by white
musicians.
The group supported many acts in the mid 60s including The Who, The
Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart, Sonny & Cher. Their second album was a
live album recorded at The Marquee Club with The Alan Brown Set. "London
Swings - Live at the Marquee Club". They continue to perform to this day undergoing various changes in
personnel.
One of Jimmy James' favourites on the Northern Soul scene is "A Man Like
Me" produced by Biddu and released on Stateside in 1972. Below is a live
recording of it from 2004 along with a limited playlist as his digital
material is scant but there was a recording "Live On Air 1966-1969" which
sounds like live radio broadcasts, from which we've taken a few cover
versions.
We found footage of him performing in May 2022 at a weekender at Butlins,
Minehead, performing a cover of The Tams "Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy" at
a spritely 81 years of age.
UPDATE: We have subsequently found a 2003 compilation "Sock It To 'em J.J. - The Soul Years" which appears to have most of his 60s and early 70s recordings, 49 tracks in total including 7 live recordings.
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