Are James Britpop?
Short Answer
No. They were the weird uncles who turned up to the Britpop party in yoga pants and asked if anyone fancied a bit of transcendence.
Long Answer
James weren’t Britpop. They were already halfway through their career when Britpop was still scribbling lyrics in its GCSE notebook. Formed in the early ’80s, nurtured by Factory Records, and championed by Morrissey before that became a social liability, James were spiritual before Britpop was even cynical. By the time Laid came out in ’93, they’d already taken the stadium-anthem-meets-introspective-meltdown formula and perfected it while Blur were still figuring out what shoes to wear.
Yes, they had the jangly guitars. Yes, they sang in their own accents. But James never had Britpop’s laddish sneer or its obsession with class cosplay. They were too earnest. Too cosmic. More into Lennon’s Imagine than Lennon’s Revolver. Where Britpop shoved its hands down its trousers and shouted about sex, James closed its eyes and whispered about God.
They toured America when Britpop was still burning Union Jacks in Camden. They meditated when others snorted. They lasted. Britpop didn’t.
So no, James were not Britpop. They were just in the room when it happened. Probably levitating.
