Born:
November 21, 1968
in
Boscombe, Bournemouth
Best Known For:
Being one quarter of Blur.
Early-life:
Born Steve Alexander James in Boscombe, Dorset, on November 21, 1968. He did well at school, gaining 13 A levels, and studied the violin at his mum's insistence. He joined his first band in his teens and harboured ambitions to be a keyboard player, but his parents bought him a bass guitar because it was cheaper. After sitting his A levels, Alex took a year out and worked on a supermarket cheese counter and as a labourer on a building site, before heading to London university Goldsmiths to study French, where he met Blur guitarist Graham Coxon.
Career:
James and Coxon dropped out of university in their second year to concentrate on the band. Blur released their first single, She's So High, in 1990, and their debut album Leisure charted at a respectable number seven. However, it was the release of their third album, Parklife, in 1994 that transformed the band into a household name. The following year, they got drawn into a high-profile chart battle with Oasis, which they won, but following the hype, Blur changed musical direction. Coxon parted company with the band in 2002 ahead of their seventh album Think Tank, but the original line-up reunited for a string of concerts in 2009. Blur also performed a headline show at Hyde Park for the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, as well as a handful of festival dates in 2013.
Quote:
"'All the good things about being in a band - boozing and being stupid - I don't want to do those any more."
Trivia:
Away from music, James has penned his autobiography, written articles for various newspapers, worked as a radio and TV presenter, and produced his own cheese.