James’ Love Is The Answer tour rolled into its biggest venue to date, London’s O2 Arena where the full extent of the tour’s ambitious sonic and visual production could be witnessed.
As the intro video stops a trumpet sound rings out high in the seats. The video screens light up as Andy Diagram, resplendent in a red jacket, appears up there as the band enter the stage and kick into Sound. It’s been one of the fascinating aspects of the tour that they’ve changed the opener around and Sound is clearly a popular choice with the thousands in the O2. It twists and turns, Tim improvising lyrics as Andy makes his way down to the lower seats and then back to stage.
Saul’s violin intro to Five-O fills the room, a song that has taken on a new lease of life. A man behind us tells his daughter that this is the greatest song ever and for seven minutes it’s hard to argue as the song takes off in the chorus before the band kick in to an extended middle section that has Tim in as much awe as the rest of us.
Waltzing Along might not be as technically complex but has an euphoric uplifting sensation to it as Tim heads down to the barrier to connect closer with the front rows. They head straight into I Know What I’m Here For whose unmistakeable hookline has made the song’s return to the set after a long absence one of the highlights of the tour. “London, no need to say anything, we are family” Tim declares at the end as the opening siren call of Come Home ups the excitement level in the room still further. Tim changes the line about “after thirty years I’ve become my fears” to sixty and then bounces around the stage with Chloe as Debbie makes her way down to the barrier. At the end of it Tim tells us she has a three-month baby backstage and still has more energy than the rest of the band.
Greenpeace feels stronger and more potent each time they play it. The juxtaposition of Tim and Chloe’s vocal give the live version a far enhanced impact as the rest of the band set up the stark contrast between the quiet moments and the explosions of sound. PS sits at the other end of the spectrum, a sublime exploration of the more delicate, personal side of James’ oeuvre. Violin, slide guitar and rich evocative vocal harmonies merge with trumpet not present on the original Laid recording as Tim once again loses himself in the magic his bandmates are creating.
Tim’s off into the crowd for Say Something, surprising one unsuspecting steward as he climbed into the seating area. The layout of the O2 meant he didn’t go as high up which meant most of standing were reliant on the screens to see him. He asks Jim what’s next to which Jim replies “Frustration” and cheers. It’s a little interaction that shows the love between the two of them, at one point in James’ history a fraught relationship, and a beautiful reflection of where James are in 2026. The arena is on its feet as Tim heads back to the stage, reaching it at the end of the breakdown.
Shadow Of A Giant takes the pace down but the impact is still one of a big arena band in the way they impeccably control the build and dynamic of the song. It builds as Tim and Chloe’s vocals merge perfectly and explodes into glorious life as they come down to the barrier. “I have some really bad news that we’ll have to stomach together” Tim tells us as he introduces Zero. Once again they demonstrate their mastery of pacing a song just right to intensify the atmosphere and deepen the impact before it drops down to Tim almost whispering the final “oscillator oscillator round and round” line. Their only false start of the tour follows as they have to abandon Heads as Tim’s IEMs aren’t allowing him to hear his cue. Tim laughs it off, telling us it wouldn’t be them without the odd fuck up.
Way Over Your Head demonstrates that modern-day James can still deliver anthems that tug at the heartstrings whilst having singalong moments. Tomorrow has probably been the real showstopper on this tour. With Saul and Jim standing toe to toe, their musical interaction forming the core of the intro and the breakdown that seems to last an eternity as it creates the most intense sensation, punctuated by shards of trumpet. It’s transformed into something out of the ordinary that somehow stays true to the original yet feels like it’s a complete reinvention at the same time.
Sit Down feels like a beautiful celebration these days, a song rescued from the banality of expectations and delivered how the mood takes them on the night. Tonight it’s the slow piano intro, but from thereon in the audience dictate where the song goes as much as the band such is the communal spontaneity it creates. Tim crowdsurfs as the audience sing it acapella. The main set finishes on a soaring Getting Away With It (All Messed Up), a glimpse around shows over fifteen thousand people joined as one in a moment of celebration of being an outsider. There’s moments of connection on and off stage as it surfs its way round the room.
The encore starts with Jim expressing heartfelt thanks to the front of house crew and the amazing team that makes these events happen as well as his spiritual brothers and sisters on stage and the caterers. Tim then tells us that they’re going to do something bands don’t do in arenas and play a brand new song in the encore. Nantucket is a magnificent beast and if it’s representative of the new material they’ve written the next album is going to rank alongside anything they’ve ever done. An eight minute kaleidoscopic journey of many phases, the London crowd are captivated and the response as strong as anything before or after it.
Sometimes and Laid finish the night in glorious celebratory fashion, the crowd taking both of them from the band in parts leaving them standing there enjoying the euphoria of the moment. There’s a beautiful moment at the end when Debbie’s wife and baby join them on stage for a “family photo”. It’s testament to where James are in 2026, a unified body, at one with themselves, love flowing on stage, out to the audience and amplified back at them.
James played Sound, Five-O, Waltzing Along, I Know What I’m Here For, Come Home, Greenpeace, PS, Say Something, Born Of Frustration, Shadow Of A Giant, Zero, Heads (aborted), Way Over Your Head, Tomorrow, Sit Down, Getting Away With It (All Messed Up), Nantucket, Sometimes, Laid
James' official website can be found here and they are on Facebook and Twitter.
The Love Is The Answer tour with Doves calls at Manchester Coop Live (18) before a series of summer shows.
Some of the band Tim, Andy and Dave - are also on Twitter.
We also run the One Of The Three James archive, the most detailed resource for information about the band, and the site
also has a Facebook and Twitter page.
TimBoothLyricADay, whose posts often lead to Tim
explaining his thought processes behind the lyrics, can be found on Twitter and Facebook
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