Timothy John Booth (born 4 February 1960) is an English singer-songwriter, actor and dancer. He is the lead singer and co-founder of the

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produ ...

band James, and co-wrote several of their hit singles including " Sit Down", " Come Home", and " Laid". As an actor, Booth is best known for portraying

Victor Zsasz Victor Zsasz ( or or , the last being the original Hungarian pronunciation), also known as Mr. Zsasz or simply Zsasz, is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics.'' Batman: Shadow of the Bat'' #1. The character first appea ...

in the 2005 film ''

Batman Begins ''Batman Begins'' is a 2005 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan and written by Nolan and David S. Goyer. The film is based on the DC Comics character Batman, it stars Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne / Batman, with Michael Caine, ...

''.

Career

1980s

Booth was born in

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

, England, and grew up in Clifford,

Trafford Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England, with an estimated population of 235,493 in 2017. It covers Retrieved on 13 December 2007. and includes the area of Old Trafford and the towns of Altrincham, Stretford, Ur ...

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...

, England in his teenage years. He attended

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13 –18) in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by Royal Charter, it was originally a boarding school for boys; girls have been admitted into ...

. Whilst a student at the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The university owns and operates majo ...

studying

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

, Booth encountered

Jim Glennie James Patrick Glennie (born 10 October 1963) is the bassist for and eponym of English rock band, James. He is the band's longest-serving member—having been there from the first line-up through to the present day—and now only remaining orig ...

Paul Gilbertson James are an English rock band from Manchester, who were formed in 1982. They had popularity throughout the 1990s, with four top 10s on the UK Singles Chart and nine top 10s on the UK Albums Chart. The band's best-known singles include " Come ...

and

Gavan Whelan James are an English rock band from Manchester, who were formed in 1982. They had popularity throughout the 1990s, with four top 10s on the UK Singles Chart and nine top 10s on the UK Albums Chart. The band's best-known singles include " Come ...

in 1981 in the cellar bar of the university's students' union. Impressed by Booth's distinctive dancing style, Gilbertson invited Booth to join their band as a dancer. Booth accepted the offer, and was soon promoted to lead singer and lyricist of the band James. (Maconie, 2000)

1990s

After a struggle for success and recognition throughout the 1980s, James finally achieved commercial success in the early 1990s with the rise of the ''

Madchester Madchester was a musical and cultural scene that developed in the English city of Manchester in the late 1980s, closely associated with the indie dance scene. Indie-dance (sometimes referred to as indie-rave) saw artists merging indie music ...

'' music scene, and their single " Sit Down" reaching number 2 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

During 1995, Booth took a break from James and recorded an

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

with

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...

Angelo Badalamenti Angelo Daniel Badalamenti (March 22, 1937 – December 11, 2022) was an American composer, best known for his work scoring films for director David Lynch, notably '' Blue Velvet'', the ''Twin Peaks'' saga (1990–1992, 2017), '' The Straight S ...

, entitled '' Booth and the Bad Angel''. He then returned to James to complete the recording of the album '' Whiplash'', and stayed with the band until 2001 when he announced his departure to concentrate on other projects.

2000s

After leaving James, Booth spent time concentrating on teaching the dance practice known as the

5Rhythms 5Rhythms is a movement meditation practice devised by Gabrielle Roth in the late 1970s. It draws from indigenous and world traditions using tenets of shamanistic, ecstatic, mystical and eastern philosophy. It also draws from Gestalt therapy, th ...

, a movement meditation practice. In 2004, together with

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

Lee Muddy Baker Lee "Muddy" Baker (born 16 November 1969) is a UK-based singer-songwriter, producer, performer, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist. Biography Early years Lee Baker grew up in Watford, England where he attended Watford Boys' Grammar School. H ...

and songwriter KK (Kevin Kerrigan), he released his first solo album, ''Bone'', to general critical acclaim, though he referred to it as a collaborative effort and preferred to credit the album to 'Tim Booth & the Individuals' as opposed to taking sole credit. He also began taking acting lessons during this time, and starred in a production at

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish weavers settled in the area in the 14th ...

's Octagon Theatre. He also appeared as the

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939. I ...

villain

in the 2005 film ''

''. Booth also voiced the character in the video game adaptation of the film. On

Good Friday Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Holy ...

, 14 April 2006, he appeared as

Judas Judas Iscariot (; grc-x-biblical, Ἰούδας Ἰσκαριώτης; syc, ܝܗܘܕܐ ܣܟܪܝܘܛܐ; died AD) was a disciple and one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. According to all four canonical gospels, Judas betr ...

in the

Manchester Passion ''Manchester Passion'' is a British television special which was broadcast by BBC Three on 14 April 2006. Created and scripted by Andy King-Dabbs and Stephen Powell as a follow-up to BBC Classical Music's previous BBC Three special, ''Flashmob ...

– a musical style show in the middle of Manchester, using

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

from the region to tell the story of

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samue ...

. Booth sang a version of

the Smiths The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to eme ...

's " Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now", and although the James song " Sit Down" was used, it was not sung by Booth himself (he did, however, sing it in an encore after the cameras had stopped rolling). Booth has also contributed to

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's search for the greatest song lyrics in April 2006 as a

critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or gover ...

. In January 2007, it was announced that Booth would be rejoining James. The band played an eight date tour in April 2007 and made appearances at several

music festival A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or ho ...

s throughout 2007. This was followed by a new James album, '' Hey Ma'' in April 2008 which coincided with a UK tour. He has also stated that, despite the reunion of James, he still plans to release further solo material.

2010s

In 2010, Booth continued his acting career with a role in the independent film ''Poor Wee Me'', the debut feature from

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

film director Simon Powell, in which he played the role of Gabriel De Souza, the shady boss of a debt collection agency. Booth released a new solo album, ''Love Life'', in April 2011; again with Lee 'Muddy' Baker producing, co-writing and playing guitar. The release of the album was accompanied by a tour of the UK and then continental Europe, with Tim's backing band featuring Baker as well as

Saul Davies Saul Davies (born 28 June 1965 in Liverpool) is a British musician best known as a member of the rock band James. Davies is a multi-instrumentalist whose primary instruments are the violin, guitar and percussion. Career Saul Davies was hire ...

, violinist with James.

Discography

Albums

*'' Booth and the Bad Angel'' (1996) - as Booth and the Bad Angel * ''Bone'' (2004) * ''Love Life'' (2011)

References

Sources

Stuart Maconie Stuart Maconie (born 13 August 1961) is an English radio DJ and television presenter, writer, journalist, and critic working in the field of pop music and popular culture. He is currently a presenter on BBC Radio 6 Music where, alongside Mark ...

: ''Folklore'', Virgin Books, 2000 ().

External links

*https://m.imdb.com/name/nm1173643
Tim Booth's websiteJames' Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Booth, Tim 1960 births Living people Musicians from Bradford English male singers English songwriters English male film actors James (band) members People educated at Shrewsbury School Alumni of the University of Manchester