Steven Alexander James (born 21 November 1968) is an English musician, best known as the bassist of the

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band Blur. He has also played with the bands Fat Les, Me Me Me,

WigWam A wigwam, wikiup, wetu (Wampanoag), or wiigiwaam (Ojibwe, in syllabics: ) is a semi-permanent domed dwelling formerly used by certain Native American tribes and First Nations people and still used for ceremonial events. The term ''wikiup'' ...

and Bad Lieutenant.

Music career

James was born in Boscombe,

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

, and attended the state grammar school

Bournemouth School Bournemouth School is an 11–18 boys grammar school, with a co-educational sixth form, located in Charminster, Bournemouth, Charminster, Bournemouth, Dorset, England, for children aged 11 to 18. The school was founded by E. Fenwick and opened o ...

, where he started playing in bands. He credits

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

with inspiring him to pursue music: "I was off school with

chickenpox Chickenpox, also known as varicella ( ), is a highly contagious disease caused by varicella zoster virus (VZV), a member of the herpesvirus family. The disease results in a characteristic skin rash that forms small, itchy blisters, which ...

when

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

was shot in 1980. I spent the week watching a VHS recording of the Beatles film ''

Help! ''Help!'' is the fifth studio album by the English Rock music, rock band the Beatles and the soundtrack to their Help! (film), film of the same name. It was released on 6 August 1965 by Parlophone. Seven of the fourteen songs, including the sin ...

'', which was broadcast on TV the day he died. I still watch it once a year. Then I bought a Beatles songbook and a guitar, figured out the chord shapes and started strumming and singing along. I never looked back." In 1988, James met future bandmate

Graham Coxon Graham Leslie Coxon (born 12 March 1969) is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter who came to prominence as a founding member of the rock band Blur. As the group's lead guitarist and secondary vocalist, Coxon is featured on all of Blur' ...

Goldsmiths College Goldsmiths, University of London, formerly Goldsmiths College, University of London, is a Member institutions of the University of London, constituent research university of the University of London. It was originally founded in 1891 as The G ...

, where James studied French. Introductions with Coxon's old school friend

Damon Albarn Damon Albarn (, ; born 23 March 1968) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the frontman, main vocalist, and lyricist of the rock band Blur (band), Blur and the co-creator and primary musical con ...

and

Dave Rowntree David Alexander De Horne Rowntree (born 8 May 1964) is an English musician, politician, solicitor, composer and animator. He is best known as the drummer for the rock band Blur (band), Blur. In his political career, Rowntree served on the Norf ...

soon took place; at the time Albarn and Rowntree were part of a band called Circus. In 1989, James joined Coxon, Albarn and Rowntree's new band, Seymour, which would later be renamed Blur. He has been in the band ever since, although in 2008 he described the days of being a constant band member as "a past-life". Almost immediately after this, Blur got together with returning bandmate Graham Coxon to perform at

Glastonbury Festival The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...

, Hyde Park,

Oxegen Oxegen was a List of music festivals#Ireland, music festival in Ireland, first held from 2004–2011 as a rock and pop festival and again in 2013 with dance and chart acts only. The event was regularly cited as Ireland's biggest music festiva ...

and

T in the Park T in the Park festival was a major Scottish music festival that was held annually from 1994 to 2016. It was named after its main sponsor, Tennents. The event was held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire, until 1996. It then moved to the disused ...

during the summer of 2009. They also played shows at Goldsmiths College, Essex Museum and other venues around the UK and mainland Europe. Blur headlined a show at Hyde Park for the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony. In 2013, the band performed at the

Rock Werchter Rock Werchter is an annual music festival held in the village of Werchter, near Leuven, Belgium, since 1976 and is a large sized rock music festival. The 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2012 and 2014 festivals received the Arthur award for ''best festiva ...

in Belgium,Rock Werchter 2013 lineup: Blur, Depeche Mode, Phoenix, Rammstein, and more
. Consequence of Sound. 29 January 2013. Retrieved on 16 February 2019. the Spanish and Portuguese dates of the

Primavera Sound Primavera Sound (commonly referred to as Primavera) is an annual music festival held at the Parc del Fòrum in Barcelona, Spain, during late May and early June. It was founded in 2001 by Pablo Soler as "a showcase for Spanish Noise rock, noise ban ...

festival,Blur Confirmed for Primavera Sound 2013
". Pitchfork. 8 October 2012. Retrieved on 22 October 2012. and the

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival Coachella (officially called the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and sometimes known as Coachella Festival) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colora ...

in the United States.Coachella 2013: Blur, Phoenix and Red Hot Chili Peppers to headline
. ''The Guardian''. 25 January 2013. Retrieved on 7 February 2013.

Collaborations

Unlike Albarn, Coxon and Rowntree, James has not released any solo material, although he has been involved in other collaborative side projects. In 1998, James formed Fat Les with actor Keith Allen and artist

Damien Hirst Damien Steven Hirst (; né Brennan; born 7 June 1965) is an English artist and art collector. He was one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is reportedly the United Kingdom's richest ...

, releasing the unofficial theme song (excluding three others) " Vindaloo" for the

1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 1 ...

, which reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart. He also worked on side project Me Me Me with

Stephen Duffy Stephen Anthony James Duffy (born 30 May 1960 in Alum Rock, Birmingham, Warwickshire, England) is an English musician, singer and songwriter of Irish ancestry. He was a founding member, vocalist, bassist, and then drummer of Duran Duran. He we ...

, co-wrote songs for

Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (29 December 1946 – 30 January 2025) was an English singer and actress who achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her UK top 10 single " As Tears Go By". She became one of the leading female art ...

(appearing in drag playing a double bass in the music video for her single "Sex With Strangers") and

Jane McDonald Jane Anne McDonald (born 4 April 1963) is an English singer, songwriter and television presenter. Born and raised in Wakefield, McDonald spent much of her early career performing in local clubs and pubs before landing work as a singer on crui ...

, and worked with

Florence and the Machine Florence and the Machine (stylised as Florence + the Machine) are an English indie rock band formed in London in 2007 by lead vocalist Florence Welch, keyboardist Isabella Summers, guitarist Rob Ackroyd, drummer Christopher Lloyd Hayden and harp ...

and Gene Loves Jezebel. James worked with

Sophie Ellis-Bextor Sophie Michelle Ellis-Bextor (born 10 April 1979) is an English singer and songwriter. She first came to prominence in the late 1990s as the lead vocalist of the indie rock band Theaudience. After the group disbanded, Ellis-Bextor went solo and ...

on her solo debut '' Read My Lips'', co-writing and co-producing "

Move This Mountain "Get Over You" and "Move This Mountain" are two songs by British pop singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor. In most countries, "Get Over You" received a solo release, but in the United Kingdom, the two tracks were issued as a double A-side single on 10 Ju ...

", and co-producing "I Believe" with Ellis-Bextor and producer

Ben Hillier Ben Hillier is an English songwriter and pop-rock record producer who is part of the creative team 140 dB. He produced the notable albums ''Playing the Angel'', '' Sounds of the Universe'' and ''Delta Machine'' by Depeche Mode, ''Think Tank ...

. He also played bass on both tracks. Ellis-Bextor's 2003 album, '' Shoot from the Hip'' also featured James as bass player and co-writer on the track "Love Is It Love". He also joined his friend and singer-songwriter

Betty Boo Alison Moira Clarkson (born 6 March 1970), better known as Betty Boo, is a British Singing, singer, songwriter and Rapping, rapper. She first came to mainstream prominence in the late 1980s following a collaboration with the Beatmasters on th ...

in a band called

in 2005. In 2009, James appeared as bass player on debut Bad Lieutenant record ''

Never Cry Another Tear ''Never Cry Another Tear'' is the only studio album by Bad Lieutenant. It was released in the UK on 12 October 2009, and in the US on 10 November 2009. New Order member Bernard Sumner formed the group with Jake Evans and Phil Cunningham. The ...

''. The band consists of New Order lead singer

Bernard Sumner Bernard Sumner (born 4 January 1956) is an English musician. He is a founding member of the bands Joy Division, New Order, Electronic, and Bad Lieutenant. Sumner was an early force in several areas, including the post-punk, synth-pop, and ...

and guitarist Phil Cunningham, along with Jake Evans of Rambo And Leroy. In 2013, James co-wrote the song "Did I Lose You?", performed by

Giorgia Giorgia is the Italian version of the female name Georgia. Notable people with the name include: Arts and entertainment *Giorgia (singer), Italian singer, born ''Giorgia Todrani'' * Giorgia Fumanti, Italian-Canadian soprano and singer of operatic p ...

and

Olly Murs Oliver Stanley Murs (born 14 May 1984) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence after participating on the sixth series of the television talent show ''The X Factor'' in 2009, where he finished as runn ...

Other ventures

Writing

Alex James is a food writer for ''

The Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot Plasma (physics), plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as ...

'' and has a weekly column, 'Alex James on All Things Food'; as well as a regular column on farm and family life in The Sunday Telegraph titled 'Mucking In'. He also writes a monthly column on cheese for Esquire Magazine. Alex contributes to a number of other British newspapers including ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'', ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', and ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'', as well as '' Q'' magazine, ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

'' and '' The Idler''. An autobiography of James's experience with Blur, ''Bit of a Blur'', was published in June 2007 by Little, Brown & Company. It has since been described as "the definitive guide to Britpop". James published a follow-up entitled ''All Cheeses Great and Small: A Life Less Blurry'' in September 2011, charting his transformation from rock star to cheesemaker as he moves to a farm in

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

Television appearances

In 2001, James and

appeared in the Channel 4 Pixies documentary "Gouge". James represented ''The Idler'' on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

's '' University Challenge: The Professionals'' in 2005 with John Moore of

Black Box Recorder Black Box Recorder were an English indie rock band. They debuted in 1998 with '' England Made Me'' and followed this up with '' The Facts of Life'', which gave them their first hit with the single of the same name in April 2000. Their thir ...

. They secured a heavy win over the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'' in their heat, but did not score highly enough to return for the tournament's later stages. In 2007, James was a judge on the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

show

Orange unsignedAct ''Orange UnsignedAct'' (known as ''mobileAct Unsigned'' during its first series) was a Channel 4 talent competition, with bands and artists competing for a recording contract with Universal Music, a £60,000 advance, a single released after the ...

and, in November 2007, appeared as a panellist on the

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

satirical news quiz, ''

Have I Got News for You ''Have I Got News for You'' (''HIGNFY'') is a British television panel show, produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC, which premiered on 28 September 1990. The programme focuses on two teams, one usually captained by Ian Hislop and one ...

''. He also appeared in episode #3.4 of Gordon Ramsay's The F Word TV series as a participant in the Recipe Challenge which occurs in each episode. In August 2008, James appeared in reality TV series, ''

Maestro Maestro (; from the Italian '' maestro'' , meaning " master" or "teacher," plural: maestros or maestri) is an honorific title of respect, sometimes abbreviated Mo. The term is most commonly used in the context of Western classical music and oper ...

'' on

. He was voted out in the fourth episode of the series. In September 2008, a documentary television series, ''Cocaine Diaries: Alex James in Colombia'', premiered on

BBC America BBC America is an American basic cable network that is owned by AMC Networks. The channel primarily airs sci-fi and action series and films, as well as selected programs from the BBC (such as its nature documentary series). Unlike the BBC's ...

, in conjunction with the BBC America Reveals program. As the documentary progresses, James – who admits to having used cocaine extensively during Blur's Britpop heyday – learns about Colombia's violent drug export trade. In October 2009, James presented an episode of ''

Never Mind the Buzzcocks ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' is a British comedy panel game show with a pop music theme. It has aired on Sky Max since September 2021, having originally aired between November 1996 and January 2015 on BBC Two. The original series was first host ...

'' and, in January 2010, he participated in the

ITV1 ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the ITV (TV network), Channel 3 ...

reality television programme '' Popstar to Operastar''. On 4 March 2012, James appeared on ''Top Gear'' as a guest for their 'star in a reasonably priced car' segment, clocking in at 1:45.2. On 3 December 2011, he appeared on ''The Chase'' with

Sara Cox Sara Joanne Cyzer ( born 13 December 1974), better known as Sara Cox, is an English broadcaster and author. A presenter on BBC Radio 2, she has been hosting the station's drivetime show since January 2019. She previously presented BBC Radio 1's ...

Ann Widdecombe Ann Noreen Widdecombe (born 4 October 1947) is a British politician and television personality who has been Reform UK's Immigration and Justice spokesperson since 2023. Originally a member of the Conservative Party, she was Member of Parliame ...

and

Eamonn Holmes Eamonn Holmes (; born 3 December 1959) is a Northern Irish broadcaster and journalist. He co-presented the breakfast television show ''GMTV'' (1993–2005) for ITV, before presenting ''Sunrise'' (2005–2016) for Sky News. Holmes co-presente ...

against chaser

Anne Hegerty Anne Solway Hegerty (born 14 July 1958) is a British professional quizzer and television personality. Since 2010, she has been a "chaser" on the ITV game show '' The Chase'' as "The Governess", and was a contestant on the 2018 series of the IT ...

, but he was caught by the chaser. On 16 March 2012, James appeared on ''The Bank Job'' and made the final, where he was beaten by

Rachel Riley Rachel Annabelle Riley (born 11 January 1986) is an English television presenter. She co-presents the Channel 4 daytime puzzle show '' Countdown'' and its comedy spin-off ''8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown''. She is a mathematics graduate. He ...

. He is also the first Bank Job contestant to find two "bankrupts" in a single game. James has been a participant in

programme ''10 Things You Need to Know About Losing Weight''. On 26 December 2014, he appeared as one of the celebrity homeowners on ''

Through the Keyhole ''Through the Keyhole'' is a British comedy panel game show created by the TV producer Kevin Sim and originally presented by David Frost, Sir David Frost in the studio and Loyd Grossman on location. The location presenter explores celebrities' h ...

'' with

Keith Lemon Keith may refer to: People and fictional characters * Keith (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters * Keith (surname) * Keith (singer), American singer James Keefer (born 1949) * Keith (gamer), American professional ...

. In August 2015, he won the Channel 4 programme '' elebrity Fifteen to One'. A 2016 documentary titled ''Alex James: Slowing Down Fast Fashion'' examined the fashion industry and how "consumers' seemingly unquenchable thirst for cheap clothing is having a huge effect on the environment and workers, both at home here in the UK and abroad".

Radio

In 2007, James presented the

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

programme ''On Your Farm''. He presents ''Alex James's Date Night'' on Classic FM every Saturday at 7-10pm. James presented ''The A-Z of Classic FM Music''. The show was named Commercial Radio Programme of the Year at the Arqiva Commercial Radio Awards on 5 June 2009. He has also contributed to the show's accompanying memorabilia, writing the foreword to both the book and CD box set, published by ''

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...

'' in 2010.

Cheesemaking

After his career with Blur, James moved into cheese production. He purchased a farmhouse in the

Cotswolds The Cotswolds ( ) is a region of central South West England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper River Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and the Vale of Evesham. The area is defined by the bedroc ...

and renovated it into a cheese farm. His 200-acre cheese farm in Kingham, Oxfordshire, now produces cheeses including Good Queen Maude, Blue Monday (named after his favourite New Order song) and Goddess. James made two cheeses with New Zealand cheese expert Juliet Harbutt: Little Wallop (2007) and Farleigh Wallop (2009); the latter won the Best Goat's Cheese award at the 2009 British Cheese Awards. In 2011, James launched a range of everyday cheeses through at

Asda Asda Stores Limited (), trading as Asda and often styled as ASDA, is a British supermarket and petrol station chain. Its headquarters is in Leeds, England. The company was incorporated as Associated Dairies and Farm Stores in 1949. It expanded ...

. with flavour combinations include 'cheddar and tomato ketchup', 'cheddar and salad cream', and 'cheddar and tikka masala'. Tim Chester, writing in ''The Guardian'', described James's cheese as "bizarre flavour mash-ups in sliced, processed, plasticky form".

Music and food festivals

James announced he would open his

farm to host an annual food and music festival. The event, Alex James Presents Harvest, ran from 9 to 12 September 2011, in conjunction with promoter Big Wheel Promotions. The event had a shaky start when Big Wheel Promotions went bankrupt leaving the ticketing company out of pocket and stallholders and performers unpaid. The local primary school, Kingham Primary, were also owed £7000 for the entertainment they organised, with the headteacher telling ''The Guardian'' that "We are either going to have to lose the music teacher or take it from other budgets which will reduce other parts of the curriculum". In December 2011, a concert was staged locally to settle the debt. "I pledged to match the funds raised from my own pocket ... I was very happy to do that" said James. Big Wheel Promotions, the company behind Harvest, then abruptly ceased trading even though it had already taken ticket fees for 2012. Alex James Presents Harvest was also notable for a photograph of James with

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...

and

Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English television presenter, journalist, farmer, and author who specialises in Driving, motoring. He is best known for hosting the television programmes ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), T ...

. Since 2012, James, along with

Jamie Oliver Jamie Trevor Oliver Order of the Star of Italy, OSI (born 27 May 1975) is an English celebrity chef, restaurateur and cookbook author. He is known for his casual approach to cuisine, which has led him to front numerous television shows and o ...

, has hosted ''The Big Feastival'', an annual food and music festival, on his Oxfordshire farm. On joining forces with James, Oliver said "The Big Feastival was a great success in South London last year and I cannot wait to take this celebration of the greatest chefs, the best local produce and suppliers and some fantastic entertainment to a more rural location at Alex's." Along with live musical performances from

Paloma Faith Paloma Faith Blomfield (born 21 July 1981) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. After signing with Epic Records in 2008, Faith released her debut album, '' Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?'' (2009), which produced the UK ...

Gaz Coombes Gareth Michael "Gaz" Coombes (born 8 March 1976) is an English musician, best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the alternative rock band Supergrass. He first entered the music scene aged 14 as the lead singer of the band The Jennifer ...

, The Cuban Brothers,

Noisettes Noisettes are an English indie rock band from London, currently composed of singer and bassist Shingai Shoniwa and guitarist Dan Smith. The band first achieved commercial success and nationwide recognition with the second single of their seco ...

Razorlight Razorlight are an English indie rock band, formed in 2002 in London by lead singer and guitarist Johnny Borrell. Along with Borrell, the current line-up of the band is composed of founding members Björn Ågren on guitar and bassist Carl Dalem ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, and Sahand, there were cooking demonstrations, masterclasses, Q&As and book signings with well-known chefs, as well as family entertainment from

Peppa Pig ''Peppa Pig'' is a British preschool animated television series created by Neville Astley and Mark Baker. Produced by Hasbro Entertainment and Karrot Animation and formerly produced by Astley Baker Davies, the show follows Peppa, an anthro ...

, Slow Food Kids' Taste Adventure and Chipping Norton Theatre. The Big Feastival returned to James's farm on 31 August and 1 September 2013 with a line-up including

KT Tunstall Kate Victoria "KT" Tunstall (born 23 June 1975) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician. She first gained attention with a 2004 live solo performance of her song "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" on ''Later... with Jools Holland'', and h ...

The Feeling The Feeling are an English rock/ pop band from Horsham, Sussex. Following a limited release of their first single " Fill My Little World" in late 2005, the band entered the UK Singles Chart at #7 with their first full release " Sewn" in Fe ...

Rizzle Kicks Rizzle Kicks are a British hip-hop duo from Brighton, England, consisting of Jordan "Rizzle" Stephens (born 25 January 1992) and Harley "Sylvester" Alexander-Sule (born 1991). Their debut album, '' Stereo Typical'', was released in 2011. As o ...

and

Basement Jaxx Basement Jaxx are an English electronic music duo consisting of Felix Buxton (born 30 April 1970) and Simon Ratcliffe (born 28 November 1969). The pair got their name from the regular club night they held in Brixton, London, UK. They first ros ...

. The festival attracted over 30,000 attendees in 2014, and has continued to be held annually on

August Bank Holiday The August Bank Holiday or Summer Bank Holiday is a public holiday in the United Kingdom, part of the statutory bank holiday provision. Originally, the holiday was held on the first Monday of August across the country, but was changed in the lat ...

weekend. On 19 June 2019, James visited Bledington Primary School and invited the children to submit a fun, colourful, festival-inspired design. The winning entry was displayed as a stage backdrop at The Big Feastival. The most recent iteration of The Big Feastival took place on 23–25 August 2024. The music line-up included

Snow Patrol Snow Patrol are a Northern Irish–Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in 1994 in Dundee, Scotland, consisting of Gary Lightbody (vocals, guitar), Nathan Connolly (guitar, backing vocals), and Johnny McDaid (piano, guitar, keyboards, backi ...

Becky Hill Rebecca Claire Hill (born 14 February 1994) is an English singer and songwriter. She rose to fame after appearing on the first series of '' The Voice UK'', auditioning with John Legend's " Ordinary People". She joined Jessie J's team and rea ...

Kate Nash Kate Marie Nash (born 6 July 1987) is an English musician and actress from North Harrow. Her singles "Foundations (song), Foundations" (2007) and "Do-Wah-Doo" (2010) charted at numbers 2 and 15 on the UK singles chart and her albums ''Made of Bri ...

Johnny Marr John Martin Marr (Birth name#Maiden and married names, né Maher; born 31 October 1963) is a musician, songwriter and singer. He first achieved fame as the guitarist and co-songwriter of the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. He has sinc ...

Scouting for Girls Scouting for Girls are an English pop rock band. Their name is a play on the title of the 1908 Scouting handbook ''Scouting for Boys''. The band was formed in 2005 by three childhood friends from London, Roy Stride on vocals, piano and guitar, ...

and

Ella Henderson Gabriella Michelle Henderson (born 12 January 1996) is a British singer and songwriter. She competed in the ninth series of '' The X Factor UK'' in 2012, being the eighth contestant eliminated despite being a strong favourite to win. She sign ...

, with DJs including

Jax Jones Timucin Lam (born Timucin Fabian Kwong Wah Aluo; 25 July 1987), known professionally as Jax Jones, is an English DJ, record producer and remixer. He rose to prominence in 2014 by featuring on Duke Dumont's number-one single "I Got U". He follow ...

Judge Jules Julius O'Riordan (born 26 October 1965), better known by his stage name Judge Jules, is a British dance music DJ, record producer and entertainment lawyer. He is known for his DJ activities, music production and long-running radio show which ac ...

and

Jeremy Healy Jeremy Healy (born Jeremiah Healy, 18 January 1962) is an English DJ and singer. He is a former member of 1980s pop group Haysi Fantayzee. Career Healy was born in Woolwich, South London. In the 1980s, with Paul Caplin and Kate Garner, h ...

. Food stages and stalls hosted chefs including

Raymond Blanc Raymond Blanc OBE (born 19 November 1949) is a French chef. Blanc is the chef at Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons, a hotel-restaurant in Great Milton, Oxfordshire, England. The restaurant has two Michelin stars and scored 9/10 in the ''Good Food Guid ...

, Andi and Miquita Oliver, Max La Manna and Cherish Finden. Entertainment acts included Rhys James, Zoe Lyons, James Buckley and Justin Fletcher.

Personal life

James's father, Jason, was sales director of a company selling waste compactors and baling machines. James married Claire Neate, a music video producer, in April 2003 in

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

. They have five children. The family live near Kingham in Oxfordshire on a 200-acre (0.81 km2) cheese farm; James is considered by the press to be a member of the Chipping Norton set. In his book, James describes a long period of decadent lifestyle. To celebrate his birthday in São Paulo one year, he got the tour manager to find him a

balthazar Balthazar, Balthasar, Baltasar, or Baltazar may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Balthazar (novel), ''Balthazar'' (novel), by Lawrence Durrell, 1958 * ''Balthasar'', an 1889 book by Anatole France * ''Professor Balthazar'', a Croatian a ...

of champagne, which he shared with the five prettiest groupies who were at the hotel door. James estimated that he spent about 1 million pounds on champagne and cocaine; in 2015, however, he said that this story was not true. He mentions a long list of favourite bars, including the Groucho Club and The Colony Room. Bournemouth University presented James with an honorary doctorate in November 2010. He also received an Honorary Doctorate of Arts from the

University of Gloucestershire The University of Gloucestershire is a public university based in Gloucestershire, England. It is located over five campuses, three in Cheltenham and two in Gloucester. The university is the successor of a large number of merged, name-changed ...

in November 2013.

Bibliography

* *

References

External links

Alex James
regularly contributes to ''

'' magazine
Alex James is one of the regular presenters of BBC Radio 4's ''On Your Farm''Evenlode Partnership
– Alex James and Julie Harbutt's cheese company
Alex James gives up vegetarianism after 17 yearsAlex James presents Never Mind the Buzzcocks (YouTube)Alex James's top 10 reads
''The Guardian'', 10 December 1999
Alex James presents on ClassicFM
* {{DEFAULTSORT:James, Alex 1968 births Living people Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London Blur (band) members Cheesemakers 21st-century English farmers English male journalists English male singers English rock bass guitarists English male bass guitarists English male songwriters 21st-century English writers Ivor Novello Award winners People educated at Bournemouth School People from Boscombe Britpop musicians Dairy products companies of the United Kingdom Me Me Me (band) members People associated with the University of Gloucestershire Musicians from Bournemouth Writers from Bournemouth Fellows of the Royal Society of Arts