[1] At 23 he relocated to Sydney where he completed a degree course in Communications and started in a band, Gargoyles.
Cruickshank, on keyboards, guitar and backing vocals, joined another Sydney-based indie rock band, the Cruel Sea, in 1989.
[6][7] Whille attending the group's gigs at the Landsdowne Hotel, he had "started getting up with the band, only to lend the occasional hand on keyboards" before he formally joined.
Cruickshank released three solo albums through Vitamin Records, Hymn for Her (2003), Hello Human (2007) and Note to Self (2011), and toured nationally to support them.
[10] James Cruickshank died on 8 October 2015, a year after being diagnosed with bowel cancer.