Following the departure of lead singer Tim Booth in 2001, the band became inactive, but members reunited in January 2007 and have since released a further seven albums.

[11] They performed mostly improvised material derived from jam sessions, supporting the Fall at an early gig at Manchester Polytechnic.

'"[12] On 17 November 1982, on the recommendation of Mike Pickering, James played a gig at Manchester nightclub the Haçienda with New Order, the Durutti Column, Section 25 and others.

Booth and Glennie had joined a sect named Lifewave that imposed many restrictions on their lifestyle and threatened the band's stability.

During the following year James greatly expanded their line-up and sound palette by hiring three new members: guitarist-violinist-percussionist Saul Davies (whom Gott recruited from an amateur blues night), keyboard player Mark Hunter, and trumpeter/percussionist Andy Diagram (the latter a noted avant-garde and pop musician who had played with The Diagram Brothers, Dislocation Dance, The Cotton Singers and Pale Fountains).

The album Gold Mother was intended to be released on Rough Trade but the owner of the label, Geoff Travis, believed James could only reach an audience of 20,000 to 30,000.

A successful winter tour in 1989 attracted a deal with Fontana Records,[8] and the band ended a difficult decade on an optimistic note.

Gold Mother was released in June 1990 just as the 'Madchester' movement, with its wave of popular Manchester-based indie bands, brought James to public attention and won them mainstream recognition.

[8] Singles "How Was It for You," the remixed "Come Home" and "Lose Control" all made the Top 40, and the band's newfound success was re-affirmed when they played two sold-out dates at the Manchester G-Mex at the end of the year.

[8] Gold Mother was re-released to include "Sit Down" and previous single "Lose Control", and the album sold ten times more copies than Travis originally predicted.

[8] It reached number 2 in the UK Albums Chart (its lead single, "Sound", had followed "Sit Down" into the top 10 a few months earlier) and earned the band some recognition in the US as they embarked on their first Stateside tour.

The band's activities culminated in a sold-out show to 30,000 people at the Alton Towers theme park in July, broadcast live on BBC Radio 1, following which Andy Diagram left the group.

In 1993, James were invited on an acoustic tour of the US supporting Neil Young at a series of natural outdoor venues in the autumn.

They returned to England refreshed and ready to record their new album with Brian Eno, whom they had originally approached to produce Stutter but who had been unavailable at the time.

As well as being a success in the UK, the album also broke the band in the US, shipping over 600,000 copies and charting at number 72 in the Billboard 200,[8] propelled by the popularity of the single "Laid" on US college radio.

Former Sharkboy guitarist Adrian Oxaal was drafted in to replace Gott on guitar,[8] while Booth returned periodically from the States to add his vocals.

Shortly after their last album release, James reached the end of their contract, and Tim Booth announced he was leaving the band to concentrate on other projects of his own.

A planned compilation of material from the band's Factory and Sire years was announced in 2001, but the album, Strange Dancing, was never released.

The site confirmed the line-up as that which recorded the album Laid: Booth, Gott, Glennie, Davies, Hunter and Baynton-Power.

Booth confirmed in interviews that he became convinced to rejoin the band after meeting up with Glennie and Gott the previous November for a jamming session, out of which new songs were born.

An arena tour of the UK called "We Are Sound" followed in December, on which two new songs ("Porcupine" and "Look Away") were previewed as tasters for a new studio album.

[26] At the beginning of 2011, Tim Booth announced that he was working on some new solo material, although James remained active, participating in the Lollapalooza festival in Chile.

The band appeared at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on 13 and 20 April in Indio, California and Hard Rock Calling 2011 on 24 June in Hyde Park, London, where they were joined by Kaiser Chiefs and the headline act, the Killers.

Towards the end of 2011, James signalled a departure from their previous touring style, with the announcement of a series of dates in October and November of that year including an orchestra and a choir.

[27] This short, ten date tour saw James performing their back catalogue accompanied by the Orchestra of the Swan[28] and the Manchester Consort Choir.

In July 2014, the band headlined on the Castle Stage for Camp Bestival at Lulworth Castle in Dorset and announced a ten date UK tour starting on 10 November, preceded by an 11 October headlining of the entertainment at the Rugby league Super League grand final at Old Trafford, performing a set before the game and in the half time show.

In May 2018, James released a four-song EP, Better Than That, that reached number 1 of the Vinyl Singles Chart,[32] and embarked on a sold-out UK tour to promote it.