Growing up in a house full of music, James was exposed to all kinds of sound, from big band swing, Bach and blues, through to ‘60s pop. "I always heard the bass parts and how they worked with the arrangements, from walking parts in swing through to pop and film and tv music. While all my friends wanted to be guitarists or drummers, I knew at gut level that I had to be a bass player. I was really into the whole late '60s/early '70s British rock scene, but hearing John Paul Jones was a revelation, the role he had in his band. Through him, I discovered Stax and Motown, and from there James Brown, Average White Band, Chic and Funkadelic/Parliament". Punk rock's 'do it yourself' attitude had a big impact on James, "....making it seem completely possible that I could be a musician". 
Moving to London in 1978 and joining soon-to-be classic British producer Clive Langer's band, The Boxes, James quickly established a reputation for himself as a ruthlessly tight studio musician, playing on scores of dates in the frenzied whirl of the post punk London music scene."It was extreme....you could be playing on some faux punk single for a major label in the afternoon and a heavy dub session in an 8 track at midnight...."
A move by the Boxes to Jake Riviera and Elvis Costello's F Beat records introduced James to several roots influenced artists and musicians like Nick Lowe, Paul Carrack and Carlene Carter with whom James was to tour and record with for 3 years."That label and those people had a huge influence on me - we worked day in, day out, recording, touring, but always with a sense of humour - it was the best place a young musician could've been - my bass playing grew up fast".
A call in 1986 from Cally, manager of former Teardrop Explodes mainman Julian Cope, led to James joining Cope's helter skelter two car garage band who had several top 20 hits including 'World Shut your Mouth' and 'Trampolene'. "Julian wanted to compete, having been a virtual recluse since his accidental pop superstardom with the Teardrop Explodes a few years before, so he came bursting back out of Tamworth. We spent a couple of intense years recording and playing his off kilter songs"
One of Julians' producers at that time was Warne Livesey, who had produced The The's seminal 'Infected' and, together with drummer Dave Palmer, recommended James to Matt Johnson. "Matt ended up with a shortlist of five or six bass players and held interviews rather than auditions, which of course was much more terrifying!". James was to stay with The The for four years, making two albums, 'Mind Bomb' and 'Dusk', and a year long world tour. "I loved being in that band - it was a rare blend of personalities and talent - we were all completely obsessed by what we did. Also, Matt's the kind of artist who'll go to any length to get what he hears in his head".
James has made three albums and completed several extensive US tours with English artist William Topley. "It's a great band for me as a bassist to play in - a heavily Southern mix of Stax, Nashville, Blues and Dub, underpinning this freakishly talented singer".
A session in 2001 with producer Ali Staton led to James being recommended by French drumming ace Max Garoute to French New Rock icon Damien Saez. "I walked into Rockfield studios not really knowing what to expect, but within an hour was blown away by this fantastic mix of electronica, hardcore, hip hop, alternative, melodic music. I'm now part of Damien's live band - we've played some incendiary shows recently, and we're due to record a new album and play more concerts this year".
Outside these longer term commitments, James has always been in demand as a session bassist, recording with artists like Kirsty MacColl, Billy Bragg, The Pretenders and producers such as Warne Livesey, Bruce Lampcov, Langer/Winstanley, Mike Spencer and Johnny Marr. "I've pretty much made records I'm proud to have been involved with. I like to work with artists who have something to say and hopefully I've been able to do that". 
James has a long standing working relationship with drummer, composer and ex Julian Cope colleague Chris Whitten. "Chris is a hugely talented film and television composer - I record a lot of bass and guitar sessions with him and it's always interesting to see the different requirements of music to film".
James has recently started to produce, with an album from the mercurial Liz Horsman,a reworked December Sunlight from The The, and an album and singles from new Bristol band Sugar Glass Sky coming up. "I've worked with some great producers and hope I can bring some of that experience to new artists and writers".
Recent studio work includes recordings with Tricky collaborator Martina Topley-Bird (Need One and Hours Away), Mark Owen (Four Minute Warning), Sophie Ellis Bextor, new Franco-British band The Waiting and remote recordings via the internet with dance crossover pioneers Sunscreem's founding members Paul Carnell and Lucia Holm and blues maverick William Topley. In 2004 I recorded the Saez album "Debbie" in London and contributed to the No One Is Innocent album "revolution.com" in Paris. Later that year came live tv and radio promotion across Europe with Mark Knopfler and Damien. In 2005 completed a massive tour of France with the Saez group and made a lot of records in Paris with my friend Maxime playing drums. 2006 again saw many trips to Paris to record with various artists, including Michel Delpech, a brilliant experience using all vintage basses and amps. The album went straight to number 1.