Starsailor Biography
Starsailor (The name taken from the title of a Tim Buckley LP) is a band full of emotion and raw talent. The band's Lead man is James Walsh and his soaring vocals and keen sense of melody shine.
Ben
and 'Stel' (James Stelfox) are from Warrington (England) and have been friends
since junior school and went to the Leigh campus of Wigan (England) and Leigh
College, as did Barry from Wigan and James from Chorley (England). They joined
them some time later. Rumour has it that Ben and 'Stel' were in another band
and were rehearsing at college one day and their vocalist didn't turn up. James
asked if he could sit in with them and sing, the first incarnation of Starsailor
was formed.
The Small Faces track 'All or Nothing' they did on the '1 Love' charity album was a song they played together in those early days, hence it featured for them as a choice for the album. They used various guitarists over a period of time and couldn't get the sound right and Barry joined them in early 2000 and it all clicked into place
In April of 2000 Starsailor played their first ever gig at London's Heavenly Social and at the same time a demo with the tacks 'Love is Here', 'Fever' and 'Coming Down' was flying around the industry. A couple of months later and the band had signed to EMI.
It
can't be ignored that NME, though out 2001, have a key force behind Starsailor's
success. In January Starsailor were the main attraction as part of their 'NME
Carling Awards' Tour. At the awards we were told the band were the 'NME Hope
for 2001'. A sell-out UK tour followed along with release of three more singles,
'Good Souls' which reached number 12 in the UK charts, 'Alcoholic' - 10 and
'Lullaby' - 36. Also the Album 'Love is Here' (released - October 8th) - which
reached Number 2!. A European tour and Charlatans(UK) support slots rounded
off a very good year for the band.
The band's influences include Tim & Jeff Buckley, Van Morrison and Neil Young.
