Summary
Saul Davies (born 28 June 1965) is a British musician best known as a member of the rock band James.[1] Davies is a multi-instrumentalist whose primary instruments are the violin, guitar and percussion.[2][3][4][5][6]
Saul Davies | |
|---|---|
 Saul Davies performing with James at Haldern Pop 2013 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Saul Davies |
| Born | 28 June 1965 Liverpool, Merseyside, England |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, electric violin |
| Years active | 1989–present |
Career edit
Saul Davies was hired as a member of James in 1989, after the band's guitarist Larry Gott saw him playing violin at the Band On The Wall in Manchester.[7] Impressed by his abilities, Gott invited Davies to join the band at their rehearsal room the following day for an audition.
Davies immediately impressed the band members, who offered him a role in the band as violinist. Davies accepted, initially as a stop-gap measure, and went on to assist with guitar and percussion on the band's 1990 album Gold Mother, which was also to become the band's commercial breakthrough.
Davies ended up remaining with the band throughout the 1990s, and his creative input became more prominent towards the end of the decade, particularly on the 1999 album Millionaires, most of the songs of which were developed from base tracks sketched out by Davies. His contribution was recognized in the sleeve notes for the album with bassist Jim Glennie's comment- "Jim Glennie would like to personally thank Saul for his work on this album over and above the call of duty."
Davies also participated in the dance-based side-project Money, together with fellow band members David Baynton-Power and Mark Hunter.
Following the departure in 2001 of the band's lead singer Tim Booth, the band became inactive and Davies confirmed his own departure in two separate articles throughout 2002.[8]
With the band's reformation in 2007, Davies was confirmed as part of the reformed line-up and joined the band on their reunion tour in April of that year, then played on their comeback album Hey Ma released in April 2008, then released by two mini-albums, The Night Before and The Morning After in 2010, then by 2014's thirteenth album La Petite Mort and recently, the 2016's current album Girl at the End of the World.[9][10][11]
Davies is known among James fans for his raucous stage persona and his skill at provoking audience members into exuberant singalongs.
References edit
- ^ "Saul Davies". Equipboard. 2016.
- ^ "Saul Davies from indie band James on 34 years of making music, why they owe everything to their fans and how he was discovered at a blues night". Warrington Guardian. 1 December 2015.
- ^ "Saul Davies (James) interview". What's on Live. 6 May 2016.
- ^ "Expect the Unexpected, says Saul Davies of James". Daily Echo. 6 May 2016.
- ^ "Saul Davies". Wrongplanet. 2017.
- ^ "Interview: James' Saul Davies speaks ahead of band's Birmingham gig – Native Monster". One of the Three. 1 May 2016.
- ^ "One of the Three: The James Archive". 9 June 2023.
- ^ "No time to Sit Down for James as indie veterans head to Hull". Hull Daily Mail. 23 November 2015.
- ^ "Saul Davies". AllMusic. 2016.
- ^ "Interview: Saul Davies – 'Scotland's full of English twats who think they're Scottish'". The List. 5 April 2016.
- ^ "James guitarist Saul Davies wants Scots to sit down and learn more about their own country". Daily Record. 1 April 2016.
External links edit
- Saul Davies at IMDb