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James Grant (born 22 November 1963) is a Scottish musician, singer, and songwriter. He grew up in Glasgow's Castlemilk district and still resides in the city.

Friends Again

James Grant's music career began in 1982 as songwriter and guitarist in the new wave band Friends Again, alongside Chris Thomson, later of the Bathers. The group had minor hit singles with "State of Art", "Sunkissed" and "Honey at the Core". They released a self-titled EP in 1983 which reached No. 59 in the UK and then recorded their debut album, Trapped & Unwrapped, in 1984. On 5 June 2015, as part of the BBC Music Day at the broadcaster's Pacific Quay HQ in Glasgow, Grant and Thomson reunited to play two Friends Again songs - "State of Art" and "Honey at the Core" - for a live studio audience. Their performance was broadcast live on the Music Through Midnight show presented by Billy Sloan, though it was also filmed, perhaps for online content or a future broadcast.^[1]

Love and Money

When Friends Again split in 1985, Grant went on to form Love and Money along with drummer Stuart Kerr and keyboardist Paul McGeechan. In their nine years together, they recorded four moderately successful albums, All You Need Is..., Strange Kind of Love, Dogs in the Traffic and Littledeath, and had six chart hits in the United Kingdom.^[2]

In a newspaper interview in 2019, Grahame Skinner, the lead singer of Scottish pop / new wave band Hipsway, claimed that Grant should have had a credit on their debut single "The Broken Years", as he played lead guitar on the demo which won the band their first record deal with Mercury Records.^[3]

Solo career

Grant's first solo album, Sawdust in My Veins, was released on Survival Records in 1998. It featured long term collaborator Donald Shaw, Karen Matheson, harmonica player Fraser Speirs, drummer James Mackintosh and the BT Scottish Ensemble. After a label change to Vertical, the same lineup was retained for My Thrawn Glory in 2000. I Shot the Albatross, a collection of poetry set to music, was released in 2002. It included interpretations of works by Edwin Morgan, E. E. Cummings, and William Blake. The gentle, introspective Holy Love followed in 2004, featuring contributions by dobro player Jerry Douglas and ex-Thrum vocalist Monica Queen. Strange Flowers, a more upbeat collection, was released in February 2009.

Grant also scored the film The Near Room and has collaborated with Capercaillie's Karen Matheson, performing live and writing songs for her solo records The Dreaming Sea, Downriver, and Time to Fall.

In conversation with radio presenter Billy Sloan on BBC Scotland's Music Through Midnight show on 5 June 2015, Grant revealed he was writing material and suggested it was more likely to be for a solo album than another Love and Money project.^[1]

Love and Money reformation and new album

Love and Money reformed for a show at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall as part of Celtic Connections 2011; this was intended to be a one-off but was very successful and the band subsequently decided to tour the UK. Following this, the band released their fifth studio album The Devil's Debt in 2012. A limited edition live album of their Royal Concert Hall show, Strange Kind of Love was also released.

Discography

Albums

Sawdust in My Veins (Survival, 1998)
My Thrawn Glory (Vertical, 2000)
I Shot the Albatross (Vertical, 2002)
Holy Love (Vertical, 2004)
Strange Flowers (Vertical, 2009)
James Grant & the Hallelujah Strings (Vertical, 2016)

Singles

"Pray the Dawn" (Survival, 1998)
"Hey Renee" (Vertical, 2001)

References

^ ^a ^b "BBC Radio Scotland - Music Through Midnight, Live at the Quay". BBC.
^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 331. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
^ "Hipsway's Grahame Skinner: 10 things that changed my life".

External links

Lyrics and chords for James Grant songs

[bbc.co.uk-1] "BBC Radio Scotland - Music Through Midnight, Live at the Quay". BBC.

[British_Hit_Singles_&_Albums-2] Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 331. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.

[3] "Hipsway's Grahame Skinner: 10 things that changed my life".

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@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 {{BLP sources|date=July 2020}}
-'''James Grant''' (born 8 October 1964) is a Scottish musician, singer, and songwriter. He grew up in Glasgow's [[Castlemilk]] district and still resides in the city.
+'''James Grant''' (born 22 November 1963) is a Scottish musician, singer, and songwriter. He grew up in Glasgow's [[Castlemilk]] district and still resides in the city.
 ==Friends Again==
@@ Line 22: / Line 22: @@
 ==Solo career==
-Grant's first solo album, ''[[Sawdust in My Veins]]'', was released on Survival Records in 1998. It featured long term collaborator [[Donald Shaw (musician)|Donald Shaw]], [[Karen Matheson]], harmonica player [[Fraser Speirs]], drummer [[James Mackintosh (percussionist)|James Mackintosh]] and the BT Scottish Ensemble.  After a label change to Vertical, the same lineup was retained for ''My Thrawn Glory'' in 2000. ''I Shot the Albatross'', a collection of poetry set to music, was released in 2002. It included interpretations of works by [[Edwin Morgan (poet)|Edwin Morgan]], [[Ee cummings|EE Cummings]], and [[William Blake]]. The gentle, introspective ''Holy Love'' followed in 2004, featuring contributions by dobro player [[Jerry Douglas]] and ex-Thrum vocalist [[Monica Queen]]. ''Strange Flowers'', a more upbeat collection, was released in February 2009.
+Grant's first solo album, ''[[Sawdust in My Veins]]'', was released on Survival Records in 1998. It featured long term collaborator [[Donald Shaw (musician)|Donald Shaw]], [[Karen Matheson]], harmonica player [[Fraser Speirs]], drummer [[James Mackintosh (percussionist)|James Mackintosh]] and the BT Scottish Ensemble.  After a label change to Vertical, the same lineup was retained for ''[[My Thrawn Glory]]'' in 2000. ''[[I Shot the Albatross]]'', a collection of poetry set to music, was released in 2002. It included interpretations of works by [[Edwin Morgan (poet)|Edwin Morgan]], [[E. E. Cummings]], and [[William Blake]]. The gentle, introspective ''Holy Love'' followed in 2004, featuring contributions by dobro player [[Jerry Douglas]] and ex-Thrum vocalist [[Monica Queen]]. ''Strange Flowers'', a more upbeat collection, was released in February 2009.
 Grant also scored the film ''The Near Room'' and has collaborated with [[Capercaillie (band)|Capercaillie's]] [[Karen Matheson]], performing live and writing songs for her solo records ''[[The Dreaming Sea]]'', ''[[Downriver (album)|Downriver]]'', and ''[[Time to Fall (album)|Time to Fall]]''.
@@ Line 35: / Line 35: @@
 ===Albums===
 * ''[[Sawdust in My Veins]]'' (Survival, 1998)
-* ''My Thrawn Glory'' (Vertical, 2000)
+* ''[[My Thrawn Glory]]'' (Vertical, 2000)
-* ''I Shot the Albatross'' (Vertical, 2002)
+* ''[[I Shot the Albatross]]'' (Vertical, 2002)
 * ''Holy Love'' (Vertical, 2004)
 * ''Strange Flowers'' (Vertical, 2009)
@@ Line 56: / Line 56: @@
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Grant, James}}
+[[Category:Scottish male singer-songwriters]]
 [[Category:Scottish singer-songwriters]]
 [[Category:Scottish new wave musicians]]

v t e Love and Money
James Grant Douglas MacIntyre Paul McGeechan Bobby Paterson Gordon Wilson Stuart Kerr
Albums	All You Need Is... (1986) Strange Kind of Love (1988) Dogs in the Traffic (1991) Littledeath (1993) The Devil's Debt (2012)
Compilation albums	Cheap Pearls and Whisky Dreams – The Best Of (1999)
Singles	"Candybar Express" "Dear John" "River of People" "Halleluiah Man" "Strange Kind of Love" "Jocelyn Square" "Up Escalator" "My Love Lives in a Dead House" "Looking for Angeline" "Winter" "The Last Ship on the River"
Related articles	Sawdust in My Veins My Thrawn Glory I Shot the Albatross