44 years and eighteen studio albums in, James are still going strong. In November 2025, the Manchester band released Nothing But Love: The Definitive Best Of, a meticulously curated career-spanning collection commemorating their longevity. April 2026 saw them head out on an extensive UK arena tour titled Love is the Answer, a name testifying to the community they have cultivated throughout their time at the top of the Britpop leagues. Bringing their fellow Mancunian band Doves along with them, their sold-out stop at Co-Op Live drew 23,500 fans together for a night of celebration and nostalgia.
The night was a homecoming for both bands, as Doves, too, emerged from Manchester in the late twentieth century. In the absence of original frontman Jimi Goodwin, brothers Jez and Andy Williams have been sharing vocal duties during recent shows. At times, Jez’s attempted stage presence at time came across as David Brent-fronts-Britpop group, but this was more than made up for by the band’s atmospheric, near-euphoric blend of alternative rock. The group performed tracks spanning five of their six studio albums, including discography highlights such as ‘The Cedar Room’ which was introduced as “the first song we ever released, back in 1999”.
‘Black and White Town’ was bound to be a highlight, and saw Jez Williams encouraging a singalong which had the potential to end unfavourably, but ended up successful. After responding with a simple “sweet”, Jez and co launched into ‘There Goes the Fear’, in which the band’s percussion shone despite a mistimed instance of cowbell.
“We’re going to give you a treat now”, Jez informed the audience, “we haven’t played this yet on this tour, it’s an old Manchester tune”. This ended up being ‘Space Face’, a song originally released by Goodwin and the Williams brothers under the name Sub Sub, the alternative dance act from whose remains Doves surfaced. This was the best piece of music within their set, and as it came to a close, Jez mounted a raised drum platform in almost-deserved triumph.
James’ own set opened with ‘Five-O’, a fan favourite taken from the classic album Laid. From the very beginning, frontman Tim Booth’s famed 5Rhythms dancing, which he has described as “a technique with no technique”, was on display, seeing him flailing around the stage in complete spontaneity. Another aspect of the show which ‘Five-O’ made apparent was Booth’s harmonies with Chloë Alper: their vocals perfectly complemented each other, and it was evident from the start that Alper is a brilliant addition to the band.
Discography highlights ‘Waltzing Along’ and ‘I Know What I’m Here For’ followed, and were accordingly met with lyrics shouted back and hands in the air, as the crowd became united in the Saturday night atmosphere. “It’s a fucking pleasure to be back in this amazing building”, Booth noted, before the band launched into ‘Sit Down’. Initially, Booth remained silent, looking gratefully out to the crowd as they sang every word of the song’s first verse. He then sang its second verse a Capella, before restarting to perform it in its full glory. Booth has never been the type of frontman to remain on stage, and ‘Sit Down’ provided his first crowd-surfing opportunity, to the thrill of the standing audience.
The song’s early appearance in the setlist came as a surprise considering its hit status, but it set the tone for the rest of the show, promptly enthusing the audience and even the security guards lining the stage. Booth himself seemed aware of its irregular placement, jokingly waving goodbye once the song had finished and saying “thank you, that was the end of our set, it was fucking brilliant, see you later”. After a brief pause necessitated by the audience’s rapturous reaction, ‘Heads’ followed with its haunting trumpet and violin amidst blasts of percussion from drummers David Baynton-Power and Deborah Knox-Hewson.
‘ZERO’ came next as the only song from 2021’s All the Colours of You to appear in the night’s setlist, before Booth returned to the crowd for ‘Say Something’. As he climbed across the accessibility section, a sea of phones went up: a rare sight at a James show. This didn’t seem to affect the atmosphere, however, as the crowd burst into a recital of the iconic trumpet and vocal riff in ‘Born of Frustration’ as soon as it was recognisable.
The song’s mounting urgency and accumulating tension, reflected in its lyrics and in the percussion that drives it, contributed to a sense of spirited animation amongst the crowd, which was then converted into emotional reverence as a gentle keyboard riff marked the beginning of ‘Shadow of a Giant’.
‘Shadow of a Giant’ can only be described as extraordinarily beautiful, laying its claim to the best song on the latest James album Yummy, and building up only to fade quickly away. In an arena setting, it allowed backing vocalist Chloë Alper to show off her impeccable voice. Despite only joining the band in 2018, 36 years after their formation, she is now an essential component, and as she walked along the barrier to greet fans she was appropriately met with the same devotion and veneration accorded to Booth.
Fan favourite ‘Johnny Yen’ followed, with Booth noting “that one should’ve been on the greatest hits record, we fucked up”, before a return to Yummy came through ‘Way Over Your Head’. ‘Come Home’ and ‘Tomorrow’ brought the show briefly back to the hits, perfectly encapsulating the combination of sincere lyricism and danceable instrumentation that characterises the best of the band’s discography. ‘Stutter’ was introduced by Booth as “a song from the eighties, in a typical James detour”, and represented a switch in style hearkening back to the band’s early days, before the stormy tale of ‘Sometimes’ brought the main set to a touching end.
Returning to the stage, Booth informed the crowd “we’re going to do something else that’s very James, and play a brand-new song in the encore”, and this ended being ‘Nantucket’, which “will be out next year”. The band have hinted at electronic influences in the past, but this song takes those to a new level with explosive synths that wouldn’t sound out of place on any dancefloor. While its inclusion in an encore was indeed “very James”, this certainly wasn’t a detriment to the show, as the audience were reinvigorated before the band’s “theme tune” ‘Getting Away With It (All Messed Up)’ and biggest hit ‘Laid’ closed the night.
Despite being active for over four decades, it goes without saying that James are bigger and better than ever. The band are a joy to witness, and have managed to capture the world’s attention once again as a result. Some James songs are devastating, but all of them are sincere, and imbued with a sense of peaceful optimism that is absent amongst their Britpop peers. One look at Co-Op Live’s audience on the night they played proved their influence: teary eyes, flailing arms and joyful movement abounded throughout, as the audience came to realise that Love is the Answer.
