When it comes to my own personal pantheon of favourite songwriters, there are a few who sit on the highest tier and their names include the likes of Noel Gallagher, Paul McCartney, Kelly Jones, and Bob Dylan.
Among those names is another, James Walsh. Perhaps the fact that I still have a Love Is Here album in my car speaks of the nostalgic love I have for Starsailor and its songwriter. I suppose it also speaks of how old my car is too! But I digress. I became infatuated with those melodies as a youngster and that love has never left me.
Spotify tells me that Starsailor has over half a million listeners each month, and I’ll always be one of them. To see James in such a compact venue was somewhat bittersweet. On a day that Ed Sheeran sold out the Etihad Stadium, here I was watching a man who I hold in higher songwriting esteem. A man, who in my book, deserves to be selling out such venues.
And I’m not a Sheeran hater by any means. He is extremely talented and I use the comparison only to portray how lucky I felt to be a couple of meters from James Walsh.
He possesses a voice I have heard on many a night sipping whisky, many a car drive, and whose music I gleefully shared with my girlfriend when she only had a faint recollection of who Starsailor are. That has since changed for the better.
With moments such as James recounting his tour of Liverpool’s smaller train stations on his nightmarish journey, a set list written on a paper plate, and problems with his zipper, you appreciate the special atmosphere these gigs have.
Just two weeks earlier I was in the crowd watching him sing again but this time it was with Starsailor at the Neighborhood Weekender in Warrington. It was a phenomenal set but a stark contrast to the feeling and atmosphere in E.B.G.B.S in Liverpool.
The basement gig was a unique setting and while the venue may have been small, the crowd was packed and in good spirits. It made for a special night not only listening to the classics but also his best solo work. That solo work seems to have gone underappreciated by the wider music community but not by those in attendance. Those newer love songs sounded incredible as his stunning vocals reverberated around the room.
Supporting James was Francesca Louise who I’d not heard of before. I’m pleased to have righted that wrong now. She sang a collection of delicately beautiful songs which the building crowd seemed to quickly realize deserved their attention. I’ll be eagerly following the rest of her career.
I felt very lucky to be there and the more than reasonably priced ticket felt like exceptional value for money. I’ve seen many gigs in many venues but these smaller ones always seem to leave a longer impression in your memory.
Anyone going to see James would have the same experience. Even if you’re a casual Starsailor fan who has never managed to get around to checking out his solo material, you’ll love watching him live. And you’ll soon find yourself playing his records more often.