Wendy James Hits Yorkshire as Part Of 2021 UK Tour
When Wendy James released her 5th solo album Queen High Straight on 1st May 2020. And she was supposed to be heading out on a UK tour. But as Covid-19 hit and the world went into lockdown, Wendy had to reschedule her tour three times.
Reflecting, Wendy says, “The venues, who’ve been under extraordinary pressure to stay afloat, were inundated with every single band rescheduling! But! We did it… Thank you to the venues, the promoters and of course thank you to the National Health Service, my love to anyone and everyone who has lost someone to this pandemic, thank you to you all for getting vaccinated and helping open our collective lives again!”
She will embark on a whopping 28-date tour of the UK on 26th August. “From Truro to Paisley and from Norwich to Swansea and everywhere in between!” she exclaims with her infectious enthusiasm. “Not only are we celebrating a return to live venues, we are celebrating my No.16 album Queen High Straight, and also a different setlist every night, from Transvision Vamp through all my albums! It’s a tour not to miss, and one which will not happen again, like this!”
An English singer-songwriter born in London, Wendy exploded onto the British music scene in 1988 as the fearless frontwoman of chart-topping alt-rockers Transvision Vamp. When the band broke up Wendy went on to collaborate with Elvis Costello, James Williamson (Iggy & the Stooges), Lenny Kaye (The Patti Smith Group) and James Sclavunos (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds), who joins her on drums and percussions for Queen High Straight. Also joining her on this album are James Sedwards (lead guitar), Harry Bohay (bass), Alex J. Ward & Terry Edwards (horn section) and Louis Vause (accordion).
“Overall, my taste and style have not changed with time,” Wendy says. “The music that excites me now, ultimately, is the same as when I was starting out songwriting and back through my days in Transvision Vamp. I continue to marvel at Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground. I continue to be blown away by The Stooges. I continue to be everlastingly enthralled by Bob Dylan, but of course, the older one gets the more one discovers and I am now informed more cohesively and fully by all the music, new and old, which settles into my consciousness.”
Elsewhere on the album, Wendy James embraces Motown with ‘Here Comes The Beautiful One’ and ‘Little Melvin’. She returns, once again, to her favourite guitar guttural filth and sex for ‘Perilous Beauty’ and an unlikely-sounding love song in ‘Chicken Street’. There’s a 90’s pop groove in ‘Ratfuc*ing’, and melancholia in ‘Testimonial’.
Wendy James will perform at Leeds’ Brudenell on 29th September. She’ll then be at The Parish, Huddersfield on 2nd October.
You can buy tickets at thewendyjames.com
