Jim Bob talks tour, upcoming releases and John Lewis Christmas adverts

We chat to Jim Bob about his latest album, his upcoming live shows, new releases and more:

Congratulations on [2023 album] Thanks For Reaching Out. It’s fantastic. And it’s exciting that you’ve got a tour lined up for 2024. Talking of which, when you make a new album, is it immediately obvious which new songs will go into the setlist? Or is it a case of seeing what feels good when you start rehearsing with the band?  

Thank you. There are usually songs it’s obvious we should play. They’ll invariably also be the singles from the album. Others I’d like to play but can’t imagine how, because there’s half an orchestra or three separate drummers or something on the recorded versions. I suppose in an ideal world we’d play the whole album, but that would be a bit self-indulgent. 

Before the newly-announced dates, you’ve got a few shows this year, including supporting yourself at the Brixton gig in December. How do you usually spend your time during the support act? 

I don’t tend to go out into the crowd between the venue doors opening and stage time. I’d be too nervous to be able to relax and it would also spoil any kind of show business entrance I’m hoping to make. So, depending on the venue, I’ll either watch a bit of the support from the side of the stage or sit in the dressing room trying to relax. I’m always too distracted to do anything of any value though. I can’t read, for example. I change my clothes too soon before going onstage. It’s a kind of ritual I suppose. I’ve very rarely played a gig in the same clothes I’d arrived for soundcheck in. Unless I know there’s no dressing room, in which case I’ll turn up looking a bit overdressed. There are two times I can remember going onstage in my daytime clothes. Once when I’d forgotten my suit for a Jim’s Super Stereoworld gig and on the final Carter tour in America when there were so few people at the gigs it hardly seemed worth getting two shirts dirty. 

How will you approach writing the two setlists for the Brixton gig? Is there an art to writing a setlist for a support slot, even though are you also the headliner?

The set is always a mix of songs that we think sound great, songs we want to play, some new songs, some old classics, crowd pleasers, etc. In a way I’d like to play for three hours. Doing the two sets does mean I’ve got more songs to choose from. The first set will be just me accompanied by Chris on the piano. We’re planning on playing a few unexpected songs that you wouldn’t expect to hear in that format. Without turning them into John Lewis Christmas adverts. Unless John Lewis are interested of course. 

You had an odd trip to Brighton earlier this year, when your gig was postponed due to a fire. What are your recollections of the day? Were you all loaded in, soundchecked and ready to go? Or did it all happen before you’d arrived?

It was an incredibly windy day. We had these already inflated balloon letters spelling out THANKS from the gig the night before in the back of the van. When we opened the van doors the ‘T’ few out and disappeared in the direction of London. With hindsight it might have been a sign of what was to come. The two previous gigs had been some of the best ever Jim Bob live shows. The gig the night before was on a boat in Bristol. It had rained biblically and then the venue’s air conditioning system had broken and water cascaded from the ceiling above the stage onto Jon’s keyboards during the last song. It should have been a disaster but it just added to what was an amazing gig. Brilliant audience. We were looking forward to repeating it, without the flooding, in Brighton. After loading in and soundchecking we were sitting in the dressing room chatting, when we were told to vacate the building because of a fire in the hotel next door. I presumed it was a fire drill. We all went outside, leaving everything behind – bags, phones, house keys. After it became clear the fire was massive and the gig couldn’t go ahead, we hung around in a pub for hours until we were allowed to go into the venue and pack up our gear. It was a real downbeat end to a short but great tour. 

Talking more about the new album, Befriend the Police is one of the standout tracks. Can you talk about the inspiration behind the song and its title?

It’s a difficult song to talk about. Which is sort of why I wrote it. To say something I wanted to say in a more measured and clever way than if I just posted it on social media or shouted it at my friends in a pub. 

It started out as an idea and a title, a defund the police pun. It was that time when everyone seemed to be looking for their own cause to throw some street furniture through a shop window about. There was a lot of the ‘all coppers are bastards’ stuff on Twitter, often from people I’d think of as friends. I didn’t think it was that simple. But if I shared that view I’d be on the same side as Nigel Farage and Laurence Fox. As demonstrated here, I had difficulty putting into words how I didn’t think things were so simple. If I wrote a song saying ‘befriend the police’ it would be clumsy and misunderstood. 

I had the idea of seeing it spray painted on a wall. Then it would be me reporting that rather than it being my opinion. Then it turned into a self deprecating song about how I don’t like confrontation. 

Tell us about the 10″ vinyl of covers you’ve got coming out through Cherry Red in December… 

I really liked the 10” Beach Ready EP released last year and thought it would be nice to do something similar with the four covers I recorded with The Hoodrats. The vinyl sounds so much better playing at 45rpm. 

There’s also an epic deluxe version of 1992 The Love Album on the way. How much input/interest do you have in these type of Carter releases?

Jim Bob and Carter manager Marc is a lot more hands on with the Carter rereleases than me and Les are. I think he has the enthusiasm for them because they’re newer to him. Me and Les do approve (or veto) everything though. We listen to the test pressings, etc. I like the CD packages of these rereleases. The DVDs and the live CDs make them worth buying. And they aren’t too expensive either. I admit it is difficult to get overexcited. Luckily Marc takes up that slack. 

Are you already working on the follow-up album to Thanks For Reaching Out and, if so, can you tell us anything about it?

At the moment I’m writing a book about songs. It’s taking me longer than I’d expected. I do keep thinking of ideas for new songs though. I think I know the kind of record I’d like to make if I was in the studio tomorrow.

The year is quickly heading towards an end. What does Christmas look like in the Jim Bob house?

Most things we do these days revolve around our granddaughter. Christmas will definitely be like that. It’s nice to have someone to buy presents for. 

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Interview by Bobby Townsend.

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