Wendy James fronted one of the most memorable pop bands of the late 1980s and early 90s – Transvision Vamp – which enjoyed a string of hit records during that time, and James later went on to solo success.
Last year, she released her tenth studio album, ‘The Shape of History’, which enjoyed a raft of critical praise. She returns to Edinburgh next month to perform with The Wendy James Band which features Jim Sclavunos from Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds on drums and Alex Ward (Thurston Moore Group) on guitar.
She said ahead of her show at Cabaret Voltaire: “I’ve been to Edinburgh many times and to lots of different venues. Last year, I did a record store tour and came to Assai.
“I remember it being in the presence of Edinburgh Castle. As a visitor, it’s a beautiful city and similar to London in some ways, with its terraces. I’m listening to a podcast with Dan Snow at the moment, the next one is about the history of Edinburgh Castle so I will be an academic expert by the time I get to Edinburgh.”
With hits such as ‘Baby I Don’t Care’, ‘I Want Your Love’, and ‘Tell That Girl To Shut Up’, Wendy James became a pop pin-up, often appearing in the tabloids and on music-weekly covers.
She said: “In the early days, I was this blonde bouncing thing that loved singing and performing and was confident in that. You need that to propel your project, and isn’t Nick (Christian, Sayer) a lucky lad that he had me, he also wrote some really good songs that were big hits.”
Transvision Vamp found a global audience for their spiky, punk-pop songs. Their 1988 album Pop Art was a breath of fresh air at the end of the synth-heavy 1980s.
“I don’t have a lot of recollection of recording Pop Art,” explained Wendy. “I do remember the first radio play of ‘Baby I Want Your Love’ – we were at the record label and huddled round the receptionist’s radio listening to whoever’s show it was on Radio 1. I remember this abstract understanding that we were listening to this song on the radio at the same time as everyone else in Britain.”
It was a time when music was more centralised, pre-internet and pre-social media, the cultural touchstones were music papers such as NME, Sounds, and Melody Maker. Radio and television shows such as Top of the Pops were essential in breaking new artists. Wendy James also proved to be an intelligent and articulate chat show guest, appearing on prime-time television to discuss feminism and green issues with hosts such as Johnathan Ross and Michael Aspel.
“Yes, it surprises me,” admitted Wendy. “I was given a run-of-the-mill education and didn’t have parents who were activists for green issues; that wasn’t part of my childhood, and yet when you look back, I’m talking about all these things. We all gravitate to certain subjects. I wanted to be a musician and be in a band, but these subjects interested me. Issues such as climate change have only become more important as years have gone by.”
How difficult was it being thrust into the limelight, and did life change? “You don’t become a millionaire overnight. We went to the same pub in West London on Portobello Road, the Warwick Castle, it was where you would find Joe Strummer and Paul Simonon of The Clash, reprobate aristocrats, proper drunks, and people like writer Martin Amis. It was a real melting pot and run by an Irishman called Seamus, who didn’t speak to any of us, the guy who collected the glasses was called Shorty, and they looked after all the nutcases in this room. Our life didn’t change that much, and then three years later, we could buy a house. I was never the sort of person who wanted a big glam squad around me or an entourage. We would go to clubs and gigs or whatever, but I loved shutting the door and being left alone; sometimes it’s nice to be left alone with your own thoughts. I’m a lyrics-heavy girl, and to write you have to go to a different place and be creative, you can’t be thinking about the gas bill or going out all the time.”
Wendy’s punk credentials are intact, having played with both Glen Matlock of the Sex Pistols and James Williamson of Iggy and the Stooges. It was while recording her album ‘Price of the Ticket’ that the late Steve Mackay, also of The Stooges played on her album.
“Sorry, Iggy, it was almost Wendy and The Stooges,” joked James. “There was talk of Scott Ashton (original Stooges drummer who died in 2014) playing on the record at one point. When James (Williamson) had to break off to join Iggy again, we got in Lenny Kaye of The Patti Smith Group. Glen Matlock was on bass, and we had James Sclavunos of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, who is in my current band that will play in Edinburgh.”
If that wasn’t enough, David Bowie was also a big fan of Transvision Vamp.
“Yes, Bowie was a fan. The more success you have, the more humble and unaffected you are and that was Bowie. We were an up and coming band that tickled his fancy, and he came to see us at Brixton Academy, he saw us a few times and we knew him well enough to be on speaking terms. There was another time we were performing in this boat in front of Alcatraz for an indie radio station, we sailed round it twice with competition winners and David Bowie was on the boat! We were on an American high at the time. It was one of those moments when you are like: ‘This is so great’. Also on the band’s list of well-known fans is Prince.
“He played ‘I Want Your Love’ on his 1988 tour, saying, ‘This is my favourite song of the summer.’” It was while shopping that Wendy had an encounter with a Beatle.
“I did bump into George Harrison in the sock department of Harvey Nichols while buying socks for my boyfriend, I felt a tap on my shoulder and it was George Harrison, and he said: ‘There’s something special about you, never give up’.”
The Wendy James Band will appear at Cabaret Voltaire on 23 October.
Photo David Leigh Dodd
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