{"id":60164,"date":"2020-02-22T13:56:07","date_gmt":"2020-02-22T13:56:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/?p=60164"},"modified":"2020-02-22T13:56:07","modified_gmt":"2020-02-22T13:56:07","slug":"wendy-james-returns-with-new-album-queen-high-straight-out-1st-may-and-announces-uk-tour-dates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2020\/02\/wendy-james-returns-with-new-album-queen-high-straight-out-1st-may-and-announces-uk-tour-dates\/","title":{"rendered":"Wendy James Returns With New Album ‘Queen High Straight’ Out 1st May And Announces UK Tour Dates"},"content":{"rendered":"

English singer songwriter Wendy James, probably best known as the front woman of chart topping alt-rock phenomenon, Transvision Vamp, is set to release her new album, ‘Queen High Staight’ on May 1. She has also announced tour dates throughout May in support of the album.<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Following the disbanding of Transvision Vamp, James, who celebrated her birthday this week, went on to collaborate with a galaxy of fellow music stars, including Elvis Costello, James Williamson (Iggy & The Stooges), Lenny Kaye (The Patti Smith Group), and James Sclavunos (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds), the latter of whom joins Wendy on the new album playing drums and percussion. Additionally she enlisted the services of\u00a0 James Sedwards (lead guitar), Harry Bohay (bass), Alex J. Ward & Terry Edwards (horn section) and Louis Vause (accordion).<\/p>\n

https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/the-wendy-james\/sets\/wendy-james-first-single\/s-OnXGq<\/p>\n

Wendy began writing ‘Queen High Straight’ after a long period of writing, recording, delivering, and touring her previous album, ‘The Price Of The Ticket’, which charted at number 14 in the UK. Speaking of the title track, James said,<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI gravitated toward some jazzy type of chords which lent a gentle lilt to the song, it sounded smooth and it reminded me of when I was a young child listening to Sergio Mendes \u2018Brazil \u201966\u2019! Some of those lovely chord progressions, some of that lovely harmonizing the singers did and of course Bacharach and David.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOverall, my taste and style have not changed with time,\u201d Wendy says. \u201cThe 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy track listings are never altered from the order in which I write the songs, maybe it\u2019s because it\u2019s too tangential for me to try to shuffle songs around but really I think, in some kind of holistic way, the order in which the songs are written must surely be the very most natural order for them to be listed in. Around about song 14 \u2018Bliss Hotel\u2019 I hit a wall. I did not know where the inspiration was going to come from! But then somehow, miraculously, it comes again and one pushes on through, as it turned out, to some of my favourite songs on the entire album. My perfect moment? song 18 \u2018Cancel It\u2026 I\u2019ll See Him On Monday\u2019; it was a \u2018Eureka\u2019 moment. I ran out into the garden and started dancing, \u201cI\u2019ve got it! I\u2019ve got it!!!\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Other tracks on the album see Wendy embrace Motown, ‘Here Comes The Beautiful One\u2019 and \u2018Little Melvin\u2019, while for ‘Period Beauty’, she returns, once again, to her favourite guitar guttural filth and sex. ‘Chicken Street’ is an unlikely sounding love song, and there’s some 90s pop groove in \u2018Ratfcking\u2019, melancholia in \u2018Testimonial\u2019, and Django Reinhardt whimsy in \u2018I\u2019ll Be Here When The Morning Comes\u2019. On \u2018The Impression Of Normalcy\u2019, Wendy says,<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThanks to James Sclavunos, who told me to \u201cspeed the fucking song up\u201d, I have a proper speed punk song.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Finally, track 20, \u2018Kill Some Time Blues\u2019 is the ultimate 60s girl group number. All 20 songs on the album have been written, produced, and mixed by Wendy James.<\/p>\n

Recently touring the UK with her permanent band, The Wendy James Band, she opened for The Psychedelic Furs, to stunning success.<\/p>\n

Wendy James will be playing 19 dates around the UK in May. See below for dates.<\/p>\n

TOUR DATES<\/strong><\/p>\n

5TH<\/sup> MAY\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0TUNBRIDGE WELLS FORUM
\n6<\/sup>TH<\/sup> MAY\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0SWANSEA CINEMA & CO
\n7TH<\/sup> MAY\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0BRISTOL FLEECE
\n8TH<\/sup> MAY\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0NORWICH ARTS CENTRE
\n9TH<\/sup> MAY\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0STOKE ON TRENT THE SUGARMILL
\n11TH<\/sup> MAY\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0NOTTINGHAM RESCUE ROOMS
\n12TH<\/sup> MAY \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0MANCHESTER DEAF INSTITUTE
\n13TH<\/sup> MAY \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0BRIGHTON CONCORDE 2
\n14TH<\/sup> MAY\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0LONDON ISLINGTON O2
\n15TH<\/sup> MAY\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0CARDIFF\u00a0CLWB IFOR BACH
\n16TH<\/sup> MAY\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0PORTSMOUTH WEDGEWOOD ROOMS
\n17TH<\/sup> MAY\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0GUILDFORD BOILEROOM
\n19TH<\/sup> MAY \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0LEEDS BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB
\n20TH<\/sup> MAY \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0NEWCASTLE CLUNY
\n21ST<\/sup> MAY\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0GLASGOW GIG TUTS
\n22ND<\/sup> MAY\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0BIRMINGHAM INSTITUTE3
\n23RD<\/sup> MAY \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0CAMBRIDGE JUNCTION
\n24TH<\/sup> MAY \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0BLACKPOOL WATERLOO MUSIC BAR
\n25TH<\/sup> MAY \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0EDINBURGH BANNERMANS<\/p>\n

‘Queen High Straight’ will be available as a 20 track deluxe gatefold double vinyl, gatefold deluxe CD, regular CD and Digital Download \/ Streaming. It’s available to pre-order on Wendy James’ online store<\/a>, where you can also buy the rest of Wendy’s recordings, associated art, T-shirts, and all things Wendy James.<\/p>\n

Find Wendy James online on her official website<\/a>, Spotify<\/a>, Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, SoundCloud<\/a>, and YouTube<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

English singer songwriter Wendy James, probably best known as the front woman of chart topping alt-rock phenomenon, Transvision Vamp, is set to release her new album, ‘Queen High Staight’ on May 1. She has also announced tour dates throughout May in support of the album.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":60165,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[264,7,21455,9,21453],"tags":[24316,394,144,77,370,24315,103,6650,24314],"class_list":["post-60164","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-concerts","category-music","category-new-albums","category-new-releases","category-new-singles","tag-chicken-street","tag-concerts","tag-new-album","tag-new-release","tag-new-single","tag-perilous-beauty","tag-tour","tag-transvision-vamp","tag-wendy-james"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5yMhl-fEo","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":64178,"url":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2020\/07\/the-vamps-return-with-new-single-married-in-vegas\/","url_meta":{"origin":60164,"position":0},"title":"The Vamps Return With New Single ‘Married In Vegas’","author":"Emma Mages","date":"31\/07\/2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Today saw the return of The Vamps! 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