TBC introduces… Will James

Where are you from originally?  

I'm from the county town of Exeter in Devon. I moved up to London around twelve years ago to pursue a career in music after graduating from the University of West London, where I did my degree.

Did your parents actively encourage you to play music, or did they think you should find a more traditional career? 

They encouraged me up to a point, but they did encourage me to get a proper job. My Mum was a bit more fluid with the thought that music is a viable option.

I didn’t pursue music wanting to make tonnes of money. It was a nice thought, but I just wanted to exist and play music, making a reasonable living.  

Your music blends blues, jazz, and soul into powerful and poignant messages, performed with real passion. This has earned you the coveted title of certified grassroots blues royalty. Where did those influences come from?  

I got a box set from ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax, a little box where he recorded all the guys on the cotton farms. I used to listen to that a lot. The collection of music was just incredible to hear; it was really something.

Then my taste got a little more electric and I got into blues guitarist and singer Buddy Guy, and Jimi Hendrix. I would listen to these guys and think, "How is he doing that?" I got more into traditional blues. More recently, I listened to a lot of the jazz guitarists, people like Wes Montgomery and Paz. It’s a bit of an obsession.  

Do you have a particular technique when it comes to writing new material? Do you need to lock yourself away somewhere, or do you wake up at three in the morning and start to write a lyric or a melody which is floating around in your head - like an earworm you have to get out?  

The earworm thing is really cool when you get them. A basic idea, and you suddenly record it. It becomes the embryo of a song, and that's great. I like to be alone when I'm coming up with ideas and refining them. But in terms of lyrics, they can just come to you in the strangest of places. 

One of the cool things about living in London is that it's nice sometimes when you get a free flat, or even better, when you can go to a rehearsal room for a monthly hire, which I have been doing recently, and knowing I have the time and space to be creative. That’s really cool.  

Let’s go back to 2020, and the release of your debut album, The Age of Fear. What was the original concept behind that release? 

2020 was such a crazy time, wasn’t it? I wanted to reflect on the madness and sing about it. I wanted to make a record about the oddness we were living in. It was a real labour of love because it was during COVID, and obviously there was no work for musicians. I was working as a food delivery boy to make some money to record the album. I did it in seven months.

My mate JB, who owned Buffalo Studios in Cable Street, did me a good deal, and I paid him whenever I made enough money from the deliveries. I managed to pay for an album doing that, crazy, one of the best feelings when I went in to make the last payment.  

Legendary record producer and music executive John Wooler picked it up and had you fly out to California to do some recording. That must have been surreal?   

It was all a bit weird. I was looking after this guy’s dog. I found out he was big time back in the day - he was the former boss of Virgin Records. When he came to pick up his dog, my album was lying around, and he said, "I’ll take it and have a listen."

He then sent me an email saying, "You had me by the end of the first song." He told me he had a friend in the US who works with some blues guys, and he thought I should record with them. After a few more conversations, he arranged for me to fly out. As it was during COVID, we had to enter the US via Mexico. The whole thing was a bit mad, but a really cool experience.  

When you have composed a song and you perform it on stage, how do you feel hearing the crowd sing it back to you?  

It's nice that people can see familiarity in my work and enjoy it, and aid them in whatever way, spiritually, psychologically. That's a beautiful thing, just to connect with people through my music. 

Are you most comfortable on stage or in the studio? 

I really love the live performance aspect of music, mainly. Just to be able to bring some slight variations in a live set. Studio recording can be stressful because you must get in, set up instrumentation, rehearse, and you are on the clock. When you leave, it must be right. I prefer to be on stage. I love performing live.  

What can we expect from your show at The Bear?

I'm very lucky to be playing with my band, these gems. I've known the drummer since I went to university. I picked up the bass player along the way, who's a great friend of mine now, and Dan is a fantastic sax player with a great ear. 

I'm going to be playing a bunch of new music, songs off the next record. I'll also perform a few covers. Songs like "My Truck" and Hendrix’s "Electric Ladyland", and some good old-fashioned straight-up blues, some sharp-shooting blues.

I just try and show myself with as much emotional depth as possible and give my soul and my experience over. There's a lot of really cool energy on stage between us up there. We all really love what we do, and we love putting on a great show. 

We’d love to ask you a few quickfire questions, just for fun. If you could be on stage with any artists, alive or dead, performing one of your tracks, when you look left and right, who do you want to see?  

I think it would have to be Jack Bruce on bass and Buddy Miles on drums. For the rhythm section, it's so difficult with so many people. I would love to play with Wes Montgomery and just watch him go.

What’s the one stage you would like to perform on?

Being from England, I guess I'd have to say The Royal Albert Hall. It’s such an iconic music hall.

You are stranded on a deserted Island. What is the one album you would hope to have with you?  

For pure listenability and the one album I would never get tired of hearing, it would have to be Marvin Gaye, What's Going On. That album would stimulate me for millennia. 

What is the one song you wish you had written?  

That would have to be the Eagles, "Hotel California", written by Don Felder. The line, "Her mind is Tiffany-twisted, she got the Mercedes Benz", is pure genius, isn’t it?

When you are not writing, recording, and performing live, what does quality downtime look like to you?  

I like to cook. I sometimes like to read, and lately I've got into drawing. I also sometimes like to go at music with absolutely no limits. I mean, just pick up the instrument, and just see what comes out. That's what I really enjoy the most.  

Will James joins us with his band on Friday 12 September 2025