James: Come Home

The original 1989 release of this single, on Rough Trade, before the re-release of Sit Down got to No.2 in the charts, and Fontana decided to re-release this as well to cash in on the higher profile.

Fairly typical Tim Booth lyrics for the time, resisting commitment: "I don't believe you're all I'll ever need / And I need to feel you're not holding me". Also, "After thirty years, I've become my fears / I've become the kind of man I've always hated". Tim Booth was 29 in 1989 and I was only 24, so 30 still seemed an age away, but close enough for me to wonder if this might become true of me. With hindsight, I think I was OK when I was 30. The picture gets more mixed after that.

Of the 'B-sides', Promised Land is a pretty straightforward anti-Thatcher strum-along. Slow Right Down has a bit of violin on it, uncredited on the sleeve. In 1989, James were still a four-piece, rather than the seven-piece they expanded to with Saul on violin.