James Grant

As a member of Friends Again and Love and Money, James Grant (vocals, guitar, bass) helped to establish Glasgow, Scotland, as a wellspring for brainy, soulful pop in the '80s. In 1982, Grant joined Friends Again, a punchy new wave outfit who crossed Aztec Camera's jangly riffs with David Bowie's stabs at funk. Friends Again released one LP, Trapped and Unwrapped, in 1984 before Grant left the group to exhibit his own talent for songwriting. In 1985, Grant formed Love and Money, a band who initially clung to a jazzy, more rock-oriented sound. Love and Money recorded their first album, All You Need Is, in 1986; however, the LP did not fulfill the commercial expectations caused by the success of the single "Candybar Express." Love and Money's second album, Strange Kind of Love, sold 250,000 copies, but Grant's creative vision became increasingly incompatible with the corporate needs of the group's label, Phonogram. Grant battled with Phonogram over the artistic direction of Love and Money's third album, Dogs in the Traffic, in 1991. The LP sold only 25,000 copies, and when the label saw no sales potential in 1994's Littledeath, they dropped the band. The group split up soon thereafter. On Love and Money's later work, Grant began venturing into country, a genre that he continued to explore in his solo career. In 2000, Grant released Sawdust in My Veins to widespread critical acclaim.