Dreadful news: James Blast (as we all knew him) died yesterday evening, according to a family friend. He had not been in the best of health for some time, but this was very sudden and unexpected.
I’ve contacted a few people directly, but for anyone else I’m sorry if you’d have preferred a personal message and this is how you’re finding out.
Hamish was a great friend: I’ll be eternally grateful to the Word site for kick-starting Massive mingles, in particular @el-hombre-malo of this parish who got the Glasgow ones going – this is how me & James got to know each other, as well as forging other friendships.
Please post your favourite blast from the Blast here.
When I think of James, I see a man of contradictions: a big fella with a gentle heart, a straight-talker who gave his time and possessions so generously, a scary-looking chap with a great sense of humour, a (nominal, at least) Catholic who read up on Aleister Crowley and England’s Hidden Reverse. Maybe best summed up as someone who (he told me) wept real tears while listening to Type O Negative.
Some other random thoughts when I reflect on the guy:
– his abiding love of Megadeth and classic era Sisters of Mercy: the first time I met him – at that first McMingle – he was wearing a Sisters beanie, which is what got us talking
– general go-to guy on NWOBHM, Goth, prog, Zappa, and touches of industrial. When I visited him last he had the Revolting Cocks “You Goddamned Son of a Bitch” album blaring into the street – I wouldn’t have expected anything less!
– his recently found love of Brutalist architecture, which neatly tied in with his life in 1970s and 1980s Glasgow and Lanarkshire
– wilful wallowing in trash TV, pretty much anything on ITV2 and H2 in fact
– his open and intelligent sense of humour, for instance evidenced by his delightful wordplay – “The Ridicules of Chronic”, “Jezza McVile”, “Irn Middin”, “Scum Dine With Me”, referring to Genesis P-Orridge as “Gimpo”, … and indeed his moniker on this site
– as part of his contribution to the Afterword podcast on NWOBHM, he insisted that all participants refer to Metallica’s Lars Ulrich as “Large Oilrig” instead
– his proud Scottishness and old-school socialism: a Corbynista who always preferred talking music, books or TV than politics
– he got so boyishly excited for days after a gig which made a particularly strong impression on him, such as Hall & Oates, Loop and King Crimson. Last weekend we were texting each other while separately watching the same live-streamed Wacken Festival performances by Ministry and Triptykon, then he called me straight after because he still wanted to talk about them!
– he was immensely proud of his mum – see his pinned Tweet – and I remember his classic “review” on the old site, of a day out by the two of them. If anyone can recover that, I’d be so grateful.
All in all, a great mate, very sadly missed.
Great eulogy Douglas, thanks for doing that.
Too sad and too shocking, this news – what a real loss from the site – I’ll miss his presence.
RIP James Blast.
@douglas it’s possible I may be able to retrieve his ‘Nights Out’ article from the old site backups – but they only exist as huge data dumps so can you think of a key word or phrase that might be in the article that would help me find it?
“Pish”? 🙂
“mcmingle” ?
“Blast Fears Mogwai” I am pretty sure was a caption. Or the other keywords “Monorail” or “Laurieston”
I was thinking of his day out with his mum, which in James’ mind was turned into a gig review!
But you’re right about the McMingles – I remember a photoshop picture he made up of him sitting in the back of a black cab (which I’ve just realised was probably originally from Scum Dine!) which had the classic phrase “Blast Fear Mogwai” appearing on the window.
No – that was actually us in a taxi! On our way from the Press Bar to the Laurieston. @Doods was there that day – a Christmas-ish McMingle.
Awful news. Sad to see a good man go.
His presence here was as rich and strong as single malt.
Too much single malt, perhaps?
Jeez, that’s really shocking. Didn’t know him yet I thought I knew him, like so many here, or at least the persona presented here. Enjoyed his posts if not necessarily his choice in music. I will never mention the scottish band wilfully again; there’s no point. R.I.P. Bro’ Blast (or Blaast on twitter) Hope someone’s keeping an eye on his ma, it should never happen that the generations leave out of expected order
That’s sad news.
Only ever met him the once but enjoyed his company.
Didn’t always, or particularly often, agree with his musical opinions here, but always appreciated his input and his wit in expressing it.
One of the good guys, for sure.
Sad news. I thought his appearance on the podcast was hilarious and was hoping for more.
Oh no, that’s awful. I was actually aware of him before this site from the Sisters online community. We never interacted that much, but seeing his username was a reassuring sign when I started posting on whatever past version of this site I began on. He clearly had a driving love for music, and I wish he’d posted here more.
Gutted. Absolutely gutted. Thinking of ‘the mum’.
He knew what he liked and he wasnt shy about telling others. That enthusiasm is a good trait in my book plus he was often as funny as fuck.
RIP
Dreadfully sad news. An Afterword stalwart and comical character who will be missed. (Awful taste in music, mind).
Terribly sad. “James” and I used to chat on Skype now and again. He was a wonderfully warm and witty conversationalist. Sadly due to my experiencing some technical hassles with Skype we had not been able to chew the fat recently although I know he enjoyed that video of Savages performing Fuckers that I posted just before Christmas last year. He tweeted me to let me know that I had made an old goth very happy. His tweet did likewise for this old dauber.
Rest easy “James”. I for one will miss you.
King Crimson have lost an avid fan ,if memory serves.
Just recently he returned to the blog after a hiatus and it was a most welcome return.
Condolences to all his friends and family.
But not the version with Belew. He didn’t like ol’ Belewballs at all, if I remember correctly. We argued over my opinion that Wetton, while being Crimson’s finest bassist was not as good a singer. James vehemently disagreed and was unshakeable in his opinion.
Not only did he introduce me to the delights of The Laurieston but we also shared a fine evening in the company of Hall and Oates, who I never would have suspected he had such a love of. (He never did manage to persuade me of the merits of All About Eve though.)
Sad to hear that. Never met the man but enjoyed his contributions.
Did the NWOBHM podcast with him and came across as a very knowledgable and passionate bloke.
One bit of word mangling/renaming remains permanently entrenched in my brain – Yes will always be referred as The Yes
He will be missed as us NWOBHM fans are few and far between.
RIP James Blast.
Amen to that.
And to him.
Rest easy.
I am truly gutted and am finding this difficult to type. Please keep me informed of any arrangements.
It was James that instigated the banter around the “Scottish band” that I kept up with him over the years. I spoke with him only the other week when, while online, he unexpectedly contacted me via some new Facebook video messaging gizmo. I don’t have my webcam or microphone plugged in normally so I managed to communicate via my smartphone. I was able to see the great man at last and talk bollocks. He even introduced his mother to me. I had always hoped to meet him in person one day. I wished I had made the effort because he was always generous to me and my family over the years via this site, Facebook and Twitter.
Rest in peace my friend. This song is for you from your favourite John Wetton.
How very sad. I was enthusing about “GO live in Paris” with him on Facebook only 2 days ago. I’m really shocked. After the demise of the Word blog Blasto and I set up the short lived Not The Word site as a temporary bivvy before this much nicer accommodation came along, so I spent quite a while chatting with him on Skype and working on the new site’s structure. James did all the graphics work, researching how you get an icon to appear in the browser tab etc, then doing the art work for it. A joy to do a project with and super focussed and dedicated with the bit between his teeth. Every now and then my phone Skype would beep at the most inappropriate moments, in a meeting or half way through lunch with my Mum and the familiar strains of the great man would boom out of the speaker. My favourite Blasto moment was when he appeared in the NWOBHM podcast, clearly refreshed, hurling abuse and opinions like Obelix with a menhir. Very very sad, a great character and he’ll be missed.
“like Obelix with a menhir” – him in a nutshell there!
Yes he nearly did a couple more podcasts but was either crook or it was a bad time. Editing that podcast was easy cos I just left all his bits untouched. A real force of nature
I think in the small canon of DogTwang Productions the arrival of Blasto on the NWOBHM was a real high. I shall play it later and raise a glass.
I think we all should! Podcast #11 for those who fancy a visit.
How do we play podcast 11? There doesn’t appear to be a link.
http://theafterwordpodcast.libsyn.com/the-afterword-11-nwobhm-heavy-bloody-metal-okay
Thanks DFB.
My sympathies to his family and friends.
He’ll be missed.
Dreadfully sad news. A real Afterword stalwart.
Thanks for such a great portrait of him in the comments, Douglas. You’ve lost a rather extraordinary friend.
So sad. A Tod fan gone. RIP James/Hamish, and condolences to “the Mum” and all his friends.
“Tod”?
Edith Fnuction, for pity’s sake.
His poor mum. I hope she’s being well looked after.
I remember a hilarious thread involving a photo of his washing line, with its none-more-black bed linen. He explained that what looked like the world’s largest pair of metallist’s knee-length shorts was actually two pillow cases.
That photo was indeed memorable. Sad news to lose such a familiar presence – he always came across as a warm and strong character, as borne out by the folks on here who knew him and have described him so vividly.
Easy thing to say, but I am genuinely saddened. His comments always made me grin.
Terrible news. I can only echo what you have all said. The first thing that came to mind was, as others have mentioned, was “the mum” but then a picture of him (at a barbecue?) with a massive water gun. His pithiness and humour will be greatly missed.
Pithiness and humour. That’s how I think of Mr Blast. The blog is a poorer place without him.
A kind, generous soul who loved an argument, a man of great passions and unlikely enthusiasms who will be sorely missed.
We met at the first Glasgow mingle, and had a hilarious evening of daftness and music discussion. As well as being a big fan of industrial music, he was a fan of the great Bud Neill – and that Lobey Dosser/ Rank Badjin wordplay that we both grew up on was something he always enjoyed.
James loved challenging your opinions, to see how you would react – but always made sure afterwards that he hadn’t taken things too far.
He genuinely did fear Mogwai – at one Glasgow McMingle we all prepared a CD to the theme of “Jock & Roll”, and he shuddered when he saw I had included them.
He was always great company, and his kindness and interest in everyone will be long-remembered.
In the old place, I proposed that we should have a bar, The Aspidistra and Hatstand, which I ended up opening for special events – Glastonbury, New Year’s Day. He contributed to that in many ways – demanding we serve Cider & Blackcurrant, demanding better snacks, putting the blessed Sisters of Mercy on the jukebox, and of course presenting me with the lovely sign for the pub.
Rest easy, old friend.
Young Blast giving it loads
It was his 58th birthday on Thursday. I posted this video to him on Facebook. I shall be having a decent single malt in his memory tonight.
if there is a mod reading this – please delete the one without the photos – thanks
Not been in here for a while but chipped in to a few threads with James here and there over the years.
Like most, I’d never met him but felt like I knew him. A big man in all senses who will be sadly missed. The world needs big characters and it’s always sad when they leave us early.
RIP James
Awful news. I didn’t know him personally, but greatly liked and admired his virtual presence and passionate musings. He served with distinction.
We shared a love of the Sisters, and he generously sent me a copy of Wake, which I’d had but lost. Very sad to hear of his passing. I will spin some Goth tunes in his honour today.
The last gift he gave me was a disc of Wake out-take footage – DM me if you’re interested in a copy.
Thanks Douglas – that’s very kind. Will get in touch later.
Nice to see you back, @adman (apols if I’m a meringue and you’ve been around a while and I’ve been slow to notice!) – sorry it’s under such sad circumstances. Hope everything’s well with you.
Hi @badartdog – thanks – yeah not been here yet this year. JB’s sad passing brought me here again.
I am doing great thanks. Hope you are ok.
What terrible news – lost for words – had a few email exchanges with him and he always came across as one of the good guys.
Is there a way we in virtual-land that could send “the mum” a card / a message / flowers?
I think it would be nice for her to have something from The Massive.
Great idea fentonsteve – seconded.
I realised I had to have his home address as I posted some DVDs to him in March. Found it in my Twitter messages finally. It is in Glasgow, G73, if anyone is nearby.
Drop me a pm if you want it. I will be mailing something tomorrow.
Oh my goodness. We’d been chatting a bit via Messenger, and I knew that he’d been receiving some care at home after some recent falls, but….. bloody hell. Totally shocking news.
This is sad news. I still have difficulty getting my head around “knowing” people on this here interweb thing. I met a couple a few years ago at a Mingle, and there’s a few here who have contacted me or live in Australian who I feel like I know. I always liked the name “James Blast” – like, here I am and don’t fuck with me.
I also recall Stick – was that his name? from a few years ago, he posted what seemed to be last words on this or ye olde site.
Take care everyone…
Are you referring to Stimpy?
Maybe. But I do recall the name Stick. Anyone else???
I do indeed. I recall he’d had some tough times. One of a number MIA
Yes I recall the name stick too.
Sorry to hear about Mr Blast’s passing, very sad.
I used to be friends with Stick but we lost touch a few years back. I’ve just googled him though and he’s definitely still around, so no need for concern…
Also Curtis from Ohio, whose posts I always enjoyed.
Oh, that’s dreadful news. We emailed each other about Mac OS stuff, and design software.
We shared a love of King Crimson, though ver ‘Crims he loved weren’t the ones I do.
Peace, big fella.
Mark.
I only met him at one meeting in The Laurieston. Our musical tastes couldn’t have been further apart but we had a grand auld gab anyhow. Sorry to hear.
No-one could express more with just a one worded reply.
What was the food he loved so much – blood sausage? Something like that, and he’d almost turn into Robert Burns when writing about it. Very endearing, as was his relationship with his mum.
Really sad for her.
Very sad. Always entertaining and knowledgeable. These things always make you stop and think to try and make every day worthwhile.
Rest in peace.
Never met him but we shared an interest in UFO. It was years before the penny dropped with respect to his name.
RIP
Sad news to log in to. RIP James. When new to the old site he was the first to warn me of Del Amitri overkill with a withering “Other bands are available”, wise words. He also gave me a quote about The Associates “Sulk” along the lines of “it sounded like it was made by Martians”, a line I continue to use. It always gave me a lift when I saw him posting for his honesty and lack of game playing, seemed like a straight down the line sort of bloke. This place will be poorer without him…
That’s a shame. I met him a couple of times and he was a good guy.
Very sad news, and condolences to family and friends. A reminder, if any were needed, that beneath the anonymity of cyberspace are real people, with real feelings and real lives.
Very sad news. He was one of those people whose posts you could usually spot just from the subject line.
Oh, terrible news, and how dreadful for his mum too. I was always very fond of James and his posts. He always seemed an excellent sort.
Rest in peace.
Sad news. We exchanged a few things over the years and when I finally met him in person, at King Crimson in Edinburgh, it felt like I’d known him for ages. I always liked his insistence on referring to Yes as The Yes and will try to do so myself.
Ditto “The Can”
The Yes it shall be henceforth.
My condolences to his friends and family.
Agreed, sad news. This place gives a social network outside the narrow confines of my family and work, and every AW contributor has their own charms/ limitations, like people generally. JB was warm, pugnacious, and interesting. 58 also; no age.
That’s a big bugger. Only real contact I had with him was when he sent an email thanking me for supporting him during some AW spat or other. Our musical tastes could hardly be more different but a top man has left us.
That’s very sad news. We should put a little epitaph at the foot of the site…it’s currently still commemorating Prince. What should it say?
Somethings along the lines of “What a load of fecking shite!” should do it. 🙂
“Arse” could substitute for shite, of course. Or indeed “pish”.
And ‘mibbee’.
And ‘meringue’
I think a couple of his last tweets ‘Haw! Whit’s going oan here?’ ‘PiSH!’
Or ‘but it just not very good, Caitlin’
A meringue. Definitely. One of his favourites.
Thirded!
Developing the above: Is this The Afterword or a meringue?
I like it, but if I could ask a favour, as a wee in-joke which James would have appreciated, change the reference to *Thee* Afterword (as in, Genesis P-O’s alternative to the word “the”)?
I think this nails it!
Teamwork!
The site banner is now Scottish blue and the sidebars are Gothic/Bible Black in his honour too.
Nice touches, thank you Doc
That’s terrible and sad news. It’s difficult to explain how the passing of someone you have never met, never spoken to but have enjoyed their thoughts and opinions via a web forum. The world is a duller place today. Thoughts to his family and especially his mum. She must be devastated.
Leedsboy says exactly what I wanted to say here – awful news.
Ah no. This is awful news. He was a long time poster. I never met or spoke to him other than through the blogs. I liked him a lot, he seemed a proper character, enthused, mercurial but I suspect a massive softie.
He’d always drop a line or so in anything whimsical I used to post.
Yes, his mother. I do hope she’s getting the help and attention she needs.
It would be great if his Mum was to be made aware how popular he was and how much he’ll be missed.
Excellent idea, ianess. It would be easy enough to copy and paste selected comments from here into an A4 sheet. Then perhaps @Douglas or someone who knew him personally could deliver it with a card?
I’ll happily do the cutting and pasting, if no else can.
Curve and the Chameleons are my memories of him. He sent me a comp of his fave Curve tracks and I reciprocated with a cd of the Cams last ever recordings.
Tony Fletcher walked on water la la la la la, la la la la will always remind me of the Master Blaster.
Bollocks. I always loved his posts. He was great fun on Twitter. I wrote one of my early ramblings, in the old place, and got some very kind compliments for it. After a few days, as the post dropped off the page, he wrote a great reply, castigating me roundly for one sentence (he was right, by the way. It was lazy) but also being hugely supportive. I’ll never forget that. RIP Big Man.
What a shame. I never met James, but enjoyed his posts, he had a distinctive style. A meringue? Don’t think I am. RIP James
I have decided to get pissed in “James”‘ honour and play some loud music.
Pish, tosh and shite!
And this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OS0o4nD3QFs
Sad news. Too young. As has been said he always came over as genuinely warm, knowledgeable and passionate. Thoughts to his mum, family and everyone who knew him.
Oh bloody hell. I’ve not been around these parts for a while but saw the Facebook post and thought I’d drop by to post my condolences. He was one of the good guys and I shall raise a glass tonight.
Very sad news. Big man, big heart (as one can gather from the posts above). Rest easy, James.
The Yes it is, then. Seems right.
This is really sad news. What a loss to the site &…his poor mother.
My condolences to his family.
Very sad news.
I always enjoyed his posts despite having very little musically in common – his passion for his subject was always apparent.
Like others here, I will really miss James & send condolences to his loved ones.
This comes as a shock, to say the least. I haven’t been around on the Afterword much of late, but always enjoyed James Blast posts in the past and back to The Word days, too. A good ‘un gone and a big loss to this site. RIP.
What a sad loss. When the Word began to explore ‘audience participation’ using a primitive email based forum, James was one of the first people to make a real impact on me. He has been part of this community for ever and leaves a NWOBHM shaped hole which we will struggle to fill.
Rest in peace, big man.
This is fucking shite news. I loved his contributions round here and he seemed like a really good guy. RIP man. Which I could think of a good pun involving Megadeth, sadly I can’t…
I didn’t know him in “real life” but sort of felt as if I did and always enjoyed his contributions to the blog which could be fierce or funny or both.
Wonderful tributes from el hombre malo and Douglas and others who really did know him.
All I can say is that it’s going to rowdy down St. Peter’s Gate way tonight.
Condolences to his family and friends.
Many thanks to the Admin who arranged the baseline epitaph – much appreciated
I have a few memories of Jimbo. The first is from the old school forum Fifer has just reminded me of; we got into a mild barney about the use of ‘a’ and ‘an’ before a word starting with ‘h’.
I was right and he was wrong, and he was gracious enough to acknowledge as much, after a cooling-off period mind you.
The second was some years later, when I noticed a Smiths concert was being shown on some TV channel my budget didn’t stretch to. It started in 10 minutes, so I threw myself on the mercy of the blog and James offered to record it for me. A DVD duly arrived a few days later along with some notes explaining just why The Smiths were shite and how I should be listening to the Bunnymen instead.
Lastly, when James made an open-hearted and moving post about depression we entered into an email conversation that soon spiralled out into all sorts of nonsense. He seemed very pleased that my wife is Glaswegian, and I had promised to meet him at the Laurieston for a pint the next time I headed north.
Of course we never had that drink. But I played my Smiths DVD this afternoon and raised a glass in his honour.
I didn’t know him really, but he showed kindness to stranger and we had some frank conversations about love, life, family, the church, and Morrissey.
He was a good man who’s gone far too early. I do hope his mother knows how well people thought of him.
This is awful news. James couldn’t have been more welcoming when I attended my first McMingle at The Laurieston a few years back. He and I bonded over the likes of The Chameleons, early Ultravox and Magazine. I hugely enjoyed an evening chez Blast last year with himself and Douglas, when we indulged in curry, drink and obscure Can, although I was perhaps a bit too well refreshed to make a lot of sense. A wonderful chap, great company and I’ll miss him more than I can say.
Thanks Scott – yes parts of that evening were pretty hazy!
Damn, this is very sad news.
I always liked James. A good man, one of the few on here I PMd.
One of the posters here who didn’t know the chap but enjoyed his posts. Very sad news, RIP Mr Blast.
What sad news. I will miss him as a dedicated member of the small subset of Sisters fans in the Afterword Venn diagram.
Shocked and saddened to hear that. RIP.
Very sad news, he was always entertaining and I enjoyed his contributions on the Sisters and others. Thoughts go out to his family and loved ones.
This is extremely sad news. My condolences to his family and everyone who knew him. I never met in in person but I will miss him in our online community here.
Mr Blast was a rambunctious, funny presence on the blog. Always thought I’d make my way up to a McMingle at some point and meet the man. Wish I’d done so. Like others have said, I hope his mum has an alternative source of the care and support she needs.
I’m very sorry to read this. Our Afterword community is now diminished. Rest easy, Mr Blast.
Just a thought, but given the largely only virtual knowledge most have of each other, and noting the friendships sparked by the McMingles, as well as the intermittent London and TV mingles, OK, and the ozz mini-mingle or 2, I wonder whether it is worth revamping some of the more local events, if only before we each follow JB to the inevitable conclusion.
So how about another Midlands shindig? PM me if any interest. I know there are rather more of us than just the Lichfield conundrum, thinking of those in Brum or near enough. Happy to try and arrange.
Most of the Northern minglers do not post much on here now but there is a mooted gathering in the next couple of months in either Liverpool or Manchester. We tend to keep in touch via Twitterbook for gigs, swigs and Glossop Record Club.
Let’s do it while I’m still (temporarily) in the neighbourhood. Pref Manchester…
Let me know the dates again. I shall get my staff to clear the diary. I may need to cancel my speech to the Bad Record Collectors Convention but Afterworders come first.
Never been to a mingle but would love to make a NW one of these if open to all
I will post details when the details are decided & send information you will need by private message. Secret handshake, dress code, my preferred tipple, etc, etc.
I’m here during the week till mid October (though obviously it’s not about me…) so a Mon/Tue/Wed night would be ideal.
Did we ever find out the secret of the BlastBurger? I recall that he used the word “Poom!” to describe the taste sensation.
RIP James ye auld bugger.
Very sad to hear this news. James was part of the furniture, and he’ll be missed.
Just spoken to James’ mum – she’s sounding fine, and has been inundated with offers of help from family, neighbours & friends. I mentioned all the supportive messages from here, and she was glad to hear that.
She says the funeral is likely to be Monday morning in King’s Park (on the south side of Glasgow). I checked she is fine with me passing this on to others here. If anyone thinks they may wish to come then PM me and I’ll pass on the details when I hear them.
That is dreadful news.
I first connected with James on the original Bulletin Board style Word blog and then continued in corresponding with him on the first refugee site until the second coming of the Word blog.
We connected over Echo & the Bunnymen and he burned me a DVD of the Bunnies he titled Light On The Waves. I’ll have to dig it out. We disagreed over R.E.M. but he introduced me to The Sisters of Mercy, burning me a compilation.
This is for James – The Sisters and This Corrosion.
My condolences to his mother.
What dreadful news. James was, indeed, part of the furniture around here and his contributions will be sorely missed. 58 is no age to die.
Very sorry to hear this….I always meant to get up to the Laurieston & meet the man in person – I’m ashamed to say I never did….condolences to his family….
and God bless the mighty Blast…..
I didn’t know the guy, but very sad nonetheless. He was one of us, after all.
I’m so sorry to hear this sad news. I almost met James at a McMingle but couldn’t make it at the last minute. Wish I had now ❤️
I’m so sorry to hear this. He was a funny guy and was great value on Twitter where we ding dinged now and again. Christ, Curtis From Ohio and now poor old James. Very sad. RIP you big hairy Goth.
Adding my condolences and sadness – never met James but always enjoyed his contributions here
Sad news, nice guy. R.I.P. Mr. Blast.
Very sad news; he always seemed a really lovely guy and he’ll be missed.
I met James on 3 occasions. The first was at a mcmingle in the Laurieston Bar. Douglas, El Hombre, IanIan, Big Si and a few others were there. I had a brand new spare copy of Dave Gilmour live somewhere(Gdansk maybe?)….I think it was a 2cd and dvd set. He snatched it before I even put it on the table….hehe! We were both smokers so spent a bit of time in the smoking room. We were both the same age but our musical preferences couldn’t have been farther apart.My opinion of The Sisters was ‘pish’ and his of Loudon Wainwright was ‘pish’ but I knew we’d get along fine. Anyway, that night I was a mingle virgin but was made very welcome! He invited me often to future mcmingles but I had big troubles of my own at the time so could never go. We actually arranged together to go to one of the Edinburgh mingles but something came up and we spoke about hitting one of the northern English ones too….sadly, not to be.
James always said that if I was ever in Glasgow I should give him a shout….and I did. Twice. We met in All Bar One once and a Weatherspoons the other time. ‘Pished’ was my state both times I left…he was probably just merry….’twas great fun though!
So, the first time I actually met him was late 2010 but whilst getting to know one another, we found we had a common connection from long ago. He was a designer for Glasgow Council and for some reason he had design work to do in Falkirk Museum. This would be the mid 80s. When he found out I came from that area, he asked me if I happened to know the gorgeous blonde who worked at the museum(he fancied her rotten!)…..it turned out that she was my girlfriend Jackie, and I used to pick her up from work every night so there was probably a chance that we’d actually come across each other before. I sent him a couple of photos and it was the same girl, and it definitely was the right time.
RIP
Very sad news – he was one of the stalwarts of both here and the old place. Great contributor, will be missed.
Oh dear what sad news. I too liked his contributions and on one occasion we contacted each other to discuss a rather ‘alternative coffee’ that would hit the right place. It’s a strange feeling meeting someone online and not meeting them in the real world so to speak. I have been out of the loop as I’m in Greece on holiday and just looked in to hear this sad news. I will have an ouzo tonight in the Aspidistra & Hatstand. Bless him. RIP James.
A fine fellow. Namaste James _/\_ 🙂 x
Seconded… a great bloke. It’s because of him I follow this blog, from the Sisters forums.
A guy with a genuine smile and a great way with words- whether on page or mumbled while drinking a pint. RIP
Come on in, AoP, he’d wish it that way, if only to reduce the pish/shite ratio in most of the music here. (I hadn’t realised the Beverley sisters had such an active following, mind. Not necessarily my cuppa, but each to theirs…..)
Very sorry to read this… kind thoughts to his family in this difficult time.
The Photo which @Douglas mentioned above – Blast Fear Mogwai!
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b268/Sunburst369/Mac%20Massif%204/Blast-Fear-Mogwai.jpg
Excellent, thank you @el-hombre-malo – I love this photie!
Si (“Eat Thi Breed”) had shared it from James’ Photobucket – it’s a belter!
You’re welcome mate! 🙂
Sad news indeed. We had our love of King Crimson in common. Bless you Blastoid.
Indeed – the new box set arrived today and JB immediately popped into my thoughts.
I’m an erstwhile “member of this parish” but very saddened to read this about James Blast.
Always a right sort.
Belated R.I.P. x