Jim Bob

Name, where are you from?
South London

Describe your style in three words?
Nineteen seventy-eight

What’s the best gig you’ve ever been to?
Elvis Costello & The Attractions at The Nashville Rooms, Kensington in 1977. It was a big pub basically. I had no one to go with and went on my own. The Pop Group supported and they were amazing enough but Elvis was incredible. Watching the Detectives was either just released or just about to be. That song blew my mind. I had a broken toe and there were no night buses. After the gig, I had to limp all the way home from Kensington to Streatham in the rain. In a way all that added to the memory and significance of the gig.

If you could be on the line up with any two bands in history?
The Jam and Rod Stewart and the Faces. I’d like to go on first so I could relax and watch them both. Maybe nick drinks from their riders while they were on. I saw The Jam a few times but I never saw The Faces. Basically, me being on the same bill is an excuse to get into the gig. I imagine the tickets would have sold out in about ten seconds. What a line up! I can’t wait. I’ve made myself believe it’s actually happening.

Which Subcultures have influenced you?
Punk rock and the first mod revival a couple of years later.

If you could spend an hour with anyone from history?
Kurt Vonnegut. I probably wouldn’t say much. I’d just sit and listen, maybe nod every now and again to show I was listening. I’d treat it as more of a lecture just for me.

Of all the venues you’ve been to, which is your favourite?
Brixton Academy. From an audience point of view it has that sloped dance floor so you can always see the stage even if you’re at the back. And as a performer, playing there always felt like victory. I liked turning up in the afternoon before the sound check, when the room was empty. I liked walking around, going up to the circle and right to the top of the venue. Walking through the empty bars and imagining what was about to happen.

Your greatest hero or heroine in music?
David Bowie. He had it all. The songs, the voice, the looks, so many great looks. And he just seemed like the nicest man and never arrogant about his genius.

Jim Bob (AKA James Robert Morrison) is a British musician and author, best known as the singer of indie punk band Carter U.S.M.

The follow up to his first autobiography 'Good Night Jim Bob', his latest book 'Jim Bob From Carter In The Shadow Of My Former Self' is an exceptionally humorous account of his time between the band's break up in 1997 and their reformation in 2007 – and their break up again in 2014. 

'Jim Bob From Carter In The Shadow Of My Former Self' is published by Cherry Red Books.