Born and raised in the Manchester area in the 80s, James Walsh is the leader, founder and frontman of Starsailor, an alternative rock band well known especially in the early 2000s thanks to the albums "Love is Here" and "Silence is Easy", published by Chrysalis and EMI Records. "Silence is Easy" – which turns 20 this year – was produced in the studio in Los Angeles with Phil Spector and reached ninth place in the UK charts, consolidating the rise of Starsailor thanks to a tour that culminated at the Brixton Academy in front of over 2000 people. Parallel to the activity with the band, James Walsh has started a splendid solo career that has seen him collaborate with Suzanne Vega for the writing of his first work, "Lullaby" (2012) and led him to publish, both in 2021, his fourth and fifth albums: "Small Illusions" and "Everything Will Be Ok", until appearing as a supporting-act for concerts of Simple Minds on their "Greatest Hits Forest Tour" (2011), and Mike & The Mechanics on their tour "The Hits" (2015). Walsh's music is inspired by both psychedelic folk and Brit-Pop. Famous for his personal diatribe of the early 2000s -then apparently resolved- with brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher. His sixth album, "Coming Good", was released in January 2023.
Born in Wigan and raised in Chorley, Walsh start playing the piano at the age of 12 and began composing a couple of years later. Listen to music by The Charlatans, Oasis and Jeff Buckley. A shy and solitary personality, he discovers the artists who have an influence on the music of his generation: Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Nick Drake and the Beatles. In a 2009 online Q&A, Walsh named The Beatles' "Revolver" "the greatest album ever." "You could pick any [Beatles] album, really. Anyone who thinks it's not the best band ever does it just for party taken.'" Walsh was so impressed by Tim Buckley's music that he decided to name his band after a famous 1970 Buckley album, "Starsailor". He met the other band members, James Stelfox and Ben Byrne, former members of the same band in Warrington, while studying music in Wigan. When one day their singer doesn't show up for rehearsals, Walsh asks them if they can replace him for that session. This is how Starsailors were born. Walsh decided to play guitars for the band "because of frustration of not being able to find a suitable musician for the band". In 2009, James began recording his first solo album, working with American singer-songwriter and singer Suzanne Vega. His first solo EP, "Live at the Top of the World" was recorded in Norway, with a chamber orchestra, and was released in November 2010. He contributed to the mini-album "Robotic Heart Foundation" by Nikolaj Torp Larsson and Andreas Olson, after meeting them in the studio while working on a film. Larsson and Olson joined him in working on his debut album, which will be released in 2011. He also collaborated with the Belgian band Andes on the song "Èén dag meer" ("Another day").