An hour after sending the demo recordings of his latest album to his manager, Jim Bob, former singer with Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine received a WhatsApp message: “I bet this is how Tony Defries* felt when Bowie sent him Ziggy Stardust”. Ten minutes later Bob’s manager sent another message: “Make sure you don’t muck it up in the studio.”
Thankfully Jim Bob didn’t muck it up. His twelfth solo studio album, Thanks For Reaching Out is apparently thirty-eight minutes of pop, punk rock, devastatingly moving ballads and more topical than an episode of Newsnight, with songs about Putin (‘The Day of Reckoning’), the Taliban (‘This is End Times’) and whoever ‘Billionaire in Space’ is about. It’s not all doom and gloom though, ‘Sebastian’s Gone On A Ridelaong’ is described as “a hilarious psychobilly romp” and the pre-coronation written ‘The Prince of Wales’ is like a pub lock-in, it’s Bowie’s ‘Kooks’ for older people.
As singer with Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine, Bob had fourteen top 40 singles and four top ten albums (including a number one) with them. Carter toured the world and headlined Glastonbury before breaking up in 1997. (Ten years later they were back together for a series of huge, sold out shows until they called it a day again in 2014).
Away from Carter Jim Bob has released twelve solo albums, written songs for Ian Dury and for a Barbican production of Mark Ravenhill’s Dick Whittington & His Cat. In August 2010 he made his Edinburgh Fringe debut in the musical Gutted, A Revenger’s Musical, playing a washed-up wedding singer and the ghost of Helen George from Call The Midwife’s fictional dad.
He is also an author too with six novels published – Storage Stories, Driving Jarvis Ham, The Extra Ordinary Life Of Frank Derrick, Age 81, Frank Derrick’s Holiday Of A Lifetime, A Godawful Small Affair and Harvey King Unboxes His Family. His two memoirs – Goodnight Jim Bob – On The Road With Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine and the sequel Jim Bob from Carter were both critical and commercial successes.
Right now Jim is focusing on music. His last two albums, Pop Up Jim Bob and Who Do We Hate Today were both top forty smashes, his Beach Ready EP was Number 1 in both the vinyl and physical sales singles charts.
Thanks For Reaching Out was recorded with the same group of musicians as his previous two chart smashing albums,with trumpet and saxophone from Terry Edwards and violin from Kate Arnold, Jim Bob has described it like he’s at a poncy wine tasting:
‘When I listen to this record, I get flavours of Buzzcocks and Dexys, with notes of Teardrop Explodes and Slade. It’s big and bold, bright and crispy, earthy and buttery, with a bouquet of barbed wire and an aftertaste of your life somehow never ever quite being the same again.’
The album will be available on vinyl, CD, cassette and digital platforms. The vinyl is purple in a gatefold sleeve with a 2024 calendar and the CD version comes with a second disc This is My Mixtape; a collection of cover versions recorded especially for the album. The cover illustration is by Mark Reynolds, with design by Keith Davey and audio mastered by Nick Watson at Fluid.
Tracks featured are: ‘Thanks For Reaching Out’, ‘The Day Of Reckoning’, Bernadette (Hasn’t Found Anyone Yet)’, ‘Toxic Man’, ‘This Is End Times’, ‘Billionaire In Space’, ‘Sebastian’s Gone On A Ridealong’, ‘Goesaroundcomesaround’, Befriend The Police’, ‘The Prince Of Wales’ and ‘Thanks for Reaching Outro’.
Jim Bob will tour the UK this July, dates are listed below, and tickets available from seetickets.com
JIM BOB UK TOUR DATES
12 July Leeds Brudenell
13 July Nottingham Rescue Rooms
14 July Bristol Thekla
15 July Brighton Chalk and 2 December Brixton Electric
