James Smith from Yard Act Formed a Band! From drawing cartoons to playing Glasto and collaborating with Elton John in between

I Formed A Band

Ep. 5: Eddie and Joe chat to James Smith, singer (or, much to Eddie's delight, he's more of a speaker-singer) with the totally ace Yard Act; and they speak to him just before the band was about to play Glastonbury.* That seemed like a good time to take stock – and James recalls how drawing cartoons led to him becoming a drummer, then a guitarist, and finally a charismatic front man. It was all via a some truly grim call centre jobs and a bunch of other bands that almost made it, and then, just as he stropped caring so much, their breakthrough happened at a head-spinning pace.

It's a story of patience, frustration, indifference, tragedy, coincidence, and sudden changes for the better. Oh, and collaborating with Elton John. Also, half way through the recording, Eddie remembers that one of James' bands once supported Art Brut in Wakefield.

Plus, in a super-duper special bonus Argos Catalogue section, Eddie recalls what the most expensive thing he ever broke was (it was one of the Klaxons' legs, kind of).

*Yes, about 11 months ago - things move slowly in the glittering IFAB Berlin HQ, alright? Anyway, we spent the last 11 months fretting that the band might split up before we released the podcast, so some empathy for us too, please.

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Yard Act: https://www.yardactors.com/

Yard Act collaborating with Elton John Yard Act - 100% Endurance (Elton John Version) - YouTube

More Yard Act: https://www.instagram.com/yardactband/

One of James' earlier bands: https://postwarglamourgirls.bandcamp.com/

"Bad break for Klaxon – The Klaxons have been forced to postpone their Australian tour after singer Jamie Reynolds broke his leg on stage."

https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/bad-break-for-klaxon-494076