Hit The North: Sail on Sailor

In case there are any raised eyebrows regarding the presence on this page of proud Lancashire man (and one-time lead singer of Starsailor), James Walsh, we should from the start point out he’s spent significant chunks of the last decade-and-a-half writing, recording and bringing up a family in Belfast and Ballymena. It’s a fair co-opt.
“I have no problem being treated as a local,” he grins. “I’m applying for my Ballymena passport next week. I’ve even been to see the Sky Blues [Ballymena Utd] play.”
So, now we’ve got that out of the way, let’s talk about the real reasons we’re chatting to the guy: the solo album he’s currently crafting, and the short Irish tour in December he’s using to road test much of the new material.
“It’s mostly a very personal record about my life in Ballymena and London with the family and my relationship with my wife, Lisa,” he reveals. “A lot of the emotions expressed in the early Starsailor songs are very raw and visceral, as you might expect from someone in their late teens/early twenties. The lyrics and emotions on the solo album are a lot more considered.”
It’s been four years since Starsailor split.
“It wasn’t an easy decision but it felt like the right time,” he reflects. “Basically, I put so much into the fourth album. We all did to be fair. It was like, ‘if this doesn’t really take off then maybe this isn’t our time anymore’.”
He has kept himself busy since. Songwriting stints with a variety of performers, including Bressie, Suzanne Vega, Matt Cardle, Mel C and Eliza Doolittle have proved rewarding, if time-consuming, diversions.
“I never imagined writing with and for other artists. It’s been a great experience. Working with people from different musical backgrounds has brought some really interesting results. I particularly enjoy working with great lyricists, as melodies and chords come more naturally to me. I guess the most surprising aspect is how open I have become to collaborating with other writers on my own songs. Most of the album has been written by me. However, there are a few collaborations. I really enjoyed letting someone else wrestle with a middle-eight lyric for a change. It’s good to have another person in the room to take the pressure off. At the end of the day it’s about what gets the best results.”
In his mid-thirties, with a voice maturing gloriously, he seems to be in the perfect position to make the best music of his career.
“I don’t want to put too much pressure on the first solo album,” he admits. “For it to chart would be incredible. There’s not a great track-record of singers from middlingly successful bands having successful solo careers in recent years so it would be nice to break that trend. I’ll definitely play some new songs at the Irish dates. There’s a few that will work great for the time of year too. Nice warm ballads.”

James Walsh plays The Workman’s Club, Dublin (December 17) and McHughs, Belfast (18)