Starsailor’s initial run of success saw both their‘Love is Here’ debut album and the 2003 follow-up ‘Silence is Easy’ hit #2 on the charts as they raced to a total of 3 million sales. After a five-year hiatus, the band reformed in 2014, enjoying triumphant festival performances at the Isle of Wight Festival and V Festival, plus special guest to James on their UK tour. 2015 saw them tour in China, Korea, and a co-headline tour of the US and Canada with Embrace.
Their return was swiftly followed by the release of their biggest hits through ‘Good Souls: The Greatest Hits’ (released in September 2015 on Parlophone). The album was accompanied by the band’s first headline UK and European tour since 2009.
The album kicked off with the band’s three biggest hits in the shape of ‘Good Souls’ (#12), ‘Silence is Easy’ (#9) and ‘Alcoholic’ (#10). In addition to those tracks, the album featured a further sevenTop 40 hits, as well as two brand new tracks ‘Give Up The Ghost’ and ‘Hold On’.
“It’s been over 15 years since the band first formed and the songs still mean something to people,”says frontman James Walsh. “They still sing the words passionately back at us at gigs. We hear stories of how songs have soundtracked key moments in their lives” – James Walsh
and were clearly in love with rock ‘n’ roll and all its possibilities.”
James Walsh (vocals/guitar,) James Stelfox(bass), Ben Byrne (drums) and Barry Westhead(keyboards), Starsailor shot to prominence in 2001 with the release of their debut single ‘Fever’. After an early NME live review drew glowing comparisons with Neil Young, The Verve and Coldplay, their 2001 debut album reached #2shortly before they won the Philip Hall On award for best new band at the NME Awards and BestNew Act at the Q Awards. The following year they were nominated for Best British Newcomer at theBRIT Awards.
Released in 2003, their second album ‘Silence is Easy’ featured two songs that were among the last to be produced by Phil Spector and also peaked at #2, with the title track becoming their highest charting domestic single when it entered the charts at #9. The Thin White Duke remix of ‘Four To The Floor’ topped the charts in both France and Belgium, and also hit #5 in Australia.
They then released ‘On The Outside’ (2005) and‘All The Plans’ (2009) which featured RonnieWood.
The band have enjoyed more than their fair share of prestigious gigs, supporting the likes of The Rolling Stones, The Police, The Killers, and U2, and have toured all over the world.
